Pope Francis, in major change, alters rules for women who've had abortions

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You are correct. Most, if not all, US priests have the power to lift excommunication for the sin of abortion.
 
regression said:
cnn.com/2015/09/01/europe/pope-francis-abortion/index.html

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the bishops in the US have already said priests could absolve someone for the sin of abortion? hasn’t this been the case for a number of years?

I suppose what the Pope is talking about it priests in other countries?
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Hello,

Yes, many bishops in the USA have done this already and so this only has an effect on those priests who have not already received the faculty to remit the penalty. It is not really a “major change” and no rules have been altered. Other than that, the story is right on target! It is actually interesting that the story (correctly) talks about excommunication but the pope didn’t mention that–he only spoke of “the sin” of abortion and how all priests can forgive it.

Dan
 
Thanks. I am glad to see the Pope speak about the seriousness of the sin of abortion and also speak about the mercy a contrite person can find in the Church.
 
regression said:
cnn.com/2015/09/01/europe/pope-francis-abortion/index.html

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the bishops in the US have already said priests could absolve someone for the sin of abortion? hasn’t this been the case for a number of years?

I suppose what the Pope is talking about it priests in other countries?
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Correct in the United States, but not everywhere (as you surmised).

I like the Pope doing this. Expands upon God’s forgiveness and keeping it centered on the Sacrament of Confession. Plus, in some countries it might be hard or take time to contact a Bishop. Not all countries have easy means of communication (e-mail, etc.).
 
Anything to keep members in the church and numbers up. I am old fashion I guess but to me this is just wrong. Many will end up in hell because they think they can change the teachings to fit the current trends and lifestyles instead of changing their life to fit Gods teachings. While the church itself may never fall that doesnt mean its members and leaders can not as they are only human.
 
TCR74 said:
Anything to keep members in the church and numbers up. I am old fashion I guess but to me this is just wrong. Many will end up in hell because they think they can change the teachings to fit the current trends and lifestyles instead of changing their life to fit Gods teachings. While the church itself may never fall that doesnt mean its members and leaders can not as they are only human.
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So, are you saying that forgiveness is a current trend? Are you saying there is no forgiveness for abortion? I’m not sure what you are implying.
 
I’m happy that Pope Francis is speaking of Our Lords Mercy and the forgiveness of sin, but once again though his words are not wrong, his words are not clear. This is not new information coming out of the Vatican regarding the forgiveness of the sin of abortion. All it has done here on the local level is allow the liberal media to run stories on how the Catholic Church is finally coming into modern times. I’ve heard no less than 5 stories on the local TV channels this morning on how the Pope is finally ‘changing the Churches long held teachings.’ Of course he is not, but clarity would certainly help.
 
Sir_Hubert said:
I’m happy that Pope Francis is speaking of Our Lords Mercy and the forgiveness of sin, but once again though his words are not wrong, his words are not clear. This is not new information coming out of the Vatican regarding the forgiveness of the sin of abortion. All it has done here on the local level is allow the liberal media to run stories on how the Catholic Church is finally coming into modern times. I’ve heard no less than 5 stories on the local TV channels this morning on how the Pope is finally ‘changing the Churches long held teachings.’ Of course he is not, but clarity would certainly help.
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Hello,

Yes, but I wonder if that would have any effect on the coverage. For instance, in his letter, the Pope said
One of the serious problems of our time is clearly the changed relationship with respect to life. A widespread and insensitive mentality has led to the loss of the proper personal and social sensitivity to welcome new life. The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails.
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It seems that this doesn’t register with the secular media. It’s fascinating.

Dan
 
TCR74 said:
Many will end up in hell because they think they can change the teachings to fit the current trends and lifestyles instead of changing their life to fit Gods teachings.
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No teaching is being changed. Nothing is being said that makes it less grave of a sin then before.

It still requires sacramental confession with a priest. Nothing is changing there.

It merely states that a priest does not need to get permission from a bishop before giving absolution. That’s it.

Incidentally, it’s been this way in the United States for a very long time.
 
