For most of the twentieth century, Ireland was notoriously one of the most religious countries in Europe, though things have changed a lot in the last twenty years as the Catholic Church (the country's overwhelmingly dominant sect) has been discredited by the child-molestation cover-up scandals and other atrocities such as Tuam. The Catholic Church is of course leading the campaign for a no vote, supported by Muslim and Christian immigrants who are small in number but fiercely socially conservative.
But the most moving testimony is that of individual voices. Ursula Halligan describes what this huge expression of majority acceptance would mean to her after a lifetime resigned to loneliness and concealment. Una Mullally writes of the positive spirit of working for the yes campaign in a country where prejudice and fear are still strong. Fintan O'Toole, himself heterosexual, uses his own family to illustrate how the Church's narrow view of human relationships excludes many others besides gays.
A yes vote will be a victory for humanity and for human decency and happiness, and a decisive defeat for the Catholic Church in a country where, just a generation ago, its grip was firmer and crueler than in any other.
This is amazing news! Ireland , of all countries where the RCC has had a stranglehold for centuries! Never underestimate the power of enlightenment and reason. It comes slowly, but once it overtakes superstition, there's no stopping them.
ReplyDeleteShame on US for not doing the same.
Yes, if this transformation could happen in Ireland in 20 years, it could happen anywhere. Even Alabama. Even Algeria.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time the people of Ireland cast off the church from their daily lives. And to think it only took exposing a millenia of clerical abuse to potentially turn the Emerald Isle into a modern, more tolerant society.
ReplyDeleteÉirinn go Brách.
Thomas: I'm sure other factors, like broader education which made people better able to see the absurdity of religion, played a role in Ireland as elsewhere. But for those who are otherwise unreachable, the impact of betrayals like the child-abuse scandals was, at least, impossible to ignore.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great day for the Irish and LGBT rights!
ReplyDeletethank you for this article I really appreciate this.
ReplyDelete