Fr Joe Mcdonald A prominent Dublin priest has defended having congratulated the ‘Yes’ side for having run a successful campaign in the abortion referendum, saying “people don’t listen to sore losers”.
Speaking at the Kennedy Summer School earlier this month, Ballyfermot’s Fr Joe McDonald complimented Deirdre Duffy of the Together for Yes referendum campaign for the campaign’s “wonderful work”.
The Pro Life Campaign’s Cora Sherlock has criticised Fr McDonald’s comments, saying she was “quite shocked” by his praise for a campaign that “will lead to the introduction of abortion, the devastation of women who regret the loss of their children, and the ending of human lives”.
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Fr McDonald, however, told The Irish Catholic that his comments were intended as an attempt at reaching out graciously. “If we present ourselves as people who have nothing new to say and want to rehash a fight that has been well-beaten, then I’m not sure that they’ll listen to us,” he said.
“Whereas they do listen to me when I say something like ‘Well done, you won. I am the loser, and I want to say something to you’.”