Pope Francis on Tuesday
released a letter to Monsignor Rino Fisichella, the Vatican's
director of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, in which he granted
priests the ability to absolve the sin of abortion.
Until now, only a diocese bishop was allowed to absolve the
sin of abortion from those involved, including medical workers
as well as parents of the unborn child.
"One of the serious problems of our time is certainly the
modified relationship with life, a widespread mentality that has
caused a loss of personal and social sensitivity towards
welcoming a new life," Pope Francis said.
"God's forgiveness can't be denied to anyone who has
repented," he said, calling on priests to "prepare themselves
for this big task, knowing how to combine words of genuine
welcoming with a reflection that helps one to understand the sin
committed".
The head of the Vatican press office, Father Federico
Lombardi, stressed that the pope's move did not "attenuate the
gravity of the sin" involved in aborting.
Pope Francis also said that during the Jubilee Year, those
who confess at churches officiated by members of the Society of
St. Pius X - the group founded by the traditionalist Marcel
Lefebvre, who was excommunicated 1988 for consecrating four
bishops without a papal mandate - would also receive "valid and
lawful absolution for their sins".
"This Jubilee Year of Mercy doesn't exclude anyone," Pope
Francis said.
Francis called on the faithful to perform a "brief
pilgrimage" towards a Holy Door - located at each of the four
papal basilicas in Rome, every cathedral, and in churches
designated by a diocese bishop - as a "sign of the deep desire
of true conversion".
The Holy Door is the northernmost entrance at St. Peter's
Basilica in the Vatican, only opened for Jubilee Years.
Pope Francis also directed his attention towards the
incarcerated, and said that they will be able to receive an
indulgence in prison chapels.
"Every time that (prisoners) pass the door of their cell,
thinking of and praying to the Father, may this gesture signify
for them walking through the Holy Door," Pope Francis said.
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