VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is digging in after gay marriage initiatives scored big wins this week in U.S. and Europe, vowing to never stop insisting that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Catholic teaching holds that homosexuals should be respected and treated with dignity but that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” The Vatican also opposes same-sex marriage, insisting on the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman as the foundation for society.