A national referendum was held in the Irish Republic on Thursday (December 7) to see whether voters want to delete references to the "special position" of the Catholic Church from the country's constitution.

The voters were also giving their opinion on lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years--a highly popular measure that is expected to be overwhelmingly approved.

All three major political parties in the Republic appealed to nearly two million people entitled to vote for a clear "Yes" vote which, they said, would remove a barrier on the road to irish Unity.

A "Yes" vote would mean the deletion from the Constitution of an acknowledgment of the "special position of the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of the citizens."
Supporters of the change say the deletion would help to convince the Protestants in Northern Ireland that the people south of the border are willing to make concessions in an effort to achieve unification of the country. They also hope an overwhelming "Yes" vote would show non-Catholics in the north that the Republic is not a theocratic state run by bishops under orders from Rome--a belief widely held by many protestants in the British province.