London, England, Sep 18, 2007 / 08:29 am
The row between Amnesty International (AI) and the Church over the group’s newly declared support for limited abortion is continuing to escalate as the bishops of Ireland contemplate banning the organization from the nation’s Catholic schools. Already one school has been instructed to disband their chapter of Amnesty and more may follow suit.
A church spokesman provided more details on the latest Amnesty eviction, "An inquiry did come from a school principal, on behalf of the teacher who is in charge of the school Amnesty group, asking for guidance on the future of the Amnesty group in the school. The advice to the school is that it would be inappropriate for the school branch to continue in existence in the context of Amnesty International's new position regarding abortion," reported The Guardian.
The decision to close down the AI chapter at the Greater Belfast school may be a sign of things to come. The Irish Bishops’ Conference will hold their general conference next month and among the topics to be discussed will be the import of Amnesty’s new policy in light of “the sacredness and protection of all human life”, said the church spokesman.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty's Northern Ireland programme director, said he was still "hopeful" that the Amnesty school groups would not be affected by the growing rift with the Catholic Church. "Amnesty International and the Catholic Church have more in common than that which divides us, namely the issue of sexual and reproductive rights."