The story behind London’s new Shrine to Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians

Belfast, Northern Ireland, Nov 7, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- Northern Ireland’s proposed abortion law drew strong objections from pro-life advocates who said it removes almost all legal protection for unborn babies.

They added that it drops many safeguards provided in other parts of the U.K., allows non-doctors to perform abortions, and allows abortion of disabled babies as far as birth.

“Because of the pro-life laws previously enshrined in law in Northern Ireland, babies in the womb were given legal protection and progressive, compassionate care which we could be proud of,” Bernadette Smyth, director of Precious Life, said Nov. 5. “Against the democratic will of the electorate, who had persistently elected pro-life politicians, and against the principles of devolution, all meaningful legal protection for unborn babies and pregnant women has now been stripped away.”

Under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, passed in July by the British Parliament, the government is obliged to create legal access to abortion in the region by March 31, 2020. The legislation legalizing abortion took effect in part because the Northern Ireland Assembly, which has been suspended nearly three years due to a dispute between the two major governing parties, was not able to convene for business by Oct. 21.

The amendment to the NI EF Act obliging the government to provide for legal abortion in Northern Ireland was introduced by Stella Creasy, a Labour MP who represents a London constituency. The legislation has drawn some objections that it violates the letter or spirit of devolution agreements that grant the Northern Ireland Assembly power over important matters.

“The people of Northern Ireland have not given license nor approval to the new devastating abortion regime which will now be foisted upon them by a British Government which does not represent them,” Smyth said. “This proposed framework is a shocking and unconcealed attempt to further undermine the will of the people of Northern Ireland.”

The government proposes that abortion be available unconditionally up to 12 or 14 weeks gestation. In cases of fetal abnormality, the government is proposing that abortion without time limit be available. It also proposes that abortion without time limit be allowed where there is risk to the life of the mother or it is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to her physical or mental health.

Previously, abortion was legally permitted in the region only if the mother’s life was at risk or if there was risk of long term or permanent, serious damage to her mental or physical health.

Smyth said the proposed framework goes “far beyond the requirements” of parliament’s legislation. In her view, it “removes virtually all meaningful legal protections for babies in the womb, and drops many of the legal safeguards provided by the 1967 Abortion Act in England and Wales.”

She warned of its effects on unborn babies with disabilities.

“The proposal would also mean the legalization of abortion for disabilities, including club foot, cleft lip, anencephaly and Down’s syndrome amongst other conditions, likely available right up to the moment of birth,” she said.

As a whole, Smyth said, “these proposals open the door wide to serious endangerment of women’s health and safety by opening abortion provision up to any healthcare professional, which could include nurses, midwives, pharmacists, healthcare assistants, art therapists and dieticians.”

“The framework further seriously jeopardizes the health and safety of women in Northern Ireland as it removes the requirement that two medical doctors sign off on an abortion,” she argued. “The proposal does not include a legal limit on the locations where abortions can take place, potentially permitting dangerous home use of both abortion pills along with abortion provision in school nurse clinics, (general practitioners’) surgeries, mobile abortion clinics and pharmacies.”

The government proposes that a medical practitioner or any other registered healthcare professional be able to provide abortions, provided they are appropriately trained and competent to provide treatment in accordance with their professional body’s requirements and guidelines.

Abortions past 22 or 24 weeks should be provided in hospitals, the government says.

While in England, Wales, and Scotland two doctors must certify that there were lawful grounds for abortion, the government is considering whether only one doctor’s certification should be required in Northern Ireland. It cited the likelihood of “a more significant number of people raising conscientious objections than in other parts of the U.K.”

The government proposal allows conscientious objection only for direct participation in abortion, but not “associated ancillary, administrative or managerial tasks.” This is the standard exception in other parts of the U.K.

The government’s proposed legislative framework is informed by a UN report based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The NI EF Act requires that the government implement the report’s recommendations.

The government consultation will close Dec. 16. It includes 15 questions regarding the details of how legal abortion provision should be made in Northern Ireland.

