The Catholic bishops of Ireland intend to mount a constitutional challenge to the government’s abortion bill that is widely expected to pass a key vote in the Irish lower house. The Irish bishops will challenge the law on the basis of its unconstitutional legislative process or its failure to adequately vindicate the equal right to Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Ireland’
Irish politicians vote for ‘Trojan horse’ abortion bill
Friday, July 5th, 2013
Irish politicians have overwhelmingly approved an abortion bill described by Cardinal Sean Brady as a legislative and political Trojan horse “which heralds a much more liberal and aggressive abortion regime in Ireland”. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill — the first legislation allowing abortion in the Republic of Ireland — passed its second stage Read more
Renewing the Irish church from within
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
I entered the seminary in Dublin in October 1962, just one week before the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The winter of 1962-63 was one of the bleakest in decades, and our seminary was a very cold place in more ways than one. My memory of the seminary is of a building and a Read more
Catholic Church in Ireland must give up 23 primary schools
Friday, April 5th, 2013
The Catholic Church in Ireland has been told it must divert itself of 23 primary schools across the country following a survey of parental preferences for more plurality and choice. The bishops in the 23 areas have been given six months to provide detailed proposals on how they plan to divest a school of their Read more
Ireland apologises for Magdalene laundries
Friday, February 22nd, 2013Two weeks after an official report revealed that the Irish government was deeply involved in the incarceration of women in the Magdalene laundries, Prime Minister Enda Kenny has made an emotional state apology. “By any standards it was a cruel, pitiless Ireland, distinctly lacking in a quality of mercy,” Kenny said, as dozens of former Read more
Cardinal Burke: No Communion for pro-abortion politicians
Tuesday, February 12th, 2013
As the Irish Parliament prepares to consider a bill to legalise some abortions, the head of the Vatican’s canon law tribunal has said Catholic politicians who support the bill should be refused Communion in the hope of inspiring a “conversion of heart”. “There can be no question that the practice of abortion is among the Read more
New leader for Catholic Church in Ireland has ‘no baggage’
Friday, February 1st, 2013
The future leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop-elect Eamon Martin, has been described as “a clean pair of hands” who “does not carry any baggage from the past with him”. Archbishop-elect Martin has been appointed coadjutor archbishop of Armagh, making him the designated successor to Cardinal Sean Brady, who has been under pressure Read more
Irish government decides to legalise abortion
Friday, December 21st, 2012
Catholic and pro-life leaders have strongly criticised the Irish government for deciding to introduce legislation to legalise abortion in cases where the mother’s life is deemed to be at risk. The Fine Gael-run government’s action follows the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman who was admitted to a Galway hospital while miscarrying. She reportedly Read more
Lack of faith among Catholics noted in France, US and Ireland
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012
A warning from Pope Benedict XVI about lack of faith among Catholics in France has coincided with new research revealing a decline in fervour among Catholics in the United States and a weakening of belief among Catholics in Ireland. Speaking to visiting French bishops, the Pope described ignorance of religion, even “among the Catholic faithful”, Read more
Ireland’s abortion furore need not be
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
Ireland contra mundum – or more accurately, mundus contra Hiberniam – seems to be the burden of shrill, not to say lurid headlines circling the globe since Wednesday of last week, when the story broke about the tragic death of a pregnant Indian woman in a Galway hospital on October 28. But the facts surrounding Read more