Author Topic: We left God out of the battle (Read 552 times)

John Grace · « **on:** February 06, 2014, 10:12:06 AM »

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/we-left-god-out-of-the-battle-irish-pro-life-leader-on-how-abortion-was-leg

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WASHINGTON, February 3, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The recent legalization of abortion in Ireland is a direct result of ignoring the spiritual element of the abortion battle, says the Director of Precious Life in Ireland, Bernadette Smyth.

On January 1st, a new law came into effect in southern Ireland which legalizes abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy if the mother’s life is at risk. This includes the risk of ѕυιcιdє.

This legislation, Ms. Smyth says in a recent video-recorded interview with LifeSiteNews in Washington the day before the March for Life, is a direct consequence of leaving spiritual warfare out of the battle for the unborn.

“The whole battle against abortion is a spiritual battle,” she says. “And unless we pray, we will never stop abortion, whether that be in Ireland or throughout the world.”

Ms. Smyth recalled a certain pro-life victory twelve years ago. At that time, pro-lifers held a prayer vigil under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside a pro-abortion conference in Northern Ireland.

“That image (of Our Lady of Guadalupe) was put on the front pages of the Irish Times, the Irish News, and all the papers. And we knew at that time that showing that image, taking that image and fronting with our faith, we were going to stop what the pro-abortionists had planned for Ireland.”

This instance Ms. Smyth puts forward as an example of what victories can be won when the spiritual side of the pro-life movement tempers the secular aspect. But by leaving God out of the struggle, the movement set itself up for defeat.

“What has happened recently,” Ms. Smyth says, “(is that) we have denied our faith. The whole battle to stop abortion being legalized in Ireland became a human rights battle; it is a human rights battle, and we must remember that also, but it’s a spiritual battle, and we must unite the human battle with the spiritual battle to protect our unborn children and to protect our country.”

The pro-abortion legislation was championed by Ireland’s Catholic Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. Kenny “defied the Church, defied the people, railroaded over democracy” by supporting this bill and still claiming to be Catholic.

“He turns up on a Sunday at Holy Mass to receive the Eucharist, yet he is in defiance of the laws of the Catholic Church…by introducing a piece of legislation that is anti-Church, anti-God, and anti-child and will bring about the death of the future generation of Irish children,” says Ms. Smyth.

Despite recent recommendations to exclude pro-abortion politicians from receiving the Eucharist, such politicians in Ireland are not being denied Holy Communion.

According to Ms. Smyth, this hypocrisy has riled Catholics in Ireland. “People are outraged,” she says. “What is happening at this time that our Church is willing to be silent about something that is so important?”

Ms. Smyth sets St. Patrick as a contrasting example of what great triumphs can be won when God is first and foremost in the battle for goodness. “If you think of what St. Patrick did to bring the faith, not just to Ireland, but throughout the world, he defied the very lawmakers at the time by lighting the fire on the hill of Tara. And yet we denied God and we put Him out.”

The growing emphasis on using secular means, as opposed to spiritual means, to fight the abortion battle is perhaps a crucial reason why this laxity prevails.

“Instead of praying and fasting as a united Church,” Ms. Smyth says, “we took secular signs, ‘Protect them both’, and we held vigils, but we didn’t vigil to God, we vigiled to man… and maybe God is allowing this to happen to bring us to our knees, to bring Ireland to her knees at this time, because we have forgot Him in this battle.”

Both the legalization of abortion in Ireland, and the hypocrisy displayed by the Catholic politicians who support it, demonstrate the cost of sacrificing the spiritual aspects of the pro-life movement for a more secular approach.

“I believe,” says Ms. Smyth, “if you leave God out of the battle, as Scripture says ‘If you deny Me before man, I will deny you before My Father.’ And sadly, that’s where Ireland went wrong; we didn’t make this a spiritual battle, we made it a human rights battle. And we can never win without God on the front of everything we do.”

Contact:

Cardinal Séan Brady, Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland
Ara Coeli, Cathedral Rd.
Armagh Northern Ireland
BT61 7QY
Tel: +44 (0)28 3752 2045
Fax: +44 (0)28 3752 6182

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin
Archbishop’s House
Drumcondra, Dublin 6
Tel: +353 (0)1 837 3732
Fax: +353 (0)1 836 9796

Archbishop Eamon Martin, Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh
Ara Coeli, Cathedral Rd.
Armagh, Northern Ireland
BT61 7QY
Tel: +44 (0)28 3752 2045
Fax: +44 (0)28 3752 6182

John Grace · « **Reply #1 on:** February 09, 2014, 10:29:18 AM »

The article has provoked a strong reaction.

Fionnuala O'Domhnaill

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This is complete lies, there were constant prayers, rosary vigils, we prayed morning noon and night. Bernadette is also not from the republic of Ireland, where she lives is under the jurisdiction of England where they have slaughtered 7 million children and also where panned parenthood is HQed (london). Youth defence and the life Institute have kept abortion out of Ireland for over 25 years, because their methods were effective against the politicians, saving hundreds of thousands of babies. It is a disgrace that people are attacking the wonderful pro life people of Ireland Instead of the politicans.

icterus · « **Reply #2 on:** February 09, 2014, 10:45:23 AM »

"You didn't pray hard enough" is often heard after a lost battle. Those who prayed as hard as they could are usually non-plussed by this diagnosis.

Mama ChaCha · « **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2014, 07:31:03 PM »

Look, Irish politicians know that this is a total B.S. law.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/09/11/experts-abortion-not-medically-necessary-to-save-the-life-of-a-mother/

So, this symposium happens right under their noses, and they take no notice of it??
No, they know and they don't care. They want the pro-abort money like every other politician. The pro-abort politicians are as guilty as the women who procure murders, and the hitmen they contract to murder their helpless children.

Women do it because the child is inconvenient to them, in their way of doing whatever they want to do. It's the same motive for every other murder ever. The hitmen don't care. They're making loads because they get what, 100-150 euros per five minute procedure? (Yep, 5-8 minutes per murder is the estimated time frame.) In a typical 8 hour day, a baby killer can pull in about 10k euros.
Multiply that by 5 days a week, 50k euros per week times fifty weeks (less two for holidays) is 2.5 million euros per year as a median income. And everyone knows how unsanitary and revolting those places of death are, so very little is expended in upkeep and sanitation, if anything at all because it will be taken from the common fund anyway, so a 2.5 million euro salary, multiplied by however many baby killers there are equals a LOT of cake. Who cares if thousands, maybe millions of babies die if a pro-abort politician is pulling in roughly 4 million euros just by saying it's a good thing? He or she certainly couldn't care less. Look at Nancy Peℓσѕι, living in a house worth 10 times her salary and all paid up, how kind of the baby killers.

It's always about money...follow the money...

In the meantime, pray.

Capt McQuigg · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2014, 09:12:16 PM »

If the Church discourages and, behind the scenes, works against the Social Kingship of Christ so if the laws and the lawgivers are divorced from the guidance of Christ, the legalization of abortion is to be expected.

Abortion is such a sin after the sin and following the sin that by the time a rancid soul steps into an abortion mill to have the wretched procedure performed, she already has sins on top of sins heaped upon her soul. She is a mortal sin getting ready to have another mortal sin added to her very large collection.