A BISHOP WHO said gay couples with children are not parents has stated he regrets any hurt caused by the comments.
It comes as Catholic bishops issue their standpoint on the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum.
Kevin Doran yesterday told Newstalk Breakfast even if a gay couple have children, “people who have children are not necessarily parents”.
“It’s not about saying gay people are unable to love, it’s about saying children need a mother and a father,” he later said.
Primate of All Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin said this afternoon that he spoke to Doran on the issue, who said he regrets any hurt that his words may have caused, in either the way they were said or ‘the way they were represented’.
Martin told RTE’s News at One:
I think that sometimes when we say things we can be insensitive, we can hurt, maybe when we don’t even intend to do so. I am confident [Doran] didn’t intend any hurt.
He noted that the Church has consistently called throughout the debate that “we should try to respect the views of people who think differently to us, and we trust that our sincerely held views which are grounded in faith will also be respected”.
A statement issued from the spring meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference called on “the people of Ireland to consider very carefully the profound implications which this constitutional amendment would have on the family environment and on our understanding of parenthood”.
We come to this debate believing that the union of a man and a woman in marriage, open to the procreation of children, is a gift from God who created us ‘male and female’. Reason also points to the truth about human sexuality that makes the relationship between a man and a woman unique. Mothers and fathers bring different, yet complementary gifts and strengths into a child’s life.
We cannot support an amendment to the Constitution which redefines marriage and effectively places the union of two men, or two women, on a par with the marriage relationship between a husband and wife which is open to the procreation of children.hat will we be expected to teach children in school about marriage?
“Will those who sincerely continue to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman be forced to act against their conscience? Can a way be found to protect the civil rights of gay people without undermining the fundamental meaning of marriage as commonly understood across cultures, faiths and down the ages?”
Change to referendum wording
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced today that the wording of the referendum in Irish has been changed.
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