British government, Italy's governing coalition tackle gay rights

Britain will not exempt Catholic adoption agencies from a new anti-discrimination law that the agencies say would not allow them to refuse to place children with gay couples, Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday.

The adoption agencies will be granted a transition period, until the end of next year, to adjust to the new law, he said.

"Everyone is agreed that, above all, the interests of the child and particularly the most vulnerable children, must come first," Mr Blair said in a statement.

Church and state have been locked in confrontation since Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, called for Catholic adoption agencies to be exempted from a new anti-discrimination law.

The Equality Act outlaws discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of goods, facilities and services.

Murphy-O'Connor argued that to force Catholic agencies to place children with gay or lesbian couples went against the Church's teachings.

He said the law could force the agencies to close, putting 4,000 children awaiting adoption at a disadvantage.

The leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and the Muslim Council of Britain supported the Catholic Church, forcing Mr Blair to choose between backing gay rights and offending religious groups.

After listening to both sides, Mr Blair concluded he would not excuse Catholic adoption agencies that receive public funds from the new anti-discrimination law.

"I support the right of gay couples to apply to adopt like any other couple," he said.

There was no immediate comment from the Catholic Church.

Mr Blair had initially leaned towards the Church view, but came under pressure from lawmakers in his own party to reject the exemption, according to media reports.

Mr Blair's Communities Minister Ruth Kelly, a prominent Catholic, was also reported to be in favour of an opt-out, raising questions about whether she could be forced to resign if the Catholic agencies were denied an exemption.

But Ms Kelly told Sky News yesterday she completely supported Mr Blair's compromise, which will form part of regulations that will be put before parliament soon.

The compromise was a "workable solution" which protected the interest of gays and lesbians while preserving the expertise of religious adoption agencies, she said.

Meanwhile Italy's fragile governing coalition looked set yesterday for a showdown over its plan to recognise the rights of homosexual and unmarried heterosexual couples.

Justice Minister Clemente Mastella said he would rather see the government fall than back a law he calls immoral, reflecting opposition to the move among the coalition's own ranks as well as the powerful Catholic Church.

"I don't care if the government falls but I am not going to vote for that law," Mr Mastella said at the weekend. "Homosexuals can acquire more rights but I'll never accept the idea that they can be considered a family."

It is the most divisive issue so far for the Catholics-to- communists coalition, particularly because it raises moral questions in a country where the Roman Catholic Church still wields great influence.

The draft law prepared by two government ministers would allow unwed couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, to get certificates from town halls confirming they are a couple.

This would allow such couples to share health insurance and some pension rights, transfer rental contracts to each other and join waiting lists for public housing and state jobs.

The law, known as PACS (Civil Solidarity Pacts), is similar to legislation passed in France. It will have to go first to the cabinet and then to parliament for a full debate.

But the fireworks began over the weekend when Mr Mastella got into a highly publicised verbal duel with Piero Fassino, head of the largest party in the coalition, Democrats of the Left (DS).

Mastella's small UDEUR party is one of the nine in Prime Minister Romano Prodi's coalition, which has wobbled on a range of issues, including pensions and Italian forces in Afghanistan.

Mr Mastella, using a phrase associated more with the opposition centre-right, said all members of the governing coalition could not be "hostages" of the extreme left.

Mr Fassino retorted: "You don't have to be a leftist to recognise a law that makes good sense."

Monsignor Giuseppe Betori, secretary general of the Italian bishops' conference, warned the government against trying to pass any law that would "unhinge" the traditional family.