This Monday was presented by Monsignor Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical committee for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, the Apostolic Letter of Pope Francis Misericordia et misera, which marks the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

Although the Apostolic Letter is very interesting in many aspects, there is one that has attracted the readers' attention in a special way: "From now on - the Pope affirms in n. 12 - I grant to all priests, by reason of their ministry, the School to absolve those who have procured the sin of abortion", something that the Pope had granted in a limited way for the Jubilee period.

Some wonder what this change entails and what consequences it has. A brief answer is the following: from now on it is not necessary to go to the diocesan bishop to receive absolution from the penalty of excommunication for the crime of abortion, but it is sufficient to go to any priest who has permission to hear confessions.

The Pope tries to make things easier to achieve forgiveness for a sin that continues to have the same seriousness

Why did the Pope make this decision? We can answer in his own words: "So that no obstacle may stand between the request for reconciliation and God's forgiveness" (n. 12). It is a matter of making things easier in order to obtain forgiveness for a sin that remains as serious as ever. The Pope makes this very clear in the same issue 12 of his Letter: "I wish to emphasize with all my strength that abortion is a grave sin, because it puts an end to innocent human life".

At the same time and with the same force, Francis affirms that "there is no sin that the mercy of God cannot reach and destroy, wherever it finds a repentant heart that asks to be reconciled with the Father. Therefore, let every priest be guide, support and relief in accompanying penitents on this special path of reconciliation" (n. 12).

To better understand the Pope's decision and its consequences, it is useful to recall the Church's provisions regarding the sin of abortion and the penalty it carries.

The Church establishes that a person who procures an abortion, if it occurs, incurs the penalty of excommunication.

The Church establishes that the person who procures abortion, if it occurs, incurs the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae, that is, he/she is placed outside the communion of the Church. Imposing a penalty of this kind subject, which may seem uncharitable or not very pastoral, has precisely a purpose of pastoral charity: to protect the People of God, so that the whole ecclesial community knows the gravity of this conduct and can avoid it more effectively.

However, in order to incur this penalty, certain conditions are required: the age of majority (18 years of age); knowing that it is a grave sin; knowing that such an ecclesiastical penalty exists; that the act is performed with full voluntariness; and that the abortion has in fact taken place.

Until now, when a person who had performed an abortion or had assisted in an abortion but had not incurred excommunication (because one of the above conditions was missing), any licensed priest was able to absolve the sin within the sacramental confession.

Now the penitent no longer needs to go to the bishop or a delegated priest to be absolved from excommunication.

On the other hand, if the person had incurred excommunication, ordinarily he could only be absolved by the bishop and by the priests delegated by him.

Only if the penitent was in an "urgentstatus ", any priest with licence to confess could absolve from that censure of abortion in that particular case and only in that case.

Well, now, according to the Pope's Apostolic Letter Misericordia et misera, the penitent no longer needs to go to the bishop or to a delegated priest to be absolved from the penalty of excommunication and to be able to confess, but can go to any priest with permission to confess, and not only in cases of urgent status , but always.

Pope seeks to restore the sacrament of reconciliation to a central place in Christian life

This disposition of the Pope is situated in a concrete context: the need for the sacrament of reconciliation to "find again its central place in Christian life". To achieve this goal, the Pope, first of all, implores priests to place their lives at the service of the ministry of reconciliation, "so that no one who has sincerely repented will be denied access to the love of the Father, who awaits his return, and all will be offered the possibility of experiencing the liberating power of forgiveness" (n. 11). And secondly, in virtue of this same need, in order to avoid obstacles to those who ask for reconciliation and God's forgiveness, he grants to all priests the School to absolve the sin of abortion.

The profound context of this decision, as well as others that appear in the Apostolic Letter, I think, is undoubtedly the need for all of us to know better and experience in our hearts the marvelous greatness of the mercy of God's heart.