The abortion issue in this country is a war between church and State. The problem is, many of our legislators are Catholic which, means it is difficult to get the church out of Irish politics.

Some of our TDs are sworn to the unborn, and it would not be going too far to say that they were specifically elected on an anti-abortion ticket. TDs like Mattie McGrath who are fanatical, and join anti-abortion rallies and disrupt committee hearings into the matter, show us how difficult it is going to be to get God out of our laws.

Most, if not all, of the opposition coming against the liberalisation of abortion emanates from religious quarters. The Catholic Church in particular has ruled the abortion debate in this country and sees it as a moral issue to be decided by the church exclusively. We are supposed to be living in a democracy, not a theocracy dictated by the Pope in Rome.

Indeed, the Pope’s planned visit to Northern Ireland next year, when the referendum on the Eighth Amendment is planned in our republic, may be no accident in trying to press the anti-abortion agenda. Any comments by the Pope made on or before his visit would have a profound influence.

If he had any tact, the Pope should not come to Ireland at all in a referendum year, as the conflict of interest is overwhelmingly evident. The fawning which went on when the Pope visited Ireland last time was enormous. Many of those who were blown away were Irish politicians who could not get enough of him, his church and its ethics. 

It’s a church of hypocrisy which is constantly embroiled in scandals, yet it lectures us ad nauseam on abortion. Sufferers of abuse have felt its wrath when they took issue with the institution, and argue it is still actively harbouring predators and refusing to pay compensation to victims.

Maurice Fitzgerald

Shanbally, Co Cork