Thoughts on Irish Legalization of Abortion: The Church has blood on her hands

It is now official.  Ireland, once the most Catholic of all countries, has legalized the killing of their unborn children.

Abortion goes against nature itself.  Nature is all about survival and propagating the species.  Birds and animals will give their lives to protect their young.  Yet we humans will destroy our young merely because they are "inconvenient."  Yes, we hear stories about rape and incest and medically deformed fetuses.  But that is all a smokescreen.  The vast, vast majority of abortions are performed because the babies are not wanted by one or both of the parents.  Below is a chart showing reasons for abortion:

As can be seen in this chart, abortion is mainly performed when a child is inconvenient.  The sex which produced the baby was more than convenient, but not the results.  Such a thought is abhorrent in nature, but not in the world ruled by the Adversary, who wants to destroy all of God's creation.  

But this is not actually the subject of my post.

There was a time when the Irish government could hardly make a move without the approval of the Catholic Church. But then it was revealed that many members of the Church hierarchy - priests, bishops and nuns - had physically and/or sexually abused untold numbers of children throughout the years. The Church lost credibility in the eyes of a good number of the Irish, and in many ways, has become a pariah in Irish society. As reported in the New York Times:

The church lost much of its credibility in the wake of scandals involving pedophile priests and thousands of unwed mothers who were placed into servitude in so-called Magdalene laundries or mental asylums as recently as the mid-1990s.

In the run up to the vote, the Church was forced to keep a very low profile, barely entering into the discussions, even rejected by other pro life groups:

The church was, in fact, largely absent from the referendum campaign. Anti-abortion campaigners actively discouraged its participation, preferring to emphasize moral values and human rights rather than religion, possibly to avoid being tarnished by the church-related scandals.

The pro abortion vote by the Irish people is proof that the Church now has little to no influence in Irish society:

During the campaign, the Association of Catholic Priests urged its members not to preach politics from the pulpit. The guidance came after some priests had threatened their congregations that they would not be able to receive Communion if they voted “yes,” according to people who attended the Masses.

“This is devastating for the Roman Catholic hierarchy,” said Gail McElroy, professor of politics at Trinity College Dublin. “It is the final nail in the coffin for them. They’re no longer the pillar of society, and their hopes of re-establishing themselves are gone.”

I am sure the traditional/conservative blogosphere will wring their hands and put the blame on the people for turning against the Church and against God. But I think it is important that the Church do some deep, deep soul searching and ask herself why she has lost this country.

The Church ruled Ireland with an iron fist, showing little mercy and compassion for the plight of so many who lived in poverty, struggling each day to survive. The Church far too often portrayed God as a stern judge waiting to pounce on people for the slightest infraction. As a result of the Irish Church's teaching, the people did not love God as much as they lived in fear of offending Him. Yet, when it came to the sins of the Church hierarchy, this was swept under the rug.

Our Lady of Charity of Refuge ran the two biggest Magdalene laundries in Ireland
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When the malfeasance of the Church was brought to light, the people threw off the burdens imposed by the Church, and rejected not only the Church, but they rejected their Creator. Seminaries closed. Churches emptied out. Ireland became a completely secular nation, living by the rules of secularism, and rejecting God.

Some will say this is overly simplified. But it cannot be denied that this is the essence of Ireland's modern history. Contraception was legalized in 1985, divorce was legalized in 1995, and same sex marriage was legalized in 2015. And now they have legalized the killing of their unborn children. I don't believe this would have ever happened if the Church had not destroyed her credibility in the eyes of the people. The Church must take at least part of the blame for its own destruction in Ireland.

Yes, we should weep and mourn for this latest travesty. Abortion is the greatest of all evils because it involves the destruction of the innocent and the defenseless. However, the Catholic Church - this great Church which I love with everything in me - also destroyed many innocent and defenseless lives.

The Catholic Church has blood on her hands in Ireland.

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