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Head of Spanish Catholic Church calls approval of same-sex marriages "a big error"

Head of Spanish Catholic Church calls approval of same-sex marriages "a big error"

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The head of Spain's bishops conference on Monday decried a government proposal to allow gays to marry and adopt children, calling it "a big error and a serious injustice." Cardinal Rouco Varela, who is also the archbishop of Madrid, praised the marriage institution as contributing to the growth and stability of a society as a structure for bringing up children. But giving same-sex couples the same rights will have negative consequences for the future, he said. "Homosexual cohabitation will never fulfill that role because they cannot have the same functions as marriage and the family," Rouco Varela said in his weekly speech. Spain's cabinet, led by the Socialists, proposed the measure Friday despite opposition by the influential Roman Catholic Church. The bill will now go to parliament for debate. If it is passed, as expected, Spain will join Belgium and the Netherlands among the European countries that have legalized gay marriages. "The consequences of the new measures that will be adopted are going to be very negative," the cardinal said. "It's a big error and a serious injustice." He also criticized the bill's provision on adoption, saying two people of the same sex are not an appropriate reference for a child. "The figure of a father and a mother are essential for the sexual identification of a person," he said. Rouco Varela urged the country's Catholic community to open a debate and protest the new measures while the bill is being debated in parliament.

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Head of Spanish Catholic Church calls approval of same-sex marriages "a big error"

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