New Irish Government Raises Concerns for Catholics

New Irish Government Raises Concerns for Catholics | Michael Kelly | Catholic World Report

Exclusive Coalition governance could mean setbacks on social issues.

Ireland’s new coalition looks set for a collision course with the Catholic Church after agreeing upon a program for government that will see a raft of liberal social reforms, including proposals on same-sex marriage and reducing the Church’s influence in education. The document, Towards Recovery: Program for a National Government 2011-2016, also contains an oblique but ominous plan to “regulate” stem cell research, which some activists are reading as a “green light” for experimentation with embryos.

The center-right Fine Gael (Irish for Gaelic Nation) and the leftist Labor Party agreed upon the document after no party won an overall majority in the February 25 general election. The plan will see the two parties take power for the first time in 14 years. The last time the parties were in government together, a constitutional referendum narrowly overturned the country’s ban on divorce. However, a later Supreme Court ruling found that the government had misused public funds to influence the vote in favor of a change.

The new program for government proposes holding a special constitutional convention to redraft the Irish Constitution, including plans to introduce same-sex marriage and remove the crime of blasphemy. Some activists fear that all references to God will also be removed from the document.

Ireland is in the grip of the worst economic crisis since it won independence from Britain in 1922. The outgoing Fianna Fáil (Irish for Soldiers of Destiny) party, which many people blame for lax financial regulation, suffered heavy losses, seeing its parliamentary representation shrink from 78 members to just 20. The main victor was Fine Gael, winning a total of 76 seats. However, Fine Gael fell just seven seats short of a governing majority, forcing it to coalesce with a resurgent Labor Party, which was buoyed up by a swing to the left that brought its representation from 20 to 37 members of parliament. While the Fine Gael party is traditionally socially conservative, economic policy has trumped social issues in the program for government negotiations. Labor has been forced to accept unpalatable fiscally-conservative policies, and in return, Fine Gael has acquiesced on most of Labor’s liberal-leaning demands on social issues.

The election campaign was dominated by the economy, with little debate on family and life issues. With unemployment stubbornly resting at 13.4 percent, many voters concentrated solely on the parties’ economic proposals. Even the country’s Catholic bishops chose only to mention the defense of traditional marriage on page 19 of a 24-page pre-election pastoral letter, while abortion and the right to life were relegated to page 21 of the document.

But Labor didn’t get everything its own way, at least for now. The issue of abortion, which Labor promised to legislate for during the campaign, has been placed on the back-burner for the time being. An “expert group” will be established to bring forward proposals on how the issue should be addressed.

Currently, abortion remains illegal in Ireland. However, disagreements over a controversial 1992 Supreme Court decision establishing a right to abortion when the life of the mother is at risk has never been resolved. In December 2010, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Irish government must clarify the matter.

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Comments

[shane]

"Even the country’s Catholic bishops chose only to mention the defense of traditional marriage on page 19 of a 24-page pre-election pastoral letter, while abortion and the right to life were relegated to page 21 of the document."

And that really does say it all.

Unsurprisingly, the episcopal 'Day for Life' has been dedicated to suicide prevention for a number of years now.

The blind leading the blind.

[LJ]

Just finished viewing a BBC documentary called "How the Celts Saved Britain", remarkably even handed over all, with the central premise that it was St. Patrick's Christianity that civilized Ireland when Britain was reverting to chaos in the period after the Roman evacuation, and the subsequent invasion of the pagan Angles, Jutes, and Saxons.

Then it was St. Columba and the other Irish missionaries that brought Christianity back to Britain and with it, civilization, about 1500 years ago.

In the piece, that strange reversal was commented upon, such that Ireland had once been a wild place of barbarian pagans, while Rome had civilized Britain, and years later the reverse was true. It was Ireland that was civilizing Britain with the gospel.

It is painful to watch as Ireland slides gradually back toward paganism.

[April]

So very sad....

[Mary Smith]

Why are governments everywhere so obsessed with the matters of 'same sex marriage' and abortion? They seem to see it as a sort of badge saying that they have 'arrived' - as if committing cultural and national suicide were the sign of maturity. They are like teenagers rebelling against their parents and demanding freedom, who then slavishly follow the dress, words and actions of their peers.

[Brad]

Mary: because abortion and fornication are the two acts that "feel so good to be so bad". Yes, they bring heartache, but they are the fruit of sin masquerading as freedom from pesky God. Without the light of Christ, or the law of Moses even, all mankind would still be in bacchanalia. Original sin wounded us so deeply that we constantly look for ways to revert back to our lowest selves. I know this personally, as we all do. And so we do it collectively through satanically-whipped politics.

The seediest neighborhood of pagan Rome had sewer pipes constantly choked with aborted babies. That neighborhood was called the vaticano. Christ changed all that.

[vivian noronha]

The civilisation of the West is on the decline..It is decadent,wasted and self destructing.
The new civilisation of the east will bring fresh thought and salvation to these unfortunate people, after the Islamic flood has wiped out the majority,who will be too weak to resist.Only a remnant will be saved.
This is destined to happen for the West and the U.S The Catholic Church has lost its moorings and has paid the price..