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Cardinal sounds abortion warning

Catholic politicians who defend abortion should not expect to remain full church members, Scotland's most senior Roman Catholic has warned.

In a sermon marking 40 years since the Abortion Act, Cardinal Keith O'Brien said pro-abortion MPs should consider their stance on receiving Communion.

He said the abortion rate north of the border was equivalent to "two Dunblane massacres a day".

The cardinal's opponents have accused him of using inflammatory language.

Abortion remains a reserved issue, legislated over by politicians at Westminster.

Speaking at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, the cardinal urged decision-makers to stop supporting what he labelled an "unspeakable crime".

And he called on voters to reject candidates who defend a "social evil".

Cardinal O'Brien said: "We are killing - in our country - the equivalent of a classroom of kids every single day.

"Can you imagine that? Two Dunblane massacres a day in our country going on and on. And when's it going to stop?

"I can't change the teachings of Jesus Christ. I can't change the 10 Commandments. That's what I'm ordained to teach and to preach: 'Thou shalt not kill.'"

The cardinal told the BBC: "We're told by statisticians that the equivalent of a classroom of children every day are being aborted in their mothers' womb - basically murdered in their mothers' womb."

However, his intervention has angered some politicians. Jeremy Purvis, a Liberal Democrat member of the Scottish Parliament, said the cardinal was using "inflammatory" language.

He said: "It is not right that we would be seen to be put under pressure, or indeed some members threatened, by a religious leader on what is a very sensitive issue."

He added: "I think it is perfectly reasonable for the Catholic leader in Scotland to effectively assert Catholic social teaching that is opposed to abortion.

"If you had a situation where politicians who were voting in favour of abortion were then expected to be able to participate fully within a Catholic Mass then the church itself would be derelicting its responsibility to uphold its own teachings."

The leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, emphasised his opposition to abortion, although in more measured terms than his Scottish counterpart.

He said: "I would urge all Catholics, especially those who hold positions of public responsibility, to educate themselves about the teaching of the church, and to seek pastoral advice so that they can make informed decisions with consistency and integrity."

Harry Conroy, editor of the Scottish Catholic Observer, said the paper fully supported Cardinal O'Brien's stance on abortion.

Mr Conroy denied that the cardinal had used extreme language. "What Cardinal O'Brien has done is bring it up in a manner that makes people stop and listen," he said.

Full story at BBC Scotland News.