THE OMAGH BOMBING
STATEMENT BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH
15th August 1998

I am appalled, shocked and deeply saddened by this dreadful atrocity which has killed and maimed so many innocent people. I pray that God may comfort the families and relatives of those who have died. I offer to them and to the injured my deepest sympathy. Those who carried out this terrible act of murder have done so with a ruthless determination to wreck the prospects for peace. They must not be allowed to succeed.

PRESS STAEMENT ON THE DAMAGE TO A NUMBER OF ORANGE HALLS
AND A CHURCH OF IRELAND CHURCH
From Cardinal Seán Brady

I wish to condemn unreservedly the damage caused to three Orange Halls and a Church of Ireland Church last night by Petrol Bombers. I call on those responsible or anyone contemplating such attacks to desist, there is not, nor can there ever be, any justification for such attacks. Acts of violence lead to further acts of violence and following the horrific murders of Richard, Mark and Jason Quinn it is incumbent on all to stop this madness. Such actions do not lend to the building of new relationships, which are so badly needed.

I offer my sympathy to all those affected by these latest attacks.

July 14, 1998.

MESSAGE OF CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
TO
ORANGE ORDER CHAPLAINS

I warmly welcome the expression by a representative group of Orange Order Chaplains of their deep sorrow that so many Catholics have been intimidated out of their homes and that several churches have been burnt. This sensitive expression of sorrow is a courageous step on the road to the establishment of new and better relationships in our divided society.

Roman Catholics eagerly share the hope of the Chaplains that the day may quickly come when all the people of Northern Ireland will be enabled to live in mutual respect and neighbourly harmony. Achieving that mutual respect and harmony is a challenge to us all. I unreservedly condemn the arson attacks on a Church of Ireland Church and Orange Halls in recent days. I am sorry that these senseless and criminal actions have taken place. They only delay the establishment of the new relationships which are so badly needed.

Archbishop of Armagh
July 14, 1998.

“THE DRUMCREE STAND-OFF”
MASS IN ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, PORTADOWN
HOMILY BY CARDINAL SEAN BRADY
12 JULY 1998

“What must I do to possess eternal life?” This question which the lawyer put to Jesus is an important one. It is the sort of question that must occur to everyone at some stage. The lawyer believes there is such a thing as eternal life, that death is not the end. He believes that eternal life is something good and desirable, something which he wants very much for himself because otherwise he knows he won’t be happy. Finally he realises that there is a connection, a vital connection, between what we do in this life and how we will be in the next life. Jesus takes the lawyer’s question seriously and he helps him to find the answer to his question. He says: “You are a lawyer, you have studied, what do you read in your textbooks?” and the lawyer tells him “Love your God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself”. It is a question of building and establishing good relationships with one’s God and with one’s neighbour.

In the Bible they had a word for that sort of reality – good relationships – they called it ‘Peace’. And the work of building the good relationships was called ‘peacemaking’. Jesus Christ is the true peacemaker. He has been called the cornerstone who unites two great walls coming from different directions – the Jews and the Gentiles. He made one church out of those peoples – the believing people of the Jews and the believing people of the Gentiles. Two believing peoples can have their differences. They can have different beliefs and different traditions but they can also have much in common. They have hurts and fears and hopes that are the same. Jesus brought peace because he broke down barriers. He brought forgiveness and he called people to repentance.

Peace is about more than the absence of war of course. It is about more than the lifting of the siege. Getting rid of the fear and the threat, that is indeed only the first step.

Since Sunday last an atmosphere of fear has been growing in this community. People are frightened and uncertain about the next few days. What a contrast to the spirit of hope which had been evident in the previous weeks. Many were looking forward to a future together based on the principles of dialogue, mutual respect, equality and partnership.

During the past week we have seen the pain and the hurt experienced by so many people in the Catholic community. Some have been intimidated out of their homes, others have been denied access to and from their homes by protesters, whole areas have been ravaged by acts of violence. I condemn this violence and intimidation, the burnings, the physical and verbal abuse which has, and continues to be directed, against sections of the community.

