[Magdalen] Ireland

[Jay Weigel]

Well, the Archbishop of Dublin is right, and the Roman Catholic Church
isn't the only one that needs to do a reality check!

On Sat, May 23, 2015 at 5:43 PM, Roger Stokes <roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com
> wrote:

> On 23/05/2015 21:34, Allan Carr wrote:
>
>> Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage by
>> a
>> popular vote. In a country once dominated by the Roman Catholic Church, a
>> huge
>> majority of 62% voted for gay marriage.
>>
>
> I see that the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has been quoted as saying
> that if the referendum was an affirmation of the views of young people than
> the Church has a huge task in front of it and "I think really the church
> needs to do a reality check,"
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32858501
>
> The Catholic Church in Ireland has seen a massive drop in attendance and
> in the respect in which it is held.  Part of this is due to how it has
> dealt with child abuse in past decades.  This even resilted in Benedict XVI
> commissioning an Apostolic Visitation to Ireland and a number of bishops
> resigning.  The incidence and effect was quite possibly proportionally
> larger than in any other country.
>
> As regards this referendum I think part of the blame lies with a former
> Archbishop of Dublin, McQuaid.  He saw to it that bans on divorce and
> "artificial" contraception, as well as the definition of marriage, were
> written into the constitution when the republic was established.  As a
> result the bans could only be lifted after a referendum, which meant after
> significant public protest.
>
> This is far more divisive, and happens later in the evolution of public
> opinion, than the legislature simply allowing these developments for those
> who want them.  The Archbishop is right that the Church needs to do a
> reality check, and quickly before the Synod on the Family to be held in
> Rome in October.  If they don't then they will find their reiteration of
> the official position will continue to be rejected.
>
> Roger
>