Posted on 11/21/2016 8:37:06 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
VATICAN CITY, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Monday extended indefinitely to all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortion, a right previously reserved for bishops or special confessors.
Francis, who has made a more inclusive and forgiving Roman Catholic Church a characteristic of his papacy, made the announcement in a document known as an "apostolic letter" after Sunday's close of the Church's "Holy Year of Mercy".
He said he wanted to "restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life" but "there is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with (God)"....
(Excerpt) Read more at aol.com ...
your longer response is the same response RoadGumby gave.
But thanks for the verses.
What kind of reading comprehension do you possess that you got that?
John 20:23 If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
Matthew 16:19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
So, God forgives us our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, through the words of His priests.
IF you are forgiven in the confessional booth it is just as available if there is no priest on the other side of the partition.
I can get the same forgiveness by humbling myself privately before HIM and confessing TO HIM and asking for HIS forgiveness. Forgiveness is NOT CONVEYED by the catholic priest, it is given BY GOD ALONE because JESUS said GOD will forgive when we confess to HIM, because HE HAS THE POWER TO FORGIVE.
But if I recall he was very clear when he stated early on in his "papacy" that the Church is too "obsessed" with the sin of abortion.
You posted, ‘Not sure I understand you, MHGinTN.’ That is a prevarication since you understood what I was posting sufficiently to twist it into what I was not stating. By your purposeful mischaracterization you showed you in fact DID fully understand what I was saying. You just didn’t like it because you know I am impugning catholiciism in this particular fantasy of priestly power supposedly passed from JESUS to your catholic priests via the hierarchy of your religion.
I don't expect a non-Catholic to believe in that. Why would I? But that is the way it IS with us Catholics.
Google those terms, if you like, or go to a Catholic web site for definintions:
The trick would be for abortion "un-mothers," those abortion clinic doctors and nurses and all involved in any abortion to ADMIT that they committed a sin AND to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation...then do the penance.
For those staunch Pope Francis haters, NOTHING he does or says will change their mind about him.
I can't figure out why those Pope Francis haters don't vent their anger where it belongs: The cardinals who VOTED for Pope Francis, KNOWING his feelings about things. They weren't secret so when those cardinals voted for Francis they KNEW what the outcome was to be about his way of leading.
No suprises!
EVEN THAT won't stop the Pope Francis haters.
It can't be good for these Pope Francis haters to continue in that hating frame of mind. They are GOING ALONG with SATAN. Satan WANTS us to hate, hate and hate some more...especially the VOTED-IN Vicar of Christ
Satan must be chuckling at all the daily, weekly, monthly, ETERNAL hatred spewed by those FReepers...about the duly elected VICAR OF CHRIST.
Amen, when they start performing miracles on His Behalf? Then I might reconsider.
Considering how Jesus looks at people who harm his children? I seriously doubt anyone from the pope on down will be able to cure a cockroach.
What is the Church’s stand on murder of those who are already born? Can those receive forgiveness from priests also?
Amen.
Everything you wrote is correct.
If you deny that believers cannot be forgiven of sins without distinctively titled Catholic priests ) you hardly can be a Christian.
Jesus delegated to the Apostles the authority to forgive sins, in his name, and that authority has been handed-down to subsequent priests since that time.
Ultimately, priest forgive sins “In Persona Christi”, in the name of Jesus, not on their own intrinsic authority.
But I didn’t deny that sins can be forgiven outside of the Sacrament of Penance.
It is not necessary to "never do it again"; only to intend to attempt to never again commit that particular sin.
Then you would agree that that priest sitting in that little booth listening to people confess their sins is merely an act of symbolism and not really worth the time they took to do it?
Just to straighten things out a bit:
In the US, the US bishops decided a while back to extend this faculty to all priests in the US, so it wasn’t “ignored” but permanently given to all US priests in accord with Church Law.
In the rest of the world, in some countries and dioceses within, it wasn’t automatically given by the local bishop. Hence (I believe) the decision by the Holy Father to extend the faculty permanently to all priests everywhere.
The reason it was reserved before, was because it’s a sin that automatically excommunicates one from the Church (and still does). Just now, all priests have the ability to not only forgive the sin but lift the automatic excommunication.
Personally, I have a mixed reaction: On one hand I can see the benefit to this, as (hopefully) it will encourage more women and men involved in an abortion to seek Confession. As it will be easier to receive absolution for it now.
On the other hand, it may make the sin become acceptable in the minds of some, or at least be lost in the “usual” sins such as missing Mass intentionally or some such that aren’t automatically excommunicable. In other words, some may view it as something not as serious as it is.
I really don’t know what to say as a Catholic about this. I will trust God’s providence that His Will is acting through the Holy Father now. After all, abortion is becoming such a scourge on our common race all throughout the world. If this saves one more baby and/or one more soul than if it wasn’t done, then it’s worth it in my opinion. But who knows if that’s the case (only God does).
Come Lord Jesus. Come Holy Spirit. Come through Mary. Amen.
To presume that the mythos of men having the authority to pass that power on generation after generation is, well, one of the blasphemies at the heart of catholiciism. Isn't the sin of presumption something your religion tells you not to commit?
Catholicism is mythological, and in places downright blasphemous.
Many women who have killed their children do seek forgiveness and peace, they are aware of the enormity of their sin before God and humbly desire reconciliation with Him. They suffer greatly for their actions but Our Lord is Merciful to those who seek Him.
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