- Pope Francis had allowed absolution of abortion during the Year of Mercy
- That ended on 20 November but he has now made it a permanent policy
- But the pontiff made it clear 'abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life'
- His decision comes as President-Elect Donald Trump plans to bring back restrictions on abortion in the United States
Pope Francis has said priests will from now on be able to permanently absolve the 'grave sin' of women who have abortions.
The Argentine-born pontiff had granted a special permission to forgive the 'grave sin' during the Holy Year of Mercy, which began on December 8 last year and ended yesterday.
But today Francis, 79, agreed to make it a permanent policy that Catholic priests can absolve women who have had abortions.
In a document published by the Vatican today he said: 'There is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart.'
But he reiterated the Roman Catholic Church's position that 'abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life.'
He then gave an interview in which he described abortion as 'a horrendous crime'.
The Pope did not make any concessions to cases where the pregnancy resulted from rape or where it threatened the life of the mother.
Today he said: 'May every priest be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey of special reconciliation.'
Because the Roman Catholic Church holds abortion to be such a serious sin, it had long put the matter of granting forgiveness for it in the hands of a bishop, who could either hear the woman's confession himself or delegate that to a priest who was expert in such situations.
By letting all priests absolve the sin of abortion, Francis is further applying his vision of a merciful church to those women who, as he has written in the past, felt they had no choice but to make 'this agonising and painful decision'.
The pope hopes greater compassion from a more open-minded Vatican will increase church attendance.
His change in policy comes as the new US President Donald Trump prepares to take office, having promised to appoint Supreme Court judges who will repeal Roe v Wade, the ruling which allows abortion.
Trump and the Republican right want to allow individual states in America to decide on abortion, rather than being federally mandated to approve it.
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