Gay marriage referendum in 2015

Voters will face a referendum on introducing gay marriage in 2015.

The referendum on the major social reform will come five years after same-sex couples were given the right to civil partnership.

It also comes as details emerge of the unprecedented Vatican worldwide consultation on the new realities of family life including gay marriage and divorce as part of Pope Francis’s efforts to reform the Catholic Church.

The questionnaire has been sent to bishops around the world asking them for detailed information about the “many new situations requiring the Church’s attention and pastoral care”.

The 39 questions are unusual because of their non-judgmental, practical nature.