The Roman Catholic Church in Britain will attempt to rally its members against the Conservative-led government’s plans to legalize homosexual “marriage” by reading a letter to all Catholics attending Mass in England and Wales, next Sunday, March 11.

“It would be only the second time in recent history that a joint pastoral letter on behalf of all Catholic bishops in England and Wales has been issued on an issue of political importance,” writes the Telegraph.

A note sent out with the letter asks priests to encourage their congregants to sign a petition by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Carey.

The most senior Catholic leader in England and Wales, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, spoke out very strongly on the issue. “I think if the United Kingdom does go for and supports same-sex marriage it is indeed shaming our country,” he said in an interview on bbc Radio 4 on March 5.

Creating homosexual “marriage” represents “a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right,” he wrote in an earlier article in the Telegraph.

The Church of England has also spoken out against the issue, with the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the two most senior officials, criticizing the government’s proposals.

But once again, the Catholic Church is taking the lead. It is the one making front-page headlines. The Church of England is too divided over homosexuality to put up as strong of a fight. Lord Carey may be putting together the petition, but he is the ex-archbishop, and consistently shouted down by his own church.

A few weeks ago, the Trumpet wrote about when the British government wants more Christianity in the nation, it turns to Rome. This issue shows that when the government wants to take Britain in an un-Christian direction, Rome takes the lead in opposing it. The Church of Rome, not the Church of England, is consistently the main and loudest voice in Britain’s Christianity today.

Although many organizations and individuals oppose Britain’s rapid descent into lawless immorality, the Vatican is working to create a false choice that excludes other religions and viewpoints: Either rank immorality—or the Catholic Church. Watch for Rome to use this influence on values along with its political might to leverage itself into a leading role in Europe’s future.