.gif)
An Italian priest who blessed the marriage of a 64-year-old transsexual to her 58-year-old male partner has been suspended, the Archbishop of Florence said in a statement on Monday.
Father Alessandro Santoro, a priest based in Piagge, an industrial suburb of Florence, married Sandra Alvino -- who underwent a sex change more than 30 years ago -- and Fortunato Talotta in a religious ceremony on Sunday.
Florence archbishop Giuseppe Betori said he had invited Santoro to take time off for "reflection and prayer" after he ignored protests from the Catholic Church not to go ahead with the union.
Betori described the couple's wedding as "devoid of value because of the absence of the necessary components of a religious marriage."
"The act is particularly serious because it is misleading for the two people concerned," he added.
Betori claimed the ceremony had sparked "confusion" amongst Christians and the general public.
"They could think the essential conditions for a religious marriage have changed," he said.
Santoro defended his decision on Sunday, saying it was "not an act of rebellion," but rather "an act of loyalty to my congregation, to the church and to the people that I love. It was my duty."
Cardinal Renato Martino, a senior Vatican official, had strongly criticised the decision to wed the couple.
"I do not understand how something like that can be done. It's against nature and it does not bring anything to the church," which does not recognise same-sex partnerships.
"Biology, that God made man and woman, cannot be changed by trickery," he said.
