Spiritual Crusade for the defence of unborn life

It is abundantly clear that the entire process leading up to the decision to hold a referendum was weighted in favour of a pro-abortion agenda. It was also abundantly clear, to anyone who was watching, that pro-life arguments have been ignored, rubbished or stifled however we are determined to oppose this one-sided process and to get the truth to every household in Ireland and to every citizen, prior to the May Referendum. Many groups and individuals are committed to door to door canvassing to spread the word.

For our part we believe that it is not appropriate in any civilised society to cast votes on who should live and who should die, accordingly we have launched various initiatives to oppose this appalling  culture of death and to uphold the right to life of unborn babies 

First we prepared an explanatory video in conjunction with the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)  which can be found on this link

Apart from the necessity of door to door canvassing the task before us is in our opinion primarily a spiritual battle so we launched our first Spiritual Crusade last year. This consisted of a 54 day fast which commenced on November 1st and finished on Christmas Eve with six nominated people fasting for 9 days each on a water only fast Others were invited to join in prayer and fasting for the protection of unborn life and the retention of the 8th Amendment.

Hundreds of people from all over Ireland North and South, the UK, Canada and the US joined with to pray for the protection of the unborn. We Completed our first Spiritual Crusade with a pro-life Mass in the Church of St Kevin Harrington Street Dublin on the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

We are now commencing our second Spiritual Crusade our lenten campaign beginning on Ash Wednesday and finishing at Easter.
We hope to finish this second Spiritual Crusade with Mass in St Kevins In Harrington Street  on the Feast of the Annunciation which will be celebrated this year on Monday April 9th.

The right to life is non negotiable

Fundamental human rights such as the right-to-life are non-negotiable. The right to life can never be subject to a vote.  The very idea of casting votes on who should be allowed to live and who should die is anathema.

Based on sound science, human embryos, from the moment of fertilisation, are new living human beings.  To use the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 we are all members of the “human family”.

From the moment of fertilisation we all share a common humanity and human embryos are equal members of the species homo sapiens and each stage of development is equal in value to every other stage.

There is a connection between the self-interest of certain communities and the line to be drawn between recognition of persons and non-persons.  That self-interest may be driven by eugenic, economic, social or political factors such that those a society wishes to exclude are deemed to be non-persons.  History is replete with examples of this phenomenon.

However cleverly the arguments are presented the taking of a human life the killing of a human being is a heinous crime it is called murder. The killing of the most vulnerable human beings, unborn babies is the most heinous of crimes and and we call on all elected members of the Oireachtas to outrightly reject all demands for the holding of a referendum on the right to life of unborn babies

Holding such a referendum would open the way for the elimination of the legal protection of the right-to-life and, consequently, to the killing of many of Ireland’s unborn children by abortion.

Accordingly a petition is being circulated to the general public for signature and will ultimately be sent to all members of the Oireachtas appealing to them on behalf of the people of Ireland to reject all calls to hold a referendum on the repeal, or alteration, of the pro-life Eighth Amendment.

To access the appeal click on the following link

  http://www.nodeath.ie

Pro-abortion forces demand removal of remaining protection of unborn life in Ireland

We reported in June that relentless pressure is being exerted by pro abortion forces, in the lead up to the next general election in Ireland, to remove Ireland’s remaining protection for unborn babies.

This pressure is primarily being targeted at the government parties, other political parties and groups and even County Councils.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, in response to the pressure is reported to have said that Fine Gael’s election manifesto will not commit to holding a referendum on removing the 8th Amendment from the Constitution.

The Labour Party the juniour member of the current coalition has on the other hand signalled it will insist on an abortion referendum if it is to return to Government with Mr Kenny’s party.

The Independent reports that Kenny, speaking at a recent Fine Gael ‘think in’, in Limerick told the media he is not in “favour of abortion on demand” but is open to listening to arguments for changing the current laws governing abortion.

“I have no intention of abolishing the 8th Amendment without considering what it might be that might replace it and that means more than any other sensitive issue. I am quite prepared to listen to people who have contributions to make in that regard,” he said.

He added: "But believe me, to commit to abolishing the 8th Amendment without consideration of what you might do is not on my radar."

When pushed Mr Kenny insisted he was not committing to “any referendum”.

"Fine Gael in the preparation of its own Fine Gael programme will consider this matter very carefully along with a number of other sensitive issues as well,” he added.

The pressure being exerted at County Council level resulted this week in a significant defeat for the pro-abortion lobby in Limerick .

