Catholic Archbishop OK's Baptism of Lesbian Couple's Child

The child of a lesbian couple was baptized in a Catholic Church in Argentina last weekend, a high-profile event in the deeply Catholic country that is the native land of Pope Francis.

Carina Villarroel and Soledad Ortiz asked Archbishop Carlos Jose Nanez for the baptismal blessing, reports Telam, the Argentine national news agency. The Catholic prelate reportedly said that the parents' marital status played no part in his decision.

A priest performed the baptism at the cathedral in Cordoba.

The Code of Canon Law, the rules governing the Catholic Church, makes no mention of the parents' marital status when seeking baptism for a child. Rather, one or both parents must consent and "there must be a founded hope that the infant will be brought up in the Catholic religion."

Ortiz, one of the child's mothers, told reporters that "now we hope to get married by the church and we will fight for that."

Same-sex marriage became legal in Argentina in 2010, making Pope Francis the first pontiff from a country with marriage equality. The Catholic Church recognizes marriages only between one man and one woman.

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