Costa Rican priests forgive women who abort

Ideally, the following move by Costa Rican priests would be done year-round and without major doubts. Yet it’s a positive step for the Catholic Church in the Central American country to preach inclusion and treat women with the respect they so often deserve:

(…) This Lent and Easter week, the 300 or so priests within the Archdiocese of San Jose have been given the order to pardon anyone who has had an abortion and anyone involved in the procedure such as doctors, nurses, family members and friends.

The amnesty period will go from Feb. 25 to April 29 and was decided upon by the Archbishop Monseñor Hugo Barrantes. This is not the first time the Archdiocese has approved such a policy during this holy period, but it is the first time that they made the announcement to the public.

Typically, the act of abortion can have a person excommunicated from the Catholic Church as it is seen as a break from the way of the Lord, according to the Archdiocese.

Abortion is illegal in Costa Rica under all circumstances except if the mother’s life is at risk. Nevertheless, an estimated 27,000 illegal abortions are performed yearly.

Birth control measures in Costa Rica are so harsh that the country’s government even prohibited a campaign designed to promote use of the "morning after pill".

Image- Baltimore Sun
Online Sources- Spero News, Tico Times, LifeSiteNews.com