Ireland's Catholic bishops yesterday issued a statement strongly opposing any lowering of the legal age of consent for sex.
The statement, which followed a thee-day summer meeting of the Irish Episcopal Conference at Maynooth, said it was their "firm belief" it would be "a grave wrong" if any review of legislation on the issue was to seek to lower the age of consent.
They describe the age of consent as "the age at which the law presumes a person to have the physical, emotional and intellectual maturity to make an informed decision to enter into sexual activity."
The statement said the Catholic Church sees sexual activity as part of the sacred vocation of marriage.
"Therefore it is a calling given personally by God to every married couple, to co-operate with Him in his work of creation, redemption, and sanctification."
It added: "For this reason the bishops strongly oppose the lowering of the age of consent as this can increase the likelihood that young people will be drawn into premature sexual experiences, thus ultimately setting back the goal of a mature and loving sexual relationship within marriage."
The bishops' statement said all have a responsibility to do their best to ease the burden of societal and peer pressure on young people today to become sexually active before they are ready.
It would be a sad irony if people undermined their human dignity by robbing children of their childhood and placing upon their shoulders burdens which can only truly be borne by mature adults.
On human trafficking, the bishops said it was "a matter of urgency" that legislation be put in place to protect the trafficked person as the innocent party.
On the Cura row, they commended the efforts of all involved in the ongoing dialogue with Cura and the Crisis Pregnancy Agency.
In a comment by the North's bishops on rural planning policy in Northern Ireland, they said it was a concern "if [ the British] government intends to ban any extension of living in the countryside as a one-dimensional policy. The bishops appreciate that regulation is needed to allow for good planning of rural housing for the common good.
"However, the decision to effectively ban future rural housing is of concern to all if it is merely an attempt to force rural dwellers off the land and into urban communities." The protection and growth of rural communities "must form an integral part of the process of government policy formulation," they said.
The full Bishops Conference noted "with grave disappointment and concern" the decision of An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for the liturgical reordering of the sanctuary of St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, in Cork.
