Gay marriage would be 'disastrous', says Archbishop

The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is stepping up its campaign against the government's plan to legalise same-sex marriage.

In a letter being read in thousands of parish churches, the two most senior archbishops say the change would reduce the significance of marriage, and that Catholics have a duty to make sure it doesn't happen.

Archbishop Peter Smith told the BBC a married couple and their children "forms the basic building block of a healthy society".