The Catholic Hierarchy's "Stupid Carry-On"

On Friday [Ireland] votes in a referendum that, if passed, will enshrine marriage equality in the Constitution.

[A] reporter engaged an elderly woman after Mass at Dublin’s main Catholic cathedral. “I’m just going to vote for gay people because I have nothing against them,” the woman, Rita O’Connor, told the journalist. “I can’t understand why anybody is against [marriage equality].” And she dismissed the church’s opposition: “It’s a stupid carry-on.”

– Fintan O'Toole
Excerpted from "Ireland's Marriage Equality Moment"
The New York Times
May 18, 2015

Related Off-site Links:
Churchgoers Give Their Views on Marriage Referendum – Ciarán D'Arcy (The Irish Times, May 4, 2015).
The Same-Sex Marriage Referendum and the Embrace of Love – Colm Tóibín (The Irish Times, May 14, 2015).
Nun and Priest Join With Other Irish Catholics Set to Vote “Yes” for Marriage Equality – Bob Shine (Bondings 2.0, May 14, 2015).
Ireland is About to Become the First Country to Vote for Same-Sex Marriage – J. Lester Feder (BuzzFeed, May 12, 2015).
Ireland Days Away from Gay Marriage Equality According to Latest Polls – Reuters via The Guardian (May 16, 2015).
Author Colm Tóibín on Ireland’s Gay Marriage Vote: Nobody is Invisible – Griff Witte (The Washington Post, May 16, 2015).
US Christians "Bankrolling" the "Vote No" Campaign in Ireland’s Gay Marriage Referendum – Henry McDonald (The Guardian, May 16, 2015).
Chastened Church Leaders Take Back Seat in Irish Gay Marriage Vote – Padraic Halpin (Reuters via Yahoo! News, May 18, 2015).

UPDATES: Archbishop of Dublin Declines to Tell Catholics How to Vote in Referendum – Patsy McGarry (The Irish Times, May 20, 2015).
Ireland’s Catholic Church Lost Its Moral Authority a While Ago – Una Mullally (The New York Times, May 20, 2015).
Irish Catholicism Can Adapt to a New Role – Oliver P. Rafferty, (The New York Times, May 20, 2015).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Quote of the Day – December 10, 2014
• A Cradle Catholic's Case for Same-Sex Marriage
• Grandma Knows Best
• Aunt Peg Tells It Like It Is
• Catholic Theologian: Heterosexism, Not Homosexuality, is the Problem
• At UST, a Rousing and Very Catholic Show of Support for Marriage Equality
• The Bishops' Guidelines: A Parent's Response
• Voices of Parental Authority and Wisdom
• A Parent's Prayer
• The Triumph of Love
• From Australia, "Possibly the Most Beautiful Ad for Marriage Equality"
• God Weighs In on the Gay Marriage Debate

Image: Thousands gather this week at a "Vote Yes" rally in Dublin for Friday's referendum, which would make marriage equality a constitutional right in Ireland. (Photograph: Robin English/Demotix/Corbis)