Irish Catholic bishops noted the sixth anniversary of the country's legalization of abortion with a June 14 statement, "Offering Hope in Crisis," affirming the dignity of all human life. The bishops noted the coincidence of the legalization vote with the then-current COVID crisis, while reflecting on the very different paths those two events took.
The COVID pandemic, the bishops wrote, was both a "horrible" time and a time of growth:
Times of crisis are often times of growth; times when we deepen relationships. We saw this six years ago when COVID-19 came to Ireland. It was a horrible time, which left deep emotional scars. It was also a time when, all across this country, in every community, people stepped up to serve. We went to great lengths to protect one another and to save lives.
The legalization of abortion, by contrast, divided people and left those in crisis pregnancies without support:
It seems quite tragic that at that same time, when we were so focused on saving life, protecting the vulnerable, and making sure that people were not forgotten, our society also began the wholesale destruction of human life through abortion. While COVID-19 cost almost 10,000 lives in Ireland, there have been well over 50,000 deaths from abortion since 2019 (equivalent to nearly 2,000 classrooms of children).
"Why," the bishops ask, "has this not provoked anything like the same kind of crisis response in the form of solidarity or outreach?"
The loneliness of those in crisis
One answer, the bishops suggest, is that crisis pregnancies take place mostly in private. "Unless we are directly involved, we can only imagine the loneliness, the emotional turmoil, the economic difficulties, the domestic violence or the addiction that may lie behind the choice of abortion," they write.
Yet little has been done to find out why Irish women choose abortion:
Over 90% of abortions in Ireland take place in the first 12 weeks but, in a society that is otherwise collapsing under the weight of research statistics, there is no attempt to even find out why. Neither the State, nor the mainstream media, seem to have any interest in exploring what leads women to choose abortion or what happens to them afterwards.
The bishops single out for praise those individuals and organizations, including Rachel's Vineyard, who offer support and accompaniment to those in unexpected pregnancies and healing to those who have experienced abortions. They are also moved by the courage of public representatives who continue to affirm human life.
The crisis continues
The bishops' statement comes at a time when efforts are underway to expand Ireland's abortion law, which now permits abortion only up to the 12th week of pregnancy, in cases of threat to the mother's life or health, or in the case of a fatal fetal abnormality.
In encouraging the Irish people to reconsider what failure to affirm human life says about their nation, the bishops quote Pope Leo XIV's address to the Spanish Parliament on June 8, 2026:
The defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization. Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence. When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person. For this reason, the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile.
Ireland's Day for Life, which is celebrated each year on Father's Day, will be marked on Sunday, June 21, with special prayers, homilies, and invitations to commit to the care of the unborn and those in crisis pregnancies.
