Mothers and Fathers Matter, the group leading the campaign for a No vote in the same-sex marriage referendum has described the participation by uniformed officers in a Yes campaign event as “deeply disturbing” and a “blatant politicising” of the force. Following the circulation of photographs of uniformed gardaí apparently taking part in a Yes Equality photocall...
Pope Francis has strongly rejected ‘gender theory’ which claims there are no real differences between men and women, warning that the removal of such difference would represent “a step backwards” for society. During his weekly catechesis, the Pontiff stressed that getting rid of the difference between man and woman “is the problem, not the solution”. Acknowledging...
Christian and Muslim representatives in Ireland have issued a joint call for a conscience clause to be included in legislation in the event of a Yes result in the same-sex marriage referendum. In a document submitted to the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, members of the Catholic Church, the Reformed Presbyterian and Quaker churches, together with...
Minister Simon Coveney who is running Fine Gael’s Yes campaign in the marriage referendum has denied that children have a right to a mother and a father. When asked, during an interview conducted with The Irish Times newspaper, if the right to a mother and father existed, Minister Simon Coveney said: “No I don’t, no. A...
A spokesman for Ireland’s Catholic Bishops has reacted with surprise to apparently off-hand comments by Taoiseach Enda Kenny regarding the Church’s continuing role in solemnising marriages on behalf of the State. Following a statement to RTÉ in which Mr Kenny said it was a matter for the Church alone to decide if it would continue its...
The right of Catholic schools in Ireland to teach that marriage is between one man and one woman only must be protected in the event of a Yes vote in the same-sex marriage referendum, a Catholic bishop has insisted. In an interview with The Irish Catholic newspaper, Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin stressed that “any school...
A spokesman for Ireland’s Catholic Bishops has said the Irish Church may be forced to end the practice of civil registration of marriages conducted in churches if the same-sex marriage referendum passes. Speaking to The Irish Times newspaper, Martin Long of the Catholic Communications Office said: “If the referendum is passed the Church’s view and the...
A British woman raised by a lesbian couple has warned of the potential for “irreparable, long-term damage to a child” by such an arrangement following her own “damaging and confusing” upbringing. Actress Hetty Baynes Russell said she had spent years in therapy “trying to make sense” of her familial situation once her father had been...
A delegation of parents, including from Ireland, has urged the United Nations to end its use of the term ‘incompatible with life’ during a visit to the organisation’s Geneva Headquarters. Organised by the pro-life group Every Life Counts to mark the launch of the Geneva Declaration on Perinatal Care, the Irish contingent was led by...
A pizzeria in the US state of Indiana has been forced to close its doors amid a backlash by LGBT activists after it said it could not cater for same-sex weddings on the grounds of their religious beliefs. Coming as Indiana became the 19th state to adopt a Religious Freedom Restoration Act – with additional protections...
