The bishops are urging politicians to vote against a draft bill to legalise same-sex partnerships in Lithuania, arguing they could be 'a Trojan Horse' leading to civil marriage.
to argue that civil unions distort the concept of marriage and family.
In a pastoral letter to the faithful, the Lithuanian Bishops Conference - a body which unites the country's bishops - quoted a 2016 treatise by Pope Francis which states "de facto unions or unions of the same sex cannot simply be equated with marriage"."The draft law on civil unions essentially proposes what Pope Francis urges us not to do - to equate de facto unions and same-sex unions with marriage.
In a nod to critics, the same-sex bill in the parliament no longer defines partnerships as an "emotional connection" or allows partners to assume a common surname.