The Catholic primate, Archbishop Seán Brady, has said he is satisfied with the present situation where abortion legislation in the State is concerned and that he did not think another referendum on the issue was necessary.
He agreed that following the 1992 Supreme Court judgment in the X case, legislation in the area was ambivalent, but added: "Sometimes you have to live with ambivalence in life."
The archbishop said he was aware that some people were pushing for legislation to allow abortion in certain circumstances, and said he would oppose any such moves.
He also said that abortion was the first item on the agenda when he met Northern Ireland's First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley and a DUP delegation in October of last year, and that they were in agreement on the right to life of the unborn.
The meeting had been "friendly, very courteous", and other items discussed in the one hour and 40 minutes they talked included unemployment, education, security and political progress.
As regards his own role in the Northern peace process he said that, contrary to some reports following the announcement last week that he was to become a cardinal, he was "not one of the big peacemakers. I just tried to meet people." Archbishop Brady was speaking in an interview on TV3.
Asked about his sermon at Knock last August, where he attacked the growing shallowness of Irish society and said people were becoming distracted from their faith, he emphasised he was "not disparaging the progress made. I rejoice in it, delight in it, but I do see warning signs." He felt that "maybe we need a reconciliation process" to free people "to see what is happening in our country".
There was a depth of faith in Irish people but they "have become more busy. Maybe it is hard to find time for faith," he said. There was so much aggression and anger around which, he felt, was possibly due to the neglect of family values. He reflected that Sunday, for instance, was changing. "It's becoming a very busy day . . . we need those spaces, sacred spaces in which to reflect and enrich our families, our relationships," he said.
Acknowledging the church could have handled the clerical child sex abuse issue better, he said, however, that people were "waiting to see who handled this crisis well". The church had learned from it, was continuing to learn from it and would move on, he said. He did not think people had turned their backs on the church, but did agree there were very few young people attending church services and that this needed to be addressed.
As regards mandatory clerical celibacy for Catholic priests, he felt the rule might be changed at some point, but he didn't think he would like to see it changed. Whereas it might sometimes be a struggle for a priest, it allowed him be more available to the people he serves, and that had "immense advantages".
Asked whether Steve Staunton should resign, he pointed out that the Ireland soccer manager was from Dundalk, which is in Armagh diocese, and that he was "a great servant to Irish football. I hope he survives the criticism. He's a good man."
