MADRID, April 22 (UPI) -- Vatican officials Friday asked Roman Catholic Spaniards not to comply with a bill that would legalize gay marriage, El Pais reported in its online edition.
Church officials said Catholics should be prepared to lose their job rather than cooperate with the proposed law.
Spain expected the decision would likely draw the ire of new Pope Benedict XVI who is a staunch opponent of gay unions.
Spanish lawmakers in the lower house of parliament approved Thursday the gay marriage bill. The Senate must still ratify it for it to become law.
If passed, the law would grant Spain's homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual ones, including inheritance, pensions and adoption rights.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said he was intent on deemphasizing the church influence in Spanish politics.