I am sure that the majority of you voted ‘Yes’ in the Referendum. You voted for things like: equality and mutual trust, reconciliation and tolerance and respect. You voted for the protection of the rights of everybody. These are the basis of a real and lasting peace. The implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the establishment of all those things would in fact be the nuts and bolts of good relationships between neighbour and neighbour. You voted ‘Yes’ for the Agreement, despite the many hurts which you, as a community, have suffered down through the years. Despite the fact that people like Michael McGoldrick, Robert Hamill and Adrian Lamph have been killed, violently. Despite the hurt of marches being pushed down the road against the will of the residents. You voted ‘Yes’ despite your many fears, the fears that once again your views might be disregarded. You voted ‘Yes’ because you believe you have the power to forgive and to grow and to heal, and you are right. And so we have this new situation which gives rise to new hopes and to new possibilities.

The Good Friday Agreement commits us all to respect the rights of others. One of the basic rights is for people to have their own culture and to express their culture. Since this is so, I can understand how many Orange people feel genuinely hurt and puzzled as to why a march back from a Church service can pose such difficulties to some people. I think the answer to this question lies in part in the fears and resentments of Catholics which I have already mentioned. It is also due to their sense of exclusion from the centre of Portadown.

We all must recognise that we have responsibility not only to ourselves and to our own community but also to the wider community. It has to be recognised that there can be no lasting settlement to our differences, not only in Portadown but in Northern Ireland, without taking account of the feelings and experiences of those of different views to our own.

The problems over marches are a symptom of the fact that Catholics often do not believe that they, their culture or their religion, are respected in Portadown, however rich many personal relationships across the divide are. I think that it is in that context that many resent an Orange march going through, what is mainly a Nationalist area.

I would appeal to all to try and understand to try and understand the pains and hurts of the other community. We Catholics and Protestants are not actually that very different from each other. We all have families, we all have hopes and fears for the future. We all suffer from our divisions and from the dreadful images that these portray of Christians fighting each other in our country.

There is a story told of a Nationalist in Portadown who dreamt that he was eavesdropping at a barricade on the conversation of three Orangemen. He expected to find them debating the pros and cons of their situation. Instead he found them talking about their grandsons’ delight at the goal scored by Ronaldo the previous night. He remembered that he had seen the same joy in his own grandson’s face.

We can only resolve our problems in Portadown by developing a new relationship between Catholics and Protestants, Nationalists and Unionists. To do that we need to meet and to dialogue with each other and to address the issue of respect for all our different cultures but especially the exclusion that Catholics experience in Portadown and the fears of Orange people that their culture is being marginalised. The future lies in a more mature society in which we can respect each other’s differences. In that new respectful relationship we will no longer have problems over marches or over Catholic safety in Portadown.

The hopes of all are that a means can be found of resolving this problem, not just for this year but on a longer term basis. Limiting the discussions solely to conflicting rights has not succeeded in the past. It is unlikely to do so now. Building new relationships of mutual trust and mutual respect would be a more helpful approach. Transforming old relationships into new ones is never easy. It takes time and effort. It means going the extra mile to listen to each other’s stories and experiences. It means hearing the hurt and feeling something of the pain of the other person.

Of course it is much easier to dub both sides as intransigent, in a holier than thou attitude. But that approach dispenses one from investing the time and the effort required to address these difficult issues. The work of reconciliation is slow and painstaking. It is always a tough challenge.

The command of Jesus to love your neighbour as yourself is another tough challenge. We are all called to be Good Samaritans to those who are being wounded in the conflicts of life. We have to realise that we ourselves have often been hurt and are in need of the healing of a Good Samaritan. Jesus held up the Good Samaritan as an outstanding example of someone who built good relationships. He didn’t stop to ask if the wounded man was a Samaritan or a Jew. He didn’t cross over to the other side of the road to try and duck the problem. He saw the man who was hurt, he saw his wounds and he had pity on him.

