Pope Francis made news recently by voicing his support for same-sex civil unions — legal arrangements that give gay and lesbian couples many of the same rights as married opposite-sex couples. Around the world, Catholics vary in their support for same-sex marriage and their acceptance of homosexuality in general, according to Pew Research Center surveys conducted in recent years. The Center does not have recent survey data on views about civil unions. Same-sex marriage became legal across the U. In Western Europe, large majorities of Catholics said in that they support legal same-sex marriage. The data in this analysis comes from four different Pew Research Center surveys. The views of Catholics in Western Europe about same-sex marriage come from a phone survey of 15 countries conducted from April to August

The Church adopts official statements of the Wesleyan View on issues in order to encourage laity and ministers to integrate faith and life to respond appropriately and responsibly to current cultural and public policy matters. We believe that life is a gift from God and must always be regarded as sacred. We believe that decisions about the edges of life that were not even contemplated in previous times are now necessary. This statement on Refugees was adopted by vote of the delegates of the International Conference of the Wesleyan Church. Wesleyans believe the family is a divinely ordained institution.

The Roman Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination in the United States with an estimated 62 million members, has welcomed celibate gay and lesbian people into its church life but increasingly is becoming more intolerant even of this population. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world, with approximately 1. With its origins in the earliest days of Christianity, the Church traces its leadership——in the person of the Pope——to St. The Catholic Church in the United States numbers over 70 million members, and is organized in 33 Provinces, each led by an archbishop. Each bishop answers directly to the Pope, not to an archbishop.