Cathal Barry
Bishop Kevin Doran 
Bishop Kevin Doran has rejected an accusation by a Labour party TD that he is “scaremongering at the highest level” on the issue of abortion in the run-up to the general election.
Anne Ferris, a Labour TD for Wicklow, had criticised Bishop Doran’s stance that any political attempts to legislate for terminations in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities would lead to “abortion on demand”. However, the Bishop of Elphin told The Irish Catholic that his comments reflect the reality of the situation.
“If, as I believe is the case, the Labour party advocates a liberalisation of access to abortion, then my comments were clearly not scaremongering but reflect the reality.
“The Church’s consistent teaching, which I fully endorse, is that the deliberate taking of innocent human life can never be justified,” he said.
During his homily for World Peace Day, Dr Doran urged voting Catholics to engage with political candidates in the lead up to the General Election to ensure that their values are upheld.
Insisting that “non-engagement would be an abdication of our responsibility”, the bishop said Catholics eligible to vote needed to “consider the quality” of their participation.
“As Christians and as citizens, we need to engage with the candidates about the questions that really matter, not just to ourselves personally, but to our society as a whole,” he said, referencing homelessness, society’s response to the refugees and stewardship of the environment.
Bishop Doran suggested voting Catholics ought to “examine very carefully what the various political groupings are proposing to do about education, not just based on what they say in their manifestos, but on what they have said and done in the past few years”.
Noting that Catholic schools have a “very good track record” of inclusiveness, he said some politicians would like them to be “less Catholic” and reminded citizens that their vote could impact their children and grand-children.
Dr Doran also noted that there has been “a lot of political posturing” about repealing the Eighth (Life Equality) Amendment, which he said was “the only remaining protection unborn children have in our legal system”.
“That protection has already been significantly eroded in recent years,” he said, adding that he believed “committed Christians must make this an election issue and that candidates must be questioned politely but firmly, not just on their future intentions but on their past record”.
Speaking on Newstalk this week, Dr Doran warned that all voters need to be aware of what politicians believe in.
“We’re heading towards an election, and whether there is a referendum or not will possibly depend, to some extent, on who is elected.
“Certainly many of those who wish to remove the Eighth Amendment from the Constitution have made no secret of the fact that their ultimate political objective is abortion on demand,” he said.
“That’s very clear from some of the political parties engaged in this debate, and I think people need to take note of that,” he added.
