My dad remenbers when he was young and the clergy were more powerfull than the guards. How times have changed.

Brady should have long resigned in relation to his activities in the cover up of child sex abuse. Why anyone would take seriously a word he says is beyond me.

Well done McNamara. Glad to see someone putting this straight. Can’t get my head around how Brady is so worried about unborn children yet he helped cover up & perpetuate the abuse of already born children. How can he not see the sick irony in that.

For once I agree with a labour TD !

As has already been said, the Cardinal would have been better off occupying himself with the results of his own past concerning young children and how he weasled himself out of his responsibilities to protect them. This whole affair is using abortion as an excuse for Rome to rule Ireland once more. When are we going to grow up!

As someone who voted No 1 McNamara, I have been kicking myself with every statement from Gilmore, Rabbitt and that despicable Lynch one, but now I feel happier. Well done Deputy McNamara!

So why are those assets not claimed and confiscated?

Don’t pay your mortgage and see how long they wait.

Did RTE show a rebuttal on the behalf of the pro choice groups?

Does the ‘church’ have any views on Unmarried Fathers? For a girl or a woman, the ‘shame’ of becoming pregnant outside of marriage; continues right to this day: I have never heard of a priest or a bishop in Ireland speaking about the obligations and responsibilities of single unmarried ‘Fathers’. Add to this the Roman Catholic and State categorisation of children as being either legitimate or illegitimate; the lists of ‘sinfull’ categories and labels that are applied to women, and children, born out of ‘wedlock’, appears to be endless.

Church sticking its nose in again where it has no right to interfere.
60′s and 70′s they made sure contraception was criminalised – they can’t (well, are not supposed to have sex) have a family but made sure we could not have fun enjoying sex with the safety net of condoms.
The church is far too influential in politics and needs to back off and let adults make their own informed decisions on this

Wonder how many women over the years travelled to Britain to have an abortion due to churches attitude to unmarried mothers and the associated “shame” and the fear of being put into a magdeline laundry. Until the church takes responsibility for the thousands of pregnancies they are personally responsible for ending and rid it being a sin to become pregnant outside of marraige or at least let it be a sin for both mother and father their rage at abortion has no merit or justification!!!

If only full abortion rights were part of the new legislation but unfortunately the change in the law will apply to very few cases. Also, if the Cardinal is so upset about abortion, why isn’t he leading a campaign to repeal abortion law in his country of residence (the United Kingdom)? Or to stop 4,000 Irish women travelling to his country to have abortions? The man and his church have zero credibility.

Oh, look at me – I’m a big shot in the church!
I can’t be part if a regular family, I know feck all about the cost or problems of rearing children, I know f all about the realities of daily living, I respect and have close communications with women on a regular basis so I know the problems they have (nuns).
You hypocritical twit, live and experience life like the rest of us humans before you give your opinion.

Ahh Paul, you misguided fool, your single voice counts for nothing, I the have the might of the catholic church at my back and can say what I like, we have devoted followers the hang on to our every word and are prepared to believe every single thing we say, we whisper a single line on a Sunday and by Monday that is gospel.

The church can debate this issue all they want what is a critical fact here and one they cannot ignore is that we have failed for 20 years to implement our supreme court ruling, I mean what sort of country does that. we have also failed to listen to the European court of human rights. There is no excuses. They are clearly misrepresenting what the x case decides that only when the risk to the life of the mother is in danger will termination be legal! I bet hardly any of those protesting against this even read the x case, or the abc judgment or the ms d case or have listened carefully to the thousands of other stories regarding this !
I am a practising catholic iv even been to Lourdes in France 3 times I like most people have my beliefs but would never choose to shove them down others throats or try to interfere with the legislature ! The very essence of a functioning democracy can only exist when the state is not being dominated by other institutions like the church or banks and for far too long this nation has been held back by those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others. The church does do a lot of good work don’t get me wrong there are thousands of examples but on this topic, they to need to realise that this particular very narrow problem within a wider issue is not pro choice or even pro life it is concerned solely with fundamental right to life of the mother! a life that is sacred and should be protected within our laws and should not be interfered with by anyone

‘No government has the right to remove that right’ … So is the government legislating for mandatory abortions? Last time I checked, termination was a choice, not an obligation

The church should mind it’s own business – the Irish constitution is nothing to do with them. They swear allegiance first and foremost to Rome and are not loyal citizens of this state.