It’s rather amazing though the misinformation given this story on some of the secular news sites.
 
AHapka said:
No teaching is being changed. Nothing is being said that makes it less grave of a sin then before.

It still requires sacramental confession with a priest. Nothing is changing there.

It merely states that a priest does not need to get permission from a bishop before giving absolution. That’s it.

Incidentally, it’s been this way in the United States for a very long time.
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👍 Well said.
 
k5thbeatle said:
It’s rather amazing though the misinformation given this story on some of the secular news sites.
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It’s not really so amazing. The secular media may be anti-Catholic and anti-Christian, ignorant of the Catholic Church’s history and moral values, and/or just looking for the most sensationalist headlines even when there are none.
 
meltzerboy said:
It’s not really so amazing. The secular media may be anti-Catholic and anti-Christian, ignorant of the Catholic Church’s history and moral values, and/or just looking for the most sensationalist headlines even when there are none.
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Likely all three in this case.
 
meltzerboy said:
It’s not really so amazing. The secular media may be anti-Catholic and anti-Christian, ignorant of the Catholic Church’s history and moral values, and/or just looking for the most sensationalist headlines even when there are none.
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I don’t believe that the media- at least most of the media- is anti-Catholic or anti-christian inherently.

This seems like persecutory thinking to me.
 
TCR74 said:
Anything to keep members in the church and numbers up. I am old fashion I guess but to me this is just wrong. Many will end up in hell because they think they can change the teachings to fit the current trends and lifestyles instead of changing their life to fit Gods teachings. While the church itself may never fall that doesnt mean its members and leaders can not as they are only human.
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Mercy is never wrong,
 
meltzerboy said:
It’s not really so amazing. The secular media may be anti-Catholic and anti-Christian, ignorant of the Catholic Church’s history and moral values, and/or just looking for the most sensationalist headlines even when there are none.
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It’s telling that even someone like meltzerboy who isn’t Catholic or any kind of Christian, realizes this.

It reminds me of the earlier “The Catholic Church Will Now Forgive Your Abortion” headlines.

It should also be pointed out, that the headline for a news article, is usually NOT written by the reporter who wrote the article. Sometimes, the article might be reasonably and accurate, but the headline writer chooses a more “interesting” headline hoping to draw in an audience, even if the headline is misleading.
 
Hi. Please everyone, read this:

catholicherald.co.uk/features/2013/07/12/getting-excommunicated-is-much-harder-than-you-think/

A snippet:

*'How easy is it to get automatically excommunicated? The Code of Canon Law mentions several crimes that incur the penalty automatically. These include physically assaulting the Pope, stealing the Host for a sacrilegious purpose, a priest giving absolution to a partner in a sin against the Sixth Commandment, a priest who violates the seal of the confessional, and someone who actually procures an abortion.

This last one is likely to have the most application today. As with all canonical penalties, there are conditions attached. The guilty person must act deliberately and freely, be over 17 years of age, and must not be acting inadvertently, but must know the law. Moreover, an actual abortion must have occurred to merit the penalty. Quite often the mother of the child will not incur the penalty, given the circumstances. But the doctors and other medical people will, as they can hardly claim compulsion or ignorance. As for legislators who promote abortion and make it possible, they surely must incur the penalty.’ *

F.C.
 
TCR74 said:
Anything to keep members in the church and numbers up. I am old fashion I guess but to me this is just wrong. Many will end up in hell because they think they can change the teachings to fit the current trends and lifestyles instead of changing their life to fit Gods teachings. While the church itself may never fall that doesnt mean its members and leaders can not as they are only human.
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No anything to get people into the confessional for true repentance. Many who had or were complicit in an abortion come to realize the grave sin they committed and think they can’t be forgiven. This is just a calling out to those people that Christ will heal them through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which He instituted.

This does not change the status of those who do not think they are sick so do not seek the Physician.
 
DAML72 said:
You are correct. Most, if not all, US priests have the power to lift excommunication for the sin of abortion.
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Same here in Argentina. I am now curious where exactly this wasn’t the case.
 
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