Pro-family Rally Draws Thousands in Belgium

BRUSSELS, Belgium, SEPT. 11, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Organizers say more than 4,000 people took part in a pro-family march in Brussels that protested legislation that would allow homosexual couples to adopt children.

"The Family Is Truly Important!" was the theme of Saturday's rally in the city's Parc du Cinquantenaire, organized by the Institute of Family Policies. The demonstrators represented 10 international pro-family federations and 600 not-for-profit organizations.

Preceding the event, some 20,000 signatures were obtained in support of the idea of marriage being only between a man and a woman, and the right of children to have a father and a mother.

Organizers clarified that the rally was not a rejection of homosexuals, but rather a rejection of same-sex unions being given the same status as a traditional marriage.

The Belgian episcopal conference supported the march with a statement calling the event "a peaceful gesture in favor of the family."

As a show of support for the march, Spanish families protested in front of the Belgian embassies and consulates in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Malaga, Mallorca and Tenerife.