The referendum result was a wound to the soul, perhaps the darkest day in Ireland’s history. An unspeakable cruelty will now be inflicted on the most innocent of all our people, on our preborn children. Worst of all, two thirds of the Irish people are now complicit in this cruelty. It bears their stamp: every abortion is one they voted for, even though many of those votes were won by a relentless campaign of misinformation and deceit.
While Pope Francis’ new apostolic exhortation, “Gaudete et Exsultate,” is broadly focused on holiness in everyday life, that won’t prevent various constituencies from reading the document through their own specific lens. One group that may feel especially challenged is the pro-life movement, since the pontiff makes a point of saying that the lives of the poor and of immigrants are as “equally sacred” as unborn lives.
