Catholic Church To Forgive Abortion - For A Year

Women who have had abortions may be forgiven the sin but only during next year, Pope Francis has said.

All Roman Catholic priests will be given the discretion to formally forgive women who have terminated a pregnancy as part of a Holy Year, taking place from 8 December 2015 to 26 November 2016.

Holy or 'Jubilee' years are special periods of around a year, that traditionally occur every 25 or 50 years, during which absolution, or forgiveness by the church, is encouraged.

The pope said the priests will be allowed to forgive the women so long as they repent and express regret for their past action.

According to Catholic doctrine, the act of abortion is normally such a serious sin that those who undergo it or help it take place face an automatic excommunication.

Usually only specified members of the clergy or missionaries are allowed to forgive abortions.

But next year has been designated a Year of Mercy, the Catholic Herald reported Pope Francis as saying.

In a letter, Francis said women who have ended a pregnancy had undergone an "existential and moral ordeal" .

He added he had "met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonising and painful decision".

Francis has surprised church observers by the level of tolerance he has shown for previously taboo subjects.

Although he has not indicated the Church intends to withdraw its opposition to abortion, conservatives have been upset that the Pope's comments on the issue have been less forceful than his predecessors'.

Vatican chief spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters: "This is by no means an attempt to minimise the gravity of this sin but to widen the possibility of showing mercy."

Deputy Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said that the change would apply only during the Holy Year.

The pope's letter did not mention people who carry out abortions.

Although a Holy Year normally occurs every 25 years at least, a pope is able to decree an extraordinary one to bring attention to a particular topic or need.

The last one was the Great Jubilee in 2000 during which Pope John Paul II greatly expanded the range of locations that people could seek absolution in exchange for fulfilling a series of conditions.