The Government’s proposed abortion legislation has been slammed as “gravely immoral” and Catholics cannot 
leave their faith “outside the room” when considering these matters, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, has said.
In remarks at the closing of the Novena in the parish of Saint Patrick, Roden Place, Dundalk, Archbishop Martin said the government’s proposal “strikes at the very heart of our faith and belief because it directly targets human life which is sacred and a gift from God”.
He added: “The right to life is such a natural and inviolable right that no individual, no majority and no State can ever create, modify or destroy it.”
Catholics had a duty to oppose this legislation, he said. “[I]f we are in ‘communion’ with Christ, the Bread of Life, at Mass or during adoration, then we are also ‘commissioned’ to bring the Good News about Life out there into our community.,” Archbishop Martin said.
“How can we be in communion with the Bread of Life at Mass or here tonight and not speak the ‘Gospel of Life’ in our daily lives, especially these days when unborn human life is under such a direct threat in our country?”
He continued: “We are being asked to accept that in order to protect life we can directly and intentionally take a life – that in order to save the life of a mother it is sometimes permissible to directly and intentionally target the life of an innocent unborn child in the womb.
“We are being asked to accept that if a woman is in crisis because of her pregnancy and feels suicidal, then sometimes the right thing to do for her in the long term is to take the life of her unborn child.
“Legislation is being proposed which will make it legal in this country to directly and intentionally take the life of an unborn child in order to save the life of a mother. Such direct and intentional taking of any human life is gravely immoral. It strikes at the very heart of our faith and belief because it directly targets human life which is sacred and a gift from God”.
He said that legislating “for the direct and intentional taking of human life” could never be in the public good.
“How can it be claimed that this is the will of the Irish people who had enshrined in the Constitution the protection of the life of both a mother and her unborn child?” he asked.
He said that a “massive effort” was being made to produce abortion legislation and he appealed to the Government to redirect their effort towards establishing clear medical guidelines together with robust support structures for medical personnel and to supporting mothers in order “to preserve Ireland’s reputation as one of the safest places in the world for mothers and babies during pregnancy”.
Archbishop Martin said: “None of us can leave our faith ‘outside the room’ when we are considering these matters. Those final words at Mass call us to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord, to go and glorify the Lord with our lives.
“We cannot separate our communion with Christ in the Eucharist from the call to mission and evangelisation.
“We must face the challenge of putting faith into practice in our lives, and have the courage to follow our informed conscience, no matter what the consequences might be. And in this vital case our conscience has to be informed by our communion with the Bread of Life, by the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’, and by the fundamental Christian belief in the sacredness of all human life.
“My brothers and sisters, the notion of the Eucharist as ‘communion’ is not some kind of cosy comfort blanket to make us feel all warm and wrapped up in ourselves in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
“It is a call to personal conversion and to change in the way we live our lives and how we organise our communities. The Eucharist has the power to change us and, through us, to change the people we meet and even to change society. It unites us with Christ in the most profound way and that communion has the power to transform us, and to make a real difference in the world.”
