Accord, the Catholic bishops’ marriage counselling agency, has been attacked for adhering to the Church’s teaching on marriage.  

A spokesperson for Glen, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network said that the group’s refusal to offer its services to same-sex couples could be in breach of the Equal Status Act, the Sunday Times reports.  

The Irish Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and gives every religious denomination “the right to manage its own affairs”.

Accord organises pre-marriage courses for engaged couples and counselling services for married couples.

In response to a number of queries, the Dublin director of Accord’s counselling wing, Ann O’Malley, sent an email in October to 12 of the service’s branches telling them to tell same-sex couples seeking counselling to look for help elsewhere.

In the email, Ms O’Malley instructed the branches to tell those seeking such counselling that it was not a service they offered “and suggest they try another counselling organisation” such as the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

In response to media queries, Accord confirmed that it does not provide such counselling.

A spokesman for Bishop Christopher Jones, the president of Accord, said: “While Accord upholds the human dignity of homosexual persons and recognises the duty to treat all persons with respect, compassion and sensitivity, it does not offer counselling services to couples in same-sex unions.  

“Accord, in not offering a same-sex counselling service, holds that it is not contravening state laws on equality and discrimination.”

Brian Sheehan, executive director of Glen, has accused the group of breaching anti-discrimination laws.  

He said: “Denying people a service because they are gay or lesbian or because they’re in a civil partnership would seem to be contrary to the Equal Status Act.

“When couples go for counselling, an essential thing is knowledge the counselling service would open and non-judgemental. If Accord in rejecting lesbian and gay couples simply on the basis of their sexual orientation, then it is being judgemental, which must call into question a key element of their service.”

In October 2011, the national executive of Accord, the Catholic Church’s marriage counselling agency, overruled a motion which would have required it to offer couples sexual counselling to divorced, gay and unmarried people, which would be against Catholic teaching.

The motion was tabled by the Wexford branch of Accord, and was passed by a comfortable majority of the 800 lay delegates, the Irish Times reports.

However the motion was subsequently ruled invalid by the national executive committee.