Pope Francis’ announcement on Sept. 1 that priests worldwide will be able to absolve women for the sin of abortion will have little effect on pastoral practices in the United States and Canada. “It is my understanding that the faculty [authorization] for the priest to lift the latae sententiae excommunication for abortion is almost universally granted in North America,” said Don Clemmer, interim director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Latae sententiae is a Latin term in canon law that means excommunication for certain crimes is automatic. Clemmer said it is “the fiat of the local bishop” whether to allow the priests in his diocese to absolve those sins. Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, N.Y., confirmed that “the priests of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and throughout the United States have...had the faculties to lift the sanction of excommunication for the sin of abortion for more than 30 years.” He said, “Any woman who has had an abortion, any person who has been involved in an abortion in any way, can always seek God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation.”
Broadened Absolution
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
On this episode of “Preach” for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year C, Amirah Orozco joins host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to offer a woman’s perspective on the adulterous woman that draws insight from liberation theologies.
The altercation capped a month-long saga surrounding the Satanic group’s “black mass,” which founder Michael Stewart had sought to perform in the Capitol so that “God will fall and Kansas will be embraced by the black flame of Lucifer.”
As people of faith, we must defend migrants and refugees at a time when the state is increasingly moving to dehumanize them.
Francis' willingness to be seen in all his infirmity serves as an example to young and old alike that fragility is part of the human condition—and should be embraced.