Bishops toss gay welcome as Rome mayor recognizes same-sex marriages

Catholic bishops have scrapped their landmark welcome to gays, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families. The revised paragraph had said “people with homosexual tendencies must be welcomed with respect and delicacy.” But the paragraph failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to pass. Nearby the Vatican, however, Italy’s gay marriage debate took a more uplifting turn Saturday as Rome’s mayor defied Italy’s government and registered 16 gay marriages celebrated abroad.

The most important right is to say to your companion ‘I love you’ and to have that be recognised.

Mayor Ignazio Marino

The Italian bishops said it was “unacceptable” that Marino registered the weddings the same day Catholic bishops were wrapping up their summit. Gay marriage is illegal in Italy, but Mayor Ignazio Marino received thunderous applause upon arrival at the city hall reception room where the couples and their loved ones gathered to make the marriages official. Premier Matteo Renzi has said he would propose legislation allowing gay unions, though it’s not expected to include adoption.

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