Byrne said that many hagiographic stories about saints, also known as "lives," include "folklore, legend and political anecdote, which was demonstrably compiled long after (usually some centuries after) the saint in question had lived."
"And the texts of Irish saints' lives were not static: it can be shown that some lives were updated in subsequent centuries to reflect contemporary developments," he said. For instance, sometimes the ancestors of later Irish dynasties are written into such stories
Byrne considered the accounts about saints cited in Callan's piece.
The alleged account of St. Brigid dates to the seventh century. St Aid mac Bricc died in 589, but his life cited by Callan was written as late as the 12th century. The sixth century's St Ciarán of Saighir is depicted in a life written no earlier than the 13th century. St. Cainnech of Aghaboe died in 600, but parts of his life cited by Callan date to the late eighth century and other elements may date from much later.
The Life of St. Columcille, written by the abbot and hagiographer Adamnan about the year 700, is a work of "much higher caliber" that makes clear his effort to record authentic material and suggests other saints' stories of the time are not so reliable, he said.
Other abortion advocates have tried to claim St. Brigid and others for their cause. The group Abortion Rights Campaign Ireland has promoted the work of Dr. Gillian Kenny, a research fellow at the Center for Gender and Women's Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Kenny makes similar claims as Callan.
The pro-abortion rights group has described St. Brigid as "one of Ireland's first abortionists" in its material advocating repeal of the Eighth Amendment of the Republic of Ireland's constitution, which protects the equal right to life of both mother and unborn child.
The repeal effort would legalize abortion up to 12 weeks into pregnancy. It has the support of the republic's major political parties and has the backing of international funders like financier George Soros' Open Society Foundations.
Callan's essay acknowledged that early canons and penitential instructions "include abortion among the many sins to be repented." However, she argued, "comparatively speaking, it's a lesser one."
Some pentientials varied based on the stage of pregnancy. In the Old Irish Penitential, a first trimester abortion requires three and a half years of penance, a second trimester abortion merits seven years' penance, while a third trimester abortion merits 14 years.
In the Irish Canons, according to Callan, "the penance of a woman who has had an abortion amounts to a quarter or half the time of the penance of a man who has committed fornication."
Callan claimed that support for "legal and safe" abortion might better reflect a "medieval" attitude than opposition to abortion.
Father Healy, however, said the reference to the penitentials was evidence against her claim: "They bear witness to the constant and consistent abhorrence of abortion in the Catholic tradition. The severity with which it was dealt did indeed vary according to circumstances and the scientific understanding of the time," he said.
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Charles-Edwards, for his part, agreed that the pentitentials and contemporary secular law in Ireland provide "much better evidence on current social values."
"In both abortion was condemned," he said.
Kevin J. Jones is a senior staff writer with Catholic News Agency. He was a recipient of a 2014 Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship.