Church leaders have joined their voices to a chorus of pro-life and pro-family groups in the North criticising the legalisation of a very permissive abortion regime and the redefinition of marriage.

In a statement, the Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland said the Westminster legislation had removed “all explicit protection for the unborn child up to 28 weeks of pregnancy”, creating “potentially one of the most liberal and unregulated abortion regimes in the world”.

Calling abortion, “a brutal violation of the precious gift of life”, they said, “[t]his is a tragic day for the unborn children who will now never bless our world with their unique and precious lives. It is also a sad day for our local democracy”.

On same-sex marriage, they said they are “also concerned at the redefinition of marriage which effectively places the union of two men, or two women, on a par with the marriage relationship between a husband and wife which is open to the procreation of children”.

The Presbyterian moderator Dr William Henry expressed his church’s “disappointment and regret” at the failure to restore the Executive before the deadline on Monday night.

“It remains surprising that some parties have been willing to allow the UK parliament to legislate for the people of Northern Ireland without consideration of the devolution settlement, and we are disappointed that the recall of the Northern Ireland Assembly today was dismissed by some as a political stunt,” he said.

The president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Rev Sam McGuffin, said he was “deeply disappointed that our Northern Ireland MLAs have, through their inability to cooperate, allowed this abortion legislation to become law”.

“I wish to place on record my thanks to those organisations who have supported the right to life cause and would encourage them to continue in their efforts to bring about a change to this extreme legislation,” he said.