Papal Nuncio in Spain needs Prayers and Enlightenment

The Pope's ambassador to one of Europe's leading Catholic countries has hinted that the church should "acknowledge" gay partnerships - a significant crack in the Vatican's resolute opposition to "evil and deviant" gay relationships.

Departing from his prepared speech, the papal nuncio added that although the law in Spain, and many other countries, defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, "there are other forms of cohabitation and it is good that they be recognised".

Although he insisted that same-sex unions could not be regarded as marriages, the envoy implied that they were at least worthy of compassion.

The nuncio said gay couples should be given access to certain civil rights, including those within the social security system. He added: "The church can also help them in their spiritual life."

The remarks were in sharp contrast to last year's Vatican guidelines which called on Catholics to campaign against the legalisation of gay relationships, calling them evil, deviant and a grave threat to society.

The document said: "We must refrain from any formal cooperation with the promulgation or application of such seriously unjust laws and, as far as is possible, from any material cooperation in their application."

It added: "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law.

Insidious attacks on the Truth continue from inside the Church - both here and abroad. It will be interesting to see how this develops - if the Papal Nuncio is rquired to retract his statements and proclaim what the Church teaches.

Article here.