Gay groups slam Vatican statement

Gay rights organisations have criticised a statement from the Vatican, urging Catholics throughout the world to oppose the legalisation of marriages between people of the same sex.

In a strongly worded document approved by Pope John Paul, the Vatican called on Catholic politicians to resist such changes in legislation, and branded homosexual unions as immoral, unnatural and harmful.

The Vatican's stance has been greeted with dismay by opponents who say it runs against human rights conventions and is out of touch with the modern world.

The editor of Gay Community News, Brian Finnegan, said he thought the Church would lose the battle to stop same-sex marriages.

Some European countries have already legalised homosexual unions, and the idea is gaining momentum in North America.

But the Holy See has repeated its view that such arrangements could not be placed on the same level as marriage.