taken from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3695748.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3695748.stm
The Roman Catholic Church has attacked the Spanish government's plans to
introduce gay marriage, comparing them to releasing a virus into society.
The government says it expects homosexual people to be able to marry as
early as next year.
The legislation highlights the steep decline in the power and authority of
the Church in Western Europe.
This is especially the case in Spain - which was until recently one of
Europe's most devout countries.
'Counterfeit'
The bill allowing same sex marriage - expected to be passed by the Spanish
cabinet this week - has prompted a harsh response from Roman Catholic
bishops.
Their spokesman likened gay marriages to a counterfeit currency.
"It would impose on society a virus, something false, which will have
negative consequences for social life," Juan Antonio Martinez Camino said.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero took office in
April, intending to remove what he called the Church's undeniable
advantages and create a secular state with streamlined divorce and
relaxations in abortion law.
The changes have distressed and outraged the Church, whose influence on
Spaniards has declined precipitously since the death in 1975 of the
dictator General Francisco Franco. His regime was closely linked to the
Church.
Opinion polls suggest that nearly half of Spaniards now almost never go to
mass.
