Archbishop Mennini serves as the “Apostolic Nuncio” to Great Britain, which means he serves as Vatican’s representative and ambassador in that country.

According to a report by the Telegraph, the archbishop shared the idea while speaking to Catholic bishops from England and Wales. He proposed enlisting help from other Christians, as well Muslims, Jews and others with similar mindsets, to join together in opposition to the proposed legalization of gay marriage.

“It seems to me that, concerning the institution of marriage, and indeed the sanctity of human life, we have much in common with the position of the Jewish community, the Chief Rabbi and many of the more significant representatives of Islam,” Archbishop Mennini said during the address, according to the Telegraph.

Visit the Telegraph to read more about Archbishop Mennini’s comments.

A similar stance was taken by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said he did not wish to allow homosexual couples to marry within the Church of England, Pink News reports.

Williams, however, did clarify that the church has no problem with gay clergy and civil partnerships.

While several religious leaders have called for opposition to gay marriage, a coalition of members from other faiths have united in support of the issue in Scotland.

Quakers, Buddhists and members of the Pagan Federation issued a letteroutlining their support for religious leaders’ rights to deny performing gay marriage ceremonies, while at the same time urging officials to respect the rights of those religions that wish to carry out such unions.

“We are concerned that this debate is being framed by some as ‘LGBT people vs religion’, when in reality there are many LGBT people of faith and there is a great divergence of opinion on same-sex marriage amongst — and within — religious bodies,” the coalition’s letter states.

In addition, the fight to stop gay marriage has also extended into the school system.

Earlier this month the Catholic Education Service found itself in hot water after it was discovered the organization urged hundreds of Catholic schools to sign a petition opposing gay marriage, the Guardian reported.

“While faith schools, rightly, have the freedom to teach about sexual relations and marriage in the context of their own religion, that should not extend to political campaigning,” a representative from the Department for Education told the paper.

Originally posted at the Huffington Post Religion.