In situations of conflict Jesus is the Good Samaritan, the cornerstone who unites two walls and is our model. His is the way of active non-violence. He does not leave us on our own. He guides us with the light of his truth and helps us to grow in our abilities to face difficult situations. Be not afraid he will give us the strength we need.

And so, I appeal to all this weekend to act peacefully and with dignity. To all those who feel they have to protest this weekend I say to stop for a moment and consider carefully, very carefully, how they intend to register that protest. Good intentions and declarations that protests will be peaceful can easily be forgotten or pushed aside when emotions run high.

I appeal to all to act responsibly and do not set at risk what has already been achieved on the road to the establishment of a genuine and lasting peace. I appeal to all to be active peacemakers particularly this weekend by contacting friends and neighbours and acquaintances and assuring them that the intentions are good and the friendships will endure.

INTRODUCTION

Jesus has asked us to celebrate Mass in memory of him.

We come together to remember Jesus and especially His love for us. Jesus came on Earth to reveal to us God’s love for each and everyone of us – God’s love for us is always the same. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. We are always in God’s love and in God’s care.

That is a very reassuring thought. Especially:

when we are afraid.
when we feel threatened
when we feel isolated and lonely, cut off and hemmed in.

We are always in God’s loving care. We are always in God’s hands. Jesus stays with us in the Blessed sacrament to reassure us of that.

Behold I am with you always, even to the end of time…….

DRUMCREE PARADE
JOINT STATEMENT
BY THE ARCHBISHOPS OF ARMAGH

As Archbishops of Armagh we share the widespread concern and fears of many people regarding this year’s parade by the Orange Order at Drumcree.

We recognise the depth of feeling within the Order and within the local nationalist community on this issue.

At this critical time for all the people of Northern Ireland we urge both the Orange Order and the local community on the Garvaghy Road to use every means possible to seek to achieve accommodation. To ensure that there is no threat to human life and no danger of damage to property we urge them to act with restraint, to act peaceably and within the law so that the rights of both traditions may be respected and expressed with dignity.

We are conscious of the tension which this event evokes and pray that a new awareness of the rights and duties of all our communities may be evident at this time.

We urge all with influence in both communities to do all they can to encourage respect for the feelings and aspirations of others.

We pray for a peaceful and just outcome to all controversial events this summer in the name of the vast majority who yearn for a peaceful and stable future for Northern Ireland.

+ Sean Brady + Robin Eames
Archbishop Archbishop

ECUMENICAL SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING
FOR THE PROGRESS OF PEACE TALKS IN IRELAND
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL
MELBOURNE
June, 1998
MESSAGE FROM
MOST REVEREND SEAN BRADY, ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

I am very happy to send my warmest greetings to everybody gathered in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, today for this ecumenical service of thanksgiving to God for the progress made in Northern Ireland towards a permanent and lasting peace.

It is particularly appropriate that today’s ceremony should be held in a cathedral dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick. Here in Armagh, the historic See of St Patrick, our two cathedrals, Catholic and Anglican, are also dedicated to our revered patron. He is part of our shared Christian heritage.

The Good Friday Agreement was unique in the range of parties and governments which participated in the negotiations and ultimately agreed the terms of the final document. Agreement was reached after an enormous commitment of time and energy, of patience and endurance by all the participants.

Your service today has two themes. The first is to remember the sorrow and pain of so many people. It is right that your thoughts should turn first to those who have suffered. Our prayer must be that God will comfort the bereaved and the maimed in their loneliness and distress. The Good Friday Agreement points the way forward from the conflict which has left many people heartbroken in both the nationalist and unionist communities, so many lives wrecked and so many families, Protestant and Catholic, devastated.

