Smyth applauds humility and courage of West Belfast priest in Pro Life sermon
A leading Pro Life group in Northern Ireland has welcomed the latest "straight talking" sermon given from the pulpit by a parish priest based in West Belfast on Tuesday morning.
A spokesperson from Precious Life, Bernadette Smyth praised the parish priest of Corpus Christi Church, Fr Paddy McCafferty for speaking robustly on the “most decisive issue of our time – the grave evil of abortion.”
She was speaking in relation to a six-minute-long video clip taken from the parish webcam which has attracted tens of thousands of views on social media in which he called out those political representatives who have “betrayed the cause of life.”
Mrs Smyth says it was refreshing to finally hear a cleric not only rebuke the evil of abortion from the pulpit but, condemn local representatives in the political arena who advocated for it.
She said: “Fr Paddy has shown great courage and humility in living up to his priestly duty in informing his parishioners what is at stake for the innocent unborn baby in the womb if they continue in their traditional habits voting for the SDLP or Sinn Fein.
However, his comments have stirred up attacks from pro abortion campaigners which have made headlines in some national daily newspapers criticising him for speaking the truth.
In the video, Fr Paddy McCafferty made no apology to his congregation for speaking so vehemently and forthrightly on the matter of abortion in what he described as “irreconcilable with Church teaching.”
The Rathcoole man who was ordained in 1989, lambasted “those Nationalist candidates” who were seeking re-election ahead of next month’s Stormont election. He urged Catholics to seriously consider the enormous weight their vote could have in reshaping a new Assembly on May 5th which would finally repeal Section 9 of the Executive Formation Act – the legal mechanism that allows for the killing of babies in the womb up to birth.
While he carefully remonstrated that he’s not in the habit of speaking of politics from the pulpit, Fr McCafferty said: “I have a responsibility to ask the faithful to vote in accordance with what the church teaches.
“The evil of abortion is irreconcilable with being Catholic yet it is being promoted by parties like the SDLP, Sinn Fein and also Alliance and The Green Party who have betrayed the cause of life – the vulnerable child in the womb being torn to pieces. It’s nothing less than barbarism.
“There is no justification for abortion. The only Nationalist party to uphold the right to life is Aontu.”
Fr Paddy pointed out that while people must vote independently with your conscience he had a responsibility to advise faithful Catholics not to leave their faith outside the polling station.
The priest, who came to the Turflodge parish in 2016, also drew attention to the heinous lies of the Belfast Health Trust who falsely manipulated figures of attacks outside an abortion facility in Belfast city centre a few weeks ago.
He continued: “During a Stormont debate, just moments before MLA’s voted to pass into law, legislation that will prevent Pro Life people from persuading women not to kill their children, the Belfast Health Trust greatly exaggerated figures to bolster their efforts.
“Do we want a society built on that evil?” he asked.
“That Green Party woman, Claire Bailey then danced around like an idiot outside of the chamber because her Bill had been a success. And it’s been proven they lied. The Belfast Trust dreamed up the figure. They said Pro-Lifers were causing trouble and they weren’t.”
Fr Paddy reiterated that the law will ultimately collapse. Laws such as this are unjust and are always built on lies. Our Blessed Lord called Satan the father of lies. Those who do the devils work, lie.
“These parties who promote abortion are losing seats and loosing influence but for whatever reason they seem to be getting more powerful. What are we doing?”
He urged people to vote Pro Life. He said: “If they go mad, to hell with them. Literally, I mean to hell with them. I make no apology for saying that, either. It’s too serious. There is too much at stake now. He concluded by saying, “That’s my colours nailed firmly to the mast.”