Last night (Mar 19) Archbishop Diarmuid Martin addressed a meeting of The Iona Institute attended by over 200 people.  His topic was ‘The Teaching of the Church on Marriage Today’. In the course of the talk he addressed the topic of the nature of marriage.

Among his main points were the following:

• There is something “irreplaceable in that relationship between a man and a woman who commit to one another in love and who remain open to the transmission and the nurturing of human life”
• “We are all the children of a male and a female and this must have relevance to our understanding of the way children should be nurtured and educated”
• “An ethics of equality does not require uniformity”
• “In the current debate [on marriage and the family] normal parliamentary procedures seem rushed”
• “The debate [on marriage] must be carried out respectfully without the use of intemperate language”

In question time afterwards Archbishop Martin was asked about the conscience rights of Christians  such as photographers, printers and bakers who do not believe in same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Martin described freedom of conscience and religion as one of the most “fundamental” of all human rights. He said politics must respect freedom of conscience.

Archbishop Martin’s speech in full can be found here.