By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent

BUENOS AIRES, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Argentina’s number one Catholic prelate, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, is calling upon the priests of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to bring their flocks to an upcoming protest against homosexual “marriage,” which is currently under consideration by the nation’s senate.

“Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God,” writes Bergoglio in a letter sent to the monasteries of Buenos Aires, where he is archbishop. “We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

To the clergy of the parishes, Bergoglio requests that all of them read from the pulpits a declaration defending the true definition and understanding of marriage.

“The Argentinean people will have to confront, in the coming weeks, a situation whose result could gravely injure the family. We are speaking of a bill regarding marriage between people of the same sex,” a bill that calls into question “the identity, and the survival of the family: father, mother, and children.” The latter, warns Bergoglio, might also be threatened by homosexual adoption, which would be a true form of discrimination.

The country now needs “the special assistance of the Holy Spirit, to place the light of truth in the middle of the darkness of error, to defend us against the enchantment of so many sophistries with which they seek to justify this bill,” he writes.

In addition to the initiative currently underway in the national Congress, homosexual activists, in league with liberal judges, have registered eight “marriages” in Argentina in recent months, although their actions are under review by higher courts. The national civil code, in agreement with dictionaries around the world, understands “marriage” to be a union between a man and a woman.