Bishop's comments were insensitive and plain wrong

The Commandments teach us to love our neighbours as we would ourselves. That is, of course, unless your neighbours happen to be an unmarried couple, unmarried parents or a same sex couple. That's according the Bishop of Elphin Christopher Jones who used the opportunity of his homily during marriage jubilee celebrations held in Ss Peter and Paul's Church on Sunday afternoon to lash out at those who 'trivialise marriage by living together outside of marriage'. "Cohabitation undermines the unity, the indissolubility and the sacramental character of Christian marriage. It also brings children into an unstable environment where the couple are unwilling to commit themselves to each other in marriage," he told those who had gathered with their families to celebrate significant wedding anniversaries. "In recent times lobbyists and indeed some politicians are seeking to have the union of two men or two women defined as marriage," he added. The bishop's comments simply highlight how out of touch, he, and the church that he represents, is with modern society. And while many will argue that if you're not happy with the church or don't uphold its beliefs you should simply leave, walk away and live your life as you choose, it is not really as simple as that. Many people feel obliged to remain within the Catholic faith so that they can ensure their children have a good education as many schools have strict enrolment policies, either only enrolling Catholic children or giving priority to those of the religion. This isn't about bashing religion, or Catholicism, in any shape of form. Of course everyone is entitled to their religious beliefs, whether they be Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or of no religion. However, the Catholic Church had, and continues to have a dominant position in this society. And while people of all religions are entitled to expound their beliefs both publicly, and within the confines of their own church, the strong role of the Catholic Church tends to ensure its spokespersons are more vocal in making comments, which to those who do not share those views, are often offensive and insensitive. They also tend to be given more weight than their factual contents would deserve. The bishop might be interested to know that one third of babies born in this country are now born outside of marriage, according to the most recent statistics available from the CSO. Just because they are born outside marriage, however, doesn't mean they are brought up in unstable environments. The bishop may also be interested to know that many of high profile child abuse cases that have come before the courts in recent years have happened in homes where there are nuclear families - married parents with children. To make a sweeping statement that all children born outside of marriage are born into an unstable environment is not only ill-judged, it is simply wrong and not sustained by any facts. To take a swipe at people who simply want to have their basic human rights recognised in 'allowing' them to share a recognised same sex marriage is insulting to anyone who believes in giving equal rights to all. In fact, there were probably many among the congregation who had come to share in what should have been a wonderful family celebration with their parents, who fell into the categories the bishop spoke about. We can only hope that their day was not marred by such ill-judged comments. I believe a great man once taught us to 'love unconditionally'. Perhaps this is something the bishop should keep in mind the next time he wants to lecture from the pulpit.