VATICAN CITY – Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, has described the result of an Irish referendum on same-sex marriage as a “defeat for humanity.” Last week Ireland became the first country to legalise gay marriage by popular vote, with 62 percent of the population polling in favour of change.

 In the aftermath of the historic vote, many had been expecting a response from the Vatican and Cardinal Parolin has become the first high-ranking official to comment on the result.

 “This result left me feeling very sad,” Parolin told reporters. “But as the Archbishop of Dublin (Diarmuid Martin) pointed out, the Church will have to take this reality on board in the sense of a renewed and strengthened evangelisation. I believe that we are talking here not just about a defeat for Christian principles but also about a defeat for humanity.”

 The Vatican’s Secretary of State did not elaborate on his comments, but his views are an advancement of the Catholic doctrine, which views homosexuality as a sin.