In the Philippines, thanks to
our strong Catholic faith, the practice of abortion is still illegal. Notwithstanding this, there is still a large number of clandestine abortions. It is not enough then to just say “no” to this terrible practice, but concrete gestures are needed to accompany every single existence from conception as a precious gift of God’s which deserves respect till its natural death. Sometimes the choice of suppressing life in the mother’s womb is practiced with a certain superficiality, surrendering to “a culture of convenience”, “a culture of waste” and the “culture of death”.

It is often a solitary choice, especially for a woman who may feel overwhelmed by the burden of a possible child, with serious implications for educational, economic, and daily requirements of managing the child’s growth. Procured or induced abortion is objectively a grave immoral act and it is always a choice that one leaves to the mother and father of that embryo or fetus, the termination of whose existence inside the mother’s womb, will leave an unconscious and deep sense of inner death in the mother’s psyche. Deep wounds will resurface even after decades, especially for the mother.

We should also take into account the responsibility of those who have collaborated in this grave act: families of origin, fraudulent counselors, and healthcare workers. The Pope has been clear: “I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life. In the same way, however, I can and must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father. May every priest, therefore, be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey of special reconciliation.” (Misericordia et Misera, 12)

In giving each priest the power to absolve such sin, (which due to its nature, was only reserved for bishops before), Pope Francis has boosted the capacity of the church to act as “field hospitals”. But he certainly did not diminish in any way the objective gravity of the act itself.

However, it could happen that due to the subjective disposition of those who commits induced abortion, as for example, their lack of freedom or full knowledge about its gravity, the culpability of the subject could be diminished.

What is new is that absolving abortion which was only reserved for bishops before, but can now be done by priests, hoping that the healing and forgiving love of Jesus, channeled through this sacrament can help the repentant sinner to “sin no more” and instead, start anew in her relationship with God.

Fr. Paolo Gentili and Fr. Am Mijares