Several Spanish mayors announce refusal to perform gay marriages

Published: 2005-05-04

BARCELONA, Spain (CNS) -- Days after the Vatican issued a call to Catholic civil servants not to take part in the marrying of homosexual couples, several Spanish mayors announced their refusal to officiate in same-sex marriage ceremonies. The Spanish government, whose legislation to allow gays to marry and adopt children recently took another step toward becoming law, has said officials refusing to comply with the new law will be banned from public office. On April 21, the same day Spain's lower house of Parliament approved the gay marriages bill, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said that Spanish functionaries should conscientiously object to playing a role in such marriage ceremonies, "even if they lose their job as a result." By May 2, several Spanish mayors, all members of the opposition Conservative Party who had voted against the legislation, said they objected to officiating in gay marriage ceremonies.

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