Abortion Pardon During Jubilee Year
 

What do you think about the abortion pardon during the jubilee year?

When I heard about it my first reaction was to wonder how the Catholic church routinely deals with women that have had abortions versus the guidance provided in its most recent encyclical. I don't recall the exact cite. Maybe it was ... on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life. My recollection is that the encyclical asks women to admit the sin but at the same time forgives them for their decisions.

What struck me with the recent news was that the media seemed to make it sound as though the church excommunicates every woman that has an abortion. Now that I read a few articles it seems that the line is more blurry. My understanding is that the church _may_ excommunicate women that have abortions. That is a big difference.

Anyhow this news provided an opportunity for me to learn a little more about how the church promulgates its rules. It seems to have parallels to our legal system.

I also learned about a jubilee year. Never heard of that, but a refreshing concept. It is like a like a pressure relief valve.

Dang Jesuits... Always the smartest fellers in the room. ;)

Having been raised Roman Catholic, I appreciate the architecture of the older cathedrals and had a great deal of fun screwing up the mass as an altar boy.

The church is still very popular and I see nothing wrong with people who so choose gathering with the like minded to explore their spirituality and find comfort.

I don't much hold with the notion of having to go through a self appointed representative of the almighty to cleanse the conscience but have no problem with those who do.

Most of the Catholic ritual and trappings are holdovers from that dreary era between the fall of the Roman empire and the enlightenment, when the church was the de facto government in a large swath of Europe.

catswiththum,

Thanks for your reply. I think this is our first opportunity to have a discussion.

A younger me would have agreed with your post. The older me snagged on what you call a "self appointed representative". Who is that person? The Pope is elected, no?

I don't suppose it makes a huge amount of difference but the Pope, as I'm sure you know, is elected by the College of Cardinals. That's not exactly a mandate from the faithful but neither is it a case of a self-appointed leader ruling the Church.

And, while the hierarchical structure of the Church can trace much of its origins back to the Dark Ages, it also owes much to the wake-up call of the Reformation. As for ritual, that's been updated constantly, most notable with the death of the Latin mass.

Finally, it's not really accurate to say that the Church was a de facto government in Europe. From Constantine onward, governance in Europe was a "joint venture" between kings and the Church. Each depended upon the other for legitimacy. The kings ruled by "divine right" via Rome's imprimatur and, in turn, they offered the Church protection within their realms.

This started developing some pretty big cracks during the Reformation and during major upheavals like the Thirty Years War. Add to that the Enlightenment and the secularization of intellectual thought and we now live in a world where the Church has very little influence in governmental affairs.

"Self Appointed" prob. not the most accurate description for the concept - the Pope is indeed elected by the Cardinals - it would have been clearer for me to opine the Church has appointed itself and it's clergy as the representatives of God on earth.

Boreas, all you wrote is accurate - I tend to supply condensed versions on message boards, as I find the majority of users do not relish longer posts.

It is refreshing to see when someone formulates a thoughtful reply. ;)

Oh.... sorry.;)