The second theme of today’s service is hope, the hope which the future offers to all who seek an end to violence and a way forward to building relationships based on freedom and justice. We give thanks to God that we have come this far while recognising that there is still a long way to go. The electorates in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland have handsomely endorsed the Good Friday Agreement in referenda. There is a perceptible lessening of fear and a deepening of trust between the two traditions, so essential to lasting peace.

I am very conscious that, throughout the whole process leading to the Good Friday Agreement, prayers were offered by many people in Ireland and across the world for the success of the talks. It is a source of immense encouragement that so many people continue to pray for us.

It is, therefore, with sentiments of the deepest gratitude that I send this message to you today. I pray that God grants abundant blessings to you and to each of your families.

VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF EUROPEAN UNION
TO BELFAST
MAY, 1998
ADDRESS BY MOST REV SEÁN BRADY

I gladly welcome you Mr. President, and I hope your stay in our country will be a very happy and very fruitful one. I think that our presence here as a group will prove the untruth of the assertion that the troubles in Northern Ireland are essentially religious troubles.

We – representatives of the Four Main Churches – meet many times each year at various levels and a good working relationship exists between us. The fact that you have asked to meet us underlines once again your conviction, I think, that religion has an important part to play in the life of modern Europe – that it must not be banished or relegated to the sacristy as some of the enemies of religion would wish to have them.

Your own efforts to underpin the Economic and Monetary Union with an ethical basis and framework of ethical values is entirely laudable. I was very pleased to read of the important presence of people from the European Union at the Symposium sponsored recently in Brussels at which Mr. Tiedemayer spoke and also Mons. Diarmuid Martin – on the implications of the EURO. There is a price – a moral price to be paid for undertaking the task of putting a soul into Europe. That price involves solidarity with the weaker elements and poorer regions of the Union. It involves taking decisions to give to those in greatest need and that inevitably involves taking from those who have the greatest capacity to give.

The work of the Local Partnerships is very important in breaking down barriers of fear and suspicion and it provides a very valuable subvention for some of the most remote areas. It is essential for the future of the whole peace endeavour.

I would view with great alarm the gradual denudation and decimation of the countryside which is taking place in Ireland as well as in England, Scotland and Wales. That way of life had a great solidarity and stability about it which is conducive to the inculcation of a greater sense of responsibility.
The inclusion of a Church clause in a protocol to the recent Treaty of Amsterdam was a source of gratification to many people. It indicates, I think, a copper fastening of the position of the Churches in society.

NORTHERN IRELAND AGREEMENT
STATEMENT BY MOST REV. SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH
GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1998

I welcome the good news that agreement has been reached at the peace talks. I congratulate all those involved in the negotiations who have worked so tirelessly, so courageously and so patiently to bring us to where we are today.

I thank God that the prayers of so many people for the peacemakers and for a successful outcome to these talks are being answered.

It is my fervent hope that the agreement which has been reached will be a significant milestone on the road to a just and lasting peace. The proposals it contains should be given a fair hearing.

I hope that the agreement will lead the way to an Ireland where people grow in respect for each other and learn to trust each other despite their differences.

Only a limited number was involved in the peace talks. All of us must now be participants in the work of reconciliation, of building trust and of healing the hurts.

The Easter Feast is about victory over death and the birth of new life. For Christians it is a time of profound hope. The hope of new life grows stronger this Eastertide. We must pray earnestly this weekend that this hope will sustain us all through the inevitable challenges which lie ahead.

TOWARDS 2000
LIFE (NI) CONFERENCE
Holiday Inn Express, Belfast
Saturday 25th April, 1998, 3.00 p.m.
ADDRESS BY MOST REVEREND SEAN BRADY
THE VALUE OF LIFE

The sacredness of human life has always been part of the moral teaching of the great religious traditions of the world. It is coming under systematic questioning in our time. It is very important that we find the appropriate response through study, reflection, prayer and action.

