Panic for Pandoro at Christmas. An hour outside Naples, Italy, the priest of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Vitaliano Della Sala, caused outrage among conservative Catholic believers by replacing figurines of Mary and Joseph with two women in the Christmas nativity scene.
Breaking traditional family models
Asked by ReutersFather Della Sala explained that he wanted “demonstrate with this scene that today family models are no longer just traditional “. A choice that reflects Italian society, he told the news agency: “In our parishes we see more and more children coming from these new models that are part of our society. Children of separated and divorced parents, homosexual couples, singles, young mothers”.
On the right, the controversy grew rapidly. Maurizio Gasparri, senator of Forza Italia, in power together with the far right, was outraged by this nursery which, according to him, “offends all those who have always had respect and devotion for the Holy Family”. The Pro-Life & Family group defined it “dangerous, shameful and blasphemous”. They even went so far as to launch an online petition to ask the Bishop of Avellino to intervene against this nativity scene which “contradicts the Church’s teachings on the family and legitimizes homosexual parenthood and surrogate motherhood”. The petition surpassed the 20,000 signature mark on Saturday.
Father Della Sala is known in Italy for his progressive positions and his support for LGBT rights. Faced with the controversy, he recalled that his attitude was consistent with that of Pope Francis, who that same week, with a historic decision, authorized priests to bless same-sex couples.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
