Ireland Has Voted Overwhelmingly to Ease Its Divorce Laws

爱尔兰以压倒性的投票支持放宽离婚法案

① The Republic of Ireland has voted to relax restrictions on divorce laws by an overwhelming majority, in the latest move to liberalize a constitution heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church.

爱尔兰共和国举行了公投，绝大多数选民支持放宽离婚法案的限制，该宪法深受罗马天主教教义的影响，而此次公投就是为宪法松绑的最新举措。

② A referendum held last week saw 82.1% of voters supporting the change, which removes a clause requiring couples to have been separated for four of the previous five years in order to get a divorce.

在上周举行的公投中，82.1%的选民支持这一改变，从宪法中移除这一条款，该条款规定申请离婚的夫妻必须在此前的五年中分居四年方能解除婚姻关系。

③ A new timeframe will be decided on by the Oireachtas, or the Irish parliament. The government has previously expressed the view that a two-year separation is enough.

爱尔兰国会或称爱尔兰议会，将制定一个新的时间表，在此之前，该国政府曾表达过2年分居已经足够的意见。

④ The country’s Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, tweeted that the results represent “very positive news” and that he will move quickly with the legislation to “reduce upset and trauma on couples and children” trapped in failed marriages.

爱尔兰司法和平等部门部长Charlie Flanagan发推特称，这次公投结果代表着“非常积极的消息”，而且他将运用这一新规快速做出行动，为深陷婚姻失败泥沼的“夫妻和儿童免去烦恼，抚平伤痛”。

⑤ While Ireland’s main political parties are in favor of easing regulations that would make filing for a divorce easier, Catholic pressure groups have maintained their opposition, stating that separation causes disruption to children’s lives and that the government should instead invest resources into “what makes marriages work.”

爱尔兰的各大政治党派都支持为离婚法规松绑，让离婚变得更加容易些，然而天主教的施压集团坚持他们的反对立场，声称父母的分居会影响孩子们的生活，政府应该投入更多的资源“研究让婚姻成功的方法”。

⑥ Divorce was legalized relatively recently in the predominantly Catholic country — in 1995 — after a vote passed by a margin of less than one percent. But the country is seeing signs of moving towards more liberal policies.

爱尔兰在离婚方面的立法相对较晚，直到1195年以票数相差不到1%的公投之后，这个天主教国家才完成了离婚合法化。但是近些年来该国出现了许多政策由保守转向开放的迹象。