Cura moves to clarify stance on abortion leaflets dispute

The president of the Catholic pregnancy counselling service, Cura, has said the agency is not involved in any activity that makes abortion a more likely option for pregnant women.

Bishop of Killala Dr John Fleming was responding to a recent controversy over Cura's distribution of leaflets on behalf of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency which included numbers for organisations that give information on abortion facilities in Britain.

In what is seen as a holding statement pending the Catholic bishops' meeting next month, he said: "Cura would not be involved in any activity or practice which would make abortion a more likely option in a crisis pregnancy situation."

He added: "Cura supports the right of every child to be born and to receive his or her human rights and reiterated that its ethos is well known. Cura cannot, does not and will not provide telephone numbers for abortion clinics. This was raised at a meeting of the Irish Bishops' Conference in March and it was agreed more detailed information on Cura's policy would be provided at the next meeting in June.

Olive Braiden, chairwoman of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, has said it would not be appropriate for Cura to "keep getting money" if it stopped making details of other agencies available to its clients. However, she doubted Cura's funding of €600,000 a year would be "pulled".