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Abortion still a mortal sin even with pardon during Jubilee year—CBCP
Abortion remains a "grave offense" even with Pope Francis' move to allow all priests to forgive those who commit what the Catholic Church considers a mortal sin during the Jubilee year that will start in December, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has said.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that Pope Francis' decision to allow all priests to absolve the sin of abortion does not make it less deadly.
“This does not make the sin less grievous. What it does is make the mercy of God more tangible through the ministry of the Church,” Villegas said.
Villegas said abortion is seriously wrong because killing the unborn “trespasses the sacred ground that human life is.”
“In the traditional language of older catechisms, it is a moral sin, a deadly sin,” Villegas said.
“Not only does it bring death on another; it brings about the spiritual death of one who commits it with full knowledge of its malice and the consequences of this absolutely abhorrent act," he added.
He added that abortion is a grave offense under canon law and anyone who has had a successful abortion is automatically excommunicated. This does not include unintentional abortions or miscarriages.
The sanction can only then be lifted if the woman confesses the abortion, also known as “reserved sin” under the present discipline of the Church, to a bishop who can grant absolution himself or authorize a priest to absolve her.
“None of this has changed. The CBCP wishes to make this absolutely clear,” Villegas said.
“The proper, Catholic response to the Holy Father’s gesture is for all of us, sinners, to approach the mercy of God that constantly reaches out to us, that seeks out the lost," he added. —NB, GMA News
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that Pope Francis' decision to allow all priests to absolve the sin of abortion does not make it less deadly.
“This does not make the sin less grievous. What it does is make the mercy of God more tangible through the ministry of the Church,” Villegas said.
Villegas said abortion is seriously wrong because killing the unborn “trespasses the sacred ground that human life is.”
“In the traditional language of older catechisms, it is a moral sin, a deadly sin,” Villegas said.
“Not only does it bring death on another; it brings about the spiritual death of one who commits it with full knowledge of its malice and the consequences of this absolutely abhorrent act," he added.
He added that abortion is a grave offense under canon law and anyone who has had a successful abortion is automatically excommunicated. This does not include unintentional abortions or miscarriages.
The sanction can only then be lifted if the woman confesses the abortion, also known as “reserved sin” under the present discipline of the Church, to a bishop who can grant absolution himself or authorize a priest to absolve her.
“None of this has changed. The CBCP wishes to make this absolutely clear,” Villegas said.
“The proper, Catholic response to the Holy Father’s gesture is for all of us, sinners, to approach the mercy of God that constantly reaches out to us, that seeks out the lost," he added. —NB, GMA News
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