The Press release sent out at the end of the meeting says that the bishops are going to publish a leaflet on Marriage.

‘Why marriage matters’ – statement by the Bishops’ Conference on the Civil Partnership Bill

Bishops agreed to publish a leaflet ‘Marriage matters’ in support of marriage and family life.  This leaflet expresses concern about aspects of the Civil Partnership Bill, currently before the Oireachtas.  The leaflet summarises key elements of Catholic teaching on marriage between a man and woman.  It reiterates the importance of the family as the natural primary and fundamental unit of society and therefore deserving of special protection by the State.  It also highlights that other forms of relationships are not of the same nature and status as that of marriage as the basis of the family.

This information leaflet will be released as a statement, published by Veritas, made available in dioceses and on www.catholicbishops.ie.  Bishops encouraged everyone concerned to inform themselves and to read ‘Marriage Matters’.

Patsy McGarry reports in the Irish Times this evening

Bishop Jones also expressed grave concern about the Civil Partnership Bill at the press conference. He said the bishops had discussed taken a Constitutional action against the Bill should it become law. “As you know marriage and the family are enshrined in the Constitution and the State has an obligation to protect and promote marriage and family life,� he said.

“We are really very concerned that the Civil Partnership Bill is going to undermine marriage by conferring all the rights on same sex unions as marriage, equating same sex union to marriage itself,� he said.

Where the refusal of the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to allow an opt out clause for people who had conscience problems when it came to association or involvement with same sex ceremonies he said the bishops were “very worried about that. Very worried.

The people involved in the ceremonies beyond the couples are the registrars, Bishop. And they are simply being required to do their jobs.  And we know you don’t give a toss about this conscientious objection and just don’t want any rights given to ‘the gays’.

Of course they are late to the party here – the bishops intervention comes 8 months after the publication of the bill when it’s about to enter committee stage and supposedly long enough after the publication of the Murphy and Ryan reports for their graces to rear their heads.   It’s Civil Partnership but the church leaders are far from civil and of course siding with the extremists (yes they are!) who will be partying for days or at least trying to.  David Quinn’s phone calls giving out to them earlier this year have been productive! (Yes he did call them giving out loads that they were chickens not saying anything).

Update:  More from Patsy McGarry on the forthcoming episcopal (m) utterings  in Thursday’s Irish Times  including the line that Same Sex Unions are ‘incapable of realising the specific communion of persons that is marriage’.  Well if it’s their particular  communion that we can’t realise that’s fine so, that’s not what most same sex couples wish to ‘aspire to’.

Tomorrow morning on Ocean FM in the North-West there will be a debate on Civil Partnership legislation between Izzy Kamikaze a ‘fearless’ local lesbian and Mary Doherty from  Renew, a fairly new organisation which was linked to the the Donegal Says No Campaign in the Lisbon Referendum. (You may remember the spat recently on Today with Pat Kenny’s Lisbon post mortem programme between the group and Jim McDaid TD.)

Renew was launched officially in May of this year and the launch was addressed by Most Rev Seamus Hegarty, Bishop of Derry, Dónal O’Sullivan-Latchford, Family and Media Association, Patrick McCrystal, Human Life International ,  Mary Doherty, Founder of RENEW. (Rumour has it Maman Poulet’s favourite columnist/not quite reactionary, David Quinn from the Iona Institute, was to be there too but I’m not sure if he made it!)

Mary Doherty is an interesting character having run for the Christian Solidarity Party in Donegal in the 2007 election. She is known locally for a number of campaigns including a picket outside a sex shop opened in Letterkenny.

Renew describes itself as a national group ‘valuing dignity and reviving morality’.  The campaign issues for the group include

The promotion and protection of marriage and family life

To influence government legislation which protects and supports family life

The teaching of sex education is primarily the role of the parent and must be taught in accordance with Catholic principles which always respects the child’s natural modesty

The protection of children against sexualisation by the media and the entertainment and commercial industries.

