Madrid
A half-million Spaniards, led by dozens of priests and bishops, marched through Madrid this week to protest gay marriage. It was the first time in decades that Catholic clergy had participated in a political demonstration. The lower house of the Socialist-dominated parliament passed a bill last month legalizing gay marriage, and the upper house is expected to confirm it next week. The Catholic Church was closely associated with the fascist Franco regime, and since then has been careful to stay out of politics. But bishops said the fight against gay marriage was “social,” not political. “We’ve come to say ‘yes’ to the family unit as composed by man and woman,” said Jesus Sanz, the bishop of Huesca. Polls show, however, that most Spaniards support gay nuptials.
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