Gay marriage is 'morally defective', says archbishop The archbishop wrote: "While it is true, certainly within Catholic social teaching, that governments are not required to make all immoral actions illegal, to many it is unhelpful, unnecessary and indeed profoundly unwise for political action to do quite the opposite, namely to attempt through the law, by equating homosexual unions with heterosexual marriage, to render moral what is in itself morally defective." Tom French, for the charity, said: "In a free society, Archbishop Conti is entitled to express his views, however offensive they may be. Thankfully, most people in Scotland support same-sex marriage and disagree with the assertion that their gay friends and family members are 'morally defective'. In December 2011, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior Catholic, said there should be no law to "facilitate" same-sex relationships. He added: "The empirical evidence is clear, same-sex relationships are demonstrably harmful to the medical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of those involved. No compassionate society should ever enact legislation to facilitate or promote such relationships, we have failed those who struggle with same-sex attraction and wider society by our actions. The Scottish Government announced plans to legalise same-sex marriage in July following a consultation which attracted 80,000 responses. A final version is expected to be introduced to the Scottish Parliament this summer. The proposal has cross-party support at Holyrood.