In a referendum last Sunday in Cuba, voters approved same-sex marriage and adoption in overwhelming numbers. Although the Catholic Church has been suppressed in the communist country, Catholicism is still the majority religion and continues to exert significant influence.

In all, just under 67 per cent voted in favour on a turnout of nearly 75 per cent. The 100-page ‘family code’ legalises same-sex marriage and unions, allows same-sex couples to adopt children, and promotes equal sharing of domestic rights and responsibilities between men and women.