Opponents of U.N. gay benefits plan approve compromise on wording

Published: 2004-04-07

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Catholic and other opponents of a U.N. policy to give partners of gay and lesbian staff members the same benefits spouses of married staffers receive reached a compromise on language in the policy. The agreement, reached after lengthy debates and informal negotiations, ensures the policy's wording will not link domestic partnerships or same-sex unions with marriage and family. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican's U.N. nuncio, said in a telephone interview April 5 that the compromise took into account objections the Vatican had raised and "avoids the confusion" of using the same terminology for the two kinds of relationships. "No one wants to deprive people of anything," he said. "But we would not like to see the U.N. be ambiguous or, even worse, establish a link between the family and domestic partnership or same-sex union."

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .