Irish Health Minister Leo Varadkar (left) who believes Ireland's abortion laws are too restrictive, behind him former Health Minister James Reilly who was responsible for introducing Ireland's abortion law.
As expected the pro-abortion lobby has begun its second phase to have abortion on demand legalised in Ireland. Constantly chipping away at public opinion, the lobby has launched another attack on Ireland's constitutional protection of the unborn - the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. The second phase seems to have begun with TD Clare Daly's Private Member's Motion seeking a liberalisation of the current abortion law. It was defeated in a vote (not for pro-life reasons, most Private Members's Motions and Bills from opposition TDs tend to be defeated as a matter of course), but the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, has agreed with her that the law is too restrictive. The Taoiseach has reacted quickly in what might be seen as damage limitation.
The media have also started reporting hard cases again, this time the story of a lady said to be clinically dead being kept alive in order to allow her unborn child live. Expect more stories to emerge.
Of course the pro-life movement is not surprised at this, we expected it, indeed it was predicted. When the government said the current legislation would not lead to abortion on demand we did not believe them, indeed we would have been fools to do so. When abortion on demand is in full swing in Ireland - perhaps not explicitly permitted in law but not practically prevented, our elected representatives will continue to assure us the intention was not to legalise the practice. It has happened in every other country, the tactics of the pro-abortion lobby are well known, their efforts here are neither unique nor hidden, they are all too obvious for those who are savvy enough to notice.
Now is the time for prayer and action, but in acting pro-life groups must be very very careful. As we know from many other cases the pro-abortion lobby will do what they can to crush all opposition and will use any situation, any protest by pro-life groups to further their own aims. They will use the law, even set up situations to entrap pro-life advocates, so we all need to be very careful so as not to fall into their traps. They have the media on their side, they have plenty of money and influence, they are part of the establishment.
We can only do our best to try and prevent the further legalisation of abortion in Ireland. As we peacefully campaign for life - as a united movement I hope, we must also take careful note of those who are working to legalise the killing of unborn children: let us pray for their conversion. They are involved in horrible crimes against humanity, their crimes cry to heaven for vengeance, let us pray that they will not have to pay the price naked justice demands for it would be a heavy price, indeed perhaps even a eternal price - damnation. Let us pray they will renounce their evil work and throw themselves on God's mercy.
Yea! its going the way it has in all countries. Once murder is legislated for its entirely arbitrary which group of persons it will apply to. A very recent court case in the North where a long standing pro-life group leader was unjustly accused of harrassment in her efforts to save women and babies from the horrors of abortion. She was handed a sentence of 100 hours community work, fined 2000 euros, given an injunction to keep away from the entrance to the baby exterminator group Marie Stopes for five years. I know first hand the risks in side walk counselling. I did it as an assistant to side walk counsellors for years here at the Dublin Marie Stopes. I reckon from my experience that the side walk counsellor is the most risky role in the whole of pro-life. Once i learned the p and q to watch out for I would be meticulous in watching to keep them. Even when you were on your toes you still could be trapped into doing or saying the wrong thing. Sting and information gathering operations were carried out by both sides but for very different reasons.
ReplyDeleteAbortion is coming to Ireland because a supine hierarchy has refused to publicly excommunicate the politicians responsible for it and continues to allow some of these politicians to remain in good standing as Catholics..
ReplyDeleteNot onl
One wonders if there is a single priest in Ireland courageous enough to stand up and publicly condemn those catholic politicians who have voted in Irelands parliament to murder unborn children.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it is difficult when all the Irish bishops continue allow these baby murdering Irish politicians to enter catholic churches and receive Holy Communion.
Ordinary catholics can only conclude that abortion legislation in Ireland is no big deal with the Irish hierarchy and priesthood.
Hence the drift away from the catholic church continues as its cowardly leaders cower in the trenches.
Bishop Eamonn Martin has explicitly stated that he would not refuse communion to a pro-abortion TD. With leadership like this, what hope have we ?.
ReplyDeleteThere is a very serious problem with this current pope.He made the extraordinary statement that God had blessed him with a large dose of unawarness.
ReplyDeleteTo my mind that means he is proud of his ignorence and does not care.
He should resign as he is damaging the catholic church and fomenting schism.
Of course Ireland,s ambitious supine bishops mad for promotion to the cardinalate will never speak out now publicly and forcibly on any serious moral matter.
Hence this Christmas excommunicated Irish politicians will troop to the altar rails and be given Holy Communion.
It is now a shambles of a church and that is what Pope Francis says he wants ie A Mess.
