|TOP|One of Scotland’s most senior Roman Catholics has hit out against supporters of legislation that will allow homosexual couples to adopt.

The Rt. Rev. Joseph Devine, Bishop of Motherwell, described supporters of the legislation as “politically correct zealots” in a letter to Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell, reports the Scottish Herald.

While Bishop Devine accepted that he would be regarded as a bigot for holding such views, he defended his comments, saying he was “not prepared to stand by and watch the destruction of Christian values and truth.”

The Bishop of Motherwell stressed in the letter that the traditional heterosexual family unit remained the best environment for children in terms of the emotional and psychological well-being of a child.

|QUOTE|Describing the proposed law as “yet another violation of family life”, Bishop Devine urged McConnell to drop the legislation or test the support for such a law across the country by putting it to referendum.

The Scottish Executive has in the last year been pursuing a strategy of reforms that will allow gay couples the same legal rights to adopt as married couples.

More controversially, the proposed law will also give the right to individual homosexuals to adopt.

Although the partners will have no legal say in the upbringing of the child by the adoptive parent, the proposed law will recognise gay couples, meaning that the partner will have legal rights over the child if the other dies or becomes ill.

The legislation to give gay couples the same rights to adopt as heterosexual married couples has gained the support of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), which is partly funded by the Scottish Executive.

|AD|Bishop Devine, however, voiced the concern that adoption panels are feeling pressured into accepting the proposed legislation to legalise gay couple adoption for fear of being accused of discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

“I am only too well aware, of course, that the conventional family unit is in decline and society is paying the price,” Bishop Devine told the first minister.

“But where the traditional family unit does exist, it should for the sake of the children be deemed a far more appropriate refuge for them than exposure to a homosexual or lesbian way of life.”

He continued: “No doubt for refusing to pander to the idea that homosexual and lesbian relationships are equal to heterosexual partnerships, particularly those blessed in the sight of God, I shall be termed a bigot by the politically correct hardcore in the Scottish Parliament."

Bishop Devine said the Catholic Church had "watched with mounting disquiet the forces of political correctness corrupt our moral, political and social order". He added: "Now their insidious influence threatens our innocent and vulnerable children.

"What started as a tolerance and compassion for gays has developed into the suppression of the majority heterosexual lifestyle. Traditional family values are in the dock and the judge and jury are composed of politically correct extremists."

The Catholic Church has already made the demand for its adoption agencies to be exempted from the proposed law that will allow gay couples the right to adopt.