As the pope’s visit to America approaches, he has announced that this year local priests can absolve individuals of the sin of abortion. Prior to this announcement, forgiving this sin was restricted to those of a higher rank in the Catholic church. It is difficult for many to understand these matters.
The Roman Catholic church teaches that there are “levels” of sin. There are those lesser sins called venial sins which, when committed, do not destroy one’s relationship with God. Those who commit them are still friends of God, but the relationship is tarnished. While one can confess these sins to a priest, it is not necessary for this to happen.
Then, there are mortal sins which separate one from God. There are many of them (the list includes extreme anger, hate, lying, cheating, extortion, murder, and many sexual sins—contraception, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, etc.). Forgiveness of these almost always demands confession of these sins to a priest.
Among these mortal sins and evidently elevated to a higher level is the sin of abortion. The Catholic church teaches that if it occurs the result is automatic excommunication from the church. As noted above, it cannot usually be forgiven by the local priests and demands a higher level of forgiveness.
Those who believe the clear teaching of the Bible are so perplexed by this. Forgiveness of sins lies in the heart of the one who has been sinned against. No mortal, not even the pope, has ever been given the right to forgive sins. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). It is the law of God which has been transgressed. The Jews fully understood this and said, “Who can forgive sin, but God alone” (Mark 3:7)? The pope cannot give forgiveness for the sin of abortion for he has not been sinned against.
Some might say, “But did not Jesus give Peter the right to bind and loose on the earth?” This view misinterprets the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:19. Such a view makes Peter (and the “church”) greater than God! God did not have to wait for Peter to bind and loose, nor does He have to wait for the pope to absolve sin. Read Jesus’ words in the New American Standard Bible, for they absolutely reflect the Greek words Jesus used and the words Peter would have understood. “Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” The binding/loosing took place first in heaven.
If only the pope and those high in his church can forgive the sin of abortion, the world is doomed because only Catholics, and very few of them, have any chance of heaven.
God help us all to get back to the Bible!