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Bishop Donal McKeown Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

Bishop: 'I would hate if people voted No for bigoted, nasty, bullying reasons'

Donal McKeown is calling for churchgoers to make up their own mind on what way to vote in the same-sex marriage referendum.

THE BISHOP OF Derry has said churchgoers can vote Yes in this week’s referendum on same-sex marriage ‘in good conscience’.

Donal McKeown was representing the No side this morning in a debate on Highland Radio’s Shaun Doherty Show.

He said it will be up to Irish citizens to “make up their own mind” on Friday, and “in obedience to their conscience”.

“I don’t doubt that there are many people who are practising churchgoers of whatever church background who will in conscience vote Yes, and that’s entirely up them. I’m not going to say they’re wrong.”

The Catholic Church is arguing in favour of a No vote, with letters from bishops being read out at mass across the country.

The Bishop said that “two gay men or two gay women are capable and very able to raise a child in a loving environment”, but said legalising same-sex marriage could be a “dangerous experiment”, citing concerns for the impacts on children in future.

However, McKeown stressed the public should be as informed as possible before voting either way:

People have to make their own mature decision, be it yes or be it no. I would hate for people to be voting no for bad reasons, for bigoted reasons, for nasty reasons, for bullying reasons. People have to make up their own minds and I’m quite happy that people can do that in front of God, be it yes or be it no.

Representing the Yes side in the debate was Noel Sharkey from Doctors For Yes, said he and the Bishop were not there to telling people how to vote, but to make the case for their side of the debate.

He said some priests had been in touch with him to say they would not be reading out letters by bishops on the referendum, instead believing it to be a matter of conscience for Catholics.

Sharkey said that a Yes vote is a “big ask” of the people of Ireland, but called for the “real faces” behind the issues to be considered.

“These are real people’s lives,” he said.

Read: Catholic leaders are out in force arguing against same-sex marriage >

Mary McAleese: ‘The only children affected by this referendum will be Ireland’s gay children’ >

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    Mute Roy O'Rourke
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    Oct 6th 2019, 6:59 PM

    No sign of Shane Ross

    162
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    Mute SFNutters
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    Oct 6th 2019, 7:59 PM

    @Roy O’Rourke: headline needs fixing.

    14
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    Mute John O Reilly
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:43 PM

    @Roy O’Rourke: smell of him though

    20
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    Mute Cryptoalcho
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    Oct 6th 2019, 7:34 PM

    “almost definitely could be potentially the whale that might have been in either Dublin or Liverpool port, while also feeding potentially most definitely feeding on fish, just before it was more than likely certainly murdered by climate change or potentially other causes, that maybe but definitely one of a long list of ways it could have died” classic garbish titles…

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Oct 6th 2019, 7:36 PM

    @Cryptoalcho: Definately, maybe…

    19
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    Mute John Horan
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    Oct 6th 2019, 7:49 PM

    @GerryCummins: .

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    Mute Povl Thim
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    Oct 6th 2019, 9:34 PM

    @GerryCummins: Perhaps

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:16 PM

    RIP whale

    45
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    Mute John O'Neill
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:00 PM

    This the same wale who swam down the liffey to meet his mates in dolphins barn

    51
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    Mute Donal Connell
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:24 PM

    @John O’Neill: Ah here

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    Mute SFNutters
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    Oct 6th 2019, 10:51 PM

    @Donal Connell: leave it out

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    Mute Linus Robin
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:34 PM

    More often than not when you find a mammal out of its comfort zone the mammal is in trouble.

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    Mute Joe Murphy
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    Oct 6th 2019, 7:07 PM

    Anybody find my bicycle whale on Dollyier?

    26
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    Mute Gilly Mor
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:41 PM

    He must have been sick. Poor thing.

    33
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    Mute Linus Robin
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:38 PM

    More often than not when you find a mammal out of its comfort zone the mammal is in trouble.

    In terms of whales.

    A solo whale found out of its normal surroundings usually means that it is in trouble.

    Either lost from its pod or lost on its own.

    The next time you see any mammal in a position that you don’t expect it to be in presume it is in trouble big trouble.

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    Mute John Considine
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:39 PM

    @Linus Robin: Eamonn Ryan in Dáil Éireann, for example.

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    Mute SFNutters
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    Oct 6th 2019, 10:52 PM

    @Linus Robin: you ok?

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    Mute Linus Robin
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    Oct 7th 2019, 2:22 PM

    @SFNutters: I’m fine thank you.
    I realize that some of my post makes little or no sense.
    I will blame that on 3 people calling to my house mid post and not proof reading.
    Soz.

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    Mute Willem Mevius
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    Oct 6th 2019, 8:53 PM

    Almost definitely?

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    Mute Bryen O Murchu
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    Oct 7th 2019, 2:28 AM

    if not attended to quickly dead beached whales have been known to explode due to the build up of gasses if the whale is not gutted quickly .If your worrying about the smell now better cover your noses.

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    Mute Mumpsimus
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    Oct 6th 2019, 11:14 PM

    I’d say it died because of the big gapping hole in the end of it.

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    Mute Murball
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    Oct 7th 2019, 10:39 AM

    @Mumpsimus: that never killed your mother?

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    Mute Jason Byrne
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    Oct 7th 2019, 4:51 AM

    Liffey river just doesn’t sound right

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    Mute Colm Whelan
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    Oct 7th 2019, 5:25 AM

    I’d say that the untreated stuff coming out of ringsend nonwater treatment plant go him A national protest in needed save the whale campaign we can water we want save whales when do we want it Now.

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    Mute Denis McClean
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    Oct 7th 2019, 12:41 AM

    Towed out to sea and told to stay there but not where it could be a hazard to marine navigation. What kind of morons do this?

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