The government intends to published its response to the consultation and details of the action it will take within 12 weeks after Dec. 16.

The NI EF Act act also provides that since Oct. 22, abortion has been decriminalized in Northern Ireland, and a moratorium has been placed on abortion-related criminal prosecutions. Since Oct. 22, the abortion of a child capable of being born alive, except when the purpose is to preserve the life of the mother, remains unlawful.

Bills to legalize abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, rape, or incest failed in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016.

In October, the High Court in Belfast had ruled that the region’s ban on the abortion of unborn children with fatal abnormalities violated the U.K.’s human rights commitments.

The women of Northern Ireland have been able to procure free National Health Service abortions in England, Scotland, and Wales since November 2017.

The Republic of Ireland legalized abortion by a vote of 66 to 33 percent in a 2018 referendum that removed the pro-life plank from its constitution.

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Pope Francis smiles at pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 1, 2023, for his first Angelus of the new year. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jan 1, 2024 / 09:47 am (CNA).

Pope Francis delivered his first Angelus of the new year on Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, by reflecting that the importance of Mary’s motherhood is defined by love and underscored by a quiet silence that allowed her to place Christ at the center. 

“She is Mother not only because she carried Jesus in her womb and gave birth to him, but because she brings him into the light, without occupying his place,” said the pope to the nearly 35,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. 

Pope Francis also used the occasion to appeal for prayers for the Church in Nicaragua, which has been at the center of an escalating persecution launched by the country’s president, Daniel Ortega.

“I am following with deep concern what is happening in Nicaragua, where Bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom. I express to them, their families, and the entire Church in the country my closeness in prayer,” the Holy Father said. 

“I also invite all of you present here and all the People of God to insistent prayer, while I hope that we will always seek the path of dialogue to overcome difficulties. Let’s pray for Nicaragua today.”

Just days after Christmas, on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, Nicaragua’s Sandinista regime abducted four priests, whose whereabouts are still unknown.

The priests are: Monsignor Carlos Avilés, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Managua; Father Héctor Treminio, pastor of Holy Christ Parish in Esquipulas in the same archdiocese; and Father Fernando Calero, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Rancho Grande in the Diocese of Matagalpa.

In his Angelus reflection, Pope Francis noted that Mary’s silence is a “beautiful feature” but should not be thought of as a “simple absence of words” but rather as a feature that is “filled with wonder and adoration for the wonders that God is working.”

“In this way, she makes room within herself for the One who was born; in silence and adoration, she places Jesus at the center and bears witness to Him as Saviour,” the pope observed.

The Holy Father went on to express that this expression of maternity seen in Mary is an ideal that is also seen in our mothers who “with their hidden care, with their thoughtfulness, are often magnificent cathedrals of silence. They bring us into the world and then continue to attend to us, often unnoticed, so that we can grow. Let us remember this: love never stifles; love makes room for the other and lets them grow.”

Pope Francis added that by reflecting on mothers, we can “learn that love that is cultivated above all in silence, that knows how to make room for the other, respecting their dignity, leaving the freedom to express themselves, rejecting every form of possession, oppression, and violence.”

In addition to the day’s Marian feast, on Jan. 1 the Church celebrates the World Day of Peace, a tradition which was started by Pope Paul VI in 1968. In light of this celebration, Pope Francis took a moment during the Angelus to note that “‘freedom and peaceful coexistence are threatened whenever human beings yield to the temptation to selfishness, self-interest, the desire for profit, and the thirst for power.’” 

The pope underscored that the antidote to overcoming these destructive tendencies that are ubiquitous today is “love” which “consists of respect and kindness: In this way, it breaks down barriers and helps us to live fraternal relationships, to build up more just and humane, more peaceful societies.”

On Monday the Vatican released a video message from the pope invoking the Blessed Mother’s intercession for peace in the world.

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null / dade72 / Shutterstock

St. Louis, Mo., Nov 30, 2022 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
A Vatican spokesman said Wednesday that the Holy See has taken down its main vatican.va website amid an apparent attempt to hack the site. “Technical investigation… […]