Pope Francis will allow Roman Catholic priests to absolve women who have had abortions if they seek forgiveness during the upcoming Holy Year of Mercy.
Priests will now be allowed “discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it” during the Holy Year, beginning Dec. 8, 2015, and ending Nov. 26, 2016.
“I am well aware of the pressure that has led [women] to this decision,” the pontiff wrote in a letter released by the Vatican. “I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal.”
Currently in the Catholic Church, abortion is a sin and those who perform or obtain one are automatically excommunicated. Usually only high-ranking church figures and missionaries can forgive abortions.
“This is by no means an attempt to minimize the gravity of this sin but to widen the possibility of showing mercy,” Vatican chief spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters, according to Reuters.
The announcement by the pontiff did not mention those who procure abortions, however.
This will be the 29th Holy Year — they usually take place every 25 years — the 700-year history of the Church tradition.
Pope Francis arrives in the U.S. on Sept. 22 for a six-day visit to Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.
