Wow the pope is soo nice.
Pope: Fighting gay marriage is a priority
Ben Townley, Gay.com U.K.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005 / 05:58 PM
After a year marked by terrorism, natural disaster and war, Pope John Paul II on Monday listed gay marriage as the top of the Vatican's priorities in 2005.
Speaking in his annual message to Vatican diplomats, the ailing 84-year-old condemned the rise of pro-gay legislation, including the growing acceptance of laws giving either full or partial marriage rights to same-sex couples.
In a five-page speech that was reportedly read out by an aide, he slammed laws that went against what he viewed as the "natural structure."
"Today the family is often threatened by social and cultural pressures which tend to undermine its stability," he said, according to the International Herald Tribune.
"But in some countries the family is also threatened by legislation which -- at times directly -- challenges its natural structure, which is and must necessarily be that of a union between a man and a woman founded on marriage."
He added that the family structure "must never be undermined by laws based on a narrow and unnatural vision of man."
His comments come as countries move closer to legalizing full gay marriage. Already, Belgium, the Netherlands and one U.S. state allow full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Civil union legislation allowing many, if not all, marriage rights is now available in France, Germany and in the U.K., after the passing of the Civil Partnership Act.
Additionally, Spain and Canada are the latest countries moving toward full gay marriage laws. Both are expected to pass such legislation by the end of 2005.
Although this is not the first time the Vatican has condemned gay marriage, it is thought that the inclusion of it in the annual speech illustrates his seriousness about the issue.
In other areas of the speech, the pope attacked abortion and stem cell research, as well as international wealth distribution.
In the United States, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) stressed that families headed by same-sex couples face unnecessary threats without legal protections.
"All families deserve equal protection under the law," said Lisa Bennett, who directs the HRC's FamilyNet program. "No religious institution will ever be forced to perform marriages with which they disagree. This is about loving, caring families who should be treated equally."
On Tuesday the largest U.S. group of gay Catholics expressed its disagreement with the church's worldwide leader.
"The pope needs to be open to the lived experience of countless couples as many people of faith and society in general move toward understanding 'family' in a broader sense," said Matthew Gallagher, executive director of DignityUSA. "Family is more than one male, one female and their biological children. The modern world has learned to adapt and acknowledge a larger interpretation of the word 'family'"