Bishops urge voters to put right to life No.1

Voters have been urged to make the right to life of unborn children a key priory as they go the polls to elect a new Government next week.

Bishop Kevin Doran told The Irish Catholic that voters “need to impress upon politicians the importance of supporting and promoting a culture of life that recognises the unique value of every human person and we need to actively support those who do”.

It comes as Labour insisted it would make a referendum to remove the right to life of the unborn from the constitution a pre-condition of re-entering coalition, meaning a return of the current Government would make moves to liberalise abortion inevitable.

“I personally find it very difficult to understand how in good conscience any Catholic could vote for a candidate or a party whose policy it is to legalise abortion,” the Bishop of Elphin said.

Critical

Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam insisted the unique value of each human life was of “critical importance” in society and warned that if life “is not fully respected and protected then the very basis of our society is weakened”.

Noting that the Eighth (life equality) Amendment “guarantees the right to life of the unborn and the equal right to life of the mother”, the archbishop said it was regrettable that “some of those standing for election have declared their intention to work to remove this protection from our Constitution and laws”.

Meanwhile, Bishop Phonsie Cullinan urged pro-life voters to be unafraid in promoting their position and urged them to “really make it known to public representatives their views on the sanctity of all life”.

Rights

“The little infant in the womb has the same rights as anyone else. I would appeal to all people of any persuasion to consider the right to life of all human beings in whatever stage of life they are at,” he said.

Archbishop Neary said being pro-life in contemporary Ireland now means “being counter-culture”.

“At this time we have a crucial responsibility to our future generations. Permitting abortion in difficult cases is like pulling a loose thread in a garment. There may be no definitive point at which the unraveling can be stopped,” he said.