On Sunday four Irish bishops simultaneously published statements urging Catholics to vote ‘no’ in Ireland's referendum on gay marriage. They defend marriage between a man and a woman as the natural order and argue that a vote against same-sex marriage is a vote for the common good. Bishop of Killala John Fleming admits that during the past fifty years there has been a great change in the home environment in Ireland. It must be acknowledged that single parents and, in recent years, same-sex parents provide children with a loving home environment. However, this does not take away from the fact that it’s the firm belief of the bishops that the traditional family environment of a father, mother and children is in fact the best environment in which to raise children, despite the fact that family life as we know it is not without its problems and difficulties.