3 Whitacre Mews, Stannary Street
London, SE11 4AB, United Kingdom
Telephone: (020) 7091 7091
Fax: (020) 7820 3131
Email: information@spuc.org.uk
Rome says "no"
London, 2 March 2002----The leader of the Catholic Church's fight against abortion is on public record as wanting Ireland's bishops to oppose the constitutional change on which the Irish people will vote on Wednesday.
In November, Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, president of the
Pontifical Council for the Family, told a meeting in Rome that, while
the situation in Ireland was delicate, he expected the bishops to come
out against the proposal.
John Smeaton, national director of the UK's Society for the Protection
of Unborn Children (SPUC), has since received a letter from Cardinal
López's secretary indicating that the Cardinal had nothing further to
add. Mr. Smeaton said: "From this I infer that Cardinal López
continues to oppose the constitutional change despite considerable
pressure on him from the 'yes' campaign.
"The President of the Pontifical Council for the Family is the
principal person in the Catholic church involved in opposing abortion
worldwide, a position confirmed in an opinion obtained by SPUC from
Kershaw, Fuligni & Fabbri, canon lawyers of Rome.
"We earnestly hope that the Irish people vote in a pro-life,
anti-abortion way by registering a decisive 'no' to the government's
proposals on Wednesday.
"We are not aware of any personal statement by the Holy Father on this
matter."
The meeting at which Cardinal López spoke was one which commemorated the 20th anniversary of Familiaris Consortio, a papal letter on the family. His remarks have been corroborated by Fr Ignacio Barreiro of Human Life International, who was present.
