The Society of St Vincent de Paul has announced it will not be taking a stance in the upcoming referendum on abortion, and will not be issuing any advice to its members on what choice to make on polling day.
Contacted by The Irish Catholic this week the Church-founded organisation said in a statement that it is a “personal decision for each member, based on their own views, on how they wish to vote”.
However, the statement backed away from an earlier draft obtained by this newspaper which said the stance was based on the fact that SVP is a “member-led organisation”. The statement issued by the spokesman does not contain this line.
The SVP has 11,000 members, making it one of the largest charitable organisation in Ireland. The members and volunteers “include a wide range of people, men and women from every part of the country, from different backgrounds, of different ages and from different nationalities and religions”.
Help
The charity said they “provide practical and emotional help to an equally wide range of individuals and families in a non-judgemental way and in a spirit of friendship”.
“As with previous referenda and elections the organisation will not be issuing any advice or comment to its members or volunteers in relation to the forthcoming referendum.”
