Pope Francis On Abortion

The topic of abortion is a highly controversial topic. About half of the population is against abortion. It is said that forty-six percent of people believe that abortion should be legal in most case, while forty-four percent of people say that abortion should almost always be illegal.(Pappas, 2012) This split has slowly been decreasing as there have been laws and religious views that have changed the way people view abortion. While it is seen as morally incorrect to some, many others find it is the right of the woman to decide to keep the baby or kill it. To some, abortion is seen as the right of a woman to do with her own body as she pleases. To some others, abortion is seen as a homicide and the murder of a helpless life. This is the case

In the past, in the Roman Catholic religion, only bishops were allowed to forgive abortions or designate priests to do so, but Pope Francis began to allow priests to forgive said abortions without needing the permission of a bishop. (Kirchgaessner, 2016) When Pope Francis made this call, he, additionally, stated in the Apostolic letter that abortion is still a grave sin because it does end the life of an innocent and helpless being. Moreover, he stated that, although abortion is such a grave sin in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, there is no sin that God cannot forgive and wipe away from the sinner if the sinner is seeking forgiveness from the Lord. To allow priests to forgive such an act of grave sin, Pope Francis was allowing priests to be a support for those who have committed such a sin as abortion. (Kirchgaessner, 2016) While the act of abortion is seen as such a terrible sin in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis affirms that there is no sin, or harm, that is too great that the power of God could not dissipate these sins if the sinner is remorseful. Many of those who go through abortion do feel pain and remorse because of the life that they killed, but as long as they are trying each and every day to seek God and ask for forgiveness, God will

It is a great change in comparison to all the strict and narrow-minded popes that had preceded Pope Francis. Many people began to believe that Pope Francis is too lenient on the topic and other subject matters and that there should be some type of punishment to those that have had, or will have, an abortion. Some followers are upset that other role models are more strict on their opinions about abortions, such as Mr. Donald J. Trump who has stated that he believes women who have an abortion should be punished (Williams, 2016). It is hard for many of the followers of the Roman Catholic Church to accept these changes of ideas that have been passed down and practiced for so many years prior. With those who oppose, though, there are those who stand by the pope and believe that people should be allowed a chance to be forgiven and that God should be the only one that decides what happens in their lives. Although the rules in regards to the forgiveness of abortion have recently been altered, it still stands as a grave sin and is still considered murder within the teachings of the Roman Catholic