Pope Francis says he will allow all priests to absolve women of the "sin of abortion" if they repent during the upcoming Holy Year.
"I am well aware of the pressure that has led [women] to this decision," Francis wrote in the Vatican announcement released on Tuesday. "I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal."
"I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision," he wrote.
Francis has echoed his predecessors when it comes to abortion, saying human life is sacred. However, he has not emphasized the church's position to the extent that his predecessors did.
In an indication of his mercy-over-morals position, he has established a new type of roving confessor, dubbed "missionaries of mercy," who can absolve people of sins reserved to the Holy See, including abortion.
When Francis released his climate encyclical in June, he likened caring for the environment to taking a stand against abortion:
Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties?
Francis wrote that women who "with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for" abortion will be forgiven.
However, this is not a change to the official standing. It will only apply to the Holy Year, which begins on Dec. 8 and runs through Nov. 20, 2016.
While some saw the Pope's move as a step forward, others were quick to point out that women "don't need to be forgiven for abortions."
#Abortion : Pope to allow priests to forgive Catholic #women who have abortions and seek absolution. Huge change.— Kate Forbes (@forbeesta) September 1, 2015
The Pope may be trying, but women don't need to be "forgiven" for abortions. Because they've done nothing wrong. http://t.co/2CnHfiuPcX— Erin Matson (@erintothemax) September 1, 2015
I get I should see this step from @pontifex as a step forward, but the idea that women need to be forgiven for abortion is just wrong.— Matthew Reznicek (@drreznicek) September 1, 2015