According to an article in the Limerick Leader, county councillors voted by almost two to one against a motion calling for a referendum to repeal the eighth - or “right to life” - amendment in the constitution.

The motion was defeated by 23 votes to 12. There were five councillors absent.

Take note that Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he is willing to listen to people who have contributions to make so let's ensure that he gets those contributions. He can be contacted at, taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie 

New demands for referendum in Ireland to remove all remaining protection for the unborn

Clare Daly TD in a private members Bill launched a new attack on Ireland’s remaining pro-life protection. Daly called for the repeal the 8th amendment in order to expand access to abortion in Ireland.

The eighth amendment of the Constitution, voted on in 1983, acknowledges the right to life of the unborn, equating it with the mother’s right to life. The amendment says:

"The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right."

During the debate Health Minister Leo Varakdar indicated his support for a future abortion referendum and said that the Eighth Amendment to the Constitutional dealing with abortion is too “restrictive” and is having a “chilling” effect on doctors, but inexplicably claims that he is pro-life and not in favour of abortion on demand.

It seems that the Minister has either swallowed pro-abortion rhetoric hook, line and sinker or he is playing fast and loose with the truth. Whilst proclaiming that he is pro-life he has declared his support for exactly what the pro-abortionists are currently seeking.

Sadly national debate on the issue has relegated the unfortunate baby to being a non-person and seeks to remove the small modicum of protection left to him/her. 

See report in the Irish Independent

Ireland to hold referendum on same sex 'marriage' in May

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The Irish government has announced that it will proceed with a referendum on same sex 'marriage', which will be called the Marriage Equality Bill

Taoiseach Enda Kenny confirmed in Dail Eireann that the Cabinet had given approval for the referendum to take place along with a second referendum on lowering age for presidential candidates.

"The Cabinet gave approval to hold the referenda, and both referenda will happen on the one day in the month of May 2015. The Government did not fix a final date," he said. 

Mr Kenny added that Frances Fitzgerald, the justice minister, will come back to the Dail when she has finalised her proposals in relation to the Marriage Equality Bill.

Kenny also said the Government would move to create a Referendum Commission to oversee the holding of the two referendums.

Tanaiste Joan Burton leader of the Labour Party said the decision was a "very positive and progressive development".

Speaking at the launch of a campaign in support of marriage and the family earlier this month  Bishop Liam Mac Daid and Bishop Kevin Doran, set out the teaching of the Church on the issue. 

Allowing same-sex marriage would be a “grave injustice” and a disservice to society, according to members of a representative body for Catholic bishops in Ireland.

The Catholic Bishops of Ireland in anticipation of the Government move recently published a leaflet entitled "The Meaning of Marriage".

The statement and information on it can be found on this link

“The view of marriage as being between man and a woman and for life, that’s not something which is particular to Catholics and Christians. There are people of all kinds of other religious beliefs, and of none, who believe in that,” said Bishop Liam MacDaid of Clogher, who is chair of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference council for marriage.

 “To put any other view of marriage on the same level as Christian marriage would be a disservice to society rather than a service,” added Bishop MacDaid, who was flanked by fellow bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin following a two-day winter conference in St Patrick’s College.

“While there’s sort of an assumption that this referendum [passing] is a no-brainer, in some societies the legislature has legislated for same-sex marriage, but in other societies- almost everywhere there has been a same-sex referendum- it has been rejected… Our hope would be that the referendum would be defeated,” said Bishop Doran, who courted publicity last week for his concessionary stance on inheritance rights for same-sex couples.

Catholic Church response to government plan for same-sex marriage referendum

Following the announcement by the Irish Government that it will hold a referendum on same sex marriage in May 2015, Bishop Denis Nulty the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin issued a strong statement of opposition to the proposed changes to the very essence of marriage and by extension, the family.

The debate at the heart of the referendum announced today by the Government is not about equality or about the false separation of a religious view of marriage from the civil view of marriage. It is about the very nature of marriage itself and the importance society places on the role of mothers and fathers in bringing up children. With others, the Catholic Church will continue to hold that the differences between a man and woman are not accidental to marriage but fundamental to it and that children have a natural right to a mother and a father and that this is the best environment for them where possible.

Married love is a unique form of love between a man and woman which has a special benefit for the whole of society. With others of no particular religious view, the Church regards the family based on marriage between a woman and a man as the single most important institution in any society.

