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GayPASG Declaration: Religion does not trump basic civil and human rights!
Pope Praises Traditional Family
By AP from the NYTimes on the Web, May 24, 2007
Benedict called the May 12 Family Day rally, organized by Catholic groups and family associations, a ''great and extraordinary popular festival.''
Hundreds of thousands of people
turned out for the demonstration to protest
a bill that would grant legal
rights to unmarried couples, including hospital visits and inheritance rights.
The bill does not legalize gay marriage, as was done in other
European countries, such as The bill has angered the Vatican, which under Benedict has been conducting a fierce campaign to protect traditional family based on marriage between man and woman.
In a speech to Italian bishops,
Benedict said he respected the distinction between the church and politics.
But he added that the church cannot ignore ''what is good for man ... what is
good for the common good of He said the Family Day rally ''confirmed that the family itself is profoundly rooted in the heart and life of Italians.''
Benedict's speech came as the
government opened a conference on the family
in In a keynote speech, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano urged lawmakers to listen to the church and not create an artificial confrontation between Catholics and laity. But he said that de facto unions were ''a reality'' that had to be taken into account.
The number of official marriages
celebrated in
(Emphasis Added) |
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