Some of the country’s major faiths are still formulating their views on the forthcoming referendums, and some are not taking a stance.
The Catholic Bishops Conference will not be issuing any public comment until their Spring General Meeting, which takes place from March 4-6.
However, the Irish Independent spoke to Bishop Denis Nulty, president of Accord, the Catholic marriage support agency. He said he was “surprised” that there didn’t seem to be “a huge interest or knowledge around the issues such as what exactly we mean by a ‘durable relationship’”.
“There are a lot of things that have to be sorted out and we want to be very careful that we know all the issues involved. The most important thing is to inform ourselves well,” he said.
“I have concerns when we take ‘woman’ out of the Constitution, ‘mother’ out of the Constitution and ‘home’ out of the Constitution – they are such important themes. Family is critical; it is the key that keeps society going. Let’s do our best to protect the family.”
Imam Hussein Halawa at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) in Dublin does not believe there is any need to amend the Constitution.
According to Dr Ali Selim, project manager at the ICCI, the imam also feels that “if he were to write a constitution, he would not be able to present anything better than the current Constitution”.
This is based on the Muslim perception that family is “the nucleus of society and its backbone”.
The Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council said that it holds a position of neutrality on the referendums.
Rabbi Yoni Wieder of the Dublin Hebrew Congregation said that the Jewish community has maintained a more traditional, conservative approach to issues of family, marriage, and gender.
“That said, as the referendums pertain to Irish society as a whole, we will not be taking any one stance ahead of the votes.”
He acknowledged the language of the Constitution “may be somewhat anachronistic”, but “it does not – as has been claimed – assert that a woman’s place is in the home, nor does it prevent women from pursuing careers”.
“The current formulation is a strong acknowledgment of the value to society of women’s work in the home.
“It expressly aspires to protect mothers who choose to devote themselves to raising their children.
“Both points still have resonance today, especially for the many mothers who feel forced to seek employment due to social or economic pressures, and not out of preference.
“Undoubtedly, marriage has lost much of its centrality and stature in Western society. The new reality gives rise to significant questions about what is a family and whether all types of relationships ought to be equal.
“Contrary to what some like to claim, there is no clear consensus on these questions. The potential legal and social implications of changing core definitions are far-reaching.
“Yet the proposed amendment purposefully skirts around the central issues and leaves them subject to the interpretations of the judiciary.”
A spokesperson for the Church of Ireland’s Archbishop Michael Jackson said he would prefer not to make a statement at this time, particularly with the level of debate around the term “durable”, “to which we don’t feel we can add anything of substance”.