Bishop Doran criticises Ireland's abortion laws and speaks of ‘a society in moral decline’

The Bishop of Achonry and Elphin used his recent homily at the grotto in Lourdes during the annual diocesan pilgrimage to deliver a strong critique of abortion in Ireland.

Bishop Kevin Doran described the scale of terminations as evidence of “a society in moral decline” and called for prayer, political action and greater support for women facing crisis pregnancies.

Addressing pilgrims, Bishop Doran said: “I invite you to consider, for a moment, that over ten thousand babies were aborted in Ireland in 2025.

“Each one of those babies is the blessed fruit of a mother’s womb. Most of them were unexpectedly expected, just as Jesus was. We don’t know why their mothers made the decisions they made and, in a way, that is not for us to judge.” 

The bishop questioned Ireland’s legal framework around abortion and the supports available to women. “I would put it to you, however, that there is something fundamentally disordered about a society and a legal system that not only allows, but promotes and pays for the killing of so many babies.

“But where is the support for women that would help them to choose a life-giving alternative? Our doctors and nurses have come under enormous social pressure to commit abortion, and we can be grateful that so many of them have refused to do so,” he said.

Bishop Doran said the issue extended beyond unborn children and had wider implications for mothers and society.

“In the final analysis, it is not just about the babies, who will always be held in the hand of God. It is also about the spiritual and emotional harm that abortion does to their mothers, and about the moral decline of a society which voted for this and allows it to continue.

“It will continue, unless we stop it. That calls for prayer, for political action, for outreach in our own communities and for a willingness on the part of all of us to speak the truth.”

Describing the right to life as the most fundamental human right, he said respect for human dignity transcends political divisions.

“The right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights. Respect for the dignity of human life is both liberal and conservative, in the true sense of those words. It is neither ‘left’ nor ‘right’. It calls for a consistent ethic across the whole spectrum of our lives,” he said.

The bishop concluded by urging the faithful to seek wisdom and courage to bring about change in Irish society. “It is to Him and to his Spirit that we must turn for wisdom and courage to work together for the small changes, that will eventually bring the bigger changes that we need in our world and in our Irish society.”

In his homily, he also highlighted concerns about drug-related crime and addiction among young people. The bishop said teenagers and young adults “are being sucked every day into the destructive cycle of addiction, debt, and violence by drug dealers who live in our own towns and villages”.