The achievement of marriage equality in Portugal was seen as a stinging rebuff to Pope Benedict XVI, who on a visit to Portugal days before the President signed the bill into law, bitterly denounced same-sex marriage.

Sponsor Message.

Conclusion

The glbtq people of Portugal have made significant progress in recent years. They have a greater political voice and a much stronger public presence than ever before.

Lisbon's Pride and Film festivals have grown year by year, and since 2001 the cities of Porto and Leiria have also held well-attended Pride events.

The acceptance of homosexuality has grown in part because of the lessening influence of the Roman Catholic Church in national affairs and because of the Portuguese people's desire to modernize their society.

In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the Inquisitions of Aragon and Portugal prosecuted almost 1500 trials for sodomy of various kinds.

Historically, the Roman Catholic Church may be the institution most responsible for the suffering of individuals involved in same-sex sexual relationships.

Situational homosexuality is same-sex sexual activity that occurs not as part of a gay life style, but because the participants happen to find themselves in a single-sex environment for a prolonged period.

The European Commission on Human Rights was the first international human rights organization to condemn homophobia; the European Court of Human Rights, which replaced the Commission, has also helped enforce glbtq rights.

Although his sexuality cannot be documented, the Portugese poet Fernando Pessoa wrote homoerotic verse, much of it in English.