Nicaragua's largest Catholic diocese
has spoken out against gay marriage, Spanish news agency EFE
reported.
The diocese of Managua, Masaya and
Carazo urged lawmakers on Sunday not to legalize the institution.
In a statement read during mass at La
Catedral Metropolitana in Managua – the country's capital and
largest city – the church reiterated its opposition to “the
various projects together or alone that pretend to grant unions
between members of the same sex with heterosexual marriage.”
After railing against the institution,
the church said it welcomed gay men and lesbians with respect and
without discrimination.
“The church makes a distinction
between the respect for every person regardless of sexual
orientation, but rejects homosexual and lesbian practices as an act
objectively contrary to God's plan for the human race,” Archbishop
of Nicaragua Henryk Jozef Nowacki said in the statement.
“The family is at the center of the
great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between
love and those who are opposed to love,” he added.
No lawmaker has introduced a bill to
legalize gay marriage, but the Managua government recently created a
special prosecuting unit to defend the rights of its gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender citizens.
SIC: OTM/INT'L