Pope Francis’ move to allow priests to absolve the sin of abortion during the forthcoming Year of Mercy is being broadly welcomed in Africa.
In a letter last week to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, the Pope ruled that all priests will be authorised to grant absolution for the sin, without a special dispensation from their bishop.
Kenyan Bishop Anthony Muheria of Kitui said: “We thank God that we can open a bit more the door of mercy for so many. We are encouraging all to seek God’s mercy, no matter how grave their offences have been.” Speaking to thetablet.co.uk, Bishop Muheria said: “On our part we will seek to facilitate as far as possible God’s merciful action through many more hours dedicated to confessions.”
Some bishops warned against misinterpreting the directive. “Forgiveness of the sin of abortion does not mean the Church condones acts, neither does it minimise its grave effect,” Rwandan Bishop Smaragde Mbonyintege of Kabgayi said.
Fr Lazar Arasu, a Ugandan priest, said he felt the announcement had caught the clergy by surprise and some Catholics feared this weakened the sacrament of reconciliation. “They feel people are going to relax in their sense of morals, but at the same time many people appreciate the fatherliness of the Pope,” he said.
In South Africa, as in the UK, bishops already allow priests to give absolution for the sin. “Since South Africa legalised abortion on demand, bishops gave permission for priests to forgive anyone who confesses abortion,” said Fr Russell Pollitt, director of the Jesuit Institute of South Africa.
“I think this is typical of the Francis papacy and that this is surely the kind of Church he wants to see - one that, first and foremost, is merciful.
The World Health Organisation put the continent’s annual cases of abortion at over 6 million with 29,000 maternal deaths. In Kenya, over 375,000 cases occur annually with 3,000 related deaths.
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