Pictured: Priest replaces Joseph for same-sex nativity scene
from The Daily Telegraph:
Parish priest defends having two mothers of baby Jesus as reflective of modern families.
A church nativity scene featuring two mothers of the Baby Jesus instead of the conventional Mary and Joseph has sparked anger in Italy.
Nativity scenes are popular in the largely Catholic country, but in recent years they have been increasingly mired in culture wars as its society becomes more secular and multi-cultural.
The priest at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, in Capocastello di Mercogliano, a hamlet in the province of Avellino about one hour’s drive east of Naples, has defended its depiction of the birth of Jesus.
“I wanted to show with this scene that families are no longer just the traditional ones,” said Father Vitaliano Della Sala.
“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.”
Father Della Sala, known in Italy for sympathising with LGBT and left-wing causes, says his attitude is in line with that of Pope Francis, who this week allowed priests to bless same-sex couples in a landmark ruling.
But Senator Maurizio Gasparri, of the co-ruling Forza Italia party, said the LGBT creche “offends all those who always had respect and devotion for the Holy Family”.
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