” “The Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien, archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and leader of the eight hundred thousand Scottish Catholics, protested against the new legislation passed by the government, which would allow gay couples to adopt children, even if a consultative referendum showed 89% of the Scottish population is against gay adoptions. The Adoption Act published in Scotland last week allows, for the very first time, unmarried couples, both gay and heterosexual, to adopt children. A similar legislation was enforced in England and Wales early this year. The cardinal called these gay adoptions “a depraved social experiment” and, speaking about the ignored referendum, he stated: “Such clear disregard of the results of a consultative process make me question the values and reasons for taking part in any consultation at all”. The Scottish catholic bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell also wrote to the Prime Minister, Jack McConnell, asking him to repeal the legislation, but the prime minister refused to do so, since he does not think that with the new legislation the government threatens any family values.” “