To change the nature of marriage would be to undermine it as the fundamental building block of our society. The Church will therefore participate fully in the democratic debate leading up to the referendum and will seek with others to reaffirm the rational basis for holding that marriage should be reserved for the unique and complimentary relationship between a woman and a man from which the generation and upbringing of children is uniquely possible.

As Christians our primary commandment is to love. Love always demands that we respect the dignity of every human person. That is why the Catholic Church clearly teaches that people who are homosexual must always be treated with sensitivity, compassion and respect. It is not lacking in sensitivity or respect for people who are homosexual however to point out that same-sex relationships are fundamentally different from opposite sex relationships and that society values the complementary roles of mothers and fathers in the generation and up-bringing of children. 

Comment.

It is heartening to know that the Irish Bishops intend to participate fully in the democratic debate leading up to the referendum and will work with others to oppose it.

We agree that our primary commandment as Christians is to Love. Love however is not just about respecting the dignity of others it is also about upholding the truth even if by doing so others are offended. The expression of truth in love is at the heart of the Christian message which in addition to respecting dignity must have an eternal perspective in caring for the immortal souls of those who are in error.

Referendum on same-sex marriage expected in 2015

RTE report Tuesday November 5^th that the Irish Government Cabinet has agreed to hold a  referendum on civil marriage for same-sex couples, which is likely to take place in mid-2015. It is understood that Minister for Justice Alan Shatter brought a memo to the Cabinet this morning on the issue.

This is social engineering at its worst and can only damage the institution of marriage.

This issue has been very much in the news in the UK in recent months and we are linking to an excellent document prepared by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) on the issue and would recommend that it should be widely circulated.

In a separate article the Sunday Times reported that Minister Shatter will give guardianship rights of children to gay couples in advance of the referendum.

Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Eamon Gilmore recently said he hoped there would be a referendum on same-sex marriages during the lifetime of the Government. He said the right of gay people to marry was an "important issue". Mr Gilmore also said it would be "important to win this referendum".

It was also reported last week that two labour MEPs called for a referendum on same-sex marriage on the same date as the local and European elections next May, to ensure a good voter turnout.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny however, bruised by his humiliating defeat in the Seanad Referendum, and concerned that he will be faced with a new backbench revolt within Fine Gael, was last week reported to be hesitating. It appears that the compromise decision has been to push the referendum date to 2015.

The Sunday Times Nov. 3rd reported on a briefing note on  Justice Minister Alan Shatter's Family Relationships and Children's Bill, a draft of which is to be brought before the Cabinet shortly. Sarah McInerney [p. 1] reports: 'The minister intends to provide that in a surrogacy case, parentage may be legally assigned by the court on the basis of a genetic connection to one of the parents, with agreement of the surrogate. … It also proposes to give guardianship // [p. 2] rights of children to gay couples for the first time. … Shatter's proposals would allow a civil partner who is living with the adoptive or biological parent of a child and acting 'in loco parentis' for more than a year, to apply for guardianship of the child. The government intends for this aspect of the bill, which will be brought before the Oireachtas ahead of a referendum on same-sex marriage, to deal with many of the issues which may arise in the referendum debate in relation to adoption and guardianship of children by gay couples. … Shatter confirmed he will be bringing a comprehensive draft bill before cabinet shortly.'

Other reports at variance with the Sunday Times report suggest that the proposal to give guardianship rights of children to gay couples will not be part of the ‘Family Relationships and Children's Bill’ but will be legislated for separately in a stand alone bill.

VOTE NO in both referendums on Friday: Kathy Sinnott

Former MEP Kathy Sinnott calls for the Irish electorate to vote NO in the two referendums to be held next Friday.

It is almost 10 years since I sent off my submission for Seanad reform to the Oireachtas committee considering it. My proposals to make the Seanad the vibrant upper chamber it was meant to be and which we so desperately need were simple. Make the Seanad "panels" correspond to cabinet portfolios giving us Senators for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Senators for Finance, Senators for Health, etc. so that they cover all the major areas of government.

To make sure that senators are people who have real expertise and experience in these areas it was obvious that we needed to change the way senators are elected first by holding Dail and Seanad elections on the same day to discourage politicians from running for the Seanad and second by letting all voters qualified to vote for the Dail register to vote for up to three Seanad panels. For example, a farmer who is a parent might want to register to vote for the Agriculture, Food and the Marine panel of senators, the Education and Skills panel and the Health panel. This self selected electorate would vote with interest and knowledge and have a good chance of electing a Seanad which would be what it was meant to be, a non political, independent upper house with a wealth of relevant expertise and experience.

