The Spanish government today approved a Bill to legalise homosexual marriage. The decision which has greatly angered the Church will make Spain only the third country in Europe to pardon same-sex marriages.

The Bill that has been passed will give homosexuals the right to adopt, and also “recognises all rights for homosexuals, when it comes to qualifying for a pension, administering an estate, asking for a loan, authorising surgery for a partner but also to adopt a child,” the cabinet spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also put forward the fact that approximately four million of Spain’s 40 million inhabitants, which represents roughly 10% of the population, are homosexual.

The controversial decision means that Spain has followed Belgium and Netherlands as being the only countries in Europe that have made gay marriages legal. However, Belgium still refuses to give homosexuals the right to adopt children. In the Americas also, same-sex unions have recently been made legal in six Canadian provinces, in addition to Massachusetts in the USA.

The Bill will now be put forward for Parliamentary approval and will come into force next year if passed through this final hurdle.

The planned legislation has been sternly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church in Spain, who still possess an influential public sway, even though their power in the country has weakened in recent times. A statement by Church sources following the announcement of the Bill’s success said, “Society cannot remain indifferent to this attack” in its traditional values.

The Roman Catholic Church is not standing alone however, in its opposition to the Bill; an association of Christian fringe groups, and the Archbishop of Barcelona have also pledged to fight the new proposals.

Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, spokesperson for Spain’s Episcopal Conference said last week, “It would impose on society a virus, something false, which will have negative consequences for social life.”

Spain’s extreme liberal policies since the new government was elected earlier this year have also seemed to be backed by the country’s electorate. A July poll showed that 66 percent supported same-sex marriages, although when asked whether gay parents should be able to adopt the figure fell to 48 percent.

For the Bill to be implemented, fourteen articles of the Spanish civil code will have to be altered to change words like “man and woman” to “partners and parents” etc...

The Justice Minister, Juan Fernando Lopez de Aguilar told a news conference that the government “is cooperating with the Roman Catholic Church and considers that an open conflict with it is not good.”

The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has shown that his policy is to liberalise social policies and to facilitate divorce. He said earlier this week, “I deeply respect the opinions of the Catholic Church even if they are very critical of the government. I ask them to show the same respect.”