Cathal BarryA year and a half after the Mater Hospital agreed to comply with the Government’s abortion law, there is still no clarity on the Catholic institution’s position, writes Cathal Barry
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin vowed in September 2013 to seek clarity from the Mater Hospital after the Catholic-run institution agreed to comply with the Government’s controversial abortion law.
A year and a half later, however, the archbishop is remaining decidedly tight-lipped about the discussions.
The board of the Mater announced in a brief statement at the time that it would “comply” with the legislation which permits the direct targeting of the unborn child in the womb for the first time.
The decision prompted the resignation of prominent Dublin priest Fr Kevin Doran, who has since become a bishop, from the hospital.
The then Fr Doran told The Irish Catholic that he could not in conscience remain either a member of the Mater Hospital Board of Directors or Board of Governors as a result of the move.
“I can confirm that I have resigned because I can’t reconcile my own conscience personally with the statement, largely because I feel a Catholic hospital has to bear witness.
“It’s about bearing witness to Gospel values alongside providing excellent care,” he said.
The hospital authorities refused to give further clarity on the issue or how the issue affects the Catholic ethos of the hospital.
Although a spokesperson for the Mater told this newspaper there will be “no elaboration” on the hospital’s statement, Archbishop Martin vowed to seek further clarity on its “exact meaning”.
While the archbishop insisted he has no direct governance role in the hospital, he does have a role in Church law to guarantee that Catholic institutions are living up to the teaching of the Church.
The Archdiocese of Dublin also acts as a member of hospital’s parent company, along with the Sisters of Mercy, the Catholic Nurses Guild of Ireland, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the medical consultants of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and of the Children’s University Hospital in Temple Street.
A spokesperson for Archbishop Martin said that the archbishop “believes the hospital has always been ‘scrupulous’ in trying to defend both the life of mother and the unborn child and the hospital has a great tradition of caring for very difficult pregnancies and doing it well within the ethos of the hospital over many years”.
“He will seek further clarification on the exact meaning of the hospital’s statement,” the spokesperson added.
In November 2013, the spokesperson confirmed that the archbishop had met with the Sisters of Mercy, the guarantors of the hospital’s ethos, but failed to provide any further details.
On several occasions since then, the spokesperson has advised that discussions remain “ongoing”.
However, in response to this newspapers’ most recent request for an update, the archbishop’s spokesperson declined to comment, directing questions instead to the Chairman of the Mater’s Board of Directors, Thomas Lynch.
Statement
When contacted, Mr Lynch referred to the statement issued by the Mater Hosptial in response to media queries at the time the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act was enacted in 2013.
Mr Lynch said the hospital’s position “has not altered since that time”. “Therefore I have nothing to add to this position,” he said.
Leading barrister Brett Lockhart, said he was “anxious to understand why the clarification sought” from the Mater Hospital Board of Directors by Archbishop Martin “would not appear to have been forthcoming”.
“It is now 18 months since Bishop Doran resigned because of the hospital’s acceptance that it would comply with the Government’s new abortion law.
“The issue is critical for all who are concerned about the principle of religious liberty,” the prominent Belfast-based Catholic said.
Questioning whether “the coercive power of the State be used to force a Catholic hospital to comply with a law that goes so fundamentally against its own ethos”, Mr Lockhart warned to “acquiesce would be to create the most dangerous precedent”.
“It would, I think be better to gift the hospital to the State rather than cause confusion about Catholic teaching on so critical a matter as the right to life,” he said.
In Russell Shaw’s book Nothing to Hide, the former communications director for the US bishops discusses the abuse of secrecy in the Church, the scandals it has caused and the serious problems of mistrust that exists for the credibly of the Church.
Not concerned with the legitimate secrecy that is necessary to protect confidentiality and people’s reputations, Shaw focuses instead on the stifling misuse of secrecy that has done immense harm to communion and community in the Church.
Declining to make comment on this particular issue, a case he admits to knowing “nothing about”, Mr Shaw warned that being transparent “does not mean simply satisfying public curiosity”.
“The principle of transparency is extremely important, but it must be applied with prudence; and, absent evidence to the contrary, other people ought to assume that those in charge are doing their best to act prudently,” he said.
That may be the case, but satisfying public curiosity is one thing, responding to the genuine concerns of the faithful are another.
As Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has said: “We cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with one another.”
Timeline
September 25, 2013
The Mater Hospital announces it “will comply with the law as provided for in the Act”.
October 1, 2013
Archbishop Martin’s spokesperson states the archbishop “will seek further clarification on the exact meaning of the hospital's statement”.
November 26, 2013
The Archbishop’s spokesperson confirms that he met with the Sisters of Mercy “and the matter is ongoing”.
June 30, 2014
Archbishop Martin’s spokesperson has “no update” on discussions between the two parties.
April 22, 2015
The archbishop’s spokesperson advises questions on the Mater “should be directed to the Chairman of the Board who can speak for the hospital”.
May 7, 2015
Chairman of the Mater’s Board of Directors, Mr Thomas Lynch, insists the hospital’s position “has not altered” since issuing a statement at the time the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act was enacted in 2013 and has “nothing to add”.