VATICAN CITY, MAR 17 (ZENIT.org).- "To present the union of homosexuals as a kind of value, at the same level as matrimony, is an attack against the truth of man and woman," Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo stated on Vatican Radio. The Cardinal is president of the Pontifical Council for the Family. He was commenting on the resolution of the European Parliament recommending that its member countries adjust their legislation to give juridical recognition to irregular couples, including persons of the same sex.

    The Cardinal explained that "this is the second time that the European deputies have attempted to offer recommendations with devious interpretations, as it they were talking about rights that must be recognized. In the past, a resolution was already approved that in a certain sense was an attempt to impose it on national Parliaments. Now this is about taking another step, requesting Parliaments to legislate in this direction. The truth is that the family is a necessary good for society -- the family based on matrimony, conceived as the union of love between a man and a woman, a union open to life and integral procreation. The one they call the 'traditional' family."

    "This is the model of the family that is the foundation of society. Otherwise, society will lose its fundamental fabric. It is not something that only relates to religious truth; it is a truth that belongs to the heritage of humanity, to man's profound heart, to natural law. Therefore, to present these unions as a kind of value at the same level as matrimony is an attack against the truth of man and woman," the Colombian Cardinal said emphatically.

    The gravity of the resolution is even greater, because the majority of the countries of the European Union have Constitutions that guarantee total respect for the value of the family according to nature, explained the Cardinal, whose responsibility is to follow closely all issues related to the family. "To ask the Parliaments to make laws that go against the Constitution is a risk, a threat, an attack. Legislators and politicians must listen and talk to families, to the grassroots of society, to all citizens. It is known that the great majority would never support this erroneous interpretation of the family model," Cardinal Lopez Trujillo said.

    Although the Colombian Cardinal did not mention it, his point was born out by a March 7 California referendum. In the U.S. State many would deem most likely to permit homosexual unions, 61% of the voters rejected such an arrangement.

    The Church's opposition to the juridical recognition of irregular or homosexual couples is in no way discriminatory. The issue here is about "respect for the truth," the Cardinal clarified.

    Today, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo published an official statement requesting all European legislators, especially those who are Catholic, "not to favorthis type of legislation that is contrary to the common good and the truth of human beings with their vote ." ZE00031709