Pope Francis: On forgiving abortion

Here we go again… experimenting with the daily lives of Filipino commuters in that newly conceived traffic scheme that the Philippine National Police (PNP) Highway Patrol Group (HPG) would deal with erring motorists in EDSA. Again, let me point out clearly that the planners of Metro Manila are still in complete denial that traffic there would ease now that the Highway Patrol Group is in charge instead of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The fact remains that there are just too many vehicles on the road and thanks to a mismanaged Metro Rail Transit (MRT) this has compounded the problem. Fix the MRT and traffic would ease!

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Today, one billion Catholics worldwide celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Apparently the early Christians calculated that September 8 is exactly nine months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Church usually celebrates the days, which the Saints died, with the exception of St. John the Baptist, the Blessed Virgin Mary and our Lord Jesus Christ because they were born without the stain of original sin. But it is not a holiday of obligation in the Catholic calendar.

Speaking of the Catholic Church, once again, Pope Francis has stirred the Catholic Faithful when he ordered Bishops and Priests to forgive those Catholics who had abortion. This caused a howl about the conservative Catholics…but if you read the statement of Pope Francis… that this is some kind of amnesty that is open only for the up and coming Extraordinary Jubilee Year that begins on December 8th so that the penitent with a contrite heart can experience the mercy and compassion of God. So let me reprint an excerpt on the letter of Pope Francis, which is self-explanatory.

“The Jubilee Year has always constituted an opportunity for great amnesty, which is intended to include the many people who, despite deserving punishment, have become conscious of the injustice they worked and sincerely wish to re-enter society and make their honest contribution to it. May they all be touched in a tangible way by the mercy of the Father who wants to be close to those who have the greatest need of his forgiveness.

They may obtain the Indulgence in the chapels of the prisons. May the gesture of directing their thought and prayer to the Father each time they cross the threshold of their cell signify for them their passage through the Holy Door, because the mercy of God is able to transform hearts, and is also able to transform bars into an experience of freedom.

I have asked the Church in this Jubilee Year to rediscover the richness encompassed by the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The experience of mercy, indeed, becomes visible in the witness of concrete signs as Jesus himself taught us. Each time that one of the faithful personally performs one or more of these actions, he or she shall surely obtain the Jubilee Indulgence. Hence the commitment to live by mercy so as to obtain the grace of complete and exhaustive forgiveness by the power of the love of the Father who excludes no one.

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. Many others, on the other hand, although experiencing this moment as a defeat, believe they have no other option. I think in particular of the women who have resorted to abortion.

I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision. What has happened is profoundly unjust; yet only understanding the truth of it can enable one not to lose hope. The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father. For this reason too, I have decided, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to concede to all priests for the Jubilee Year the discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it.”

I’m writing this piece because there are some people who believe that if you forgive those who committed abortion, it might be misconstrued as condoning abortion. But clearly what Pope Francis has done is allowing God’s mercy and compassion to those who are truly sorry for having abortion. But more importantly, this is akin to a one-year amnesty for those who committed abortion. So in the end, Pope Francis is merely using the Jubilee Year for Catholics who have strayed away from the Catholic Church to come home to the Holy Mother Church. We welcome this move by Pope Francis.

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