Pope declares abortion forgiveness universal
Pope Francis
Kampala- Ugandans have approved of Pope Francis announcement that priests should be allowed to forgive women who have aborted.
In a letter published online on Tuesday, the Pope expressed sympathy with women who have had abortions calling their decision agonising and painful.
“The experience of mercy, indeed, becomes visible in the witness of concrete signs as Jesus himself taught us,” Pope Francis said.
During the upcoming “Jubilee Year of Mercy”, which starts in December, the Pope says, all priests would be empowered to “absolve the sin of abortion” for those who seek forgiveness with “a contrite heart.”
In the Catholic religion, abortion is viewed as a grave sin which is punished with excommunication.
In Uganda, just like many other countries, only a bishop can approve forgiveness for abortion. Most times, they delegate a priest to hear the confession.
Fr James Ssebayiga, the parish priest of Holy Trinity Church, Kamwokya Catholic Parish, says this is not news to him since the Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, does authorise certain priests to pardon women who approach them for forgiveness.
“I have personally given pardon to some of such women,” he says.
Fr Ssebayiga says the only new thing about the Pope’s declaration is that he is formally making it universal.
Meanwhile, Fr Denis Ssebuggwawo, the parish priest of St Matia Mulumba Catholic Parish in Old Kampala, says the revelation is an assurance of God’s mercy.
“Everyone is in need of God’s forgiveness regardless of what kind of sin they have committed,”Fr Ssebuggwawo says.
One of the women over joyed by the news is 40-year-old child rights advocate, who prefers to only be called Sharon. Sharon is involved in sensitising and promoting the best interests of children in communities.
Ten years ago, she visited one of the local clinics in the city and had a nurse terminate her pregnancy under the instructions of her boyfriend.
“It’s a good thing. I was very happy when I heard it. Pope Francis understands that we are all human and deserving of forgiveness whenever we make mistakes even if it is as bad as carrying out an abortion,” she says.
According to CNN, the Pope’s policy does not change church doctrine and applies only to the Year of Mercy, a centuries-old Catholic practice during which believers may receive special indulgences for their sins.
The Year of Mercy begins on December 8 and runs through to November 20, 2016. Vatican officials said it is possible the pontiff will allow the abortion policy to continue in perpetuity.
The Pope has been viewed as liberal on other controversial issues, including homosexuality and on contraception.
Earlier this year, he stated that although contraception remains forbidden among Catholics, they needed not to breed like rabbits.
Abortion statistics
Dr Charles Kiggundu, one of Uganda’s senior gynaecologists and obstetricians says: “Half of the two million pregnancies that occur every year in Uganda are unwanted and as a result, about 400,000 are aborted, with 90,000 of them resulting in severe complications, which most times lead to death.
The high rate of unsafe abortion is caused by multiple factors, including persistent low contraceptive use with only 26 per cent of married women and 43 per cent of sexually active unmarried women said to be using at least one modern method.
With premarital sex very prevalent across the country, adolescents are particularly at risk of having unintended pregnancies. More than one in three women aged 15-24, who have never married, have already had sex.”
