BELFAST, Northern Ireland, May 31, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Those in Ireland who voted to legalize abortion have “rejected the Faith of the Church” and risk damnation if they don’t repent, one priest is warning.
Father Paddy McCafferty, pastor of Corpus Christi parish in Belfast, wrote this in a Facebook post about the “unprecedented situation” of the Irish voting for abortion.
“The challenge presented by the ‘Yes’ vote is vast but we are more than equal to it and will not be found wanting in our response to it,” he wrote. “There are still hundreds of thousands of pro-life men and women, of all ages, in Ireland. We will continue to bear witness to the unalterable, un-repeal-able truth, about the evil of abortion.”
Fr. McCafferty promised pro-lifers will now “seek to convert those who agree with abortion, by our prayer, our witness and our example. We will seek to persuade people that the barbarism of abortion is never a solution worthy of any human being, in any situation, circumstance or dilemma.”
“We will do our utmost to ensure, that many of the abortion clinics soon to be opened in Ireland, will eventually close, due to lack of interest and lack of clients,” he said. “We will be outside those abortion clinics praying, witnessing and striving to persuade potential clients, not to kill their children.”
Fr. McCafferty proposed something be done about the problem of “cultural Catholicism,” which treats the Sacraments as rites of passage. An example of this is “the Sacrament of Confirmation being conferred upon boys and girls who will never again darken the door of the Church.”
The priest addressed this problem in a May 30 opinion piece for the Belfast Telegraph, writing, “‘Cultural Catholicism’ has little or nothing to do with Jesus Christ. People ‘going through the motions’ makes a mockery of saving faith in Him. We in the Church need to put a stop to the abuse of sacred rites.”
“Those who voted ‘Yes’ and who might still seek to consider themselves as ‘practising Catholics’ need a reality check. They have broken faith with Jesus Christ. They have committed a grave sin,” he warned on Facebook. “Unless they sincerely repent and seek reconciliation with Jesus, they cannot be considered as Catholics in any true sense. Such is the gravity of what they done. The consequences of our actions on this earth also affect our destiny in Eternity.”
He cited numerous Scripture passages about hell and urged the Irish to now fight in the “battle for life.”
“Those who advocate for abortion, those who promote it, lobby for it, campaign for it – even worse – those who perpetrate abortions and those who deliberately procure them – are agents of Darkness,” wrote McCafferty. But “the greater guilt lies with the politicians and those who wielded their strong influences to secure abortion on demand in Ireland. Their immortal souls are in danger if they will not repent. We must pray for them as well as resist their evil work.”
The priest also stressed that the Church offers the forgiveness of Jesus for those who have participated in or had an abortion. The Church can help “to reconcile them with the Lord” and “to help them find healing and peace of mind and heart.”
He criticized the ghoulish celebrations of repealing the Eighth Amendment but said they should be a “call to action” for the pro-life movement.
“The grotesque and macabre scenes at Dublin Castle on May 26th, the sight of jubilant crowds and gleeful politicians, rejoicing in the impending dismemberment of countless numbers of future Irish children, was truly shocking and deeply saddening,” he reflected. “Nevertheless, it is a call to action.”
Father McCafferty’s full reflection is below.