Sir, – While everyone is entitled to their opinion, Cardinal Parolin's comments that our Yes vote to same-sex marriage was a disaster for humanity are exaggerated and miss the point of what actually occurred in Ireland ("Vatican secretary of state calls Irish referendum a 'defeat for humanity'", May 26th).
Many practising Catholics voted Yes because of a sense of empathy, engendered by the stories of so many gay couples and their families. Yes, it’s a different type of marriage to the traditional one, but inspired by the Christian message of love thy neighbour, they voted Yes. – Yours, etc,
FRANK BROWNE,
Templeogue,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – The Vatican has called the result of the Irish same-sex marriage equality referendum a “defeat for humanity”. And so the Vatican is likely to continue calling our gay brothers and sisters “objectively disordered” arising out of “a strong tendency toward an intrinsic moral evil”.
Humanity is guided by moral principles. It is a universally accepted moral principle that we are responsible for the predictable consequences of our actions and utterances. If bad consequences are predictable, good intentions are no defence.
This “objectively disordered” doctrine has predictably contributed, unintentionally or otherwise, to a tendency to tolerate discrimination against the gay community. And there was discrimination, and still is around the world, often with fatal consequences.
Declarations of love for this minority by those promoting this discriminatory doctrine are frankly, at best, delusional. – Yours, etc,
VAL COSGRAVE,
Rathnew,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – The Very Rev Tom Gordon (May 27th) is absolutely right in his assessment of the Church of Ireland's statement following the referendum on marriage equality.
The statement was badly worded, badly timed and completely unnecessary. The use of the terms “triumph” and “disaster” were particularly ill conceived.
The outcome of this civil referendum has no impact on the teaching of the Church of Ireland, which appears to have been forgotten.
As I am a gay member of the Church of Ireland, I wrote to all 12 bishops to express my huge disappointment at the tone and content of this statement. There is a huge chasm that needs to be addressed by the Church of Ireland and it now needs, as Rev Gordon suggests, a serious “reality check” following this terrible statement. – Yours, etc,
MARK BOWYER,
Dublin 2.