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Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity

pnwmom

(108,960 posts)

2. It was a shock to me that abortion required a special kind of confession -- and it turns out

Reply to 47of74 (Original post)

Wed Sep 2, 2015, 12:42 PM

Sep 2015

that this was because of a change made during John Paul's reign. Before then an abortion could be forgiven like any other sin.

John Paul's edict said that Bishops had to issue special decrees if they wanted to allow regular priests to absolve confessions of abortions. Otherwise, it had to be done at a higher level. In the US most bishops issued the decrees, but not in much of Europe.

So I probably wasn't the only one surprised by Pope Francis's announcement. The general practice in the US has been for regular priests to absolve confessions of abortion. So in the US, his announcement changes little.

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Highlight:

Pope Francis Will Allow Priests to Forgive Women Who Have Had Abortions [View all] 47of74 Sep 2015 OP

I told someone about this today. It blew their mind! n/t freshwest Sep 2015 #1

It was a shock to me that abortion required a special kind of confession -- and it turns out pnwmom Sep 2015 #2