Catholic bishops in New Zealand are lobbying the government over the "gay marriage threat", determined that proposed civil union legislation should not go through Parliament. "It is one thing for the State to regulate same-sex relationships and de facto relationships if there is evidence of some overriding need pertaining to the common good. It is quite another thing to institutionalise these relationships and make them part of the legal framework of society," says a statement released this week. "Fair treatment for homosexual persons in same sex relationships and de facto relationships can be comprehensively provided for in law without the need to give those relationships the same kind of formal recognition and social approval as marriage."