VATICAN CITY (CNS): The Vatican has issued a new document which offers detailed arguments against legal recognition of same-sex unions and asks Catholic lawmakers to fight growing movements to legalise “gay marriage”.
The 12-page document underscores Church teaching requiring compassion for homosexuals, but it says legal recognition of gay unions is contrary to human nature and ultimately harmful to society, a senior Vatican official said.
The document, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was sent to bishops’ conferences in June and was scheduled for public release last Thursday.
In a brief statement on July 28, the Vatican said the document’s title is “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons”.
The document coincides with a growing movement in Europe and North America toward granting gay couples the legal protections and benefits of marriage.
A senior Vatican official said the new document had been in the works for at least a year and was meant to help combat growing pressure in some parts of the world to legalise gay unions.
