Scottish cardinal
attacks same-sex marriage

The head of Scotland's Roman Catholics says the U.K. government is undermining marriage, TheTimes of London reported Tuesday. In his New Year's Day homily at St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien was especially critical of U.K. lawmakers for approving civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples. He says that the U.K. government has "promoted alternative lifestyles while undermining values which for generations have been treasured," according to the newspaper. The cardinal said that the family remains "the basic social unit" and "sadly, we live at a time when the truth of marriage and family is obscured and distorted. Human societies throughout history and across cultures have flourished only when they have built their human relationships on the rock of marriage." Gay rights groups were furious over the comments, the newspaper reported. "These Vatican-inspired attacks are reaching a level that could lead to an escalation of violence against gay people. The Catholic Church has used increasingly extreme language in its attempts to hold back progress for the gay community," George Broadhead of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association told the Times. (Advocate.com)