To end the commercialization of human sexuality and the objectification of women through the media, sex industries and on the internet

To lobby the government to strengthen the obscenity laws and to impose heavy sanctions for the breaking of those laws

The regulation of the media and advertising industry by an impartial body, independent of the industries concerned

The interview is due to take place at 9.10am tomorrow on Oceanfm (102.5fm locally and also available online).  If you feel inspired to take part you can text 083 3500 530 tel 0818 365 500 or email studio@oceanfm.ie

It is interesting don’t you think that no other Catholic Church body was invited in to address the meeting or were they? Have Iona suddenly been elevated to Church mouthpiece? In the same way GLEN seem to be regarded as speaking on behalf of the LGB community? (Yes I know they say they don’t and many wish they wouldn’t but you get my drift).

So the ruse that Iona began with on Prime Time a while ago of protecting the parish hall committee a few weeks ago is continuing – this is where someone from Iona says that Civil Partnership legislation should contain a conscientious objection clause because before you know it Jack and Steve will be able to do the indecent thing in the local parish hall and the parish committee won’t be able to object due to equality legislation. In today’s Sunday Times we now have the photographer and the printer mentioned as needing protecting should they refuse to take the photos at a civil partnership or print the invites. Not a lot of mention of the registrars these days because maybe people feel registrars are public servants and should be doing their jobs in the same way nurses and Gardai are expected to serve?

Any organisation or individual who ‘discriminates’ in the provision of employment rights, such as pensions, or who ‘discriminates’ in the provision of goods and services against individuals in a civil partnership will very likely find themselves on the wrong side of the law,� it claims. Iona said policy-makers had a choice of treating belief in “traditional marriage� as a “prejudice�, or protecting that belief as “legitimate�.

Senator Ronan Mullen describes it as a ‘conscience opt out’. Conscience cop out more like.

We all know that Iona Institute would rather not have Civil Partnership legislation introduced at all. But the proposed bill is so basic and non offensive (except of course to a lot of lesbians and gay men) that there is little for them to complain about. So they come along and pretend they are worried about the people who may be paid to provide services at these events who may not wish to do so. I’m wondering why they didn’t mention florists? Or do you think that they realised that most florists would be only delighted? What about wedding planners? Caterers? Hairstylists? Okay I know I’m guilty of stereotyping but I’m just giving you some assistance in seeing through the pile of rubbish that is Iona’s latest ruse.

Back to that FF Parliamentary Party meeting – there were 25 TD’s and senators in attendance and there is allegedly some discord within the party on the bill. Not as much Discord as there is over the proposed Drink Driving legislation and nothing like the discord there should be over NAMA.

David Quinn says that the examples they are giving and case they are making “have happened overseas. This interpretation isn’t some kind of phantasm.�

Lovely new word there phantasm - orgasm of thought for rightwingers?

As a Catholic Priest openly mentions, sympathises and grieves with partner of Stephen Gately and is widely praised for it, the Iona Institute have to dig deeply to raise the ire of traditional catholics in Ireland against any legislation protecting same sex relationships. Sure the local GAA club is now not safe as a traditional area of marital protection since Donal Óg came out. (Ok I know I’m going too far there – my next post will be on the GAA and their role in closet keeping in Ireland. )

So do you think the TD’s were told by GLEN that lots of people are deeply unhappy with the legislation? And that many families are not protected by it?

A Glen delegation addressed the meeting separately. Kieran Rose of Glen described the meeting as “positive, open and friendly�.

He added: “All of the debate was totally reasonable.�

I’m sure it was.

– Stop appearing in audiences of shows like Questions and Answers – especially when the panel is not balanced with representation of someone from the lesbian and gay/equality and human rights sector. RTE need to be taught a lesson and ‘rent any queer for the audience fodder’ should not be part of the curriculum.

– Play the ball and not the player – If you are in the audience and there is no equal representation on the panel, don’t go after the guy on the panel espousing anti civil partnership/equality views – you are only boosting his ego and making his irrational but perfectly pleasantly presented claptrap look reasonable – non elected people who spread fear look like experts when some angry person who actually knows something is shouting them down and not getting heard at all – cf Libertas.

