By Gudrun Schultz
ROME, Italy, December 11, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vatican spoke out against the Italian government on Saturday for promoting legislation that would give legal recognition to homosexual and unmarried heterosexual couples, saying the left-leaning ruling coalition was beginning a “senseless battle” to “eradicate” the traditional family, Reuters reported.
An editorial in the Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano carried the headline, “Christmas 2006: To eradicate the family is the priority of Italian politics.”
A bill giving some legal recognition to homosexual couples will likely be introduced by the end of January, after the Senate put forward a motion Dec.7 asking for a measure that would address the issue. Prime Minister Romano Prodi supported the Senate motion as a “step forward.”
L’Osservatore Romano condemned politicians for hypocrisy in assuring the public they would protect the traditional family unit while at the same time planning to recognize unmarried and homosexual couples.
“Even this is—and we don’t know how unknowingly—a lie,” the editorial stated.
Although Prime Minister Prodi ran his April election campaign on a platform that included legal recognition for civil unions, the issue is divisive even within his own cabinet, Reuters reported. Justice Minister Clemente Mastella said last week he would vote against the ruling coalition if legislation were introduced that threatened the traditional family.
Seventy percent of Italians would not support homosexual “marriage,” an Ipso Ltd. poll found in 2005. Just over one quarter of the population responded favorably to the poll’s question.
See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:
New Italian Government in Clash With Vatican over Homosexual Civil Unions
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06052409.html
70% of Italians Oppose Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Says Latest Poll
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05101201.html