(Enoc Burke – Campaign for Conscience, Photo from Red Mum)

You may have heard there are a few protesters against the Civil Partnership Bill 2009 outside Leinster House for the past few months.  From various Christian groups they are calling for a freedom of conscience clause for registrars and others as well as opposing rights for same sex couples. The protest seems to have increased a bit this week which is a bit strange as the bill is not being debated and indeed the Dáil is not talking about much at all this week and the Seanad is not meeting at all. But let’s not concentrate on tactics but hear about what they believe in.

Steven Conlon from the Tallyman blog today interviewed Paul McLoughlin from the Christian Solidarity and Enoc Burke from the Campaign for Conscience. The interviews (particularly with Burke) make for interesting listening.

I know that a number of other groups have been trying to get an audience (!) with the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Law Reform to put their point across about the bill.  They have asked but got no reply so they are lobbying other Deputies to ask for intercession.  The correspondence below was sent on behalf of Women in the Home and the National Men’s Council of Ireland (love the way the women can’t do their own asking!) Roger is also Executive Director of something called the Family Rights and Responsibilities Institute of Ireland. So many organisations, so little time!

Re: Request for  an audience to submit a report on the Civil Partnerships
Bill
For the attention of:  Dail Deputies,

Dear Deputy,

The following letter was sent to Deputy Brendan Kenneally, Chairman of the
Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights Joint Committee and to Clerk
to the Committee, Mr. Alan Guidon in an effort to secure an audience with
their Committee so that we may make a submission in relation to the
proposed Civil Partnerships Bill.

As nearly a week has passed and we have not received even an
acknowledgement could you please use your good offices to assist us in
making our submission on behalf of the Family men and women of Ireland.

We believe that the Bill is flawed and that the passing of the Bill in its
current format will fail the test of Constitutionality and so to progress
the Bill through the Oireachtas will put an unnecessary further drain on
the public purse.

God bless, Roger Eldridge
Executive Director, Family Rights and Responsibilities Institute of
Ireland, Knockvicar,
Boyle, Co. Roscommon
familyrightsinstitute@eircom.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Attention: Deputy Brendan Kenneally, Chairman of the Justice, Equality,
Defence and Women’s Rights Joint Committee, Houses of the Oireachtas,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Attention: Clerk to the Committee, Mr. Alan Guidon

Dear Sirs

On behalf of Women in the Home and the National Mens Council of Ireland,
the Family Rights and Responsibilities Institute of Ireland requests an
audience to submit a report to the Committee on the merits or otherwise of
the proposed Civil Partnerships Bill.

We believe that the Bill is flawed and that the passing of the Bill in its
current format will fail the test of Constitutionality.

To prevent any further drain on the public purse we humbly request an
opportunity to present our arguments to your Committee for the benefit of
the Oireachtas before it is passed out of your Committee.

Please contact me at the number below or by email to set up an appointment
that is mutually convenient.

God bless,  Roger Eldridge

Chairman, National Mens Council of Ireland
Executive Director, Family Rights and Responsibilities Institute of Ireland
National Office: Knockvicar, Boyle, Co. Roscommon
Website: www.family-men.com Email: familymen@eircom.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“To help us advance along the path of human maturity, the Church
teaches us to respect and foster the marvellous reality of the
indissoluble Marriage between man and woman which is also the origin of
the Family. To recognise and assist this institution is one of the
greatest services which can be rendered nowadays to the Common Good and
to the authentic development of individuals and societies, as well as
the best means of ensuring the dignity, equality and true freedom of
the human person.

“Everything that serves to weaken the Family based on the Marriage of a
man and a woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the
way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life,
everything that obstructs its right to be primarily responsible for the
education of its children, constitutes an objective obstacle on the
road to peace.”
“Whoever, even unknowingly, circumvents the institution of the Family
undermines peace in the entire community, national and international,
since s/he weakens what is in effect the primary agency of peace,”

Pope Benedict XVI’s message for the January 1 World Day of Peace in
2007

These outfits are only getting warmed up – wait for the Constitutional Referendum on Children’s Rights  where if you thought Lisbon Campaigns were nasty you will learn a whole new lesson in negative, scare tactic campaigning.

* The title for this post comes from Will St. Ledgers brilliant video of the Campaign for Conscience protest earlier this year.