Fundamentalist Ireland took to the streets last week to espouse rigid Catholic dogma. It was a well funded and well attended affair which received ample media attention. We finally got to see some of the faces behind the twitching curtains. This is older Ireland, an Ireland of Industrial Schools, Magdalene Laundries and pulpit politics. The issue that compelled the bible thumpers onto the streets was abortion.
They weren't motivated to protest when revelation after sickening revelation about paedophile priests was exposed. They weren't motivated to act in defence of the abused slave women interred in Magdalene prisons (presided over by brides of Christ). They are the silent majority that turned a blind eye to the horrendous crimes committed in industrial schools (by brutal Brothers).
The Vigil4life crew are the same people who are scandalised by divorce, contraception and children born out of wedlock. Indeed, I often wonder how many abortions can be put down to a fear of what fundamentalist mammy and daddy might think about their soon to be single parent daughter. And what are fundamentalist mammy and daddy really scared of? Like all curtain twitchers, their fundamental fear is 'what will the neighbours think?'
Most married men want what is best for their families. The survival of their partner/wife during pregnancy is paramount to having a family in the first instance. Any view which undermines that survival is anti-family. In that sense, pro-life is de facto anti-family. To bury your head in the sand and point east with the words 'abortion 50 euro flight that-a-way' is lazy Christianity and something we should all have grown out of thirty years ago.
They weren't motivated to protest when revelation after sickening revelation about paedophile priests was exposed. They weren't motivated to act in defence of the abused slave women interred in Magdalene prisons (presided over by brides of Christ). They are the silent majority that turned a blind eye to the horrendous crimes committed in industrial schools (by brutal Brothers).
The Vigil4life crew are the same people who are scandalised by divorce, contraception and children born out of wedlock. Indeed, I often wonder how many abortions can be put down to a fear of what fundamentalist mammy and daddy might think about their soon to be single parent daughter. And what are fundamentalist mammy and daddy really scared of? Like all curtain twitchers, their fundamental fear is 'what will the neighbours think?'
Most married men want what is best for their families. The survival of their partner/wife during pregnancy is paramount to having a family in the first instance. Any view which undermines that survival is anti-family. In that sense, pro-life is de facto anti-family. To bury your head in the sand and point east with the words 'abortion 50 euro flight that-a-way' is lazy Christianity and something we should all have grown out of thirty years ago.
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