Right, well, you’re not a Catholic then, I assume. I bailed out of the church for a lot of reasons — the treatment of women was actually a bigger deciding factor in that decision than my actual atheism. But I cannot see this as anything but a positive. There are a LOT of practicing Catholic women who will be helped by…

This will also likely save lives, because Catholic women who have been inculcated with the idea that abortion is wrong may be more willing to pursue abortions in situations that threaten their health and life.

If you know anything about Catholicism, this is actually “a step in the right direction”. He is the fucking POPE, the face of Catholicism. He is literally obligated to say that abortions are wrong. And, yet, he is saying they should be forgiven. Ask most stout/old-school Catholics and they would say that is sacrilege…

You’re looking at this as someone from outside the church. For many who are inside, I imagine this feels positive ESPECIALLY since there are still a lot of Catholics who would disagree with the Pope’s stance.

I am not sure why we are supposed to be surprised that Catholics still consider abortion a sin. That is verrrrrry unlikely to change in the near future. So now a Catholic woman who WANTS forgiveness for something she considers a sin doesn’t have to go to a bishop to get it. That is reasonable under the circumstances.…

and for women who are freely and devoutly catholic. i agree.

Actually, no. Again, I’m not Catholic, but for women who are, who believe devoutly and have had abortions, this matters. For women and men who believe who want to see the church evolve, this matters.

It’s not offensive but it’s pretty stupid. OF COURSE religious leaders are going to say abortion is a sin. I mean, come on, what are people expecting here? It’s not like Jews or Muslims (funny, there’s never any article about something the great mufti of SA said) are more tolerant about that stuff. Religions are…

i get the snark, but really, for women of faith, this is a huge deal to them. Right or wrong, they feel like they’ve sinned and need forgiveness. This is a good thing. This is one of those moments where we can step out of our bubble a little bit and understand the progress that this is for faithful Catholics.

I’m not even Catholic, and I find your post kind of offensive...The church is oppressive, but as condesending as the Pope’s announcement may sound to many of us, it IS a tiny step forward for the church institution.