Rolando Villena, Bolivia's public
advocate, has called for civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.
Villena said the recognition should be
included in a new Bolivian family law being considered by lawmakers.
He
said in a statement that the law should incorporate an
“institution analogous to marriage for people of the same sex.”
Gay rights activists have
unsuccessfully lobbied for passage of a civil union bill.
The Roman Catholic Church rejected
Villena's proposal.
“As the Catholic Church, we disagree
with the public advocate's stance,” said Monsignor Eugenio
Scarpellini, bishop of the Diocese of El Alto. “We clarify that
marriage, the family is a union between a man and a woman.”
“There is no other kind of union,”
he added.