Pope says habitual sinners may not be forgiven. (Church Reform).In an apostolic ap·os·tol·ic ap·os·tol·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to an apostle. 2. a. Of, relating to, or contemporary with the 12 Apostles. b. letter to bishops, the Vatican has announced that some "habitual" sinners can never be forgiven and urged priests to desist from granting group confessions and blanket absolutions. Theological experts said that the term "habitual" was intended to mean gay men, lesbians and Catholics who remarry remarry Verb [-ries, -rying, -ried] to marry again following a divorce or the death of one's previous spouse remarriage n Verb 1. without first gaining an annulment annulment Legal invalidation of a marriage. It announces the invalidity of a marriage that was void from its inception. It is to be distinguished from dissolution or divorce. To justify annulment, the marriage contract must have a defect (e.g. of their first marriage. The letter from the pope said, "It is clear that penitents living in a habitual state of serious sin and who do not intend to change their situation cannot validly receive absolution absolution In Christianity, a pronouncement of forgiveness of sins made to a person who has repented. This rite is based on the forgiveness that Jesus extended to sinners during his ministry. ." However, this caused consternation among both gay rights groups and those representing sexual abuse victims, as the pope had previously said that priests involved in the sexual abuse scandal in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and elsewhere could be forgiven. Arcigay, an Italian gay rights group, denounced the letter for granting abusive priests more chance of forgiveness than homosexuals and divorced Catholics. [Nicole Winfield, "Pope urges confession, bars forgiving `habitual' sinners," Washington Post, May 3, 2002.] |
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