In a letter
published by the Vatican on Tuesday, Francis described the
"existential and moral ordeal" faced by women who have
terminated pregnancies and said he had "met so many women who
bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful
decision".
In church teaching, abortion is such a grave sin that those who
procure or perform it incur an automatic excommunication.
It can usually only be formally forgiven by the chief confessor
of a diocese -- known by the Italian term "penitenziere" -- or a
Christian missionary, Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini
said.
(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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