Ireland is one of the few States that has given into the clamour to make abortion widely available. It remains highly restricted. While the United Kingdom recognised the 'woman's right to choose' in 1967, Ireland has done considerably well to hold the fort against those forces inside and outside the country that believe that abortion is the answer to the 'problem' of pregnancy. Indeed, as Lifesitenews confirms, Ireland - one of the very few states in Europe not to have made freely available - remains a world leader in maternal health.
Facts like this, however, do not stop the enemies of the unborn child, the family and the Church smelling blood when the Church appears to look like a carcass. Given the collapse of faith in Ireland, it is heartening that in April 2012, the Irish Parliament rejected a Socialist Party proposal to make abortion more available to its citizens by 109 - 20 votes. Will a huge loss of Faith in Ireland mean the country will lose its belief in the sanctity of human life in the womb? It is difficult to say but there can be no doubt that there are vultures hovering over Ireland who wish to take advantage of the declining role of the Church in the country.
The homosexual agenda, too, is being advanced in Ireland with some considerable success, if you can call it that, with the young. While Ireland has hitherto rejected calls for unrestricted abortion, the gay agenda has had significant victories in a country which has hitherto been understood as deeply Catholic. The fall out from the abuse crisis can perhaps be seen in a poll undertaken by Red C on behalf of the Irish Government, finding that 73% of the Irish public back allowing same-sex marriage in the constitution. Clearly, then, while there exists a strong pro-life movement in Ireland, it does appear that Ireland, sadly, is another community of people who are moving beyond Catholicism and 'beyond Jesus'.
We must all hope and pray that Ireland will return to the Church despite the great loss of trust and respect which the Church is currently experiencing, but, it will also be worth taking note of how Ireland responds to the secular forces at work within and without the country, in terms who moves in when Faith collapses in a country. Wherever Faith collapses, the enemies of the Church can see a void and a void must be filled. Even Al Quaeda, apparently, saw the opening void in the heart of Ireland and viewed it as potentially fertile ground for Islam. Forces working within supranational institutions like the UN and organisations like Marie Stopes International will be hovering over the country, hoping to pick off the unborn. Forces within the gay movement will be hovering over looking to take advantage of the loss of Faith and even radical Islamists sense a moment of opportunity.
The forces that seek to chew upon the carcass of the Church in Ireland are secular and ideological in the main. They will surely seek to take the place of Catholic Church in Ireland. Let's pray that trust will be restored between the people of Ireland and the Church, that the victims of the abuse crisis will find healing and that Ireland will rise again from the ashes of the collapse of Faith. Above all, let's pray for holy priests and even holier Bishops to lead Ireland out of the current mire, for, as a Catholics in countries which have given way to secular and ideological movements that do not respect the dignity of human persons, we are in a position to tell Irish Catholics that what appears as 'progress' is nothing of the sort. So often, what is sold to us as 'freedom' becomes a tyranny of selfishness and greed. We Brits have 200,000 abortions each year on our national conscience. 200,000 unborn babies lives are snuffed out every year in the UK. It is already becoming obvious that the homosexual agenda seeks to restrict freedom of speech and belief here, especially in the public sphere. Please God, let Ireland learn from our mistakes and not follow the ruinous road that we have taken.
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