The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has warned TDs they have a “solemn duty” to oppose laws that attack the sacredness of life.
In a strongly worded intervention yesterday in
the abortion debate, Primate of All-Ireland Cardinal Seán Brady said
legislators had an obligation to oppose laws that attack something so
fundamental as the right to life.
The failure by the Government to allow
institutions to opt out of carrying out terminations on conscientious
objection grounds amounted to a denial of fundamental religious freedoms
and thought, he said.
Owned in trust
The Government’s Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill had “potentially menacing implications” for all Catholic institutions and expression of religious freedoms, he said.
The chairman of the board of governors of the
National Maternity Hospital is, by a law passed in the 1930s, the
current Archbishop of Dublin. However, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has
never attended and takes no part in the running of the hospital.
Dr Peter Boylan, former master of the hospital,
said Holles Street was not a Catholic hospital and the church had never
interfered in or been involved in the running of the hospital since he
was master in the 1990s. He said it was a voluntary institution owned in
trust by its governors.
Current master Dr Rhona Mahony said the
archbishop’s position was a historical titular inheritance granted by
King Edward VII at the time of the grant of a royal charter.
“The
Catholic hierarchy have no active role in the policy of the hospital nor
to my knowledge have they sought such a role.”
Cardinal Brady said he hoped a referendum would
be held and he signalled a possible legal challenge to the Bill as one
of the options open to the church unless the legislation was changed.
He was speaking on RTÉ Radio after the release
by the bishops of a statement describing the Bill as unnecessary and
morally unacceptable.
The Irish healthcare system must ensure
“complete respect for the sacredness of the life both of the mother and
her unborn baby”, stated the bishops. However, the Bill would make the
“direct and intentional killing of unborn children” lawful in Ireland.
“Accordingly, at this crucial time, it is essential that all who share these beliefs make them clear to their legislators.”