The referendum held on Friday in the Republic of Ireland, 25 May 2018, voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment to its constitution, which grants an equal right to life to the mother and unborn.
Cardinal Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said:
“Today I offer my prayerful support to the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin, Eamon Martin and Diarmuid Martin, and their statements following the Referendum in Ireland on changes to its Constitution.
“Our commitment to mothers and their unborn children remains unchanged. We must do all we can to ensure that the deliberate taking of an unborn human life is not an option that anyone would choose. The denial of life to another human being, a brother or sister, is a wrong that harms our fragile humanity. We work and pray for the day when this truth is widely accepted and laws permitting abortion are seen for what they are.
“Our pro-life convictions have to be consistently expressed in action, in support of women who are trapped in difficult and painful circumstances and in support of the children they are carrying.
“May God bless Ireland and its generous-hearted people. May that love, in every family, be a protection for the unborn, whatever the law may now permit.”
