Gay rights organisations in the Netherlands have published a marriage manual in response to a Vatican campaign against same sex unions

The guide offers advice on campaigning for same sex-marriages and explains how the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise such unions. In July, the Vatican called on Catholics and non-Catholics around the world to oppose the legalisation of marriages between same sex couples. The Catholic Church in the Netherlands has refused to comment on the booklet until after a Bishops' conference next week. But Cathleen Ferrier, an MP in the senior coalition Christian Democrats, says it is clear how the church must respond. "As Bishops, they should do what they have to do: be considerate, we are a Christian Democrat party but it does not mean we take over their point of vision," she said. "We have have our own responsibility. We are independent representatives of the people of this country in which there is a law which makes it possible for people of the same sex to get married."