There is a story told about the Buddha. One day a crazy man attacked the Buddha with a axe and was about the kill him. The Buddha put up his hand to stop him and said, “Listen, just a moment. Before you kill me I want you to take that axe and go over and cut a branch off that tree there”. So the attacker went off, and with a big strong swing, chopped the branch off the tree. Then he came back to the Buddha. “Now”, said the Buddha, “I want you to take that branch and put it back onto the tree”. The attacker looked at him. “What?”, he said, “you’re crazy. You know very well that I cannot do that”. “No”, said the Buddha, “it is not I who am crazy, it is you, for you are about to destroy something you cannot restore and something that you have not brought into being”. His attacker paused for a moment, then after a few moments walked away without saying anything.

Fullness of Life

We are all called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of our earthly existence. That fullness of life consists in sharing in the life of God. But the fact that we are called to eternal life reveals the greatness and the value of human life on earth, because life, here on earth, life in time, is the fundamental condition of the entire process of human existence. Life in time, life on earth is the initial stage of the whole process of our existence. Life in time here on earth is an integral part of that process.

All Life is Precious – Vegetative and Animal Life

As we drive around the roads at this time of year, despite all the bad weather, one cannot but be struck by the beauty of vegetative life. The furze is in wonderful bloom; the hedges are just beginning to show their marvelous signs of new life; shrubs and plants do likewise. Lawns and gardens are full of life. I think of the beauty of the lilies of fields and roses in rose gardens and how much joy they give to those who cultivate them and to those who admire them. I think of the goodness and nourishment provided by the crops and fruits and vegetables which our gracious and bountiful Mother Earth provides to nourish all other life – animal and human life.

Springtime

Spring is a good time to talk of the value of life with so many signs of new life beginning to appear. It is a time when birds build nests. It is a time when farmyards resound to the sounds of lambs and calves and foals. Children marvel at the sight of kittens and puppies and chickens and ducklings and goslings. Recently on a visit to the American Folk Park in Omagh I was amazed at the fascination which the remarkable collection of live pedigree rabbits had for all of the visitors but especially for the children.

All life comes from God who is the source of life. The living God calls us to eternal life. Right from its beginning to the end, the Word of God presents a profound appreciation of life, in all its forms. It is a gift in which the mystery and generosity of God shine forth. The phrase ‘The Living God’ is used frequently in the Bible. It is an indication of how highly Scripture regards life.

Life is Precious

Life is something precious. Life appears at the last stage of creation. It is the crowning point of creation. “On the fifth day are born the sea monsters, living things that glide and move in the waters” the book of Genesis tells us. The Earth then brings forth further living creatures (Gen. 1:24). Finally, God created the most perfect living thing of all, in his own image, the human person.

Therefore even though life is a time of hard work, the book of Job tells us that, “People are ready to sacrifice everything to preserve life”. (Job. 2:4). To be in the land of the living and to die as Abraham did at a happy old age, advanced in years and filled with days is the ideal. (Job. 42:17). Parents intensely desire to have children as they are a source of joy and a sort of extension of their own lives. (Ps. 127).

Life is Fragile

People and other living creatures have a rather tenuous grip on life. Death is part of their nature. So life is short, like ‘wisps of smoke’ according to the Book of Wisdom (Wis. 2:2) – ‘shadow’ according to the Book of Psalms. (Ps. 144:4).

Life is Sacred

It is true that all life comes from God, yet the power of the human being to breathe comes from God in a very special way. To make man a living individual God breathed in his nostrils the breath of life, the book of Genesis tells us. (Gen. 2:7). It is the same breath which he withdraws at death, according to the book of Job. (Job. 34:14).

Nothing in our experience has quite the same value as human life. After an accident or a big fire the first question is: Has anyone been hurt? Anyone killed? The car, even the building can be replaced, but the human person cannot. Every human person is unique and irreplaceable.

Respect for life.

