To mark Pentecost Sunday, Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick published a letter to the faithful. In his letter, Bishop Leahy said that Pentecost is a wonderful celebration of life. He referred to Tuesday 25 May being the third anniversary of the referendum on abortion.
Bishop Leahy said, “As we gingerly step our way out of COVID we remember how as a people we showed such courage and resilience across this past year. But a timely reminder of how we so need courage and resilience elsewhere looms with this coming Tuesday marking the third anniversary of a Referendum that permitted the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion. I do not want to rehearse all that was said then. While, as the democracy maxim states, the people have spoken, that does not mean other voices are to remain silent; that those who believe in the sanctity of the life of the unborn should go quiet. I would like to quote a remark attributed to Martin Luther King: ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter’.
The prelate continued, “We need to continue to care especially when we hear: that the average age of death of those who are homeless is 38 for men and 44 for women; that we have the fourth highest incidence of drug-induced deaths in Europe. And, surely, we need to care, too, when we hear that in the year following the Referendum, 6,666 lives were ended in the womb through abortion. And we need to be vigilant in our care as legislation is weaving its way through the Oireachtas allowing for Euthanasia that will impact so enormously on elderly, vulnerable people, an issue that is far more complex than the limited discussion around it suggests.
Bishop Leahy said in conclusion, “You see, all our lives matter. We saw that in COVID when we said ‘yes’ to life. So, this Pentecost, let’s allow the Creator Spirit disturb us. Yes, there are many complexities in life to explain. But we cannot be indifferent to the cries of the off-the-radar homeless, the bewildered addicts, the unborn who may be denied life, the vulnerable elderly.”
Ends
