Irish deputy prime minister disagrees with Pope's stand against legal abortion

CWN - January 08, 2013

Ireland’s deputy prime minister has said that he disagrees with Pope Benedict XVI’s opposition to legal abortion.

Eamon Gilmore said that in his annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps, when he voiced his opposition to laws allowing broader access to abortion, “what the Pope was expressing was the long established and well known view of his Church.” But the Irish leader claimed that Irish women “are entitled to legal clarity about their situation where their life is at risk.” (Actually, existing Irish law allows for the termination of pregnancy in cases in which the mother’s life is endangered.)

In his “State of the World” address, the Pope expressed general concern about countries, especially in Europe, where “efforts are being made to introduce or expand legislation which decriminalizes abortion.” Although he did not refer specifically to Ireland, political leaders in Dublin seem convinced that the Pope was referring to the government’s plan to broaden access to legal abortion.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($34,450 to go):
$80,000.00 $45,549.82
43% 57%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Learning from the sick, and from the death of a child May 17
The case for change in Irish abortion law: based on a framework of falsehood May 17
The Smell of the Sheep May 16
Too many missing funds: Catholic institutions need tighter financial controls May 16
What capitalists should learn from the Pope's critique May 16

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8