The pastoral care of marriage and the family will be the key focus of the national congress this weekend.

“It will probably not help Catholics who are validly married and who unfortunately are in trouble with their relationship.”

“It can be very difficult for parents to provide for the material needs of their children" and there are children who live and sleep in very inadequate situations.

US research shows optimum time to wed is between 28 and 32. Accord advises couples to work out the things "you don't want to let go of" before marrying.

Fr Shane (27) is the newest priest in Waterford & Lismore and one of fifteen ordinations to the Irish Church this summer in what has been a bumper year for vocations.

Political parties which have advocated policies and introduced legislation undermining marriage and the right to life of the unborn unwelcome at church gates.

The bishops are to set up a special review group to examine how best the Church can continue to support marriage and family life in Ireland.

Couple who both spent time on death row for crimes they did not commit tell Retrouvaille leaders that "forgiveness is the only way, in marriage too."

"We haven’t perhaps communicated sufficiently the art of critical discernment in the light of the Gospel and faith," says bishop of Limerick.

Iona Institute chairman calls on Irish Church “to start teaching its teachings”.

No vote was "a principled vote. People, I hope, will respect that” - Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

"What will happen will be determined exclusively by the courts and we know from past experience that test cases can produce unexpected results” - Archbishop Martin.

"Getting it wrong will almost inevitably further destabilise the family and society; it will pose major problems for legislation," - Bishop MacDaid.

Irish philosopher says introducing SSM in Ireland is legally even more catastrophic than it has been in England because of our special constitutional protections for the family.

"Will those who sincerely believe that marriage is between a man and a woman be forced to act against their faith and conscience?” - Bishop Martin Drennan.

Call for Dr Maureen Gaffney to withdraw remarks effectively likening those who do not want marriage redefined to Nazis and racists.

The Church is not trying to hurt or offend anyone, “We simply want to respect the dignity of difference between male and female” - Archbishop Eamon Martin.

Funding withdrawal will apply from January 2015 and will “undermine a vital service provided to women and men preparing for marriage”.

Experience of failure & struggle cannot be irrelevant in arriving at the way we proclaim the Church’s teaching on marriage & family.

"Will the terms ‘father’ and ‘mother’ have any real meaning in the future?" - Bishop Phonsie Cullinan.

“I have serious concerns about the blunt refusal to give any real guarantees regarding freedom of religion in relation to the referendum."

“A society that identifies the two parties in marriage as spouse I and spouse II has lost sight of a deep truth of human nature" - Archbishop Neary.

“We are all children of a male and a female and this must have relevance to our understanding of the way children should be nurtured and educated."

“At a time when we place emphasis on the richness of pluralism and ... diversity, it is a contradiction to minimise human differences. A father is not the same as a mother.”

The search for equality in our society will not be advanced by undermining the very cornerstone on which a just and stable society is built.

If society imposes a 'new orthodoxy' of 'gender-neutral' marriage... what will we be expected to teach children in school about marriage?

“I have been constantly told by people working in the Vatican that they can’t say no to women deacons, they just don’t want to say yes" - Dr Phyllis Zagano.

Pontiff hits out at excesses of patriarchal cultures…multiple forms of ‘machismo’… and the instrumentalisation and commodification of the female body by media.

Government could have followed the Portuguese lead by excluding same sex adoption - Keith Mills of Mothers and Fathers Matter.

In the event of marriage being redefined as a consequence of a Yes vote in the referendum, the bishops may instruct priests not to act as civil registrars for marriages.