NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      PARIS (CWNews.com) - The French National Assembly on Wednesday approved a bill that grants new rights to unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples despite heavy opposition from conservative parties and the Catholic Church.

      The PACS bill would allow a Civil Solidarity Pact between two cohabitating people over the age of 18 to allow them inheritance rights, joint tax filing status, and other rights traditionally allotted only to families. The bill, heavily supported by the ruling coalition of Socialists, Communists, and Greens, will be taken up by the Senate next March.

      Supporters of the bill said the measure is needed to bring the law in line with the evolution of French society. Critics, including the country's bishops, said the bill would set up a Byzantine maze of social relationships, undermining the family as the foundation of society, and is the first step on a path to legalizing same-sex marriage.