Pope John Paul II has condemned attacks on marriage and the family as efforts to undermine the fabric of society.
The pontiff told a meeting of Italian pro-family groups Saturday that attacks on the family are becoming stronger and more radical every day.
Without directly mentioning efforts to legalize same-sex marriage, the pope condemned what he called initiatives that confuse individual rights with those particular to the nuclear family built on the bond of marriage.
He also again condemned abortion and efforts to equate the status of unmarried people who live together with that of married couples.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that marriage between a man and a woman is sacred and it rejects homosexuality.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.