10 March 2010 | Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference
At a press conference on the last day of the spring general meeting of the Irish Bishops’ Conference on 10 March 2010, bishops published a leaflet ‘Why Marriage Matters’ in support of marriage and family life. This leaflet calls for the protection of marriage and expresses concern about aspects of the Civil Partnership Bill 1999. The leaflet summarises key elements of Catholic teaching on marriage between a man and woman. It reiterates the importance of the family as the natural primary and fundamental unit of society and therefore deserving of special protection by the State. It also highlights that other forms of relationships are not of the same nature and status as that of marriage as the basis of the family.
Bishops encourage everyone concerned about this issue to read ‘Why Marriage Matters’ which is available here to download in English and Irish language versions.