It said: "Long in the vanguard of gay rights, the Netherlands enacted a bill converting the country's registered same-sex partnerships into full fledged marriages, complete with divorce guidelines and wider adoption rights." The vote of 107 to 33 was not even close.

A vocal political opponent fears for the future of the country. He talked of "a world without foundations, where the historical understanding of marriage is torn from its roots."

Across the Channel in Britain the news emerges that the breakup of families costs the taxpayer 30 billion British pounds a year. Britain has the highest divorce rate in Europe, with twice as many marriage breakups in 1998 as in 1971.

Meanwhile, in the United States, groups advocating the rights of homosexuals held rallies in 21 states against the Boy Scouts of America's exclusion of avowed homosexuals as scout leaders.

If you would like to understand the divine basis for the marriage institution, please request our free booklet Making Life Work. (Sources: The Daily Telegraph [London], International Herald Tribune, The Washington Times.)