http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/bishops-vow-to-boycott-weddings-over-gay-marriage-29162066.htmlAuthor: Dearbhail McDonald and Declan Brennan Source: Independent
In Ireland, marriages need to be solemnized by the Register of Solemnisers. Four thousand three hundred of the 5,600 solemnizers are Catholic priests. As Ireland debates legalizing gay marriage, "Catholic prelates are leading the charge against gay marriage, warning that they will not perform the civil aspects of weddings if marriage is extended to gay couples...The bishops' stance would affect the thousands of weddings that take place in the church every year if a referendum to extend marriage was passed." The Catholic church in Ireland said that any change to the legal definition of marriage would mean that they can no longer co-operate with the civil aspect of marriage.
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So, it appears that the Catholic priests won't even solemnize heterosexual marriages in the civil context. IMO I think it's okay for churches, temples, etc to not marry gay couples if it is against their religion, but the church's stance kind of confuses me, because if they're going to boycott the civil aspect of marriage if gays are allowed to marry then do they not solemnize Hindu, Prostestant, aethist, etc. marriages while they're working in the Register of Solemnisers? With 4,300 out of the 5,600 solemnizers it seems hard to believe that all the cases of marriages they get completely conform with Catholicism even though Ireland has a large percentage of Catholics.
