Vatican says homosexuality should not be a crime | China National News

Vatican says homosexuality should not be a crime

China National News Friday 12th December, 2008

The Vatican's chief spokesman has said that the Roman Catholic Church believes homosexuality must not be considered a crime, but added that initiatives aimed at putting all forms of sexual orientation on the same level are wrong.

Father Federico Lombardi was commenting on controversy triggered by the Holy See's decision to oppose a proposal by France, backed by the 27-nation European Union, for a United Nations resolution calling governments to decriminalize homosexuality.

Lombardi said the Vatican opposed all forms of discrimination, but he added that the proposal, if accepted, could end up making the Catholic Church, which opposes granting marriage rights to homosexuals, guilty of infringing human rights.

Lombardi said: 'The Church is in favour of decriminalising homosexuality, but it opposes granting parity of rights, such as marriage. According to Catholic teaching, only unions between a man and a woman can be accorded such parity.'

Last week, the Vatican's envoy to the UN described the French proposal as unacceptable.

He argued it implied the possibility that nations which did not recognise same-sex unions as marriage, would face pressure to do so.

Gay rights groups in Italy and elsewhere have since staged demonstrations to protest what they say is the Vatican's apparent willingness to ally itself with those who treat homosexuals as criminals.

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