Tens of thousands
of people plan to rally Saturday in Rome to
protest a bill that would give legal recognition to
unmarried couples, including same-sex ones, 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 the largely Roman Catholic country
between a desire to hold on to church-sanctioned
traditions and a push toward further secularization.
Organizers of
Saturday's ''Family Day'' demonstration 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 event. ''Family has to do with culture and
civilization.''
Organizers said
they are hoping for a turnout of 100,000, but recent
Italian reports said the number of people attending the
rally at the massive St. John Lateran piazza could be
several times that.
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 same-sex
marriage--as was done in Spain and other
European countries. Rather, it would entitle unmarried
couples who live together to rights such as hospital
visitation rights and inheritance rights.
Critics,
including the demonstration organizers, 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
doesn't create an alternative family model and say
that recognizing the basic rights of people who live outside
marriage would make Italy a more civilized country.
As the bill
awaits to be taken up by parliament, its fate is anything
but certain. Prodi has left lawmakers in his divided
coalition free to vote according to conscience.
The bill has
irked the Vatican, which under Benedict XVI has been
conducting a fierce campaign to protect traditional
families.
''Family deserves
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
currently on a visit to Brazil. His message has been taken
to heart by the Italian bishops' conference, which in
a country where over 90% of people are at least
nominally Roman Catholic still holds a degree of
influence. The bishops expressed their support for
Saturday's rally in a statement at the end of their
most recent assembly in March.
Tensions were
heightened last month when graffiti threatening the head of
the Italian bishops, Genoa archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, 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.
The Italian
Catholic Church has been active on the domestic political
front in recent years, weighing in on issues ranging from
the right to die to assisted procreation and
bioethics.
Late last year,
church officials denied a religious funeral for a
paralyzed man who had a doctor disconnect his respirator.
The church decision angered relatives and right-to-die
activists.
In April 2005 the
Vatican spearheaded a successful campaign asking
Italians to boycott a referendum on easing assisted
fertility restrictions. That battle was reminiscent of
church campaigns urging Italians to vote against laws
permitting divorce and abortion--but those
efforts failed in referendums in 1974 and 1981 respectively.
Demonstration
organizers say the rally should not be colored with
political overtones or be seen as an antigovernment protest.
But the event has
already proven embarrassing for Prodi's coalition, with
at least one minister saying he would take part. Separately,
other center-left leaders said they would attend a
counterdemonstration planned also Saturday in Rome's
Piazza Navona, expected to be much smaller.
(Alessandra Rizzo, AP)
