French, German bishops criticize laws to strengthen gay rights

Published: 2004-07-08

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Catholic bishops from Germany and France have criticized government plans in both countries to strengthen gay rights. In Germany, legislation was introduced allowing gay marriages, while in France a law was introduced that would label anti-gay attacks as hate crimes. The German bishops said in a July 2 statement that homosexual partnerships "by nature have nothing in common with families" and that the proposed law introduced "equality between unequals." The planned government bill justified fears of a "reduced understanding of marriage," and raised questions "whether the good of children is really at issue," the bishops said. In France, a report released by the bishops' conference said the demand for gay rights concerned "only a slender minority" and threatened "a real dissolution of social bonds." "For several years now, a rise in homosexual claims has continued to impose itself on society -- the sentimental publicity surrounding them is provoking intellectual blindness," said the report, prepared by Father Tony Anatrella, a French psychoanalyst and consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Family.

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