Cuba's Catholic Church has called on the public to reject a plan to legalise gay marriage in the country's proposed new constitution, describing it as "ideological colonialism" imposed by rich countries.

Santiago de Cuba archbishop Dionisio Garcia called on Cubans not to "ignore what nature has given us" for fear of "regrettable consequences." In an online message, the Episcopal Conference called on Cubans to look for "other legal ways" to protect homosexual unions.