Cura cares, says Killala bishop

Cura cares, says Killala Bishop


Áine Ryan

PRESENT economic circumstances will probably lead to a greater need for the services provided by Cura, the voluntary organisation supporting crisis pregnancy. Addressing Cura’s 32nd annual conference at the weekend, its President, Dr John Fleming, Bishop of Killala also said that ‘[pregnancy] and economic circumstances tend to sit side by side’.
Praising the work of the organisation’s 260 volunteers, he posed a series of questions that women may increasingly be forced to face: “Can I afford to become pregnant is a question which is sometimes asked in silence and in fear? What if I lose my job or my husband loses his? What if the cost of child care causes us to compromise our ability to pay our mortgage? What kind of future can I hope to give my child, in the face of the circumstances in which we now find ourselves?”
He continued: “As the economic crisis continues and, perhaps, deepens, your work and your availability says to women in our society today, Cura cares. Come to us. Cura will give you a listening ear, a warm welcome and an assurance of complete confidentiality in which to share your thoughts, fears and hopes.”
Bishop Fleming also observed that in ‘a world of noise, where many have lost the ability to truly listen, Cura volunteers provide an all-important listening ear’.
He alluded to an example recently related to him regarding the feelings of a pregnant teenager.
“Recently I heard one of you recall at a meeting she had with a teenager who was pregnant. The girl said to her ‘all my family are talking and giving me advice. None of them is listening to me’. Now, as never before, in a society which is full of fear for the future, a listening ear is most important for those who see their pregnancy as a crisis in their lives.”
Concluding, he told delegates at the Athlone hotel: “In your work, you bring that quality of care to people who are often vulnerable, sensitive and fearful. You are the face of a caring organisation and, ultimately, as an agency of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, of a caring Church.”
The theme of the 32nd annual Cura conference was ‘Volunteering in our Time’. Cura was established as an agency of the Irish Bishops’ Conference in 1977.  It has 260 volunteers working from 16 centres nationwide. In 2008 Cura received a total of 3,581 telephone calls and facilitated 1,866 face-to-face contacts in their centres, 104 of which were requests for post-abortion counselling.  
Contact Cura at 1850 622 626  or www.cura.ie for further information.