Proposals to amend the Constitution to formally recognise same-sex unions should be rejected in order to protect "the value of marriage and its irreplaceable contribution to the good of society", Ireland's Catholic bishops have said.
Addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution yesterday, representatives of the bishops said all individuals were entitled to have their rights protected.
But, they said, if the State had allowed gay people to marry it would have "radically redefined or abolished the traditional definition of marriage".
Fr Paul Tighe, of the office for public affairs of the Archdiocese of Dublin, said the Constitution existed not just to regulate what had happened but "to hold out for values which the society would aspire to".
Changing Article 41 of the Constitution "runs the risk of emptying or removing the special position of the family based on marriage", he said.
In a written joint-submission accompanying the presentation, the archdiocese and the committee on the family of the Irish Episcopal Conference rejected the argument that same-sex marriage was necessary to protect human rights.
The church representatives said: "Church teaching stresses that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman, because this is part of the basic structure of the complementarity of the sexes, something rooted in creation, and not simply a social or cultural construct.
"The recognition of same-sex unions on the same terms as marriage would suggest to future generations and to society as a whole that marriage as husband and wife, and a same-sex relationship, are equally valid options, and an equally valid context for the bringing up of children. What is at stake here is the natural right of children to the presence normally of a mother and father in their lives."
Fr Tim Bartlett, secretary to the Bishop of Down and Connor, who was speaking for the bishop's committee, rejected a claim by Denis O'Donovan TD (FF) that the pivotal position of marriage had already been "rocked to its foundation" due to the divorce referendum. The priest argued that those going through difficulties in marriage benefited from the support expressed in the Constitution for the value of their commitment.
He said the church was "open" to changing the Constitution to give added protection to the rights of the child. However, there was a "balancing" of family and children's rights, and this might best be achieved through legislation.
He was responding to a question from Barry Andrews TD (FF) who said his view was that the Constitution must reflect that all children be treated equally whether they were from marital or non-marital families.
Of the Constitution's reference to women's "life within the home", the church bodies said a more gender-neutral wording "might be appropriate but perhaps unnecessary".
Committee hearings are continuing until next Thursday.
