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Pope applauds rally against rights for unmarried couples
By The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 05/25/2007 02:47:44 AM MDT
Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday praised a recent demonstration in Rome against proposed legislation granting legal rights to unmarried couples, including gay ones, saying the rally showed that the traditional family is at the core of Italian society.
Benedict called the May 12 Family Day rally, organized by Catholic groups and family associations, a "great and extraordinary popular festival."
Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to protest a bill that would grant legal rights, including hospital visits and inheritance rights, to unmarried couples. The bill does not legalize gay marriage, as has been done in other European countries, such as Spain.
The bill has angered the Vatican, which under Benedict has been conducting a fierce campaign to protect the traditional family based on marriage between a man and a woman.
In a speech to Italian bishops, Benedict said he respected the distinction between the church and politics. But he added that the church cannot ignore "what is good for man ... what is good for the common good of Italy."
He said the Family Day rally "confirmed that the family itself is profoundly rooted in the heart and life of Italians."
Benedict's speech came as the government opened a conference on the family in Florence to help it create family policies that are, according to organizers, "more European and more modern."
The number of official marriages in Italy has declined steadily since the early 1970s, with an increasing number of de facto unions taking their place.
Link for this bullshit.
By The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 05/25/2007 02:47:44 AM MDT
Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday praised a recent demonstration in Rome against proposed legislation granting legal rights to unmarried couples, including gay ones, saying the rally showed that the traditional family is at the core of Italian society.
Benedict called the May 12 Family Day rally, organized by Catholic groups and family associations, a "great and extraordinary popular festival."
Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to protest a bill that would grant legal rights, including hospital visits and inheritance rights, to unmarried couples. The bill does not legalize gay marriage, as has been done in other European countries, such as Spain.
The bill has angered the Vatican, which under Benedict has been conducting a fierce campaign to protect the traditional family based on marriage between a man and a woman.
In a speech to Italian bishops, Benedict said he respected the distinction between the church and politics. But he added that the church cannot ignore "what is good for man ... what is good for the common good of Italy."
He said the Family Day rally "confirmed that the family itself is profoundly rooted in the heart and life of Italians."
Benedict's speech came as the government opened a conference on the family in Florence to help it create family policies that are, according to organizers, "more European and more modern."
The number of official marriages in Italy has declined steadily since the early 1970s, with an increasing number of de facto unions taking their place.
Link for this bullshit.
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