In an official document made public by the Vatican today, Pope Francis is permanent allowing all Roman Catholic priests to forgive abortion.

In 2015, Francis had already temporarily granted the power to all priests to give what is known as "sacramental absolution" for abortion as part of the Catholic Church's "Year of Mercy", which began on December 8 last year and ended on Sunday, November 20.

"I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion. The provision I had made in this regard, limited to the duration of the Extraordinary Holy Year, is hereby extended ...," he said.

He added: “I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life” but justifies his decision that "there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with (God)".

The Catholic Church historically deemed abortion to be such a serious sin that the Vatican had long reserved the right of forgiveness in the hands of a bishop or a designated special confessor of a diocese.

Pope Francis concludes his change stating that every priest may provide support and comfort to facilitate reconciliation.