referendum
I grew up in Northern Ireland. I lived through very little of “the Troubles,” in large part because of the huge efforts of those on both sides seeking peace. I remember the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and experienced the stability of the years that followed. So my heart sinks when I think of leaving the EU — of the border controls we would build to stop freedom of movement through the U.K.’s only land border with an EU country, and of the smouldering tensions this would fan effortlessly into flame.I grew up in Northern Ireland. I lived through very little of “the Troubles,” in large part because of the huge efforts of those on both sides seeking peace. I remember the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and experienced the stability of the years that followed. So my heart sinks when I think of leaving the EU — of the border controls we would build to stop freedom of movement through the U.K.’s only land border with an EU country, and of the smouldering tensions this would fan effortlessly into flame.
In many ways, Ireland remains a heavily Catholic country.
Yet the emphatic “Yes” vote to same-sex marriage rights on May 22 represents a seismic shift in the nation’s social liberalization and challenges the Roman Catholic Church to rethink its role in Irish society.
“In Ireland,” says a character in a 1904 George Bernard Shaw play, “the people is the Church, and the Church is the people.”
But not so much anymore.
On May 22, voters in this once deeply Roman Catholic country will decide whether the country’s constitution should be amended to allow for gay marriage. If the amendment passes, Ireland will become the first country to legalize same-sex civil marriage by popular vote.
Thankfully, the crisis in Honduras may be reaching a political resolution.