Ireland’s Catholic Church hurt by vote on gay marriage
Print Edition
The once all-powerful Catholic Church in Ireland was trying to come to terms yesterday with the country’s overwhelming vote to allow gay marriage and confront the “social revolution” behind it.
As jubilant “Yes” supporters nursed their hangovers after partying long into the night following Saturday’s referendum result verdict, the faithful were going to mass to hear their priests reflect on the new social landscape in Ireland.
Bishops spoke against changing the law and older and rural voters were thought to have accounted for much of the “No” vote.
Final results showed 62 percent of votes in favor and 38 percent against introducing gay marriage, in a country where being homosexual was a crime until 1993.
As newspapers yesterday celebrated the result with colorful pictures of partying “Yes” supporters, they noted the heavy blow to Church authority.
The Irish Sun on Sunday newspaper said in its editorial: “Ireland officially emerged from the shadow of the Catholic Church yesterday to show its love and respect to people who have suffered here for centuries.”
Niall O’Connor wrote in the Sunday Independent: “The once unshakable influence of the Catholic Church over Middle Ireland has been confronted.”
Ireland will become the 19th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriages once the necessary legislation is approved as expected in the coming months.
Adopting gay marriage is a seismic change in Ireland, where the Church has traditionally been hugely influential.
The majority of Irish still identify themselves as Catholic and abortion is still banned except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
But the Church’s influence has waned in recent years amid growing secularization and after a wave of child sex abuse scandals that discredited the clergy.
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