The Vatican has made clear its opposition to the United Nations endorsing a universal declaration to decriminalize homosexuality. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United Nations, and Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said unjust forms of discrimination against homosexuals must be avoided. However, the Vatican does not approve of a formal declaration with political weight that might be used to put pressure on or discriminate against countries that do not recognize same-sex marriage, they said.

A draft declaration, drawn up by France and endorsed by the European Union, was to be presented to the U.N. General Assembly December 10. It condemns discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Archbishop Migliore told the French news agency I.Media December 1 that adding these “new categories (to be) protected from discrimination” would create in turn “new and inflexible (forms of) discrimination.”