Pope Francis allows all Priests to forgive abortions

to the church for that forgiveness. the pope is the victor of god. he says yes we should forgive.” “it’s an action o god, acting through him for all of us to forgive one another.” two el paso catholics reacting to pope francis’ vision of a merciful church for women who have had abortions. in a letter published today by the holy see — the pope says he is allowing all rank-and-file priests to forgive these women during a “year of mercy.” the leader the catholic church says he realizes some women felt they had no choice but to make, quote, “an agonizing and painful decision.” good afternoon and thank you for joing us. i’m estela cas. and i’m rick cabrera. you are watching abc-7 at 6. pope francis’ announcement comes just three weeks before he is scheduled to visit the united states, and it comes during the controversy surrounding the morality of planned parenthood. abc-7’s iris lopez is live with our top story. iris? rick, estela, although the news may come as a shock to some catholics around the world, el paso bishop, mark seitz says that the forgiveness of abortion is not something new to the borderland. bishop seitz: “every bishop has the right to give authority to whatever priest he chooses. so the bishop here even before my coming has given this faculty and i have continued that so in a sense this isnt new this is making it universal in a church thorough out the church.” pop francis’ new abortion policy is an attempt at encouraging the church to be more merciful when it comes to the forgiveness of women who have had an abortion. the pope’s new policy does not change church doctrine that abortion is a grave sin. it only applies to “year of mercy” i which believers can receive special indulgence for their sins. the churchs mercy year begins on december 8th and runs through november 20th of 2016. the new policy is one of many new phases that pope francis has encountered in his 2 years as pope. bishop seitz: “those who have done things wrong and recognize that they have done things wrong. they don’t need to hold back, there is no reason they should hold back because god is there ready to express his love for them through his mercy and through his church.” done things wrong. they don’t need to hold back, there is no reason they should hold back because god is there ready to express his love for them through his mercy and through his church.” and while at todays news conference we asked bishop seitz if he agreed with the popes decision, and he proudly responded, “hey, whatever the pope say’s i’m in aggrement with.”