Conservative Italians are upset about a nativity scene in the province of Avellino. The fact that the baby Jesus has two mothers is met with incomprehension in the Catholic country.
The priest of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Capocastello di Mercogliano, a hamlet in the province of Avellino about an hour’s drive east of Naples, defended the depiction of the birth of Jesus. “I wanted to show with this scene that families are no longer just traditional families,” priest Vitaliano Della Sala told Reuters. “In our parishes we see more and more children from the new types of families that exist and are part of our society, children of separated and divorced people, gay couples, single people, young mothers.”
Della Sala, who is known in Italy for his sympathy for the LGBTQIA community, says his stance is in line with that of Pope Francis, who this week allowed priests to bless same-sex couples.
However, Italian senator Maurizio Gasparri of the right-wing ruling party Forza Italia said the nativity scene was “offensive to everyone who has always had respect and devotion for the Holy Family.” The group Pro-Vita & Famiglia (For Life and Family) also called the scene “dangerous, but also shameful and blasphemous”. The group has therefore already launched an online petition calling on the Bishop of Avellino to intervene. According to them, the nativity scene conflicts with the church’s teaching on the family. The petition has received more than 21,000 signatures so far.
Having children through surrogacy is illegal in Italy, and the Italian parliament is discussing a government-backed law that would also criminalize couples who go abroad for surrogacy.
This week, a senator from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party proposed another bill that would prevent school principals from shutting down Catholic-themed activities such as Christmas plays or the making of nativity scenes.