Vatican comments upset Irish gays

Irish gay rights campaigners are describing the document published by the Vatican today as an incitement to hatred.

The Catholic Church is telling its followers to oppose gay marriages, and is calling on politicians and others to make a stand.

It also criticises the adoption of children by homosexual couples as "gravely immoral".

The managing director of Ireland's Gay Community News magazine Marie Mulholland said this evening: "It's a desperate reaction to progress that's been made towards true equality."