MADRID, June 19 (UPI) -- An estimated 200,000 Roman Catholics took to the streets of Madrid to protest a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Spain.
Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, the archbishop of Madrid, walked near the front of the crowd, which included priests, nuns, children, adults and right-wing politicians.
The Los Angeles Times said the gay marriage bill is one of several social policies that have increased tensions between the Roman Catholic Church and Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who came into office a year ago after eight years of conservative rule.
Along with legalizing gay marriage, Zapatero is looking to relax restrictions on abortion, divorce and stem cell research. His government has also considered cutting the amount of funding that it gives to the church.
The protest on Saturday is believed to be the largest by Catholic leaders since 1983, when the church fought an earlier Socialist government's decision to legalize abortion.
