LEICESTER, United Kingdom – A leading government official in Ireland has rejected claims by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference that suggests proposed changes to the Irish Constitution on the role and definition of family would weaken the incentive for young people to marry.
On 8 March 2024, Irish citizens will be asked to vote in two referendums – called the Family Amendment and the Care Amendment – to make changes to the text of Article 41 in the Irish Constitution.
In the lead up to the referendums, much of the focus has been on the current so-called woman in home clause of the Constitution says the Irish State will “endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.”
Supporters of the Care Amendment change to the Constitution want to add a new Article 42B, which says the state “recognises that the provision of care, by members of a family to one another by reason of the bonds that exist among them, gives to society a support without which the common good cannot be achieved, and shall strive to support such provision”.
On 25 Feb., the Irish bishops issued a statement saying they are concerned that the proposed amendments to the Constitution diminish both the unique importance of the relationship between marriage and family, as well as the unique role of mothers, in the eyes of the government and society in Ireland, “and is likely to lead to a weakening of the incentive for young people to marry”.
However, Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure, claims “the changes that we are asking the country to consider with regard to our constitution, actually, for me, strengthen and protect the relationships that are so important within our society and our country”.
He adds: “Due to the way in which our Constitution is currently drafted, so many young girls and boys now are born into family units that are not recognised by our constitution. That, for me, [is] a matter of huge importance that we can update our Constitution so that its language and values reflect the diversity of modern Ireland.”
The bishops don’t see it that way, while acknowledging that marriage does not always feature in a successful family unit.
“The family is acknowledged as the place where generosity, tenderness, forgiveness, stability, care, love and truth can best be taught and learned by children,” they say in their statement.
“We recognise, of course, that there are families in all our communities which are not founded on marriage. They form part of the reality of family life, which Pope Francis described as ‘a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems’,” they said.
But the bishops argue that the commitment of marriage contributes to the common good in a unique way, by bringing stability to the family and to society, and that it consequently deserves the protection of the Irish State currently guaranteed in the Constitution of Ireland.
They are also concerned that changing the Constitution to include the term “durable relationship” risks too much legal ambiguity and “wide interpretation” that would lead to “unforeseen and unintended consequences”.
The bishops also argue that the proposed Care Amendment would have the effect of abolishing all reference to motherhood in the Constitution and “leave unacknowledged the particular and incalculable societal contribution that mothers in the home have made and continue to make in Ireland”.
They say the present constitutional wording does not in any way inhibit women from working or taking their proper place in social and public life, rather it succeeds in respecting “the complementary and distinct qualities that arise naturally within the Family”.
As a result, they say: “The role of mothers should continue to be cherished in our Constitution.”
An Irish Times poll shows 53 per cent of the voters intended to vote “Yes”, with just 15 per cent saying they planned to vote “No”. The rest were either undecided or did not intend to vote.
The results of the referendum should be known in time for Mothering Sunday on 10 March.
Photo: Ireland’s Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe (second from left) and Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar (second from right) watch children doing traditional Irish dancing ahead of an announcement of the creation of a ‘peace fund’ of £858 million, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 11 September 2023. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP) (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images.)
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