Archbishop Diarmuid Martin says church must be ‘pro-life’

The Catholic Church and believers must always be “pro-life”, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.

The church “must always be a beacon of support for life at its most vulnerable moments. And a beacon of support at any vulnerable moment for any woman or man along the path of life,” he said.

“The church must be pro-life when it comes to the unborn and those who are vulnerable at the end of their lives. However, the church must be pro-life at so many other moments in the lives of people.

“Being pro-life means recalling all of us to reflect on the deeper meaning of life and to reject many of the paths of superficiality that just lead away from fulfilment,” he said.

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The church was called to be pro-life “not just in words and statements and manifestoes but to be pro-life in deeds, through being a church which reflects the loving care of Jesus especially for those who grapple to understand the challenges of their lives.

‘Sad fact’

“Being pro-life is not an ideological position. It is a path of conversion that we are all called to follow. Church institutions have failed many times in their duty . . . to those entrusted to their care. It is a sad fact that has led many to drift away from the message of Jesus.” he said.

Archbishop Martin was speaking at the Dublin diocesan pilgrimage to Knock 2018. A concerted effort was made to involve a wider number of parishes from Dublin in the pilgrimage this year, he said, "as it takes place just a few months before the World Meeting of Families which will be held in Dublin in August and which the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will attend."

He said “we want to pray today for the success of that world event and we want to pray for families, especially those family that experience difficulties and challenges”.

He recalled how at his general audience in Rome last Wednesday Pope Francis spoke about “the many simple things parents can do in passing on the faith. He repeatedly mentioned teaching children how to make the sign of the cross and how to make it properly and not slovenly,” said the Archbishop.

The sign of the cross is “remembering our baptism where we were welcomed into the Christian community by our parents and godparents who made the sign of the cross on our foreheads,” he said.