A civil liberties group warns that a recent Vatican
statement on homosexual relationships could lead to problems with Ireland's
hate law, a claim the Catholic Church has denied.
Ireland's 1989 Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act prohibits the publishing
or distribution of material that is "threatening, abusive or
insulting" or "likely to stir up hatred." The law carries a
maximum six-month jail term.
Aisling Reidy, director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), said
that individual views on homosexuality weren't the cause of potential clashes
with the law, but that campaigns based on the language in the document could be
illegal.
"The problem arises where that personal disagreement leads to members of
that group coming under threat," she said.
The controversy over the Vatican document and Irish law began earlier this
month, when the Irish Times quoted Reidy in an article stating that clergy and
bishops who pass out the Vatican publication could be prosecuted.
Reidy said by way of clarification in a later statement that the article
contained "spin" and that the ICCL has no intention of pursuing legal
action against the Catholic Church.
But she also said that "it is possible that the document could be
interpreted as breaching these standards (contained within the hate law)."
"I also said that the document itself is likely not to be a problem, but
if the words in it were used in an active campaign to condemn gays as evil and
a threat to children, then that could be interpreted as likely to cause
hatred," she said.
"I never said that the Vatican intended to incite hatred, but the strong
words of the document could lead to problems," she said.
However, Catholic leaders have disagreed with the ICCL interpretation.
"I do not accept that the document ... contravenes the Prohibition of
Incitement to Hatred Act 1989," the Rev. Martin Clarke said in a
statement.
"(I) would draw particular attention to paragraph four of the document
which states that 'men and women with homosexual tendencies must be accepted
with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination
in their regard should be avoided,'" he said.
The Vatican document was published in July and urges Catholic politicians
around the world to oppose measures that would legitimize homosexuality.
"Those who would move from tolerance to the legitimization of specific
rights for cohabiting homosexual persons need to be reminded that the approval
or legalisation of evil is something far different from the toleration of
evil," said the document, published by the Vatican's Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith.
It also says that allowing adoption by homosexual couples would be "doing
violence" to children and would put them "in an environment that is
not conducive to their full human development."
"Homosexuality is a troubling moral and social phenomenon, even in those
countries where it does not present significant legal issues," the document
states. "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions
to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage
and family."
The document is not a new Vatican policy and instead was intended to
"reiterate the essential points on this question."
The paper enraged homosexual groups but bolstered Catholic traditionalists.