Human life is sacred even before it is born. Sexuality and sexual life are sacred because they are the mysterious source of human life. These truths have been honoured by the great majority of people all through history, whatever their religion, whatever their culture.

From the moment that human life begins to exist at conception it is entitled to the same respect and protection as any other human life. Any action which sets out to destroy this life is morally wrong. The lives of both the child and the mother are sacred. The right to life of each of them is inviolable. Abortion is the direct taking of innocent life and no motive can justify it. No court judgement, no legislation can make it morally right. Abortion goes to the very well-spring of human life and touches the very foundations of morality.

The birth of a child brings delight and joy to parents, grandparents and everyone else connected with the family. The death of someone we love brings suffering and sadness. Life is precious in its coming to us and its going from us.

Indeed our own deepest feelings tell us that human life ranks above all other values. We are desperately attached to life, our own life, the life of those we love. Notice how we protect ourselves from accidents and disease. The thought of facing hospital or surgery, for ourselves or for our dear ones, frightens us. In the face of death, life becomes very precious.

Christians in particular have been unanimous and undivided in their absolute respect for unborn life and in their view of what reverence for the source of life implies. These values have begun to be questioned only in recent years; so it is important that we examine these matters again in the light of the Gospel and in the light of Christian and human conscience.

The Christian principle of respect for human life at every stage of its existence is firm and clear – God and God alone is the Lord of Life. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We come from God, we go to God, we belong to God. In the Psalms we read:

Know that the Lord is God!
It is He that made Us,
and we are His;
We are His people. (Ps. 99: 3)
Thou shalt not kill

God’s commandment, ‘thou shalt not kill’, unconditionally forbids all taking of innocent human life from its beginning in the womb until the end that God, not we, has set for it. We must have absolute respect for human life. It comes from God’s hands, from the very first moment of conception, and remains under God’s care on earth, until he takes it back to himself in death.

Is Every Life of Equal Value?

Some will say that not every life is of equal value. But in the eyes of God every life is of equal and priceless value. We must see every life as having the value which it has for God. Christ told us something about that when he said: “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny yet, not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows (Mt. 10:29-31).

Each human being is called to live with God forever. This is where we see the value of each human being. Sometimes people answer the question about what the person was, by stating the value of his/her assets or the amount of his annual earnings. The true answer is that every person is worth the life blood of Christ. There, and only there, is the true standard for judging the value of life

The Hippocratic Oath

The unwritten laws of the Creator can be seen by human reason and witnessed in God’s creation. They are engraved in the human heart. They are found in the human conscience and in the sense of personal responsibility. The ethics of the medical profession for example have found expression in the Hippocratic Oath.

Hippocrates was a little Greek who lived about 500 years before Christ. He traveled a lot and became the most famous Greek physician of ancient times. He became the embodiment of the ideal physician. By the terms of the Hippocratic Oath doctors solemnly swore:

“I shall never, no matter who may demand it, supply homicidal drugs. I shall never supply any woman with an abortive peccary. By chastity and sanctity I shall protect my life and my profession”.
The Geneva Medical Book, drawn up in 1948 by the World Health Organisation has a more modern form of the Hippocratic Oath and it says simply:

‘I shall keep absolute respect for human life from the moment of conception”.
Here we have the oldest and noblest tradition in the medical profession. That profession takes its stand for the sacred character, the absolute rights, of the unborn child. Here we are also at one with the deepest conviction of the human conscience.

Threats to Human Life

We live in an age marked by an extraordinary increase in the number of threats against the human life. Today those threats are very many and very serious. This is especially so where life is weak and defenseless. Poverty, hunger, diseases, violence in war, have always proved a threat to human life.

Thirty years ago the Second Vatican Council condemned very powerfully a number of crimes and attacks against human life. The passage, that is still relevant today, says: “Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person such as mutilation, torment inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as sub-human living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of gain rather than as free and responsible persons all these things and others like them poison human society. They do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injuries. They are a supreme dishonour to the Creator”.

