The Vatican’s top diplomat has some harsh words for the people of Ireland, who voted to make same-sex marriage a constitutional right last week.
On Friday, the citizens of Ireland voted to not only make same-sex marriage legal, but to make it a constitutional right, adding language to their country’s constitution to ensure marriage equality for all time. And by doing so, the Emerald Isle also became the first country in the world to extend marriage to same-sex couples by popular vote.
Today, the Vatican had a few harsh words for the people of Ireland.
“I was deeply saddened by the result,†Cardinal Pietro Parolin (image), Vatican Secretary Of State, said on Tuesday, the Guardian reported. “The church must take account of this reality, but in the sense that it must strengthen its commitment to evangelisation. I think that you cannot just talk of a defeat for Christian principles, but of a defeat for humanity.â€
So much for Pope Francis‘ famous, “Who am I to judge?” remarks.
The Guardian classified Parolin’s remarks as “the most damning assessment of the Irish vote by a senior church official to date.”
The Roman Catholic Church and the Irish people have been at odds for years, after an epidemic of Irish Catholic priests molesting children exploded across headlines, starting in the 1990s. Studies found that from the 1940s to the 1990s, tens of thousands of children “suffered sexual, physical and mental abuse at the hands of priests, nuns and church staff in [just] three Irish dioceses and in a network of workhouse-style residential schools.”
The Pope has been all over the board on issues of same-sex marriage. Some had hoped he would bring a new acceptance to the Church, but recently his commentary has been more negative than ever before. Earlier this month, echoing comments he had made in January, Francis described same-sex marriage as “disfigured.”
Some responses via Twitter:
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Image by Paval Hadzinski via Flickr and a CC license