Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
FORMER PRESIDENT MARY McAleese has made her first public comments on the upcoming same-sex marriage vote.
In an interview with Newstalk’s George Hook, she said she and her husband had been watching the debate closely, and believed it was a human rights issue.
“It is a debate about children,” McAleese said.
“People have been saying it’s about children – and we believe it to be about Ireland’s gay children and about their future, and about the kind of future we want for Ireland.
“We want – in the words of the Proclamation – ‘the children of the nation to be cherished equally’… The adult children, the children yet unborn, the gay children yet unborn.
“We want them to be born into a world where if they fall in love with someone they can express that love fully, and that they can live the life that Martin and I have had – we’re coming up to 40 years married now.”
Both she and Martin McAleese, she said, believed everyone should be able to love someone for life and have that love recognised at the highest level of Irish society.
On the wider issue of homosexuality, she said Catholic Church teaching on it was likely to change in the future because attitudes elsewhere were changing.Views that “were formed in ignorance” would change over time, she said.
Many people had been “forced into the shadows” as a result of religious teaching over the years, she added.
“We in Ireland have a very particular problem of youth suicide, particularly male youth suicide – and we now know from the evidence that one of the most at risk groups or cohorts within that age group of 18 to 25 is the young male homosexual,” McAleese said
I think that we owe those children a huge debt – as adults who have opportunities to make choices that impact their lives – to make the right choices choices that will allow their lives to grow organically, safely, and to give them the joy of being full citizens in their own country.
The former President, who served two terms in the Áras between 1997 and 2011, was speaking to the presenter at the University of Notre Dame in the US, where she is now an academic.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
You can be sure that China wont tolerate extemists like we.
Absolutely. The Chinese – A great bunch of lads.
Problem with China is they don’t tolerate free speech either.
Exactly. Let’s all adopt China’s ethics.
There has been conflict in this regions between the Chinese government and Islamists for years, people are regularly getting killed (as in, every few weeks). Why only report it now?
Maybe now, people are finally waking up to the danger Islamofascism poses.
Because media outlets have a finite amount of time and space and have to partly reflect the interests of their readership, viewership or listenership. Uighur unrest is generally not newsworthy for small Irish publications. With the events of last week in France and Nigeria, it’s a lot more newsworthy.
The news isn’t a list of everything that happens on the planet, nor is it necessarily a ranked list of death tolls. The media has to weigh what thinks will resonate with an audience. By necessity, that requires a degree of filtering.
Islamic attacks have been reported here many times?
Riddled to death .
Good one China you make us look like pussies now we know why you are going to be the worlds number one on top of the US and EU.
In the “who has killed more muslims ” league table, the west is still on top.
No themselves, but I am sure they will get help in killing us by you and the PC left.
Dunno about that, Genghis Khan slaughtered a fair few of them. 1.2 million in one city alone. The sacking of Urgench.
Innocent civilian Muslims at that.
At the same time the Normans were invading Ireland and bringing their Christian values with them. Or were they, was it purely about greed and conquest. I suppose the first homo sapien to emerge from the horn of Africa and dream about world conquest is the money king.
Mean’t to say monkey king. Same thing though.
Lol burn…
Lol burn…
Lol burn…
Good stuff China. The only good Islamist is a dead islamist
Odd that frank is not on here accusing the Chinese of conducting a false flag operation?
Hello frank?
How refreshing to see the hackneyed use of quotations with the term “terrorist” whenever something like this happens in China.
have your say