Just imagine how much better the country would have been served when the recession hit if there had been economists  in Leinster House who understood what was going on.

The day I was invited up to the Seanad by Senator Mary O’Rourke to discuss my submission I really thought there was a whiff of reform in the air. Unfortunately nothing happened.

A few years later attending the Constitutional Affairs Committee in Brussels, I could see that abolition not reform of the Seanad was on the cards. The EU federalist gurus of the committee who liked to see themselves as innovators but who always seemed to be apologists for the European Council and Commission were discussing change to governance in member states. They said that with the Lisbon Treaty (not yet ratified at that time) member states would no longer need elaborate legislative structures and that these should be eliminated or pared down.

Applying this to Ireland, and I had no doubt that our obedient politicians would apply it to Ireland,  it obviously meant eliminating the Seanad. After all who wants to reform that which is destined for the chopping block.

Yet, in my opinion, the more the EU and other global bodies encroach the more we needed a well reformed Seanad.

Additionally one of the changes wrought by the proposed Seanad referendum  is to eliminate our right to vote on EU treaties. This is another proposed change that would please the EU institutions which have little patience with us and   find Irish referendums dangerous.

There is another constitutional change that a yes vote would visit on us which is worth highlighting.

As the Constitution now stands a simple majority of the Dail and Seanad can initiate an investigation of alleged judicial mis-behaviour or incapacity with a view to impeachment where the finding indicate. If we vote to abolish the Seanad we eliminate this important safety net and in its place require an unwieldy  two thirds majority of the Dail to open an investigation of a judge’s conduct or incapacity to judge fairly or at all. A two thirds majority puts this provision out of reach in any situation which the government of the day finds sensitive.

This change is clearly not in the interest of the people of Ireland who must rely on the courts for justice nor does it serve judges who understand better than anyone the need to maintain the highest standards in Irish courts.

Even Fine Gael,  Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter has decried this aspect of the proposed referendum on the Seanad as dangerously open to government interference.

For this and many other reasons, I will be voting NO to both referendums on Oct 4th.

Kathy Sinnott

St Joseph

Ballinabearna

Ballinhassig

Co Cork

0872786552, 021 4888374

New Irish Referendums on Seanad abolition and creation of a new Court of Appeal

I have grave concerns about the implications of the two referendums the Irish Government have arranged to be held on October 4^th, in relation the abolition of the Seanad (Senate) and the creation of a new Court of appeal.

I am reprinting below a copy of a news release I received from Nora Bennis

Dear Friends of Life and the Family,

Our worst fears about the consequence of a yes vote in the upcoming two referenda appear to be confirmed by Michael McDowell (former Attorney General) in his article in the Sunday Independent of 22/9/13.  The two referenda are intrinsically linked.

He states a yes vote will “amend the terms of Article 29 [of our Constitution] to give the Dail sole power WITHOUT HOLDING ANY REFERENDUM to surrender our EU veto on corporate tax AND ALL OTHER MATTERS WHERE NOW WE HOLD A VETO….”   The Lisbon Treaty Guarantees gave Ireland a veto on Taxation certainly.  But it also gave us a veto on two other matters – on the Right to Life, Family and Education, and on Security and Defence.   The guarantee on the Right to Life, Family and Education states:

Nothing in the Treaty of Lisbon attributing legal status to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or in the provisions of that Treaty in the area of Freedom, Security and Justice, affects in any way, the scope and applicability of the protection of the right to life in Article 40.3.1, 40.3.2 and 40.3.3, the protection of the Family in Article 41, and the protection of the rights in respect of education in Articles 42, 44.2.4 and 44.2.5 provided by the Constitution of Ireland.

If these referenda are passed, the Dail will have sole power, without going to the people in a Referendum, to legislate in the matter of Life, Family and Education.  Enda obviously knew what he was doing when he pushed through his abortion legislation.  He anticipated a yes vote in the upcoming referenda, which would make it impossible for pro-lifers to win any Constitutional challenge to this legislation.

Vivienne Reding, EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, has made it quite clear that she wants to enforce respect for the Charter of Fundamental Rights on all EU member states, and she has been working hard to have member states put a “mechanism” in place which will make this possible.

I have now no doubt that the two referenda being put to the Irish people on October 4th, are part of that “mechanism”.  Once again, our politicians have bowed down to their EU masters.

Nora Bennis