The Catholic Church has pointedly left the threat of excommunication hanging over Irish lawmakers who vote against the church's teachings on abortion in an upcoming parliamentary vote in the country.
The coalition government introduced legislation on abortion on Friday, following a huge international outcry over the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman who died in an Irish hospital after being denied an abortion.
Halapppanavar was told by a midwife at the hospital that was treating her that she could not have an abortion because Ireland was "a Catholic country."
The proposed legislation, which the Irish government insists merely codifies existing abortion rights, was condemned by Irish Catholic Bishops. In a statement they described the legislation as “a dramatically and morally unacceptable change to Irish law.”
Cardinal Sean Brady, the most senior Catholic cleric in Ireland, told the Irish national broadcaster that "we know what the law is about excommunication, about abortion, that's a fact."
In a separate interview, Cardinal Brady said that “the failure by the Government to allow institutions to opt out of carrying out terminations on conscientious objection grounds amounted to a denial of fundamental religious freedoms and thought.”
The New York Times reports that Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, the former archbishop of St. Louis and the head of the Vatican court, urged priests to withhold communion from politicians who supported abortion legislation in Ireland.
Cardinal Brady said bishops had not discussed if Communion should be refused to politicians who supported the bill.
The Catholic Church has traditionally wielded huge political influence in Ireland, but the child sexual-abuse scandals associated with Catholic priests and religious orders has significantly lessened its level of influence.
25. China
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 9,000,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 0.7 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
24. Portugal
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 9,860,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 92.3 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
23. United Kingdom
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 10,040,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 16.2 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
22. India
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 10,570,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 0.9 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
21. Angola
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 10,850,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 56.8 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Photo: Hundreds of thousands of Angolans gather on August 4, 2012 in Muxima, 150 kms from Luanda to take part in the most important Catholic pilgrimage in the country. AFP PHOTO / ESTELLE MAUSSION
20. Ecuador
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 12,060,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 83.4 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
19. Chile
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 12,290,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 71.8 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity"
18. Canada
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 13,130,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 38.6 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
17. Uganda
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 14,100,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 42.2 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity"
16. Tanzania
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 14,250,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 31.8 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity"
15. Nigeria
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 20,040,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 12.6 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Photo: Catholic faithful attend a morning mass, at church of The Assumption in Lagos, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 3, 2013. In Africa, where the Catholic church continues to grow, worshippers and clergy attend a Sunday service without Pope Benedict XVI's leadership after he resigned at the end of February with hopes that the continent would see one of its own rise to lead the faithful. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
14. Venezuela
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 22,500,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 77.6 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
13. Peru
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 23,630,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 81.3 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
12. Germany
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 27,910,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 33.9 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
11. Argentina
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 31,020,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 76.8 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
10. Democratic Republic of the Congo
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 31,180,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 47.3 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
9. Spain
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 34,670,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 75.2 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
8. Poland
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 35,290,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 92.2 Pew Research Center, “The Global Catholic Population" Original photo here.
7. France
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 37,930,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 60.4 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
6. Colombia
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 38,100,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 82.3 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
5. Italy
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 50,250,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 83 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
4. United States
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 74,470,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 24 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
3. Philippines
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 75,940,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 81.4 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity"
2. Mexico
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 96,330,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 84.9 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
1. Brazil
Estimated 2010 Catholic population: 133,660,000 Percentage of population that is Catholic, 2010: 68.6 Pew Research Center, “Global Christianity" Original photo here.
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