– As well as ringing or texting programmes contact RTE’s/other outlets public information officers and station editors and complain about a lack of balance. These comments go to editorial meetings. Today with Pat Kenny this morning had someone from a European Christian Lobby group and Lucinda Creighton (who is against civil partnership never mind marriage) discussing EU issues and the impact of religion on politics. There were mentions of civil partnerships and rights for same sex couples and how the EU should not be involved. Nobody else took part and although Pat was doing his bit to bring balance there should have been someone from the human rights, federalist side of the house giving their opinion on social affairs in the EU and the importance of the charter of rights and fundamental freedoms.

– Don’t talk about segregation and apartheid – see here. Find your/our own language to use in this situation and stop using the very different experiences of others.

– Stop making two parent families sound like the be all and end all – single parent families have enough enemies without campaigns for same sex partnership giving them oxygen. Parental rights should come second to children’s rights.

– Brief and prepare opposition parties as well as the FF/Green/Others Coalition. The way things are going currently the civil partnerships bill will be more than useless never mind the lack of civil marriage as an option. In fact stop getting everyone confused and make sure whatever law is on the table is the best possible solution.

Feel free to add your advice… someone might indeed listen…won’t guarantee they’ll actually hear it!

I seem to remember before the last general election a bit of toing and froing (understatement) over the FF nominations in the Wexford constituency.

Now it seems the temperature is hotting up again on the matter of seeking the nomination in the next election. Well what else would explain the comments of Senator Lisa McDonald in this weeks New Ross Standard (Provincial papers how do I love thee!!)

A SIGNIFICANT difference of opnion has developed between Co. Wexford’s Fianna Fail Senators Jim Walsh and Lisa McDonald with Ms. McDonald criticising her colleague over his stance on gay and lesbian civil partnership rights.Senator Jim Walsh last week put forward a motion demanding that nothing should be done in the upcoming Civil Partnership Bill that would in any way lessen the special status’ enjoyed by heterosexual marriage under the Constitution.

But fellow Fianna Fail Senator Lisa McDonald said she was under 35 and there’s not many of that demographic up in the Dáil and Seanad’.

(Senator Walsh’s motion) wouldn’t be as easily understood as it would be for someone of Jim’s generation,’ she said.

There’s an awful lot of homophobic attitudes and fears in our society, among older people particularly,’ said Senator McDonald.

I know I’ve been out of the loop for a few weeks but I do hope I’m not the only one to note that Senator Walsh has links to the Iona Institute – the NGO led by David Quinn ‘dedicated to the strengthening of civil society through making the case for marriage and religious practice.’ Walsh chaired a seminar organised by the institute on the rights of Donor conceived persons on June 3rd.

(By the by one of the persons unsuccessful in seeking a FF nomination before the last election was Malcolm Byrne, Gorey Town Councillor and gay man.)

Now I’m wondering who the other 25 people who signed Senator Walsh’s motion are? We could speculate away or someone could ask them all? Or just email me the list and I’ll do the rest!

And David how long do you think you’ll last in this job or is this a job you created for yourself? In the last few years you have worked for the Irish Catholic, The Irish Independent, you jumped to the Daily IRISH Mail, and then back to the Irish Independent.

There has been a lot of talk today in print and on the airwaves about the matters of two parent families etc. But I want to know where the money is coming from for your ‘research’ and as Patricia Casey is producing some of the first of it I’m sure it could be entered for the Booker prize for fiction.

You spent most of your interview with Matt Cooper on Today FM tonight quoting ‘international’ research – ah yes we can all find international research when we want to and make it sound important. And then you said we needed Irish research. If the christian fundamentalist right in the USA are funding the Iona Institute then it won’t be long till the Institute is telling us that lesbians die younger and gay men can’t teach children.

(Maman Poulet is pleased to bring her readers the return of David Quinn watch – for some previous examples see here, here and here – all contributions are welcome in the comments and by email. Oh yes we still need a nickname for him – Myers has one and I call John Waters several things but what should I call Quinn – maybe Gis a Job …?)