Madrid, Spain, May 9, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Archbishop Antonio Canizares Llovera of Toledo and Vice President of the Bishops Conference of Spain said this week a law that would legalize homosexual unions is not “a true law” because it contradicts natural law.
The archbishop exhorted Catholics to reject the law and warned that “with this permissiveness, democracy is heading towards destruction.”
“If every group in power passes these laws, where does that leave the ordering of the common good in a society, where does that leave the truth about laws or the truth about man,” the archbishop asked in an interview with the COPE radio network.
He said he was aware that some organizations are preparing to challenge the constitutionality of the law on homosexual unions because of the danger it poses to “true marriage as the foundation of society and the person.”
Regarding the criticism against the statement sent by the bishops to the Spanish government, Archbishop Canizares said the bishops are not enemies of democracy, but rather “because we defenders of it we issued that statement.”
In that statement sent to the government last Friday, the Spanish bishops noted that Catholics cannot vote in favor of the law because it contradicts reason and morality. They also pointed out that the law would not be binding on anyone and that mayors or city officials could exercise “the right to conscientious objection” in refusing to obey it.