Unfortunately this disturbing state of affairs is expanding instead of decreasing. Scientific and technological progress have made possible new forms of attacks on the dignity of the human person. A new cultural climate is developing which gives crimes against life a new and even more sinister character. The reason is that broad sectors of public opinion try to justify certain crimes against life in the name of the rights of individual freedom. On this basis they claim not only exemption from punishment by the law but even authorisation by the State. The result is that these things can be done with total freedom and indeed with the free assistance of health care systems. The result is that choices, once unanimously thought criminal and rejected by common moral sense, are gradually becoming socially acceptable. Some doctors, who by their calling are directed to the defence and care of human life, are increasingly willing to carry out these acts against the person.

The very nature of the medical profession is, in this way, being distorted and contradicted. The dignity of those who practice it is degraded. The end result is tragic. The destruction of so many human lives, which are still to be born or in their final stage, is extremely serious and disturbing. But the fact that conscience itself is finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of human life is immensely disturbing.

Law and Society

Why does society exist? Why do we have laws? Society and the law exist to serve the human person. They exist to protect the rights of the person, and to promote respect for the basic rights of all members of society. The right to life is the most fundamental of all rights. It is the foundation of all other rights. But who in society has the obligation to see that the basic rights of all members are protected? The obligation to see that basic rights of all members of society are respected falls on legislators, members of the judiciary and in the last analysis, on every citizen. But the primary duty falls on the Legislators and the Judges. Now a law which purports to authorise the direct and intentional killing of an innocent human being withdraws the protection to which every innocent life is entitled. Such a law denies the equality of everyone before the law. Such a law therefore contradicts the very purpose for which law exists. It is not a true morally binding law, but rather an act of violence and a corruption of law. So, keeping in mind that the obligation to protect the basic rights of all members of society, including the right to life, is one that falls on legislators, let us examine what actually is happening. First of all the promoters of liberal abortion for Ireland are trying to sow confusion and doubt. They know well that promoting abortion is not likely to draw support from the communities of Ireland. So what do they do? They claim that the present legal situation is unsatisfactory.

It is said that the present law is unclear or uncertain. Those arguing for clarification are in reality obscuring the situation in order to try to hide what they are doing. People opposing change in the law are pro-life campaigners in general. What is the law on abortion in Northern Ireland? Northern Irish law protects unborn children. The statutes prohibit abortion establishing no exceptions other than acts to preserve the life of the mother. With reference to English Case Law, Northern Irish courts have allowed abortions in a few cases. This Case Law makes it clear that abortion on demand is not lawful in Northern Ireland.

Does the Law need Clarifying

What of the claim that the law needs clarifying. It is clear that the law gives substantial protection to unborn children while the British Abortion Act fails utterly to do so. The interpretation of preserving life to include a serious adverse effect on health may be controversial but that doesn’t mean that the law cannot readily be interpreted and enforced by the courts. The British Abortion Act is considerably harder to enforce. Is there cross-community support for legal protection of unborn children? Yes. People of Northern Ireland have, through every democratic means, expressed their overwhelming opposition to any liberalisation of their abortion legislation. In 1990, the then Health Minister, Virginia Bottomley said, “To the best of my knowledge no Northern Ireland member of parliament has ever called for changes in the Northern Ireland Abortion Act Laws”. Similarly all the soundings of opinion have made it very clear that there is no will in Northern Ireland for such a change. What of the women from Northern Ireland who go to England for abortions? Quite clearly people have the means to travel abroad to do things that are not legal in their own jurisdiction. This will always be the case as different jurisdictions have different laws.

A law intended to permit the killing of the most vulnerable members of the human family is not justified by the fact that others already have such legislation. The experience of other countries is that unless abortion is entirely unrestricted it will result in some degree of what pro-abortionists call “exporting the problem”. France has a very permissive policy on early abortion but restrictions on later abortion. The result is that many French women travel each year for abortions in England where later abortion is more readily available.

