Recently, the news broke that all priests now have the faculty to absolve the sin of directly procuring an abortion. Does this mean it had been unforgivable?
In his Apostolic Letter closing out the Special Jubilee Year of Mercy, Misericordia et Misera (literally "Mercy with Misery"), Pope Francis made the statement that all priests now have "in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion" (MM 12). The media have made this out to appear that abortion had before been an "unforgivable sin". What does the Church really teach about the subject? Did the Holy Father change this teaching and, if so, how?
First, to clear up the assertion that abortion is unforgivable - in the simplest terms, that is a falsehood. No sin that we can commit is unforgivable to God when we humbly approach Him and ask for forgiveness. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin that we choose not to ask to be forgiven.
That is not to say that procuring an abortion is not a serious offense. In fact, it is one of the few sins that under canon (Church) law it is one of the few offenses to incur what is called a latae sententiae ("automatic") excommunication (and it is important that one must know that it incurs excommunication in order for the excommunication to actually occur). However, even this is not meant as punishment, but as a medicinal measure: it is to make clear to the person that it is so serious that it must be acknowledged and addressed for the person to enter back into communion with the Church.
Prior to the Jubilee Year of Mercy, it was part of universal Canon law ("Church law") that the excommunication incurred through abortion could not be directly lifted by a parish priest in the confessional. Upon hearing this sin, he had to contact his bishop, who could rescind the excommunication and allow the priest to absolve the sin. However, while a universal norm in the Church, bishops were able to automatically delegate this faculty to their priests. For years, every bishop in the United States granted this faculty to their presbyterate, so American priests have been able to lift the excommunication and absolve the sin immediately in Confession. What Pope Francis did was to use his pontifical authority to make this a world-wide norm for all priests. It has been applied indefinitely; it is quite possible that at some point in the future Canon law will be changed to make this the universal norm. While retaining the Church's understanding of the seriousness of the sin, the Holy Father has also cleared the way throughout the world to impart Christ's mercy to those who seek it.
By the way, if you are worried about the other (thankfully few) excommunicable offenses, know that most are relatively difficult to do, require knowledge that such action must be consciously done with the knowledge that doing so incurs excommunication and that several of them (such as direct violation of the Seal of Confession) apply only to priests! For more information, visit http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/apart-from-abortion-are-there-other-sins-that-incur-automatic-excommunication.
First, to clear up the assertion that abortion is unforgivable - in the simplest terms, that is a falsehood. No sin that we can commit is unforgivable to God when we humbly approach Him and ask for forgiveness. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin that we choose not to ask to be forgiven.
That is not to say that procuring an abortion is not a serious offense. In fact, it is one of the few sins that under canon (Church) law it is one of the few offenses to incur what is called a latae sententiae ("automatic") excommunication (and it is important that one must know that it incurs excommunication in order for the excommunication to actually occur). However, even this is not meant as punishment, but as a medicinal measure: it is to make clear to the person that it is so serious that it must be acknowledged and addressed for the person to enter back into communion with the Church.
Prior to the Jubilee Year of Mercy, it was part of universal Canon law ("Church law") that the excommunication incurred through abortion could not be directly lifted by a parish priest in the confessional. Upon hearing this sin, he had to contact his bishop, who could rescind the excommunication and allow the priest to absolve the sin. However, while a universal norm in the Church, bishops were able to automatically delegate this faculty to their priests. For years, every bishop in the United States granted this faculty to their presbyterate, so American priests have been able to lift the excommunication and absolve the sin immediately in Confession. What Pope Francis did was to use his pontifical authority to make this a world-wide norm for all priests. It has been applied indefinitely; it is quite possible that at some point in the future Canon law will be changed to make this the universal norm. While retaining the Church's understanding of the seriousness of the sin, the Holy Father has also cleared the way throughout the world to impart Christ's mercy to those who seek it.
By the way, if you are worried about the other (thankfully few) excommunicable offenses, know that most are relatively difficult to do, require knowledge that such action must be consciously done with the knowledge that doing so incurs excommunication and that several of them (such as direct violation of the Seal of Confession) apply only to priests! For more information, visit http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/apart-from-abortion-are-there-other-sins-that-incur-automatic-excommunication.
God's mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez 37:1-14). ... Let us be renewed by God's mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.
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