Pope stands ground on abortion, gay 'marriage'
By Martine Nouaille
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
March 14, 2007

(AP) VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI yesterday set out "nonnegotiable values" as he urged Catholic lawmakers to oppose laws favoring divorce, abortion, homosexual "marriage" and euthanasia. In a long-awaited text, the pope exhorted "Catholic politicians and legislators ... to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature."

"These values are not negotiable," he wrote, listing "respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death [and] the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman."

Benedict's first such apostolic exhortation dashed any hope for a relaxation of the requirement of celibacy for Roman Catholic priests, and comes as draft legislation before Italy's parliament proposes to give legal status to unmarried couples, including homosexuals. the rest