What can be done?

It can happen that a person acts under the pressure of panic or great fear or under the influence of psychological forces or under severe coercion and we may not blame them fully for their actions. Such considerations do not alter the fact that a person’s right to life has been fundamentally violated by the process of abortion.

A discussion of the value of life is incomplete if it doesn’t discuss the dilemma of a single or married women faced with an unplanned pregnancy and frequently under enormous pressure from every side to solve her dilemma by abortion. So as often as we speak of preventing abortion we must speak of our concern for the mother of the unborn child who is searching for understanding, acceptance and assistance.

In the United States some three thousand pro-life centres, staffed mostly by volunteers, have been established to provide every form of support needed to help women have their babies. The formation of such groups as Lutherans for Life, Methodists for Life, Presbyterians for Life and the Choose Life Society, a national Jewish pro-life organisation, demonstrates that abortion is not simply a Catholic or Evangelical religious issue. According to pollster, Louis Harris, 68% of all Americans think that it is against God’s will to destroy the life of an unborn baby, and 60% believe that a foetus should have rights just like all other human beings. So the simple answer to the question, why choose life in the face of an unwanted pregnancy is, because the child in the womb is a human being.

Doctor Bernard Nathanson, of New York, performed thousands of abortions and lobbied for abortion rights before advances in medicine convinced him that human lives were being taken. An atheist, he has produced two dramatic films on abortion to educate people about life in the womb.

One of the most profound experiences of my life was to visit a home for homeless babies in Calcutta last October. Mother Teresa had founded that home out of her profound respect and love and joy for the gift to life. The morning we visited there were four hundred and forty babies there. Mother Teresa invites us all to see that respect for human life is an attitude, a way of living. It is planted and nurtured in the many places and circumstances of our lives where we work and live and play. Each one of us, no matter the circumstances of our lives, can follow her example of respect, compassion and joy at the gift of life. Our witness will be treasured in the heart of God and in the hearts of those whose lives we touch.

Injustice and Tyranny

Every form of injustice and tyranny is based on treating some people as less valuable than others. When historians come to write the history of the present age, I wonder will they ask, in amazement: How the Western world, considering itself so politically correct, so enlightened, so liberal and so liberated, could tolerate the situation of so much abortion in the world, of so many starving and living beneath the poverty line and finally of the crippling debt to the industrialised world of some of the poorest countries in the world?

The abortions women procure abroad can be the product of fear, anguish and isolation. Too often they are the fruit of the abandonment of responsibility or lack of responsibility of the father. We are living in a world where abortion is widely accepted and promoted. A society, founded on respect for every human life would not respond by seeking to facilitate abortion. It would be generous in ensuring that understanding and support are always available.

In Northern Ireland the Pro-Life Movement spans all political parties and all religious denominations. In a land where so much has divided us in the past, it is always uplifting to identify an area where all shades of political and religious opinions seem to be in agreement. Long may that situation last and may it flourish.
A new human life, once conceived, is not the property of its parents, even if it is still dependent on them. Every human life is sacred, right from the first moment of its existence, because it involves the creative power of God. God did not create death and takes no pleasure in the destruction of the living. God has trust in life and so should we.

THE KILLING OF ADRIAN LAMPH
IN PORTADOWN
STATEMENT BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
21 APRIL, 1998

I have visited the Lamph family in Portadown to express to them my sympathy on the murder of Adrian yesterday. The condemnation of this callous deed already expressed by clergy and politicians speaks for all who are appalled at this most recent atrocity.

People continue to confidently hope that the nightmare of violence can be ended once and for all in our country and I believe that this most recent killing was carried out by some misguided and hate-filled opponent of peace and progress.

We must pray that the efforts of such people are overcome by the determination of the many who know that a better way can be achieved for Northern Ireland.
April 22, 1998.