Catholic Portugal Set to Legalize Gay Marriage

It is interesting to consider that many of those who emigrated to America in the early period the nation's colonization were motivated by a desire to escape religious based discrimination in Europe. Now the circle has come full circle with most of the European nations recognizing the separation of church and state and that religion has no place in the civil laws while in the USA the GOP and Christianists reject that understanding. Indeed, they seek to impose religious based discrimination on those who do not subscribe to their religious beliefs, particularly gays. It is likewise interesting (actually very distressing) that Virginia - which provided so many of the great thinkers of the Founding Fathers of the nation - is one of the worse offenders when it comes to encoding religious based discrimination in the state's civil laws. As for Portugal, I am shocked that the Roman Catholic Church not thrusting itself into the issue. Perhaps seeing the Church in melt down in Ireland the decision was made to maintain a low profile. Here are some highlights from Agence France-Presse (AFP):

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LISBON — Catholic Portugal, traditionally one of Europe's most socially conservative countries, is expected to approve the legalisation of gay marriage on Friday with a minimum of fuss. With the governing Socialists and other left-wing parties enjoying a strong majority, the new law is likely to sail through the first reading debate and gain final approval before a visit by Pope Benedict XVI, due in Portugal in May.
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In contrast to Spain, where the lead-up to the legalisation of gay marriage in 2005 brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets, the bill in Portugal has provoked only muted opposition even from the right. While normally vocal on the role of marriage and the family in society, the Catholic Church has refused to mobilise on a subject which, according to Lisbon's Cardinal Patriarch Jose Policarpo, is "parliament's responsibility".
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"I think the Portuguese people have learnt one of the fundamental tenets of democracy: respect for the rights of the individual," Miguel Vale de Almeida, Portugal's first openly-gay lawmaker who was elected in September, told AFP.
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Vale de Almeida, who is the Socialists' pointman on the legislation, said there is now a political majority in favour of gay marriage and that it is "too simplistic to link Catholicism and conservatism."
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Deputies are also expected on Friday to vote two other bills submitted by the Green party, the Left Bloc and others which would grant gay and lesbian couples the right to adopt children. If the gay marriage proposals do pass through parliament, they will the have to go through a parliamentary commission before coming back for the final approval.

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According to media reports, both the government and the Catholic Church wants the gay marriage issue to be resolved before the visit of the pope, scheduled for May 11-14.