Last month the Spanish government approved a Bill to legalise homosexual marriage and Spain became the third country in Europe to accept same-sex marriages. However, the Spanish Catholic Church has called upon the members to fight against such stances.

However, now contrary to the official Church viewpoint, several Spanish Catholic organisations have expressed their support for the right of homosexuals to marry.

According to the Catholic group associated with the magazine 'Iglesia Viva' (Living Church) and the religious information on the 'Atrio' website, "Civil marriage is a judicial institution, a human construction that can and must evolve to adapt to new ways of understanding society."

In the same way, theologians and Christians from the 'European Church Network for liberty' also showed their solidarity with the struggle of the gay and lesbian community. They called for recognition of their human rights and laws which may come into force later this year after passing through the upper-house Senate.

For centuries Spain has been a stronghold for the Catholic Church, but since the new government was elected last year, new Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez has gone about making huge changes to the nation’s strict Catholic ideals. The new government has made the controversial decision to legalise gay marriages and to allow gay couples to adopt children.

The Spanish Bishops Conference released a statement that the bill "went against the common good. (It is) unfair that real marriage should be treated the same as the union of persons of the same sex."

In addition, the spokesperson for the conference spoke out, saying that it was like "imposing a virus on society, something false that will have negative consequences for social life."

Spanish bishops were even warned by the former Pope, John Paul II in January that an increasingly secular-minded Spain was moving toward "restriction of religious freedom and even promoting disdain or ignorance of religion,"

Many Church leaders have now rallied to renew their call for Catholics to clearly and sharply oppose Spain's proposed law authorising marriage and adoption for homosexuals, calling it "a step backwards on the path to civilisation."