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Thousands rally over gay law
12/05/2007 18:23 - (SA)
Rome - Tens of thousands of people gathered in Rome on Saturday for a rally to protest against a proposed law that would give greater rights to unmarried
couples, including gays and lesbians.
The draft legislation, which requires parliamentary approval, has divided Italy's ruling coalition, angered the Catholic Church and roused passionate debate in the country.
Waving banners and dancing to the sound of tambourines, Catholic faithful kicked off the "Family Day" rally outside Rome's St John in Lateran cathedral with a host of conservative politicians in attendance.
"From the rally comes a message today: to hold a dialogue to
respond to the needs of the family, which is one of the
principle priorities of the nation," said Public Education
minister Giuseppe Fioroni, who came to the rally with his son.
"Today's rally is a large participation of the people that
merits attention."
The rally's organisers, who handed out millions of flyers
ahead of the event and plastered the city with posters, say as
many as 250 000 people will attend.
Counter-demonstration
Just a few neighbourhoods away at Piazza Navona, hundreds of
gay rights supporters held a smaller counter-demonstration. A
third event on Saturday is a prayer vigil by gay Christians in
defence of the rights of gay families.
Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government has sponsored the
bill to give more rights to couples who are not married, or not
allowed to marry, on practical matters like welfare and
inheritance.
The Church has attacked it as an assault on family values
and considers it a 'Trojan Horse' that could ultimately usher in
civil marriage ceremonies for gays and lesbians.
Prodi urged Italians to recognise both the importance of
family and the secular state.
"We must not manipulate religion," he told Italian radio.
"In all modern countries, secularists and Catholics live
together."
The rally highlighted divisions within Prodi's centre-left
government, with various members of his Catholics-to-Communists
coalition backing the "Family Day" rally or the "Secular
Courage" counter-rally.
Some, like Family Affairs Minister Rosy Bindi said ministers
should stay at home as a "matter of sobriety and correctness",
but that did not stop fellow ministers like Justice Minister
Clemente Mastella from attending the family values rally.
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