Sir, – In a contribution to the synod on the family, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin made a disingenuous assertion about the Irish people's consideration of the marriage equality referendum ("Same-sex marriage campaign used 'our' language, bishops told", October 12th).
He suggested that “The referendum was debated within a social culture where people struggle to understand abstract moral principles”. Confusingly, he went on to argue that young people based their decisions “on what was traditionally our language: equality, compassion, respect and tolerance”.
Surely this shows that the Irish people did engage with abstract moral principles, just not in the way the church interprets them.
The archbishop noted that “Often society uses the same words as the church does, however with a radically different meaning.”
This echoes a point we heard throughout the referendum campaign – that marriage in some sense belongs to the church and is being redefined by society. The word “marriage”, with both civil and sacramental connotations, has proven to be a confusing term. During the campaign it was suggested frequently that advocates of marriage equality should accept an alternative wording that might include all of the same rights and responsibilities of marriage while mitigating confusion with the religious definition.
The archbishop is right to highlight the problems of language, but unfortunately he does not propose a solution. I would like to suggest one. That the institution of marriage predates the foundation of Christianity is not in question. Consequently, marriage is in origin a civil or secular institution, which has been the subject of a gradual takeover by religions. The onus then, should be on the church rather than the state to change its confusing use of language. Perhaps the church could cease using the word marriage and use the sacramental term “holy matrimony” instead? This would allow the church to claim what is rightfully theirs while civil society can reclaim what is rightfully ours. – Yours, etc,
Dr EIMHIN WALSH,
Harold’s Cross,
Dublin 6.