Father
ReplyDeleteas a person who has hurt and been hurt by people's observations and comments through your office as web administrator. Can I appeal to those who comment pass judgement on our holy father and bishops and priests come off the fence and identify them selves when they contribute their comments.yes our holy father bishops priests have got things wrong on occasions and yes maybe fearful of putting their heads above water.but is that not us humans especially irish people do we always want our neighbours to stick their neck out but the muck hits the wall when road becomes uncomfortable we hide . evidence of that can be seen through various forms of protest that has happened in the last few weeks locally or through out this island where things happened in the darkness and people knew things but hid their concerns or looked the other way.yes our holy father should be stronger yes our bishop s and priests should be stronger shepards but some times my fellow ship need to come off the electric fence and stand up and be counted
Pope Francis has by his partisan anti traditional rhetoric and conduct created a climate of fear and great uncertainty amongst conservative Catholics.
DeleteHis treatment of cardinal Burke is an example.
Therefore it is perfectly understandable that critics of his , loyal to the church ,wish to preserve anonymity when necessary .
This is an appalling crisis in papal leadership that would be reduced were more bishops to confront the pope and his destructive agenda.
The pope himself in fairness has asked that people who oppose him do so openly but as explained above the vindictive treatment of cardinal Burke and other like minded prelates creates a reluctance.
As time passes and this popes peculiar agenda becomes clearer then yes you will see more people coming forward openly .
Do not fall into the trap of thinking that a pope is always right.
Catholic teaching on marriage has been gravely undermined by this recent synod on the family.
Let the pope clarify what this teaching now is or else resign as being utterly unsuited for the job.
With the greatest respect I have not fallen into that trap what so ever but I once again question the need for people to hide.maybe I must have got it wrong when I listened to the
ReplyDeletedenials of peter in regards to lord.if we truly
believe in our opions or our expression of faith
well then stand up and be counted.i do not
agree that the teaching of the catholic Church has been undermined by the synod.the church which is people have been wandering in their views ,their living out of the teachings in various ways correctly or in correctly for a long time and did not just happen because of the election of our holy father and the synod.i am sad that recently I spoke with a neighbour who talked of the holy spirit killing the holy father.and that person regards themselves as an intelligent educated Catholic. Fear me if that is what the teaching of the church leads people to belive.christians ,catholic values has thought me to respect the person I meet no matter their view.shame people feel the need to hide fearful of back lash. Reminds me of the fear around the time people had in the period of archbishop john charles mcquaid and he was a so call ed traditional church leader and I am wrong but did he not create fear and anexiety among his clergy.you talk about the damage our holy father has done well lets reflect back on those with in vatican department s who allowed damage after damage be done to the moral teaching of the church by allowing scandal after scandal to go on.
The pope is not Christ.
ReplyDeleteIf you think he is then you are deluded .
The pope has responsibilities to maintain the unity of the catholic church. He is not living up to those responsibilities and has alienated many conservative Catholics by his liberal outlook on homosexuality and divorce.
Is that the type of catholic church that you want?
Ie where people who reject openly the teaching of the church are accepted fully in the same way as people who abide by the rules?
What is the point in having rules?
This current pope is a scandal and flouts rules as and when he
pleases.
The sooner he is gone the better.
Catholics who openly criticise this dreadful pontiff are punished hence most of them wish to remain anonymous untill he has gone which hopefully will be sooner rather than later.
I am far from deluded my anonymous friend, I never mentioned by the way our holy father was christ and while I have never the man I am sure he wouldn't think he is either.
ReplyDeletefor the record the one thing I am is a person who does not box people into conservatives or liberals, I take people at face value and to where I find them on their spiritual journey, who gives me the right to judge or pass judgement on someone because may be I study philosophy or theology or have a degree
Or no educational standard to my name.we will have to agree to disagree on where we see the journey of the church in all of this.but I will remain as I started the opportunity to voice a view point on a forum like this comes with responsibility and I am sad like other forums or social media people hide behind walls.ill pray for you and I ask the same from you.
People wish to remain anonymous because if they openly criticise the pope they fear they will be punished .
DeleteThat climate of fear is created by the pope himself.
The synod on the family in relation to divorce and homosexuality made interim statements that were at serious variance with 2000 yrs of catholic teaching
If you were a properly instructed catholic you would know that.
I suggest you inform yourself a bit more about what the catholic church teaches concerning the proper requirements to receive holy communion and mortal sins connected with the sixth commandment .
Do not be deceived into thinking that everything done by this synod is good.
Thank you for your prayers.
The schism has now begun with the German catholic church operating radically different rules for divorced Catholics.
ReplyDeleteThis has come to pass due to the efforts of heretic cardinals Kasper and Marx .
The indifference of pope Francis and his predecessor to German heresy is probably explained by the wealth of the German church forcibly extracted under pain of sin from the misfortunatecGetman Catholics who have literally been now thrown to the wolves.