The neck of the Catholic Church. After decades of abuse, lies and deceit regarding the abuse of young innocent children, to take the “moral high ground” here is disgusting. I’m guessing the pro life side are hoping the cardinal keeps his mouth shut from now on.

Why doesn’t Charlatan Brady just threaten to excommunicate anyone that votes against his wishes? Oh yeah, because we’re not frightened abused little kids anymore.

As long as people keep going to mass, getting married in churches, sending their kids to catholic schools and ticking any census that they are catholic the church will be a powerful force. People need turn away from to church to force them to change. I personally don’t believe in any of it, sounds an awful lot like Santa to me.

Labour HQ should summon Brady and swear him to silence on pain of spending all eternity in Hell.

Archbishop John Charles McQuaid.once tried to ruin Ireland has the church learned anything

‘Cad a dhéanfaidh mac an chait ach luch a mharú.’ ( ‘What would a son of a cat do, but kill a mouse?’)

Do we really expect the Brady Bunch to say anything else?

No one thinks abortion is a good thing in and of itself. We all know that it involves extinguishing a life, and that’s not the ideal scenario – but in this instance – we are talking about where there’s a possibility that BOTH may die, it’s the lesser of two evils to simply terminate the pregnancy.

Abortion on demand is a separate subject, and I reckon we should have access to it. Those who feel as though they do not agree with it do not have to have one, but they are not walking in the shoes of the woman accessing the service and they have no right to cast their judgement upon her.

Having said that, we should have free access to contraception and factual, honest and open education not only about sex, but also about emotions and relationships too. It’s always going to be better to prevent unwanted pregnancy than to terminate it.

Sadly – if this fails abortion being illegal will not stop women seeking it out if that’s what they wish to do, and unless they have the means to travel, when it is illegal it is not safe – again, you run the risk of losing two lives rather than one..
The pro life side never seem to quite understand this.. It seems their concern for women in this debate is solely in the role of incubator and not as human, if that’s not anti woman then please, explain what is..

Anagram of Cardinal Sean Brady:
A dryland brain case!

If you were to be cynical about this the true facts maybe the asset’s that the religious orders promised
was 126 million pre downturn .To-day that is of what value now,I would say 470 million which would mean the most the goverment could now expect is 50 percent of 470 million,unless the orders are to sell more of thier assets, and personally i do not think this will happen and if the goverment were to demand contrubution in full the valuable service’s provided by the religious orders would come under extreme pressure thus exposing further hardship on service user’s,even @95% funding from the taxpayer as is currently the case,So how then does it seem right the original deal was a 50:50 surely the taxpayer’s funding @95% should mean the liability equals 95% ? As for the abortion debate it is a completely different agenda, completely seperate debate .

Good on bishop for speaking out on the abortion issue. A lot of commentators think only people who agree with them have the right to speak on this and other issues.

If only medical people should be listened to on this topic then the issue is decided as they have said that requiring abortion to save the life a mother just does not happen although nearly happens once in 20 years.

The Cardinal is right it’s a pity the idiots that make up the Labour Party don’t listen.

It sure is great that Ireland is a modern country now . We have divorce , abortion soon , let’s get euthanasia legalised , and gay marriage and polygamous marriage . Why should the state prevent three people from loving one another ? Or four ? I think too that we should legalise for infanticide too – only in exceptional cases and only up to a month after birth. After all there is not much difference between a baby at 38 weeks gestation and one a month after birth .There are good reasons for this such as foetal disability that was missed in the womb or if the mother was raped and couldn’t bring herself to deal with it during the pregnancy. She should not be forced to raise a child that was the result of a rape. The sooner we throw off the shackles of the catholic religion , we can start to grow up and make our own morality which has nothing to do with the oppressive catholic past !

Well done to the Cardinal. At least he is now showing courage to speak up and defend the vulnerable, something he and his fellow bishops failed to do in the past.

It is sad indictment of our political system that the catholic church is one again becoming the sole voice for the weak and defenceless in our society