Shortly after being appointed to Armagh, Martin stood out from his brother bishops in Ireland when he said that Catholic politicians must not presume to receive Communion if they support the then-pending abortion law. “If a legislator comes to me and says, ‘Can I be a faithful Catholic and support abortion?’ I would say no. Your communion is ruptured if you support abortion,” Martin told the Sunday Times.
“You cannot regard yourself as a person of faith and support abortion. You are excommunicating yourself. Any legislator who clearly and publicly states this should not approach looking for communion.”
