A Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition ‘clearly and publicly’ and vote against a bill proposing same sex unions, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna told Avvenire, the Italian bishops’ newspaper, in an interview published today.

In his interview Mgr Scicluna said that voting in favor of a law so harmful to society’s common good ‘is a gravely immoral act’.

Mgr Scicluna’s interview with Avvenire follows an interview published in The Sunday Times of Malta last week, in which he said that the Pope is “shocked” by Malta’s Civil Unions Bill, which will allow gay couples to adopt children.

As he had told The Sunday Times of Malta, Mgr Scicluna told Avvenire he expressed his concern about the bill to the Pope on December 12.

He said Pope Francis expressed sadness at the development, especially on the issue regarding adoptions. This, he said, was an "anthropological regression".

The bishop also reiterated the Maltese bishops' concern about the bill.