Confirmation is no place for abortion debate, says Harris
SIMON Harris has criticised the Catholic clergy for discussing the abortion referendum at Communion and Confirmation ceremonies.
The Health Minister was reacting to Junior Minister John Halligan’s revelation that he had been told he could not sponsor his godson at his Confirmation last weekend.
Independent Alliance TD Mr Halligan said he was ‘not being a hypocrite’ and accepts he does not meet the criteria to be a Confirmation sponsor as he is an atheist. But he accused the Church of resorting to ‘petty’ tactics as he had hosted a Pro-Choice event in Waterford days earlier.
Mr Harris said this was ‘quite a bizarre decision’ and he praised Mr Halligan as a ‘very good individual’ who is ‘absolutely committed to repealing the Eighth Amendment’.
He said: ‘I very much respect the right of the Church to have a view, and I also very much respect the right of the Church to preach their view. It is their view and they have every right to hold it.
‘It’s one which I absolutely disagree with. I do think it is disappointing, what I hear from around the country in recent days, some ceremonies that are meant to be a very significant occasion in a young child’s life – be it a Communion or a Confirmation – have been used to bring about a discussion about abortion.
‘And quite frankly, I don’t think that is appropriate on either side. I would’ve thought those are meant to be very happy, private family occasions where children at a young age should be able to celebrate their Communions or Confirmations without being dragged into a debate.’
Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan of Waterford and Lismore said, in a statement, that earlier this year he advised that a sponsor must be a ‘confirmed and practising Catholic’.
Meanwhile, ex-taoiseach John Bruton yesterday said we should be trying to minimise the number of abortions. He told Today With Seán O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1: ‘When an abortion takes place you’re ending the life of a little girl or a little boy.’
He said it was not possible to eliminate it completely, given people travel to Britain, but he feared more would opt to have a termination if the referendum was passed.
A new iReach Insights survey has found that 77% (2,794,000 people) of ‘voting age’ are planning to vote, with 55.4% of that cohort stating they plan to vote Yes.
emmajane.hade@dailymail.ie