After being given supersized powers to forgive the gravest of sins,1,142 Catholic priestsand monk are now fanning out around the globe at the behest ofPope Francis . These so - call " missionaries of mercy " or " topnotch - confessor , " were dispatched by the pontiff on Feb. 10 , which the Christian church celebrate as Ash Wednesday , the showtime of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer .
The super - confessors have less than a year to perform their charitable works . The pope determine to commission them as part of hisExtraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy , a special 12 - month period of time during which the Catholic Church is focus on forgiveness , especially the pardon of Catholics who bequeath the faith but now wish to return . The Year of Mercy began Dec. 8 , 2015 , and will finish Nov. 20 , 2016 .
( Pope Francis read below with some of the missionaries of mercy . )
In the Catholic organized religion , most sins are forgive through the sacrament of confession , performed by one ’s parish priest . Not so for those Sin the church believe to be the most heinous . Since the 12th hundred , these most reprehensible sins , called"reserved sins,“can only be forgive by a bishop or the pope himself .
Reserved sin are so serious , not many people have pull them . Thesesinsinclude physically aggress the pontiff ; defection ( forswearing of the Christian faith ) ; heterodoxy ; split ( rejection of the pope ’s authority ) ; outrage the privateness of the confessional ; consecrating a bishop without authorization ; and profanation of the Eucharist — believed to be Christ ’s body — by , say , using it in a diabolical ritual .
Actually , there is one more reserved sin , and it is quite common : abortion . The Catholic Church considers abortion a reserved sin both for the cleaning woman who has one and anyone who do or facilitates the obtaining of one . The moment an abortion occurs , in fact , those require are automaticallyexcommunicatedfrom the church service , which means they can not receive its sacrament . ( They also ca n’t be employed by , or confine any berth in , a parish or episcopate , and they ca n’t receive a Catholic burial . But they can still attend Mass. )
The missionaries of mercy , who do from dioceses around the globe , all pronto volunteered for their position with the blessing and good word of their superiors . Indeed , afar greater numberof priest applied for the status than expected .
Normally , papal remission for allow sins follow via a opinion of the Apostolic Penitentiary , a special tribunal in Rome , and not through a one - on - one with the pontiff himself . It is this more cumbersome cognitive process of needing to seek pardon through one ’s bishop or the pontifical Penitentiary that Pope Francis wishes to streamline through his superintendent - confessors .
Just in case business is irksome for the super - confessor , Pope Francis has given them another undertaking : help dioceses throughout the humanity by lead retreats and parish missions . accord to theJubilee of Mercy website , the men are also simply to be seen out in the world as " trumpeter of the delight of forgiveness " and " inspire preacher man of mercy . "
