The Civil Partnership bill specifically prohibits any ceremony other than that before a civil registrar being recognised as valid. That means that unlike straight couples, gay couples can’t be legally united in a humanist ceremony (or by a religious minister, though not in many religions). Ceremony is important. One civil ceremony I attended was brilliantly… Continue reading Uncivil Partnerships
Tag: civil union
O Tempora O Mores
Times change. On Sunday, the Pope announced that the next Eucharistic Congress, planned for 2012, would take place in Ireland. The last time the congress came to Dublin, in 1932, the event was a showcase for the newly independent Catholic state. A reputed one in four of the population travelled to the capital on pilgrimage… Continue reading O Tempora O Mores
Identity Politics
One in eight who voted No to the Lisbon treaty say they did so to protect Irish identity. What does that mean? Is it simply a polite way of saying no to immigration, the reason given by one percent of those asked? Perhaps. But I think there’s another meaning. After asking voters why they voted,… Continue reading Identity Politics