MEXICO CITY – Lovebirds unwilling to commit 'til death do they part will be able to sign short-term marriage contracts under a proposal being considered by Mexico City lawmakers.
Couples will be able to choose the term of their marriage, with a minimum length of two years, and renew the contract if they stay happy, according to a reform put forward by the liberal Democratic Revolution Party (PRD).
The PRD, which holds the majority in the city government, says the initiative makes sense in a city where divorce rates are soaring.
"We want to generate affectionate and harmonious relationships between spouses and, in the case that they don't want to stay together, enable them to separate without cumbersome proceedings that only harm families," the PRD's Lizbeth Rojas, who proposed the reform, said.
But Mexico's Roman Catholic Church has labeled the proposal "absurd."
"It contradicts the nature of marriage," Father Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Mexico City Archdiocese, said. It is an "irresponsible and immoral" move by legislators who are "destroying the family and values" to appear fashionable, he added.
Lawmakers will vote on the new contracts -- which will include provisions for child custody and the separation of property -- by the end of the year.
Mexico City is a liberal center in largely conservative Mexico. The city legalized gay marriage in 2010 and has the region's most lenient abortion laws.
Fox News' "Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world.