In the year of Mercy, Pope Francis extends the church’s power to all Catholic priests to forgive the sin of abortion. Pope Francis opens the doors of the church wider for sinners to enter and experience God’s mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation.
Pope Francis on Monday extended indefinitely to all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortion, a right previously reserved for bishops or special confessors in most parts of the world.
Abortion is a serious sin according to the teaching of the catholic church that it automatically excommunicates the one who performs it. In the past bishops and some priests had the authority to forgive the sin of abortion and bring them back to the church.