Cóir says Public Opposition To Civil Partnership Bill Growing; Welcomes Bishops' Statement

Cóir Date: 20.06.2010

Cóir has welcomed the Bishops’ statement on the Civil Partnership Bill, and said that public opposition to the Bill has accelerated since the likely effects of the proposed changes have become clearer to the public.

Cóir spokesman, Richard Greene, accused the Government of deliberately ignoring the growing opposition.

The Bishops said at the conclusion of their recent Maynooth meeting that in most respects, “same-sex civil partnerships will be regarded as being equal to marriage” and that, “this is not compatible with seeing the family based on marriage as the necessary basis of the social order and as indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and State.”

Describing the Bill as a “far-reaching and harmful proposal that equates same-sex relationships to marriage”, Cóir spokesman Richard Greene said that there had been no public debate on the Bill, but that as the “drastic and detrimental changes in the proposed legislation slowly became known, thousands of people were contacting their public representatives to voice opposition.”

I’ve been contacted by hundreds of people in the past month who say their concerns are being ignored, and that their local representatives are simply sending standard pre-prepared answers to queries and complaints,” said Mr Greene. “We know that thousands are calling for this Bill to be scrapped but the Government has refused to even debate the issues. In fact, the Bill was proposed to avoid a referendum which would have required a thorough and inclusive public debate.”

The Cóir spokesman pointed out that the Bill was being pushed through amidst the confusion of an unprecedented economic downturn, and that most people were unaware of the radical changes - or that the Bill equated same-sex relationships to marriage.

But there is now a growing awareness of what the Bill will do and people are rightly appalled and concerned,” said Mr Greene. “Why is the government choosing to ignore those concerns? The majority of people have not asked for this proposal, it has been foisted on them.”

Mr Greene also accused the Government of “the most calculated deviousness” in drafting the Civil Partnership Bill. “They admitted that introducing same-sex ‘marriage’ would meet with widespread opposition, and that a referendum on the same would fail. But they have given civil partnerships the same status as marriage in the Bill, in a clear attempt to fool the people by sleight of hand.”

Cóir’s submission to the Government in 2009 pointed out that the Bill elevated other unions to the status of marriage, and that the proposal would undermine marriage with devastating effects for children and society. “This is social engineering at its worst – a vast, untested social experiment which will harm the most vulnerable in society,” said Mr Greene.

Comments

dillj

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While it is great to see the Catholic bishops take a principled stance against the so called "Civil Partnership Bill". They should have opposed it much ealier before it even reached the drafting stage. Yet hopefully we will see a much more robust and courageous stance been taken in the future on this and other important moral and social issues.
Regards,

John Dill.

Thursday 01 July 2010, 12:51

I-love-tolerance

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You people are so deluded. I passed the Dáil today and saw your protesters and it just made me unhappy and genuinely sick inside. How can you think you're speaking on behalf of the Irish people? The vast, VAST majority of us have no petty, unreasonable problems with homosexuality. Civil partnership may not be enough, but it's a step in the right direction, towards equality. I mean, seriously, a church wedding is of course a different issue (religion is religion, for right or wrong) but a CIVIL partnership? It's really not your place to protest against it. Your views are backward and bigoted, and on behalf of all the gay people I know, I hope everyone sees you for the sad, ignorant people that you are.

Wednesday 07 July 2010, 09:45

jsoe1

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those bishops are experts at homosexuality; they're always sticking their dicks up little boy's anuses.

Thursday 05 August 2010, 09:35

jsoe1

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those bishops are experts at homosexuality; they're always sticking their dicks up little boy's anuses.

Thursday 05 August 2010, 09:35

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