Portugal’s parliament is likely to approve a bill legalizing marriage for same-sex couples Friday, just five months before a scheduled visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the heavily Catholic country, according to a report by Agence France Presse:

While normally vocal on the role of marriage and the family in society, the Catholic Church has refused to mobilise on a subject which, according to Lisbon’s Cardinal Patriarch Jose Policarpo, is “parliament’s responsibility”.

“I think the Portuguese people have learnt one of the fundamental tenets of democracy: respect for the rights of the individual,” Miguel Vale de Almeida, Portugal’s first openly-gay lawmaker who was elected in September, told AFP.

Photo:  Agence France Presse