Dear Editor, The letter you published from Henry Quirke (IC 16/06/2016)) is very unfair to Mary Stewart. She did not “demonise” Ken Curtin, or accuse him of “condoning murder”. She simply pointed out that Mr Curtin should not have been surprised at the Church’s reaction (removing him from the rota of readers at Mass) to his campaigning for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment.
I am not a moral theologian, but I think Mr Quirke is wrong in his belief that, as a Catholic, he has the option of converting his “reservations” about fatal foetal abnormality into a vote for abortion of these babies – which is one, highly likely, consequence of repealing the Eighth. And I certainly disagree with him that politicians can be trusted on this matter, and that the Eighth Amendment is unnecessary. Politicians legislated for the X case in 2013, despite hearing no evidence whatsoever that aborting babies prevents women from committing suicide. I take for granted that these same politicians will select members of the proposed Citizens’ Forum so as to achieve the result which the politicians desire. It will be just as much a charade as the Oireachtas hearings in 2013 – the result, in both cases, being a foregone conclusion.
The public money spent on another referendum would, in my view, be better spent providing perinatal hospices, to care for babies born with life-limiting conditions, and for their distraught parents. It is simply not true that abortion is the only way of dealing with these awful tragedies.
Yours etc.,
Jim Stack
Lismore, Co. Waterford.
