THE Catholic Bishop of Raphoe Dr Philip Boyce, has said that the provision of a vasectomy clinic at Letterkenny General Hospital in Co Donegal "is for [the [North Western] Health Board to decide".
In a significant clarification of his position on the matter he said he had neither "the authority to provide or suspend such a service".
Dr Boyce told The Irish Times yesterday that the provision of a vasectomy clinic in the town was "not a matter for me to discuss". It was, he said, "outside my competence". Rather it was for the health board to decide the matter, "taking into consideration all aspects of the question".
He had, he said, "made it clear that it is not for me to judge the conscience and moral decisions of others". His intention - in a homily on Easter Saturday night and media interviews subsequently - "was simply to enlighten the conscience of those seeking guidance about the teaching of the Catholic Church". He was not "going against the law of the country, of course not," he said. "We may not like it but that is the law of the land. People get drunk on a Saturday night, and we may not like that either," he said.
He had "just been giving the Catholic view, as we [bishops] did on divorce and abortion ... and other issues". With reference to the intervention in the controversy of the Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Dr James Mehaffey, Dr Boyce said his counterpart had "presented the moral judgment of the Church of Ireland on this question, as is his duty".
He respected Dr Mehaffey's view on the matter, and "his duty to make it known to his community, just as he respects mine".
He pointed out that since he had come into office as Bishop of Raphoe a year and a half ago, he and Dr Mehaffey had "worked closely together and built up cordial relations, with mutual trust and cooperation". He referred to a school pack "prepared by the catechists of both churches" for primary teachers, "to help them illustrate the life and message of our great local saint, Columba (Colmcille) whom we both honour".
A vasectomy clinic was opened at Letterkenny General Hospital on March 14th last, in line with family planning legislation and guidelines issued by the Department of Health in 1995. The service had been approved by the North Western Health Board at a meeting on May 5th, 1995.
The new clinic was picketed by three doctors two of whom are consultant staff at the hospital. At its meeting on March 20th the health board decided to suspend further appointments at the clinic until the service had been considered by the board's two standing committees. Men who already had appointments were treated at clinics on March 21st and April 4th. Last Friday's clinic was picketed by members of Family Solidarity.
According to a health board spokesman "less than 10 men were treated over the three sessions at the clinic.
In a homily at St Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny, on March 29th, Easter Saturday night, Dr Boyce said "Nobody has the right to harm, to prevent or destroy the life or the ability of producing life with which we are endowed". He continued that "directly intended mutilation of our bodies such as amputation or sterilisation is against the moral law and is a rejection of God's gift of life.
The North Western Health Board standing committees meet tomorrow to consider the future of the vasectomy service at Letterkenny.
