Madam, – Canon James Kelly (March 18th) says he wakes up "aghast that the Civil Partnership Bill is going through the Dáil without an outcry of protest". He then goes on to talk – irrelevantly – about the "institute of marriage". When faced with such ill-thought-out sentiments in The Irish Timesof a morning I, too, find myself "aghast". I am aghast that supposedly educated people can confuse such straightforward terms as "partnership" and "marriage", when these terms are so clearly not the same or comparable.
I am aghast that the canon would seek to deny equal treatment in the eyes of the law to supposedly equal citizens of this so-called Republic. I am aghast that the canon would still seek to claim this country as an “Ireland of religion” when recent revelations have shown, for all to see, the putrid, sickening, vile hypocrisy that is the only legacy organised religion has left us. Finally, I am aghast to think the canon’s ignorant, intolerant sentiments should be aired publicly without an outcry of protest. I protest. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Canon James Kelly, AP, writes of the reaction to the Civil Partnership Bill, “With this legislation, the Ireland of religion we know is effectively sundered”. Bravo. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Canon James Kelly describes same-sex marriage as “a direct disavowal of the institute of marriage as a bond of love for the procreation of children”. There are many heterosexual couples who do not choose, or find themselves unable, to have children – does this make their marriages lesser than those of others? There are also many same-sex couples who already have children and need their families protected and their love recognised by the State. The Civil Partnership Bill, while not offering complete equality for same-sex couples, is a step in that direction.
I feel very lucky to be alive in a time when so many issues are being brought to light in Ireland. Canon Kelly mentions that with this legislation, “the Ireland of religion we know is effectively sundered”. Religion should always be kept far from the minds of our legislators. Let us not define ourselves as “the Ireland of religion” but the Ireland of progressive thinking, the Ireland which values the love of all of her citizens and, most importantly, the Ireland of equality. – Yours, etc,