On Tuesday, Pope Francis announced that during holy year, or the "Year of Mercy" priests around the world will be authorized to forgive the "sin of abortion". He says "the forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented". Abortion is considered a grave "moral evil" in the Catholic church. Many Vatican officials responded to this calling it a "widening of the church's mercy". Many priests in the US already had the power to do this. The fact that he is making it a global statement is big news. It does not change the church's doctrine and only applies in the upcoming year. However, this may continue in the future. In the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) says that anyone who has an abortion is automatically excommunicated. Usually this requires the Bishop's intervention. I think this was a great call my the pope to extend the welcoming arms and spiritual forgiveness of the church to more people.
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