Posted on 09/19/2005 6:12:57 AM PDT by ELS
ROME The two faces of Italy - one that is increasingly secular and the other that is still deeply influenced by the church - collided last week in a noisy electoral debate that left one thing clear: Italy, it can safely be said, will not legalize gay marriage any time soon.
The possibility was, in fact, never on the table. But Romano Prodi, the leader of the center-left in Italy, who is fighting to regain the job of prime minister, ruled it out anyway, after coming under attack by the Roman Catholic Church and conservative politicians when he said he would support certain rights for unmarried couples, including gay ones.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
I bristle at it also. I am sick of those perverts trying to shove that stuff down my throat. No Pun Intended!
Later pingout - either you or me, whoever gets to it first!
The way I look at it, Italy already survived the decline of the Roman empire. This is like deja vu.
ping
This is good news. Spain's rabidly left-wing government got away with it, even though it was fiercely opposed by the Church and the majority of Spaniards were not in favor of it. Prodi is not quite as rabid as Zapatero, it appears.
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO
Associated Press
ROME -- Giving legal recognition to unmarried couples in Italy would eclipse the nature and value of traditional families and cause grave harm, a cardinal said Monday.
Cardinal Camillo Ruini said he did not believe most unmarried couples, both heterosexual and gay, want legal recognition.
In a rare concession, however, Ruini suggested that common law norms might be applied to offer some protection in certain cases-- but not to homosexual couples.
The comments by Ruini, the president of the Italian Bishops' Conference and the pope's vicar for Rome, came amid a renewed debate over whether Italy should grant de facto couples some form of legal recognition.
Proposals to give legal recognition to de facto couples "are largely modeled on the institution of marriage, and envisage what might be called a 'small marriage:' something of which there is no real need and which would produce, on the contrary, an eclipsing of the nature and value of a family and a very grave harm to the Italian people," Ruini said in his speech before the Italian bishops' conference.
The debate in Italy was sparked last week when Romano Prodi, the center-left leader expected to challenge Premier Silvio Berlusconi in general elections next year, said he favored giving legal status to unmarried couples.
Prodi stopped short of proposing legalization of gay marriages, and said he was looking to a 1999 French law that gave unmarried couples, including homosexual couples, legal rights if they register their unions with the state.
Italy, where Vatican influence is strong, does not recognize unions of unmarried couples, including same-sex relationships. Gay and lesbian associations have been pushing for common law couples to have legal recognition in hopes that the move might pave the way for granting legal status to gay couples as well.
On Monday, Ruini said that de facto unions, while on the rise in Italy, "don't automatically imply any requests for legal recognition."
Ruini said that heterosexual couples are either looking to marry, or else "want to remain in a situation of anonymity, without any bonds." As far as gay couples go, Ruini said, "they are not always looking for legal recognition: on the contrary, many run away from it on principle, and want to remain an exclusively private matter."
The cardinal said common law norms might be applied to unmarried couples of different sex who require legal protection.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
Italy should not recognize "gay" marriage any time, EVER. "Soon" is not a good word to have in there.
Freepmail me and DirtyHarryY2K if you want on/off this pinglist.
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