By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The Vatican has granted a special concession for World Youth Day (WYD) that will allow youth who have been involved in abortion to be absolved and welcomed back into the Church.
According to the Father Federico Lombardi of the Vatican press office, anyone confessing the sin of abortion during WYD will not only be absolved, but will have the punishment of excommunication lifted as well.
“Normally, only certain priests have the power to lift such an excommunication, but the local diocese has decided to give all the priests taking confession at the event this power,” Fr. Lombardi said.
The Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, is said to have convinced the Vatican to allow the special concession in order allow women who have had abortions to access “the fruits of divine grace that will open the doors to a new life.”
As Archbishop Varela knows only too well, Madrid is known as the “abortion Mecca” of Europe by local pro-life leaders because of the high abortion rates. LifeSiteNews is reporting that as many as one in five pregnancies now end in abortion in that city.
These numbers, combined with the overall drop in church attendance, makes it even more important to reach out to the million-strong throng of youth who have converged on the city this week.
“With so many young people attending there may be those who have had problems of this kind and it makes sense to reach out to them,” Fr. Lombardi said.
The pope himself plans to hear confessions during this week’s festivities and will man one of the 200 portable confessionals set up in the city where he will administer the sacrament on Saturday morning.
This isn’t the only spiritual gift the Vatican has planned for young Catholics this week. He is also offering a plenary indulgence to all young Catholics who attend WYD this year.
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