VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s secretary of state has called the Irish vote to legalize gay marriage a “defeat for humanity,” evidence of the soul-searching going on in Catholic circles after the predominantly Roman Catholic country overwhelmingly rejected traditional church teaching on marriage.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin said he was saddened by the landslide decision, in which more than 62 percent of Irish voters said “yes,” despite church teaching that marriage is only between a man and woman.

In comments to reporters after the vote, Parolin referred to remarks by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, that the results showed the church needed to do a “reality check” since it clearly wasn’t reaching young people with its message.

“I don’t think you can speak only about a defeat for Christian principles, but a defeat for humanity,” he said.

The Catholic Church in Ireland has lost much of its moral authority following widespread sex abuse scandals and a general secularization of society.

Martin himself called the vote part of a “social revolution” that required the church to look at whether it had “drifted completely away from young people.”

Pope Francis hasn’t commented directly on the Irish results.