The Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin has this afternoon responded to the referendum result repealing the Eight Amendment of the Irish constitution.
Two-thirds of the Southern electorate voted in favor of repeal, which removes the equal constitutional recognition to life of the pregnant woman and the unborn.
Th Eighth Amendment, first passed in 1983, will be replaced with the wording: "Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancies."
In his homily at the National Marian Shrine in Knock yesterday, the Derry-born archbishop said he was 'deeply saddened' at the vote.
He said: "Every human life is beautiful, every human life is sacred, every human life is precious. This remains true after the referendum result. The right to life is not given to us by the Constitution of Ireland or by any law. All human beings have it ‘as of right’, whether we are wealthy or poor, healthy or sick.
"Like many others who advocated a no vote in the referendum, I am deeply saddened that we appear to have obliterated the right to life of all unborn children from our constitution and that this country is now on the brink of legislating for a liberal abortion regime.
"I am very concerned about the implications for society of interfering with the fundamental principle that the value of all human life is equal and that all human beings, born and unborn, have inherent worth and dignity. At a time when scientific and medical evidence is clearer than ever about the beginning of life, we have effectively decided that some human lives - in this case the lives of the unborn - are less significant and deserving of protection than others.
"We have elevated the right to personal choice above the fundamental right to life itself."
Archbishop Martin said the 'pro-life cause' in Ireland was now more important than ever.
"We are told that people voted Yes for many reasons," he said. "Like many others I too found myself challenged by the personal stories of so many women in Ireland both on the Yes and the No sides. I have realised how little I know personally about the pressures these women can be under and how so many of them feel isolated, neglected and alone in their distress. Tragic, and sometimes desperate, situations like these will not go away just because, as is now expected, abortion is made widely available in Ireland.
"The question remains: How can we channel the obvious care and concern of so many good people in Ireland to genuinely and practically help vulnerable women who feel that the only way out of crisis is to end the life of their unborn child? How can we together show genuine 'compassion' in the literal sense of 'suffering with' women in their vulnerability? What new supports, apart from the option of abortion, will be in place for mothers and fathers at the point of crisis? And will our compassion extend to the life of the unborn child? These questions remain for the whole of Irish society, including the Church."
Dr Martin said that in the midst of 'so much disappointment' for those who voted No to repealing the Eighth, 'it remains as important as ever to affirm the sanctity of all human life'.
"The direct and intentional taking of the life of any innocent human being is always gravely wrong," he said. "Sadly in many countries of the world the Church must proclaim this Gospel of Life in the context of abortion being widely available, and where people are increasingly becoming desensitised to the value of every human life."
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