Italy's
top bishop compared a bill that would allow rights for
same-sex couples to one that would allow pedophilia
and incest. Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco is leading the
fight against the bill, which he says would weaken the
institution of marriage, according to the Herald Sun
of Australia.
"Why say
no to forms of legally recognized cohabitation which create
alternatives to the family? Why say no to incest?" he
was quoted as saying by La Repubblica, an
Italian daily newspaper.
Italian
government official and gay rights activist Alfnso Pecoraro
Sciano said the archbishop's words made a
"grave, foolish comparison which offends
millions of people," according to the article. Prime
Minister Romano Prodi, whose center-left party includes a
significant number of Catholics, said the bill does
not threaten heterosexual marriage. (The
Advocate)