Rally to Protest
Unmarried Couples Bill
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web. May 11, 2007
ROME -- Tens of thousands of
people plan to rally Saturday to protest a bill that would give legal rights to
unmarried couples, including gays and lesbians, fueling a debate that has split
Italy amid calls by Pope Benedict XVI to defend the traditional family.
The legislation, which awaits parliamentary approval, has underscored
long-standing tensions in this largely Roman Catholic country between a desire
to hold on to church-sanctioned traditions and a push toward greater
secularization.
Organizers of Saturday's ''Family Day'' include lay Catholic groups and family
associations. While the demonstration has been endorsed by Italian
bishops, neither the Vatican nor the Italian bishops' conference is formally
behind it.
''Family belongs to believers and nonbelievers alike,'' said Gaetano
Quagliariello, a center-right senator who helped organize the rally at Rome's
St. John Lateran piazza. ''Family has to do with culture and
civilization.''
The bill at the heart of the controversy was passed by Premier Romano Prodi's
center-left Cabinet in February, spurring tensions in a coalition that includes
both hard-line leftists and Christian Democrats.
The proposed legislation stops short of legalizing gay marriage -- as was done
in Spain and other European countries. Rather, it would entitle unmarried
couples who live together to hospital visiting rights, inheritance rights and
other legal protections.
''This bill is modest and it's just a partial solution,'' said Franco Grillini,
president of the main Italian gay rights group Arcigay. ''I think that the
problem is that the country is scared of diversity. We need to defend the
dignity of our unions, and we want the government to recognize them.''
He welcomed the rally, however, saying it was a ''triumph'' for gay rights.
''It will be a big protest against us, and that is the best advertisement we
could ever have.''
Critics say the bill would dismantle what they consider to be the centerpiece of
society: the traditional family based on marriage between a man and a woman.
Supporters argue the bill does not create an alternative family model and say
recognizing the basic rights of people who live outside marriage would make
Italy a more civilized country.
The bill's fate is anything but certain. Prodi has left lawmakers in his
divided coalition free to vote according to their consciences when parliament
finally takes it up.
The bill has irked the Vatican, which under Benedict has been conducting a
fierce campaign to protect traditional families.
''Family deserves a priority attention, as it is showing signs of collapse under
pressure from lobbies that are capable of negatively affecting the legislative
processes,'' the pope said recently. ''Only on the rock of marital love
between a man and a woman, solid and faithful, can we build a community worthy
of a human being.''
Benedict is visiting Brazil, where he assailed popular culture for promoting
sexual immorality and destroying the sanctity of marriage in an address to
hundreds of thousands of people Friday.
''It is necessary to oppose those elements of the media that ridicule the
sanctity of marriage and virginity before marriage,'' he said.
The number of official marriages celebrated annually in Italy has declined
steadily since the early 1970s, from 404,464 registered in 1972, to 264,026 in
2001 and just over 250,000 in 2005, according to the national statistics bureau,
Istat.
In their place are an ever increasing number of de-facto unions, which the
agency estimated at about 592,000 in 2005, or about 4.1 percent of all
heterosexual couples. The agency doesn't keep statistics on the number of
gay couples.
Tensions over the proposed legislation were heightened last month when graffiti
threatening the head of the Italian bishops, Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco of
Genoa, were scrawled on buildings in the northern city and a bullet was sent to
his office. Bagnasco has spoken out strongly against the proposed
legislation.
Organizers say the rally should not be colored with political overtones or be
seen as an anti-government protest. But it has already proven embarrassing
for Prodi's coalition, with at least one minister saying he would take part.
Center-left lawmakers have said they would attend a counter-demonstration in
Rome's Piazza Navona.
On the Net: Demonstration Web site is at
http://www.forumfamiglie.org
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