Pope Francis will send an army of globe-trotting priests — his “missionaries of mercy” — to absolve women who’ve had abortions, in the latest Vatican bid to catch up with modern times. The effort, which includes reaching out to doctors and nurses who’ve performed abortions, will commence in the Holy Year of Mercy, which Francis has declared will be celebrated between Dec. 8, 2015, and Nov. 20, 2016.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, announced the bold initiative and said the church should always be in the absolution business. “The missionaries of mercy are priests sent out by the Holy Father . . . as a tangible sign of how a priest should be a man of pardon, close to everyone,” Fisichella said.
“There are a number of clergy with the ability to pardon abortions already, it is not that rare,” said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman.
Church hard-liners warned that stepped-up efforts to forgive those involved in abortions could “cause confusion” among Catholics. “Regardless of this decision by the pope, the church will continue to consider abortion a sin. I hope it does not cause confusion,” Italy’s Cardinal Velasio de Paolis told the Italian newspaper La Nazione. “He is the pope of mercy and wants to show the benevolence of the church towards sinners. This does not cancel the sin of abortion.”
Francis has made stunningly progressive remarks in his two years leading world Catholics. He’s preached for acceptance of gays and lesbians, embraced science and even hinted that women will be taking bigger roles in the Vatican.
“It’s true that Pope Francis wants to see the life of the church center not so much on doctrine but on pastoral care,” said the Rev. Thomas Rausch, a professor of Catholic theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “People are seeing a whole new side of the Catholic Church because of Francis’ leadership.”.
