Gay Marriage Votes Pending in Uruguay, Colombia

Conflict between supportive populations and Catholic leadership in Latin America

The legislatures of Uruguay and Colombia will both take up marriage equality bills in the coming weeks, posing the first tests on the issue since Pope Francis became the first pontiff from Latin America.

The marriage bill in Uruguay is widely expected to pass when the country's senate votes on April 2. The legislation is backed by the ruling party, and it was passed overwhelmingly by the house of deputies in December.

With approval in sight and a substantial percentage of Uruguayans in favor of the law, the rhetoric of the country's Catholic hierarchy is growing increasingly strident. They are even invoking the apocalyptic language that Pope Francis famously used when he fought Argentina's Equal Marriage Law in 2010 when he was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.