Poland’s upper house of parliament approved a bill last week that would allow gay couples to gain legal partnership rights, immediately drawing sharp criticism from the nation’s powerful Roman Catholic Church.
The Senate voted 38-23 with 15 abstentions to send the draft to the lower house, or Sejm, where the bill was expected to meet resistance. If it becomes law, the bill would allow gay couples to register with city or town officials, which would give them inheritance rights and other legal guarantees — but not the right to adopt children.
Sen. Maria Szyszkowska, a member of Prime Minister Marek Belka’s Democratic Left Alliance who authored the bill, said the decision marks the “start of building tolerance in Poland.” But Father Jerzy Kloch, spokesperson for the Polish Episcopate, blasted the measure, saying it violates Poland’s constitution, which says “a marriage is a union between a man and a woman.” “If this bill was implemented it would bring irreparable social damage for marriage and family and upbringing of children,” Kloch said.
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