Religion

Pope Francis has given all priests worldwide the power to forgive women for the ‘grave sin’ of having an abortion, saying that God’s mercy cannot be denied to those with a repentant heart. The head of the Catholic Church extended priests’ special permission to absolve the sin of abortion, making permanent a policy announced last year for the Holy Year of Mercy. USA Today reports: “I want to insist as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin because it puts an end to an innocent life,” the pope said, according to Vatican Radio.

Here are text and photos by our friend James C., who is now living and working in Italy. It’s from an e-mail he sent me. I publish it, and the photos he embedded within it, here with his permission.

H/T: MH-Secular Misanthropist

Thousands of protesters held a peaceful rally in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday calling for unity and religious tolerance amid a blasphemy probe of the city’s Christian governor. The world’s largest Muslim-majority nation has been divided by recent political and religious tensions, sparked by a government investigation into a Chinese-Christian governor who is accused of blasphemy against Islam. RT.com reports: Saturday’s event in downtown Jakarta saw people dressed in red and white – Indonesia’s national colors.

Well, you knew this was coming:

The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016