H. E. RAYMOND
CARDINAL BURKE ON ABORTION: UNJUST
LAWS ARE SELF-DESTRUCTING
“The Infant in
the Womb is not a Disease but a gift of New Human Life”
Ireland United
for Life has welcomed recent comments on the abortion issue by His Eminence
Raymond Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic
Signatura: “The fight is certainly
winnable” he said, pointing out that Catholic politicians have a responsibility
to promote Life and Family, and that they should oppose abortion legislation
and prevent legislation abandoning our Pro-Life position. “A Nation with unjust laws becomes
ever-more corrupt and ever-more threatened with self-destruction” he said.
Speaking
specifically about Ireland, he warned that abandoning our Pro-Life position and
decriminalising abortion will develop a culture against Life. Catholics need to listen to Our Holy
Father Pope Benedict XVI, who has addressed this fundamental issue so frequently,
His Eminence, one of the foremost Canon Lawyers of the Catholic Church, gave
his comments during a recent interview on American station Ave Maria Radio.
In a separate
interview with Irish Newspaper ‘Catholic Voice’ of 3rd February, Cardinal Burke
is quoted: “Abortion has nothing
to do with healthcare, the infant in the womb is not a disease but a gift of
new human life. ……The taking of an innocent and defenceless human life can
never be right, can never be justified.
Therefore, to decriminalize abortion is a contradiction of the most
fundamental principles of the legal system, the principle that human life is to
be safeguarded and defended at all times”.
Canon 915 – For
Those in Public Office:
Speaking in
relation to Canon 915, which deals with those in Public Office, he stated “…
and Catholic politicians have a particularly heavy responsibility in our Nation
by their political activity, to promote human life and to promote the family - and those Catholic politicians who
obstinately promote anti-life and anti-family legislation, for instance, who
support and vote for legislation, who make procured abortion more readily
available, … and other such violations of the Moral Law, this is a very grave
sin and once they’re warned, they should not present themselves any more to
receive Holy Communion until they have amended their ways.” He continued “It’s a very grave sin in
itself, it risks their own eternal punishment for having committed so grave a sin
…”
Speaking
Specifically about Ireland, he said:
“Ireland has been
steadfast in upholding the inviolable dignity of human life and one can’t help
but also note that Ireland is one
of the safest countries in the world, if not the safest, for ….care of women
and also for safe delivery of babies and so forth. The medical field in Ireland especially in the area of
gynaecology and obstetrics, is very advanced. If through any bad decision, Ireland should abandon its
strong position against abortion, it will simply go down a road that many
countries have already gone down, including our own.
Once abortion is
decriminalized it becomes an ever expanding reality in society and it generates
a whole culture of death as we’ve experienced and it’s been experienced in
other countries where abortion is possible ‘on demand’ as they say. So it’s a
critical moment for Ireland, it’s not only for Ireland itself but it’ll also be
a critical moment for Her to give a witness to the whole world with regard to
this fundamental issue, which Our Holy Father has addressed so frequently,
which the Bishops of Ireland are addressing to the people now and the good
Catholics need to listen to Our Holy Father as the One who has received the
Grace to be the Teacher of the Universal Church, and to their Bishops with
regard to these important matters for the Common Good.”
Concluding, he
added “I fear very much for Ireland should it accept abortion, or what it will
mean for a Nation which, in fact, has been so much in the forefront in protecting
human life ….”
Mrs. M.
Morgan-Dupré
Secretary: Ireland United For Life
