The Catholic Church asked Colombia’s Constitutional Court to dismiss a petition that seeks to legalize gay marriage, arguing that same-sex unions are detrimental to the nation’s social order.
In an 11-page document, Monseñor Juan Vicente Cordoba Villota argued that legalizing gay marriage would create an environment favorable to homosexuality – because they “become gay, they aren’t born that way” – and numbers of homosexuals would increase.
The petition claims that civil legislation fails to recognize the fundamental human right of homosexuals to be in a relationship and form a family. It seeks to change the law to allow gay marriage, as has been done in countries such as Argentina, Mexico and Spain.
According to Cordoba, the petition is “unjust” because homosexual couples are unable to fulfill the basic premise of marriage, which is to have children.
“To make fake money devalues the real money and puts the whole economic system in danger. In the same way, to compare homosexuals with the family is to dangerously jeopardize that institution and, with it, the right social order,” Cordoba said.
The church representative added that for gay couples to use artificial forms of insemination constitutes “a lack of respect for the human species.”