Pope Benedict XVI has said gay people are not fully developed humans as they do not obey Catholic law.

The head of the Catholic Church made these claims while speaking to bishops about the French President Francois Hollande’s plans to legalize marriage equality.

During his speech at Castel Gandolfo, he reportedly said: ‘The family is threatened in many places by a defection of human nature.’

The German religious leader added: ‘Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself.’

The Pope says the Catholic values of marriage and the family must be obeyed, because they ‘permit the full development of the human person’.

In France, Catholics have ramped up their campaign against marriage equality including reviving a centuries-old ‘Prayer For France’ day to specifically attack government plans.

Christian pop star Lady Gaga said gay people should not pay attention to what the Pope thinks of gay people.

She said: ‘What the Pope thinks of being gay does not matter. It doesn’t matter to the world. It matters to the people who like the Pope and follow the Pope.

‘It’s not a reflection of all Christians. It is not a reflection of all religious people. It’s a point of view of one person.’

‘And to all the gay people here,’ she added. ‘May you live and love each other until the end of time.

‘I hope you will have the human right to breed as an entirely equal, valuable and special member of society.’

In January, the Pope received criticism for saying gay marriages ‘threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself.’