A Church of Ireland Bishop has strongly criticised the failure of politicians to enact legislation in the aftermath of the X abortion case.
The Bishop of Ossory, the Right Reverend Michael Burrows, attacked the 'systemic spinelessness' of the legislature.
He said it had failed to address its responsibilities.
Bishop Burrows said the legislature instead expected people to put 'blunt phrases' in the Constitution or expected judges 'to do its dirty work'.
The Bishop made his remarks in a homily delivered to a congregation including the Papal Nuncio, the Most Reverend Dr Giuseppe Lazzarotto, at a service in Dublin to mark the start of the new legal year.
He said the failure to legislate on the X case and on other issues, including human embryology, had left doctors, lawyers and others floundering and reflected a hypocritical and ostrich-like approach by politicians.
The Pro-Life Campaign has accused the Bishop of Ossory of using inflammatory language.
In a statement, Dr Audrey Dillon of the Campaign said his comments were likely to generate more heat than light.
The Department of Health, which has responsibility for the area of abortion, said it had no comment to make on the bishop's remarks.
