Family Council Official Greets French Protesting Same-Sex 'Marriage'

The secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Family is offering a "fraternal and warm greeting" to the hundreds of thousands of people expected to rally in defense of marriage this Sunday along the streets of Paris.

In a telephone interview with ZENIT, Bishop Jean Laffitte sent from Rome "a fraternal and warm greeting to all the participants in the manifestation of Jan. 13."

The bishop criticized France's legislation in favor of same-sex "marriage," saying that all people of good will have a duty to oppose it, since it is "contrary to the common good."

President François Hollande campaigned with the promise to legalize same-sex "marriage." He took office last May and his bill will go before Parliament for debate by the end of this month. The strong majority in Parliament means the bill is expected to be approved by June. 

However, as many as 100,000 French already protested the legislation in November, and public support for the measure is falling.

Bishop Laffitte said that "all those who in one way or another have clearly defended the most fundamental values of the society to which they belong can be legitimately proud of having done everything they could to safeguard the common patrimony."

"Marriage, the union between a man and a woman," Bishop Laffitte added, "is the only structure possible to found a family where the child can be welcomed in the love of a father and a mother."