Discuss Importance of Heterosexual Marital Family with Catholicism in Irish Society - Essay Example

Because of the Catholics teachings, the Irish society became so engraved on the issues of morality to the extent that they would take precautionary measure to ensure that people uphold moral values. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of heterosexual marital family with catholicism in the Irish society. According to article 41 of the Irish constitution, the family is seen as the primary and society’s fundamental unit, a moral group possessing imprescriptibly and inalienable rights and is superior to all the laws (Smyth 2005 p.40).  Smyth also notes that, in Ireland, the family is officially made up as a patriarchal unit that is defined by marriage.

Divorce is prohibited, and anyone who divorced outside the jurisdiction of the state was to be prevented from remarrying. This is also the view that has been advocated for by catholic in the country. In this case, they argue that marriage is sacred and is the union between man and woman and God meant it to be permanent. In this case, its teachings disapprove of divorce, which they consider as a sin. Ryan (2010 p. 139) notes that according to Irish Catholic teachings, sex have long been viewed as a sin and the only situation that would allow an Irish woman sexual freedom was within marriage as man and wife with the view of conceiving.

They recognize the sanctity of marriage, as sacred union of one man and woman and that heterosexual marriage are the divine plan of God for the purpose of continuation of the human race. As a result, any child birth perceived to be unclean would undergo purification through rituals such as churching ceremony “(blessing after childbirth)” (Ryan 2010 p.139) which would supposedly cleanse the woman of the sin of having done sex before marriage which resulted in the baby being conceived. With regard to sanctity of motherhood, what is evident, considering Irish catholic’s emphasis on self-restraint and chastity, children were only welcomed in the society when they are both within a union of legal marriage of man and woman (Ryan 2010 p.139). However, illegitimacy is accepted since the child cannot be killed since he or she is born out of wedlock.

However, the unmarried mother would find herself punished by the society for her deviant ways of disobeying the church’s teachings. Ryan (2010 p.139) notes that for a large number of women in the Irish society, the prospect of illegitimate motherhood is something still frightening, a fault that see many woman contemplate committing suicide or infanticide to the unmarried mother’s status. These fears have seen many Irish women become so conservatives in their premarital affairs. The Irish Catholic Church maintains that, illegitimacy rates are low in the country due to shame and humiliation associated with such conditions.

Among the women who suffered a lot of shame, and guilt for becoming pregnant, in most cases resorted to adopt their illegitimate children, and their experience has often remained hidden. However, the Irish women who became pregnant out of marriage but still remained unmarried and kept the child with them had to depend on their family’s tolerance of her sexual nonconformity. Ryan notes that, many Irish parents especially those of the middle classes afraid of public contempt do not support the economic yoke of the unmarriageable daughter and in most cases will