Acts 8:1-3 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
I'm with you. If Paul/Saul's persecutions of the early church were not enough to disqualify him, then neither is abortion. Sincere repentance is required, of course, but I read "your sins are forgiven" as meaning what it says.
Note: This does not in any way minimize the murder of innocent children or the insincerity of some who seek the priesthood for personal advantage rather than waiting for a true calling to do God's work. I'm simply saying that even abortion should not be an absolute disqualification.
Having actually read the article more carefully, rather than responding to the inaccurate headline, I'll modify my statement. I'm okay with requiring a special dispensation from the bishop for those who participated in abortion. I would hope that the bishop would bring added gravity and perspective to the decision and question carefully on repentance and on the prospective priest's views on abortion. We already have far too many priests who pretend it is okay to murder children, and we should do what can be done to screen against that heresy.