Catholic “yes” voters in Ireland’s Eighth Amendment abortion referendum should not be allowed to marry in a Catholic Church, say two priests from Northern Ireland.
In a letter to the Belfast Telegraph, Father Patrick McCafferty said yes voters should “get married in City Hall.”
It is “dishonest to have a wedding in a church if you don’t respect or regard what the faith is about,” he said.
“If you don’t support the Church’s teaching on a fundamental issue, why be hypocritical and dishonest by using the Church for a day? It’s a total fiasco.”
McCafferty said “you cannot be a Catholic and be in favour of abortion.” He urged those who do not agree with the Catholic Church’s teaching to “have marriages solemnized in a civil setting.”
Other priests have also had advice for Catholic yes voters.
Earlier this week, Bishop Kevin Doran said they should attend confession as they had sinned.
He said it is a decision that “impacted on a relationship with God.”
“What I would say to a Catholic who voted Yes is this:
“If you voted Yes, knowing and intending that abortion would be the outcome, then you should consider coming to confession where you would be received with the same compassion that is shown to any other penitent (person).”
The views of Northern Irish priest, Father Damien Quigley, became the subject of a BBC Radio Ulster show.
The show broadcast a message Quigley wrote last week to a couple about abortion and their planned wedding.
Quigley’s message said:
“Just a heads up, that as the priest you’ve asked to celebrate your wedding for you, you and I would need to have a conversation about any promotion you may do to advocate for abortion in Ireland.
“Such promotion or advocacy would impact on the appropriateness of me celebrating your wedding or possibly the wedding taking place in a Catholic Church.
“I’m sure we can have a good chat over a coffee sometime.”
When asked for comment, Quigley said the matter is private, involving a couple’s marriage, and it would be inappropriate to discuss in public.
A former Irish senator Máiría Cahill, who had a medical termination in her 20s and publicly campaigned for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, said Quigley’s message to the young couple “petty.”
She said his comments show the Catholic Church is “out of touch” with its congregation.
Cahill said “Hundreds, if not thousands, of Catholics have had abortions and continued to practise their faith – if the Church believes otherwise it is extremely naïve.”
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