Can one use "hopefully" in an absolute sense?

This is not an answer in terms of grammar as such, but I'm writing this hopefully to shed a different light on the issue.

Hopefully, of course, literally means "full of hope". Edwin says It is short for the comment clause 'It is to be hoped that' (...). (which I don't disagree with). But I tend to think of it as short for "I (or we) hope that" - but the sentence does not make any reference (actual or otherwise implied) to me/us. For that reason, I tend to think of it as strictly ungrammatical. (That's not to say that I don't use or understand it! - nor that I'm correct?!)

On the other hand, in my introductory sentence, I'm saying that "I'm writing this in the hope that (or full of hope that or while hoping that) it will shed a different light on the issue." It's clear that it's me doing the hoping.

As an aside, Mynamite says that he is sure "that there is no native speaker who does not understand" what it means - and I agree with him - but that doesn't make it acceptable or correct. I'm sure we would all understand what "I ain't got no money" means - but nevertheless, it's still not correct or 'acceptable' English.

I will quote Michael Swan (Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, § 253):

Another meaning [of hopefully] is ‘it is to be hoped that’ or ‘I hope’. This is a fairly recent use in British English, and some people consider it incorrect.

Since it is an adverb, it is regarded as incorrect because it refers to the whole sentence, instead of the verb only. This can also be viewed as an absolute usage, as the adverb is not attached to a single phrase, but to the whole sentence, as I said before.