PARIS (Reuters)- France’s top Catholic prelate criticized the Socialist government on Thursday for forging ahead with plans to legalize same-sex marriage when the country faced more urgent economic concerns.

Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois spoke as the Church’s main charity agency issued a report showing more and more women in France falling below the poverty line in the past decade and fewer poor people succeeding in rising above it.

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Socialist government approved a draft law on Wednesday to allow same-sex marriage, despite coming under fierce attack from religious leaders and conservative politicians.

The proposed law, presented as the first major social reform of Francois Hollande’s presidency, would grant gay couples the right to adopt children but not to use assisted procreation methods such as artificial insemination.

PARIS (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germany’s Protestant and Roman Catholic churches on Monday to stress their common beliefs at ceremonies marking the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation.

Although still five years away, the date has already prompted debate between Protestants preparing major celebrations and Catholics who rue the rebellion of the German monk Martin Luther in 1517 as the start of a painful split in western Christianity.

PARIS, Nov 5 (Reuters) – The Swiss city of Geneva has a long
history of affording refuge to religious dissenters, most
notably the 16th-century reformer John Calvin, but the strong
Swiss franc currency has made it hard on his followers.

The exchange rate of the Swiss franc to other currencies has
forced the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) to move
its global headquarters, which has a staff of seven, to Germany
from the city known as “the Protestant Rome” when Calvin ruled
it as a strict theocracy.

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s governing Socialist Party hit back hard at the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday for campaigning against its plan to legalize same-sex marriage, heralding a bruising debate over the issue.

Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois spoke against the proposed law on Saturday and encouraged Catholics to write to their elected officials and take to the streets in protest against the reform due to be voted on by mid-2013.

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s leading Roman Catholic prelate said on Saturday a government plan to legalise same-sex marriage would profoundly affect the equilibrium of French society, calling it a reform for a few but not all citizens.

Speaking in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois urged Catholics to show their opposition to a planned marriage reform by writing and speaking to their elected officials or taking part in protest marches.