[ 2015-05-24 ]

Catholic Church left reeling by Ireland’s stunning vote for gay marriage
The Catholic church in Ireland has been left
reeling after voters overwhelmingly gave their
approval to gay marriage in a historic
referendum.

Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, said
that religious leaders needed to do a “reality
check” and could not ignore a “social
revolution” in which nearly two thirds of voters
backed same-sex unions.

Ireland became the first country in the world to
vote for equal marriage rights for same-sex
couples in the national referendum on Friday. New
laws paving the way for same-sex marriage will
pass in parliament in weeks, ministers said.

The archbishop today called for soul searching
over whether church had “drifted away completely
from young people” in some areas of its
teaching. He suggested that the size of the vote
shows how the church has a “huge task” to
reach younger generations “not just on this
issue, but in general”.

His comments came as Church of Ireland bishops
issued a statement calling for a “spirit of
generosity” from both sides in the
hotly-contested debate.

The widely tipped “yes” vote marked a step
change in opinion in a largely conservative
Catholic country where homosexuality was made
legal only 22 years ago.

The archbishop said the result showed how the
church had failed to keep up with the changing
views of young people in particular.

“We tend to think in black and white, but most
of us live in the area of grey, and if the church
has a harsh teaching, it seems to be condemning
those who are not in line with it,” he said.
“The church’s teaching, if it isn’t
expressed in terms of love - then it’s got it
wrong.”

His call for tolerance was echoed in a statement
from the bishops, which said: “We would now
sincerely urge a spirit of public generosity, both
from those for whom the result of the referendum
represents triumph, and from those for whom it
signifies disaster.”

Campaigners for the anti-gay marriage “no”
campaign conceded defeat shortly after ballot
counting started on Saturday morning.

Final official results showed that 62 per cent of
voters backed a change to the 1937 Constitution to
allow marriage “without distinction as to their
sex”, which was approved by a majority in all
but one of Ireland’s 43 constituencies. Analysts
said it had received resounding backing even in
traditionally conservative rural districts.

Several Catholic bishops had written open letters
to congregations before the vote outlining
concerns about gay marriage and why the church
would not support the reform. Religious groups
that campaigned against the change were
philosophical in defeat yesterday.

Pro-gay marriage groups celebrated as the extent
of the strength of support for gay marriage became
clear.

Colm O’Gorman, director of Amnesty International
Ireland and a married gay man with two children,
said that the outcome would send a message around
the globe. “It has a great resonance here in
Ireland, but it’s one that’s going to echo
around the world,” he said.

Leo Varadkar, health minister and Ireland’s
first openly gay cabinet member, said: “It was
not just a referendum ... it was more like a
social revolution.”

The huge majority favouring gay marriage raised
questions about if or when a similar referendum or
reform would be introduced in Northern Ireland -
the only region of the UK not to adopt similar
laws.

Amnesty revealed plans to strengthen its campaigns
for marriage equality in Belfast with a rally
planned for mid-June, while Sinn Fein pledged to
increase its efforts on the issue.

Source - The Times(UK)

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