THE Catholic Church is facing criticism over its decision to allow MMA fighter Conor McGregor to marry inside Vatican walls.
Éist: Saying No to Silence, an advocacy group supporting victims of rape and sexual violence, has written to the Bishop of Meath expressing what it described as “deep disappointment and profound concern” following McGregor’s high-profile wedding in Rome, according to The Irish Independent.
The group said the ceremony, held at the Chiesa di Santo Stefano degli Abissini within the Vatican, sent a troubling message given McGregor’s legal history.
In its letter, Éist highlighted the civil case taken by Nikita Hand, in which McGregor was found liable by a jury in Dublin’s High Court for sexual violence relating to an incident at a hotel in 2018.
Ms Hand was awarded almost €250,000 in damages, with McGregor also ordered to pay substantial legal costs.
The verdict was later upheld on appeal, and the Supreme Court declined to hear a further challenge.
The advocacy group argued that granting access to one of Catholicism’s most revered sacred spaces appeared inconsistent with the Church’s stated commitment to justice and the protection of the vulnerable.
McGregor and his long-term partner, Dee Devlin, were married in Rome on December 12, in a lavish ceremony attended by more than 150 guests.
The ancient church was elaborately decorated for the occasion, and the couple stayed at a luxury hotel in the city, booking a suite reportedly costing tens of thousands of euros per night, the Daily Mail reports.
Fr Roy Donovan, a parish priest in Co Limerick, said the news made him “very uncomfortable”.
He later questioned who within the Irish Church had signed off on the required pre-nuptial documentation, according to the Irish Independent.
Under Church rules, couples seeking to marry in the Vatican must submit baptism and confirmation certificates, evidence of premarital preparation and prenuptial inquiry forms endorsed by a parish priest and approved by a bishop.
Fr Donovan noted that the paperwork includes a section allowing priests to record reservations about the suitability of either party to marry.
Both McGregor and Devlin are from Dublin, meaning the documents would have come from a parish within the Archdiocese of Dublin months before the ceremony.
It has since emerged that the couple also married in a quiet civil ceremony in Co. Louth in late November, weeks before the Vatican wedding.
Registry documents show they wed at a hotel in Dundalk, informing officials at the time that they planned to celebrate later with friends and family and intended to have another ceremony in Rome.
McGregor, 37, is currently serving an 18-month competitive ban under the UFC’s anti-doping policy for missing three tests in 2024.
See More: Conor McGregor, Dee Devlin, The Vatican, Vatican, Wedding
