The Church Takes Another Step

On Monday, November 21, it was reported in the New York Times that Pope Francis is expanding the conditions by which priests, as well as bishops, may forgive persons who either had an abortion or who were involved in performing them.

This makes permanent a temporary move he established at the beginning of the Church's yearlong "Jubilee of Mercy". The announcement was a signal of the pope’s vision of a more welcoming, merciful and inclusive church.

It is about time the Church dips its toe in the cold waters of the 21st Century. For too long, the Church has been viewed by many who have fallen away as an institution bent on repression, judgement and rigidity, where there was no room for forgiveness.

In his announcement, Francis said, that while he viewed abortion "as a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life,” he affirmed that “there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father.”

And finally, Francis has removed automatic excommunication as punishment for committing an abortion. That is the best part of this statement by him, in my view.

I know many good people who have found themselves in a "no-win" situation when they realized they were unexpectedly pregnant and because the guy suddenly disappeared, or they could not afford another child, or for a host of other reasons which were reasonable to the participants, they felt they had no other recourse but to make that extremely difficult decision.

In my view, that choice is also partially to blame on the Church itself  because its rigid position on birth control also makes THAT practice "a sin", as well. Tough punishment, when gentle love is needed.

Maybe Francis needs to override "Humanae Vitae" (Of Human Life) written by Paul VI and issued in July, 1968 with an updated encyclical. This repressive document has put Catholics, for decades, in direct contradiction with the teachings of their Church. Perhaps, the better teaching by the Church would be to weigh the difference between birth control and abortion, and preach option one. This would also be a better choice for the poor living in destitute conditions throughout the third world, so that the cycle of poverty and famine could then be arrested, since the faithful here follow the Church blindly.

Folks, I believe there is a huge difference between "Dogma", which comes from God and "Doctrine", which is man-made to control the masses.

It is about time that the Church worries about SAVING souls, than trying to CONTROL souls. Francis has made several moves in this direction by changing the Church's positions on divorce, homosexuality and now, this first step on abortion. It needs to get out of our bedrooms, and our politics, too.

For disclosure, I am a falIen-away Catholic, as I have my own views on what the doctrine is for me, and a choice person on abortion up to the 15th or 16th week. After that, with today's pre-natal technology, a fetus can be viable outside the body, and can then develop to maturity until it longer needs to be in an incubator. Then, I think that if the baby is unwanted by the mother, give the child up for adoption. There are many people who would be grateful to take that child, and love it always.

Nevertheless, the Pope, by this action, proves again that he believes what he said two years ago, "who am I to judge?" As many of my friends know, I am a severe critic of Francis. But, I am moved to relent again as he continues to move away from repressive policies.

And I am happy to admit that, too.