We are recalling these memories this week, when Ireland will vote on a referendum to allow marriage equality. This will not need approval by legislature, nor be commanded by the courts. Instead, Ireland will offer the choice to her people which according to the polls, favor marriage equality for gays and lesbians by 70%. If passed, as it likely will, then dare we say, "sensus fidelium" (the sense of the faithful) will have prevailed!
How wonderfully ironic that Ireland, the country that obediently followed the Roman Catholic Church through centuries of strict moral rule; the country that finally decriminalized sex between two men in 1993; this self-same country is set to permit parents, grandparents, siblings and kin to decide that when love wins, we all win! This is how the Spirit works best, powerfully through the discernment and voice of her people.
"On the other side of the pond" here in the United States, sensus fidelium is often strained and over-ruled by Church leaders who prevail in getting the spotlight. We are wearied by the senseless admonitions "Don't confuse love with sinful acts, "love the sinner - hate the sin!" We are mortified each time Catholic employers require attestations of ethics codes along with employment contracts that push us fearfully further into the closet. And we are quite frankly bored with Bible thumper quotes from Leviticus 20:13, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, etc.
In contrast to that, we are privileged to be members of FCM and other inclusive communities where sensus fidlelium is informed and discerned by love; "Behold I give you a new commandment, love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34-35.) Through this lens marriage equality is simply a no brainer.
Meanwhile, we pray in joy and gladness celebrating the vote that will allow marriage equality in Ireland. It is a land of lush fields and verdant pastures where everything seems to grow well. Apparently the sense of the faithful has grown to be a voice so strong it has to be reckoned with. God willing, that voice will continue to grow here, and on that day the sense of the faithful will be sated.