The Vatican has expressed concern
that an anti-homophobia bill being examined in parliament could
breach the 1929 Lateran Treaty that regulates relations between
the Italian State and the Holy See/Catholic Church if it becomes
law, sources said on Tuesday.
The concerns about the so-called Zan bill were raised in an
informal communique to the Italian embassy to Holy See from
Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for
Relations with States, the sources said.
The Zan bill features measures to prevent and combat
discrimination and violence based on motives linked to a
person's sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.
It would make such acts an aggravating factor in felonies, like
racism already is.
The Holy See's communique reportedly said the bill could affect
the religious freedom that the Lateran Treaty guarantees the
Catholic church.
Several of Italy's centre-right parties oppose the Zan bill and
an alternative homophobia bill has been presented by Silvio
Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) and Matteo Salvini's League.
The League has been especially active in trying to block the Zan
bill, describing it as "divisive and ideological" and arguing it
could hamper freedom of expression.
The Zan bill's backers say this is not true, arguing the text
has safeguards to ensure that, for example, Catholic politicians
can still publicly say they think homosexuality is sinful.
When asked about the Vatican's intervention on Tuesday, Cardinal
Kevin Joseph Farrell, the prefect of the Dicastery for the
Laity, Family and Life, said "there is certainly the concern of
the Vatican and of each one of us."
Enrico Letta, the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party
(PD) that backs that bill, said he was open to making
amendments.
"We support that Zan bill and, naturally, we are willing to have
dialogue," Letta told RAI radio.
"We are ready to look at the legal issues of contention, but we
support the framework of the law, which is a civilized law".
Letta added that he wanted to read the communique before
commenting further.
Vatican sources, meanwhile, said the Holy See did not want to
halt the Zan bill completely but see it "reshaped so that the
Church can continue to perform its pastoral, educational and
social activities freely".
Premier Mario Draghi said he would answer questions about the
issue in parliament on Wednesday.
"It is an important question," he said.
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