CIENCIASMEDICASNEWS: Italy in heated debate about “civil unions”

lunes, 25 de enero de 2016

Italy in heated debate about “civil unions”

Italy in heated debate about “civil unions”

Conjugality deals with the true nature of marriage and the challenges it faces today. Our current focus is on the campaign to legalise same-sex marriage. We'd love to get your comments and suggestions. Send an email to conjugality@mercatornet.com

MONDAY, 25 JANUARY 2016

Italy in heated debate about “civil unions”

BY CHIARA BERTOGLIO

- See more at: http://www.mercatornet.com/conjugality/view/italy-in-heated-debate-about-civil-unions/17502#sthash.T27MXmsM.dpuf

A heated debate is taking place in Italy over the recognition of same-sex partnerships. Parliament will begin a debate on Thursday (January 28). A bill has been proposed by Senator Monica Cirinnà to regulate “civil unions” and – as expected – it is dividing both public opinion and the Parliament.

Italy has currently no form of recognition of either same-sex or opposite-sex relationships outside heterosexual marriage. Over the past ten years, similar proposals have been quickly abandoned, not least because of Italy’s political instability.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has repeatedly manifested his support and his Democratic Party (PD) has drafted a proposal which is presently under debate. “We are the only European country without a norm on civil unions, and we want to fill the gap,” Mr Renzi said last week. “I only hope that the debate, in the next days, will stay serious and focused on the merits, without becoming an ideological clash.”

Among the most controversial points are those concerning parenting, and in particular stepchild adoption (which is currently impossible in Italy) and surrogate motherhood.

There are strong feelings on both sides. Catholic politicians express their dissent with various degrees of vehemence, ranging from those who would like surrogacy to be defined as a “universal crime” to those who propose a kind of softer version of the stepchild adoption.

As is often the case in Italy, the most used legislative weapon is proposing amendments. The conservative “Lega Nord” party has queried 5,000 issues in the Cirinnà bill and other parties, though less generously, have contributed their share.

The Prime Minister’s position is very delicate, since his government depends on an alliance with the main conservative party. Both have granted a free vote (or conscience vote) to their members. Renzi explained his opinion recently: “I believe this to be a very delicate topic. We must have a guiding principle, a pole star, ie., the best interests of the child. What matters in the end is not an individual right, but the child’s right to grow up in the environment best suited for him or her. On this subject there is debate. The Parliament will have to vote with freedom of conscience, but I would like clashes to be avoided”.

Not much hope of that.

Last Saturday there were demonstrations in many Italian towns in favour of the law under the slogan “svegliati Italia” (“Italy, wake up!”). Next Saturday, supporters of the traditional family will have their own demonstration when they gather in Rome for a “Family Day”. Their hope is to equal, or even surpass, the success of a similar event in 2007 which stopped another civil unions bill. At last year’s Family Day a million people filled Piazza San Giovanni in Rome in support of heterosexual marriage.

Opponents question the admissibility of “civil unions” under the Italian Constitution. The Union of the Catholic Jurists claims that “the rights of those underage have not been adequately considered. [Children] risk being considered as objects rather than subjects, and their rights prejudiced by so-called stepchild adoption”.

On the other hand, the goal of “#svegliatitalia” is clearly more ambitious than that admitted by most pundits: “We believe that every [kind of] love must have the same rights and the same duties. Therefore we will continue to fight until we will reach full equality”.

Whether the Cirinnà law will sink in a morass of amendments or whether it will be passed after some modification is something that only time will tell. The only certainty is that Italian voters are far from indifferent, in spite of the many thorny issues which face Italian society and politics (some of which, it could be argued, were probably more urgent and needed than this bill).

Dr Chiara Bertoglio is a musician, a musicologist and a theologian writing from Italy. She is particularly interested in the relationships between music and the Christian faith, and has written several books on this subject. Her website is http://www.chiarabertoglio.com/.

- See more at: http://www.mercatornet.com/conjugality/view/italy-in-heated-debate-about-civil-unions/17502#sthash.T27MXmsM.dpuf

Sorry, but there won't be a newsletter tomorrow, as we are celebrating Australia Day Down Under. Normally that means barbecues, backyard cricket and beaches, but all that looks unlikely in Sydney as it is raining heavily at the moment.

Why January 26 -- a date we share with India's Republic Day? It is the day in 1788 when Governor Arthur Phillips, commander of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships, arrived at Sydney Cove and raised the Union Jack over Great Britain's new colony.

It is an increasingly popular holiday, even though there are lively debates every year about the meaning of the celebration. There is also a shadow over it. The indigenous people who watched the First Fleet sail in were probably alarmed. They had a right to be. It wasn't long before disease and conflict had reduced their numbers and shattered their culture. As early as 1938 representatives began protesting Australia Day and declaring it "a day of mourning and protest".

So there is a serious side to tomorrow. But basically it is a good excuse to chill out. We will be taking advantage of it.