Zenit: On Monday, the Maltese government legalized same-sex unions as well as adoption by homosexual couples.
The unanimous vote is seen as a major cultural shift in social policy in a country where Catholicism is the state religion and 98% of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholic.
While slightly less than half the population supports the Civil Unions bill, only an estimated 20% support same-sex couples adopting children. The bill was pushed through by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of the Labour Party. Members of the opposition Nationalist Party abstained from the vote, saying that while it supports civil unions, it did not support adoptions by homosexual couples. More here.
