Pope to allow forgiveness for abortion

[WitchOfAlba]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34118105

I just don't get this. How is it OK to give forgiveness for 1 year and then not OK after that? It's either OK to give forgiveness or it isn't, surely?

I can't believe that in the 21st century , people cling on to a mediaeval religion.

As I am not Catholic, Smug, I can ignore what any Catholic may want or believe, just as any Catholic can ignore my wants/needs/beliefs.

As Savage said, medieval religions really should have no part in today's culture. They all do harm.

Yes I did figure you weren't.
He's the head of a religion many women follow, if they want to...more power to them, and if the Church is becoming more liberal in terms of women's rights that's great.

I don't see Catholicism completely dying out anytime soon. Becoming less powerful, sure, but they'll be a force in society for years to come. Same can be said for Islam/Church of England/insert religion of choice here.

Anyway. I hope he manages to begin reform.

it's not so much mediaeval as bronze age isn't it?

Not unless they re-wrote the Jesus story and set it in 700 years BC?

This story made me furious today. I just cannot take religion - any religion, seriously!

ha. how about classical antiquity age religion?

100% NSFW....the only and only Tim Minchen-Pope Song

I was going to say, Christianity isn't Medieval, that would make it relatively modern. It has it's roots in the Bronze Age.

In fact, if you look at secular medieval society that was pretty enlightened in comparison to the views of modern Christians who interpret the Bible literally.

I second Smug. For many people this is a small but important step towards being at peace with themselves. I hope everyone can find this forgiveness on their own, but for many the support of the church is important.
I'm a bit puzzled by the one year opening, as said above: any step in that direction is a good one.

How nice of him, except (in the opinion of many christians) we should be forgiven automatically for our sins, even if we aren't sorry possibly. The whole Jesus dying thing was for this reason. I can't understand the catholic interpretation at all. Hopefully it will be progressively more liberal as time goes on, some messages from the Vatican are highly irresponsible - contraception for example.

if it helps those people who need peace find peace this is helpful.

Although I'm confused by the suggestion Christianity has origins in the Bronze Age. Judaism perhaps as the oldest abrahamic religion with the Old Testament books, not sure if provable, but most civilisations at that point were polytheistic and there isn't a lot of written evidence, Sumerian texts perhaps most well documented. I would've thought Roman Republic was the beginning - Iron Age.

Yep. Tim ,Minchin says it all for me.

I'd forgotten that song by Tim.....very apt.
I struggle with adults needing approval from an institution.

The one year is for the Jubilee... the thing I described as a Papal Quarter Quell earlier.

Happen every 25 years and the incumbent papa gets to do a nice thing, well, a some thing, if he wants to.

I don't like it, but I think ginger has a point, that some women do feel guilty, even if we shouldn't.

(Also fistbump to saskia about defending the medieval).

It is a misunderstanding. At the moment all bishops can give absolution for abortions. Some priests can. In Britain all priests can. During the jubilee year all priests will be able to give absolution, not just some.

Sorry, bad - you mean, the OP's article is wrong in saying that?

So, if that's misunderstood, what is the situation? I've seen other threads and news articles saying the same.

Sorry hadn't read the article Its precisely what the article says, I've seen so many misunderstandings that I leapt in like a blithering idiot.

No, my fault - slow on the uptake this morning, not enough coffee!

me too

Religion is a fucking joke.

I think he's smart to be taking things slow

What, you mean like the slowness in confronting child abuse? The slowness in replacing the Curia who presided over that turning of blind eyes? The slowness in dealing with the issue of Indulgences? The slowness of apologies for countless other historical injustices? The slowness in releasing records which would help secular authorities to carry out proper investigations ?

Seems to me that, for an organisation which expects its faithful to confess pretty darned quickly for whatever they've done wrong that week, the church itself is all too good at dragging its feet when it suits