Things are moving quickly in Ireland following the resounding victory on a referendum in favor of gay marriage.
Some of Ireland’s gay couples planning a civil partnership may receive a surprisingly fast upgrade to marriage after Friday's landslide vote, according to the Associated Press.
Ireland’s Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said she was working to fulfill wishes of same-sex couples to wed, as soon as possible.
Fitzgerald says a bill to legalize gay marriage should be passed before lawmakers recess this summer on July 16.
Boston College History Professor Robert Savage, an expert in Irish political cultural and history, spoke with WGBH’s Marilyn Schairer on Morning Edition Tuesday, and says the referendum vote with 62 percent of the electorate in favor of gay marriage, sends a strong message to the Catholic Church. Savage says, “The Catholic Church is on its heels. The pedophilia scandal that rocked the church undermined its moral authority in Ireland, and in some ways this vote is being seen as push-back against the Church.”
Savage says the world may see the result of the referendum as a surprise, but Ireland, and Irish Catholics, has changed remarkably in the last twenty years.
While the “yes’ campaign” mounted a creative effort to get the referendum passed, the Catholic Church, often viewed as Authoritarian in its policies, and its “no” campaign supporters did little to get the vote out, according to Savage.
The Church has said it would mount a campaign to fight the referendum, an effort Savage says is unlikely, saying the young people are dismissive of the Church and turned off by its history in Ireland. The Vatican's secretary of state has called the Irish vote to legalize gay marriage a "defeat for humanity."
To listen to the entire interview with Boston College Professor Robert Savage and WGBH's Marilyn Schairer click on the audio file above.
