There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family, the Maltese bishops said yesterday.

Marriage is holy while homosexual acts go against natural moral law. Such acts close the sexual act to the gift of life and are not even the fruit of sexual complementarity and, therefore, under no circumstances can such homosexual acts be approved, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca, Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi and Auxiliary Bishop Annetto Depasquale said.

Yet, despite this situation, according to the teaching of the Church, men and women with homosexual tendencies should be shown love and every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided, the bishops insisted.

They describe homosexuality as social and moral phenomenon which is leading to much concern and trouble, hence the need for their statement which they say could be of interest to everyone.

The Bishops said:

"This call of ours should affect and enlighten not only those who believe in Christ, but also those who have at heart and defend the common good, that is the dignity of marriage, the foundation and stability of the family, and the well-being of society. "First of all, the Church's teaching on marriage as a union between a man and a woman and the complementarity of the sexes is an evident truth and an undeniable fact. This teaching is recognised and accepted by all the major cultures of the world. The word 'marriage' does not just mean any relationship between two human beings, but means a union between a man and a woman for reasons determined by nature itself.

"Sacred scripture condemns homosexual acts as a serious depravity (Rom. 1, 24-27). The scripture, while condemning such acts, does not permit, does not want anyone to conclude that all those who suffer from this tendency are personally responsible for it; but it does state that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered (Congregation of the Faith, Persona Humana, Doc. 29, 1975). This moral judgment is found in many Christian writers of the first centuries and is unanimously accepted by Catholic tradition.

"As is written in the teaching of the catechism of the Catholic Church, homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Basing itself on sacred scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered'. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

(Catechism, 2357).

"No ideology has the power to erase from humans the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman who, through their personal gift to one another, which they give to each other in a proper and exclusive way, work towards the holiness of both of them and cooperate with God in the procreation and formation of new human lives.

"God created the human being and created humans as man and woman; as persons who are equal and complementary to each other as man and woman. This shows that there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family.

Marriage is holy while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law. Homosexual acts close the sexual act to the gift of life; they are not even the fruit of sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can such homosexual acts be approved.

"In spite of this situation, according to the teaching of the Church, men and women with homosexual tendencies should be shown love.

"The catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that while the number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible, they do not choose their homosexual condition.

"This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition (Catechism, 2358).

"Even homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection (Catechism, 2359)."