This must not stop a heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father, was considered in balance the positive part of the bad situation. Here becomes the rol of the Church, the Pope suggested. “May every priest, therefore, be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey of special reconciliation.” Since the first century, the Catholic Church has held that abortion is a “moral evil” as long as it is a murder. Rachel’s Vineyard, a Pennsylvania-based group that ministers to women who have had abortions, observed that Francis has “clarified” that now priests have the power to do both: forgive and welcome women back into the church. Francis asks greater compassion from a more open-minded Church.
