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Here's the article, from Yahoo:

VATICAN SEEKS TO STOP OKS FOR GAY UNIONS
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican (news - web sites) hopes to rally public
opposition to gay marriages in a worldwide campaign spurred by its alarm
over growing legal acceptance of same-sex unions in Europe and North
America.

Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II has been speaking out for months
against legislative proposals to legalize same-sex marriages. But
instructions to be released this week go a step further by outlining a
course of action for politicians and other lay people to oppose extending
the rights accorded to traditional couples, Vatican officials told The
Associated Press.

The document is titled "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal
Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons." It was prepared by the
church's guardian of orthodoxy, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, and is to be released Thursday, the officials said.


One official familiar with the document called it a "practical reflection"
for both Catholic and non-Catholic politicians and public opinion in
general.


It asks that the legal recognition accorded the traditional marriages not
be extended to same-sex unions, the official told AP, speaking on
condition of anonymity.


The document prescribes a course of action for politicians and lay
communities and does not involve the clergy, Vatican officials said. It is
expected to detail how the issue should be dealt with in public forums,
including legislatures. The officials did not give provide examples.


The Catholic Church is not the only Christian denomination embroiled in
the debate.


At its national convention, which begins Wednesday in Minneapolis, the
Episcopal Church in the United States will decide whether to permit
blessing ceremonies for same-sex unions and approve the first election of
an openly gay bishop, issues that are sharply dividing that church.


Catholic teaching says homosexuals should not be subjected to "unjust
discrimination," but it also says gays should be chaste.


In January, the pope approved guidelines on church teachings for Catholic
politicians saying that the church's opposition to abortion, euthanasia
and same-sex marriage is not up for negotiation.


The guidelines said laws safeguarding marriage between man and woman must
be promoted and urged that "in no way can other forms of cohabitation be
placed on the same level as marriage, nor can they receive legal
recognition as such."


Legal acceptance is growing, however.


Over the past two years, the Netherlands and Belgium extended marriages
rights to all couples, no matter the partners' gender.


Two Canadian provinces - Ontario and British Columbia - have legalized
marriages for homosexuals under recent court rulings, a move that has
attracted gays from across the border in the United States.


The Massachusetts supreme court is weighing whether to legalize same-sex
unions.


In reaction, some Republican lawmakers in Washington are calling for a
constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriages nationwide.


Vermont and some European nations, such as Germany, France, Sweden and
Denmark, have "civil union" laws giving same-sex couples the rights and
responsibilities of traditional marriages.





After Germany's supreme court upheld the law this month, a top German
cardinal condemned the law as a blow to the family.

"Now the associations of homosexuals have a potent arm to obtain further
concessions on the road toward full equality with married couples,
including the right to adoption," Cardinal Karl Lehman complained in a
Vatican Radio interview.

The Vatican is particularly worried about the waning influence of the
church in Europe. Drafters of a proposed constitution for the European
Union (news - web sites) ignored Vatican requests to include explicit
mention of Europe's Christian roots.

On Sunday, the pope lamented that the church's message was being watered
down in Europe, decrying the spread of a "vague and little-demanding
religious sentiment, which could become agnosticism and practical
atheism."

Vatican officials said the document - 12 pages long and available in seven
languages - is devoted entirely to the issue of same-sex marriages.

A leading gay activist in Italy, Franco Grillini, who is a member of
parliament, condemned the Vatican's position as "another intrusion into a
country's affairs."

He charged that the Vatican operated with a particularly heavy hand in
Italy and several other predominantly Catholic countries in Europe,
depriving gays of rights guaranteed elsewhere.

In the United States, the church sometimes criticizes Catholic politicians
whose views clash with the faith's teachings. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe,
for instance, ventured into the New Mexico gubernatorial campaign last
year, circulating fliers about the candidates' stands on abortion. Among
those criticized for supporting the right to abortion was Democrat Bill
Richardson, who won the election.