The CES has denied breaking any laws, saying Catholic views on marriage are religious, not political.

BBC: Education Minister Michael Gove

Last year he infuriated Trent Lott, the Republicans' leader in the Senate, by siding with Senator Ted Kennedy, a Roman Catholic with liberal political views and an alcohol-fuelled history of personal misadventure, in a bill to use tobacco taxes to expand health insurance for children.

ECONOMIST: Orrin Hatch��s harmonies

But for someone who has been thrown out of the Catholic Church for his unorthodox views, Balasuriya, 72, displays little anger toward the Vatican.

CNN: Symbolizing Differences