Pope Francis has made God’s mercy, the family and care for the poor to be central elements of his preaching and his pontificate. All of those points of emphasis are not new to the Church or our practice of the faith. Rather, they are faithful implementations of the teaching and example of Jesus Himself.

That is always our guide.

In the last several weeks, Pope Francis has approved some modifications to the Church’s Law, that is, to Canon Law. He has done so on the basis of his experience and in order to highlight the appreciation for God’s mercy in the Church. Because, at times, there is both misunderstanding and misreporting about the Church, it might be helpful to review those changes briefly.

Several weeks ago, the Holy Father announced that he had granted to all priests, for the period of the Year of Mercy beginning on Dec. 8 of this year, the authority to forgive the sin of abortion. We might ask, what’s behind that? Why is that permission necessary?

The Church has always taken very seriously the protection of the most vulnerable and innocent, those in the womb. Some of the earliest Christian writings make that clear. So concerned is the Church for this mother/child relation in the womb, that the sin of abortion, for all who are directly involved, is highlighted. That sin is to be referred to the bishop for Christ’s forgiveness so that everything can be done to assure that it does not happen again and that real healing can take place through repentance.

However, the bishop can, in turn, confer the authority to forgive the sin of abortion to the priests of his diocese. This is the case of virtually every diocese in the United States and in much of the world. It is certainly the case in the Diocese of Rockford. So Pope Francis has decided that this practice should be observed world-wide.

What is important for us is to understand that even grave sins like abortion have always been forgiven.

That is particularly important because there are reports of women who have repented and felt the healing of their consciences having confessed an abortion, now wondering if they had really received Christ’s pardon through the priest. I hope their consciences can be reassured that they are indeed forgiven, in spite of inaccurate reporting on this issue in elements of the media.

A second modification concerns the process for marriage annulments. Following the teaching of Jesus, we believe that marriage is an irrevocable commitment for a lifetime between a man and a woman. It cannot be dissolved. However, in some cases the Church determines that marriages were flawed or null from the moment of the exchange of consent, even if that defect became evident only later. The study of such cases is the annulment process. And to the Church has been entrusted the responsibility to make judgments about marriage.

Because marriage is based in Christ’s own teaching, the Church efforts uphold the indissoluble nature of marriage. At the same time, we as faithful followers of Christ seek to support married couples, especially those whose marriages are troubled or broken. And if a marriage is null for any reason, the couple has a right to the Church’s decision about that.

Over time, and for various historical reasons, the process of studying broken marriages to balance all of these goods has developed in the Church. Like many processes that involve study and talking to various people to ascertain the truth, such a procedure can take some time.

Pope Francis, again based in his experience, is seeking to speed up that process. To that end he has eliminated one step and has instituted an expedited process for some particular cases. He has also asked that the modest fee that helps to cover the salary and administrative costs of the procedure be eliminated in the future.

As the Holy Father has written in publishing these changes, the Church’s task is to work for the salvation of souls and to guard the sacred bond of marriage.

In the coming months, there will be studies and work to implement the new elements of the annulment process. But we must keep in mind that what has changed here is a legal procedure, not the reality of Christ’s teaching or the faith of the Church.

Marriage, as the basis of the family, remains, by God’s plan, the irrevocable commitment between a man and a woman open to the future of human life.

As the visit of the Holy Father to the United States approaches, we are given the opportunity to deepen and renew our faith. The understanding of God’s mercy, the family and the poor are important indicators as we look to the health and strength of our faith that we share with the Holy Father.