Show A 9 1 i IN THE WORLD r Spain Catholic church marches against Gay marriage I MADRID Making an unusually unusual unusual- ly forceful foray into Spanish politics politics poli poll tics the Roman Catholic Church ledan led ledan ledan an enormous march through the streets Saturday to protest new legislation legislation legislation leg leg- that would legalize marriage for gay couples Priests wearing their collars nuns in gray habits and adults and chilI children chil chil- I dren from all over the country converged converged con con- converged verged on downtown Madrid They waved placards declaring Marriage equals Man and Woman and applauded Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela the archbishop of Madrid who walked near the front of the noisy crowd This demonstration is not a reaction reaction reaction tion it is not against anyone weve we've come to say yes to the family unit as composed by man and woman said Jesus Sanz the bishop of Huesca who traveled five hours on a bus to reach the rally wing Right-wing politicians also joined the demonstration which was organized organized organized orga orga- by a coalition of groups called the Forum for the Family It represented represented represented the most coordinated protest to date against the agenda of Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Some on the left bemoaned what they saw as a potential throwback to the days of the dictator Francisco Franco who outlawed ty The conservative church was closely allied with him and was extremely powerful until his death in 1975 The proposed law would be one of the most liberal marriage statues in Europe It would grant full marriage marriage marriage mar mar- rights for sex same-sex couples including the right to adopt children las It T has been been approved by the Socialist Socialist dominated dominated lower house of parliament and is expected to pass the Senate in the next few weeks Polls have shown a large majority of the Spanish public favors the law a v y a R r. r Y Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres speaks to group about his desire to lead the Labor Party Israel Peres 81 runs to lead Israel again Israel Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres is 81 and his political resume is as long and colorful as the states state's history He has been prime minister defense minister foreign minister and finance minister Peres has backed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon his old friend and longtime political rival in the landmark settler withdrawal withdrawal withdrawal with with- from the Gaza Strip this summer But Peres has failed to win four elections for prime minister and has been blamed rightly or not for dividing the Israeli left and helping Sharon to stay in power Despite his age hes he's decided to run again to lead the Labor Party and compete for prime minister in the country's next national election expected to take place next year After it was over the events event's organizer Levy said Peres had done well But Levy did not plan to support him Hes very intelligent and he is a leader Levy said But he ought to sit down write a book and give his place to a younger generation Earlier Peres had rejected this argument Younger leaders had failed to retain public support Peres said he was surprised he remained popular because I committed committed committed com com- every mistake I could But he said voters understood that whatever he did I did it out of convictions and I kept my flag y known And I dont don't feel any need to r apologize or or to go away 7 1 |