Headlines
'Irish vote for gay marriage a defeat for humanity'
Vatican City, May 28
Last weekend's referendum
vote in Ireland to approve same-sex marriage was "a defeat for
humanity," the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin,
said.
"The Irish referendum is a defeat for humanity. I was
deeply saddened by the result," he said on Wednesday in comments to
Italian media, reports Efe.
"The archbishop of Dublin (Diarmuid
Martin) has said that church must take account of this reality, but in
the sense that it must strengthen its commitment to evangelisation,"
Parolin said.
"I think that you cannot just talk of a defeat for
Christian principles," but also "a defeat for humanity," Parolin said at
an award ceremony.
The Republic of Ireland, where until recently
the Catholic Church wielded enormous power, became on Saturday the
first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage by popular
vote.
Just over 62 percent of those who cast ballots in the referendum voted "yes."