Bishop: Italy should recognize gay couples

RAGUSA, Italy, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A Catholic bishop in Sicily broke with the Vatican to declare that the Italian government should recognize same-sex unions.

Paolo Urso, bishop of the Sicilian city of Ragusa said gay couples should be legally recognized, ANSA reported Thursday.

"When two people, even if they're the same sex, decide to live together, it's important for the State to recognize this fact," he was quoted as saying. "But it must be called something different from marriage."