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I am a bit rusty in my Catholic dogma, but I'm sure that if I get anything wrong, I will be firmly corrected. :hi: Keep in mind, I am presenting Church doctrine, not personal belief. Keep that in mind when you aim your flame throwers. I do not agree with this doctrine, but this is the thought process behind it.
The only possible get-out-of-Hell-free card comes by holding to Roman Catholic doctrine and participating in Roman Catholic sacraments. Sin, by definition, is a violation of Catholic doctrine, and comes in two flavors: venal, or minor sins, and mortal, or major sins. The distinction between these is that commission of a mortal sin automatically condemns the person to Hell. A person who is "in a state of mortal sin" cannot receive communion, cannot be ordained to Holy Orders, cannot get married, cannot receive confirmation. Catholics who know that someone is in a state of mortal sin are not supposed to associate with that person, engage in business with that person or otherwise have anything to do with that person. The sinner, by his own actions, has separated himself from the communion of the faithful; that is to say, he has excommunicated himself.
The one and only sacrament that is available is absolution, aka confession. By giving a heart-felt account of his actions, expressing genuine regret and contrition, promising to make every effort to avoid sin in the future and undertaking actions representative of this promise, the person's sin will be absolved, he will be restored to the community of the faithful and may once again partake of the Church's sacraments and the promise of Heaven they convey.
Ok, about abortion. The Church holds that life begins at conception, and that any deliberate act that ends a life is murder. Therefore, abortion is murder, and all persons involved in an abortion procedure are involved in murder and thus have committed a mortal sin. As with any person in a state of mortal sin, these people are considered to have excommunicated themselves and thus are cut off from all the sacraments except absolution. To receive absolution, they would have to express genuine regret and contrition and promise to make every effort to avoid sin in the future. Those who will not do this -- a doctor who believes that women should not be forced to carry their rapist's child, a victim of incest who refused to be mother to her own siblings -- are seen as willfully preferring mortal sin to the grace of God. They are excommunicated, not by any priest or bishop, but by their own actions.
I believe this is wrong, narrow-minded, short-sighted, ignorant, superstitious and worse. But the Roman Catholic Church never bothered to ask my opinion in the matter.
Anyway, I hope this helps to bring a bit of understanding to the matter.
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