Pope Benedict has taken a swipe at
countries considering legalizing gay marriage. On Tuesday, he said
that gay marriage threatens creation.
Benedict made his comments in a speech
to more than 170 diplomats at the Vatican, Reuters reported.
“Creatures differ from one another
and can be protected, or endangered in different ways, as we know
from daily experience. One such attack comes from laws or proposals,
which, in the name of fighting discrimination, strike at the
biological basis of the differences between the sexes,” he said.
“I am thinking, for example, of
certain countries in Europe or North and South America,” he added.
On Friday, lawmakers
in Portugal gave a gay marriage bill an initial approval. Mexico
City is preparing to begin gay weddings in February after its
mayor refused to block a recently approved law. And Latin
American's first gay marriage took place in Argentina last month.
All three countries are deeply Roman
Catholic.
The Holy Father has called for the
ouster of Socialists in Spain after party leaders approved a gay
marriage law in 2005. Benedict is also expected to visit Portugal in
May, shortly after lawmakers say they expect to approve a gay
marriage law.