Pope Francis grants priests right to forgive abortion

Pope Francis has granted Catholic priests the right to forgive abortions, making the announcement in an apostolic letter on Monday. the letter states. "I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion." The Catholic Church previously deemed abortion as a moral evil and sin. In the past, only a bishop or a designated chief confessor of a diocese could grant absolution for an abortion.