One day after taping a video session with three US communities set to air Friday and described by those who’ve seen it as a “home run,” Pope Francis executed a daring pastoral double play on Tuesday, reaching out to two constituencies long alienated from the official structures of the Catholic Church.
In a concession that applies to a special “Year of Mercy” set to run from Dec. 8, 2015, to Nov. 20, 2016, Francis has decreed that any Catholic priest can grant forgiveness to someone who “procures” an abortion without need of special permission from a bishop.
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