The year 2011 also witnessed a diplomatic spat between the Irish government and the Vatican. While, as Kenny noted, the Catholic Church has since committed to ensuring high standards of child protection, these shocking reports are likely to linger long in popular memory. In a parliamentary speech, Kenny castigated the Catholic Church for the way it handled such allegations. The report provoked a furious reaction from the current taoiseach (prime minister), Enda Kenny. In 2011, a further report concerning the handling of abuse allegations in the Catholic diocese of Cloyne was published.
For many people, the series of reports seriously undermined the moral authority of the Catholic Church. It highlighted shortcomings in how allegations of child abuse were dealt with by both church and state authorities in Dublin. The Murphy Report made for equally grim reading. The Murphy report contained damning details about the Catholic Church and child abuse.
This is, in part, due to the diminished moral authority which the Catholic Church commands, particularly concerning issues such as the welfare and rights of children. Nowadays, however, they are unlikely to decisively affect the result. In bygone days, such statements may have carried considerable weight.
The rights of children are central to the Catholic Church’s case for a No vote. The church argues that marriage must be between a man and a woman, for the purposes of having and raising children. Four Catholic bishops recently called upon their flock to vote No.Ī number of these Catholic bishops have claimed that voting Yes will redefine the nature of marriage. This includes from the Catholic Church in Ireland. While public opinion currently seems generally favourable towards the proposals, there is still considerable opposition. The Labour party had earlier committed to support same-sex marriage in its 2011 election manifesto. The current government, a coalition of the centre-right Fine Gael and centre-left Labour parties, decided to hold the referendum following a report of the Constitutional Convention in 2013. The government of the Republic of Ireland will hold a referendum on the legalisation of same-sex marriage on Friday.