Q 1) We can easily see even Catholic women having abortions. Recently I read the article that the Pope will forgive them during December this year. Previously, was an abortion UNPARDONABLE sin? Can't even the Pope forgive them? Are they forbidden to go to church and receive the holy communion?
2) Even in Korea, some priests officiate re-married couple weddings. is it valid? and can an unbeliever who divorced in the past become a catholic?
A 1/ There is no “unpardonable” sin. God’s goodness and mercy is greater than any sin. But there are different degrees of sin; the small ones are called venial sins, such as small impatience, laziness, etc. Such sins come out of the weakness of our nature, especially wounded by sin; they are not incompatible with the love of God and do not make one lose sanctifying grace: one still has God as ultimate end, but makes an error at the level of the means, usually attaching oneself too much to the means without breaking the bond with the ultimate end. There are different degrees of venial sin: sins of ignorance, of weakness, or deliberate venial sin (e.g. a deliberate lie that does not harm others, but is still a lie and thus wrong).
The greater sins are mortal sins: they are not compatible with the love of God. There is disobedience to the Law of God on a grievous matter, with knowledge and consent. The Ten Commandments deal with them: idolatry, superstition, witchcraft, perjury, blasphemy, not sanctifying the Sunday, (grievously) dishonouring father or mother, murder, adultery, fornication, theft (not of a few cents, but of a grievous matter, i.e. more than the worker’s daily salary), false testimony, slander and calumny, etc.
Even among mortal sins, there are some more grievous than others: e.g. witchcraft is more grievous than theft; murder is more grievous than fornication, though both are mortal sins and both can lead to hell if one does not repent. Even in Hell, there are diverse degrees of torments, according to the gravity of sins committed, thus the Scriptures say: “the mighty shall be mightily tormented” (Wis 6:7).
Thus abortion is very grievous: in that one act, there are four mortal sins and three aggravating circumstances: a mortal sin against the fifth commandment for the murder of an innocent baby; another one against the fourth commandment (which not only commands the children to respect their parents but also the parents to care for their children) because it is the ultimate opposite of the duty of parents towards their children; another mortal sin against the sixth commandment (which regulates the transmission of life) because it is the ultimate contrary to the right transmission of life; and a mortal sin against the first commandment because it deprives the child of baptism, which the parents are duty bound to provide to their children. Moreover the more innocent the victim, the more grievous is the murder, and who is more innocent than a little unborn baby, who, though he has the original sin, has absolutely no additional personal sin; and the weaker the victim the more grievous is the murder (this is why sins against children have a special gravity), and who is weaker than an unborn child? And lastly the very cruelty of a murder makes it more grievous: torture adds to the gravity of a murder: now in abortion children are often torn apart in an awful manner! Hence the Church very wisely has put some special penalty for abortion, viz. excommunication.
One must add that the mother sometimes has some attenuating circumstances: she is the one most under pressure, pressure from the father, pressure of her family, sometimes even pressure of (bad) doctors. Though such circumstance would not excuse from mortal sin, it does somehow diminish it. Note that in case of rape, the baby is innocent, it is the rapist who is guilty: if one ought to be punished, it is the rapist, not the baby! Killing him is just adding more evil to a previous evil, instead of overcoming evil by good (care for the innocent baby). But there are others who are guilty, and often more guilty than the mother: first the man who made her pregnant and who does not want to assume his fatherly responsibilities; then the abortion doctor himself: for him, abortions are cold-blood murders, often for money’s sake (not counting that such doctors sometimes sell the body-parts of the babies as “tissues”!!!). Such doctors have multiple cold-blood murders on their conscience! One must add the politicians who pass laws that open the doors or worse pretend to give a “right to abortion”, as if there could be a “right to do wrong!” These are guilty of all the abortions done through such laws. All these should fear the Last Judgement! Truly as the Scriptures says, “the powerful shall be powerfully tormented.”
That does not mean that such sin cannot be forgiven, it means that there is need of special penance and true repentance!
The more one has offended God, the more one needs to make reparation, with tears and penance and great love, at the example of St Mary Magdalen, who shall ever more be the model of penitents: she understood the gravity of her sins; she wept for them, she begged for forgiveness, she loved much and much was forgiven her. Then she was faithful even to the foot of the Cross, nor fearing to share in the sufferings of Christ, understanding that she had had a responsibility for them (He was paying for her sins): after her repentance she love Christ exclusively and to the utmost. Thus she became a beautiful model of repentance for all sinners: there is hope of salvation for all of them, if they follow her example.
St Ambrose comments on Our Lady and St Mary Magdalen at the foot of the Cross: there are two ways to Heaven, either innocence (our Lady) or penance (St Mary Magdalen): either wisdom avoids sin, or penance makes up for it. If we have not kept innocence, let us at least now repent for our sins and do penance, uniting our reparations with the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ and obtaining from Him the remission of sin.
Protestants say that Christ paid it all and we have to do nothing: this is not the example of Mary Magdalen: she understood that if we want to benefit from the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must be united with His Sacrifice! This is precisely the importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which we united ourselves always more with Jesus in His Sacrifice. This is why we eat “the Lamb of God”, in order to become one victim with Him, and thereby merit to rise again with Him. This is the explicit teaching of St Paul: “we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, IF we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him” (Rom. 8:16-17). Many forget the “IF we suffer with Him”… Mary Magdalen did not forget it; she lived it (even before St Paul wrote it).
The generosity of the Pope in making forgiveness for this sin more easily available is a call for penance for all those who may have fallen into this sin, that they may come back to our Lord Jesus Christ with St Mary Magdalen, and find in Him the remission of their sin through a good confession and true penance. “Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Mt. 11:28). He alone is the remedy for sin; He alone can bring healing and consolation, drawing good out of evil as He did in St Mary Magdalen.
2/ If someone is married, he cannot remarry, and no priest can “re-marry” a divorced whose first spouse is still living. The only exception to that is the “Pauline Priviledge”, in favour of Faith: if someone was pagan (unbaptised) and married with another pagan, and then the pagan converts and his/her spouse does not want to convert nor to stay with him/her, then St Paul says he/she is free to remarry (in the faith). In other words, a pagan marriage (which is not a sacrament) cedes for the good of the faith.
Yours sincerely in Jesus and Mary,
Father François Laisney
