Greg Daly
Northern members of the Saint Vincent de Paul are troubled by the decision of the organisation’s national leadership to avoid taking a stance in the coming referendum on the Eighth Amendment, The Irish Catholic understands.
“There is an unease,” Ballymena conference president, Mary Waide, said, continuing, “Our regional president is meeting the national council this Saturday. There should be something after that.”
Stressing that she was speaking in a personal capacity, rather than on behalf of the regional board, of which she is a member, Mrs Waide highlighted how the organisation’s rulebook requires members of the St Vincent de Paul to protect all vulnerable people, including unborn human beings.
Section 7.2 of the Rule of the International Confederation of the Society of St Vincent de Paul affirms “the dignity of each human being as created in God’s image”, she said, noting how it calls Vincentians “to listen to the voice of the Church which demands their participation in creating a more equitable and compassionate social order, promoting the culture of life and the civilization of love”.
In explaining the term ‘culture of life’, the Rule notes that “Vincentians are committed to promote the right to life from conception to the natural end of earthly life”.