Vatican City, March 31 (Reuters): A controversial new Vatican glossary of sexual terms says homosexuals are not normal and countries which allow gay marriages are inhabited by people with “profoundly disordered minds”.

Italy’s gay community immediately condemned the glossary of nearly 900 pages, which hit the bookstores today, as part of what they called a new anti-homosexual crusade.

The glossary, prepared by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family, covers themes such as sexuality, condoms, abortion, birth control and genetic manipulation. A section on “Homosexuality and Homophobia” says homosexuality stems from an “unresolved psychological conflict”.

It says that those who want to give homosexuals the same legal rights in society “deny a psychological problem which makes homosexuality against the social fabric”. The glossary says that heterosexuals in society have been made to feel guilty for even questioning homosexuality. “Every criticism, every reflection on homosexuality is seen almost as blasphemy, compared to a crime: the crime of homophobia,” it said.

Although the Vatican’s stand against homosexuality and gay marriages was not new, observers found the tone more severe.