A delegation from the Church of Ireland is to meet Department of Justice officials today to press for a ‘freedom of conscience’ clause in the Civil Partnership Bill.The Bill, which is before the Oireachtas, provides for legal recognition for civil unions, including between homosexuals.
The Protestant Churches - including a Church of Ireland bishop and a former moderator of the Presbyterian Church - are pressing for the inclusion of a clause in the legislation which would enable public officials such as registrars to refuse to perform civil ceremonies for gay couples on the grounds of religious beliefs.
The bill proposes that an official who refuses to preside over a civil union can be fined €2,000 and jailed for six months.
The Churches also believe that they could be forced to offer the use of Church property for same-sex ceremonies and events, or be sued if they do not.
TDs and senators have been lobbied by representatives of the Protestant Churches on the issue in recent weeks.
However, Dermot Ahern, the Minister for Justice, has already ruled out introducing a freedom of conscience clause.
In a recent debate in the Seanad, he said: ‘‘I agree with the view that there is no basis for providing a right to discriminate against a class of persons on the grounds of freedom of religion or conscience."
Ahern warned about the ‘‘unintended consequences’’ that could follow such an amendment to the bill, such as a registrar refusing to register the marriage of a person who had been divorced.
‘‘Other possible consequences could include a court clerk refusing to issue divorce orders; a science teacher refusing to teach about evolution; a fundamentalist Christian Garda refusing to arrest a husband who is breaching a safety order on the basis that he is entitled to chastise his wife; a judge refusing to register a power of attorney in favour of a person’s civil partner; a Muslim or Mormon accident and emergency doctor refusing to treat someone presenting with alcohol poisoning; an official of the Department of Social and Family Affairs refusing to pay carer’s allowance to a person’s civil partner; or a probate officer refusing to issue a grant of administration to a deceased person’s civil partner," the minister said.
When enacted, the legislation will provide for the registration of civil partnerships for couples regardless of their sex.
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