“Pope Francis extends Catholic Priests’ to forgive Abortion” Tim Humes

The article discusses the decision of Pope Francis to give priests the permission to forgive what was once thought of as a “moral evil”. Forgiving abortion is one of several acts of forgiveness that have taken part in forgiveness year which ended in November 2016. Pope Francis is very well known for the radical changes he has made as Pope. As seen in his year of forgiveness he is more open about once taboo topics like divorce and homosexuality. Before priests were allowed to forgive woman for having abortion they were excommunicated from the church. It was only in the power of a bishop to forgive her and welcome her back in the community. In the text of McGuire, the first chapter discusses how the religious views of people are always changing through time. Pope Francis is taking a positive step in this direction as the act of forgiving abortions is allowing many women to come back to a community they may feel is important to them. The fact that he is a Pope who really wants people “to be forgiven and feel forgiven”, really shows what a drastic change. Even religions that one may not believe can change really can.