Irish bishops not certain priests will continue to act as official witnesses for civil marriages
June 04, 2015
The president of the Irish bishops’ conference has said that it is not yet certain that Catholic priests will be able to continue presiding at civil marriages, in light of the national referendum that approved legal recognition for same-sex unions.
In Ireland today, couples sign as marriage-registration form, to which a priest ordinarily acts as an official witness. During the campaign leading up to the referendum, questions arose as to whether priests could continue acting as civil officials in that capacity, if they did not agree to officiate at same-sex marriages.
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh told reporters that these questions have not been resolved, since the details of the government's acceptance of same-sex marriages have not yet been revealed. “We will look at all of these issues in due course,” he told RTE News; “we haven’t seen the legislation.”
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