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The City Council condemns the vandalism against Arcigay Catania.
We welcome the Catania City Council's unanimous approval of the motion condemning the vandalism that struck our headquarters on the night of March 10-11.
Thanks go to Councilor Caserta, the initiator of the initiative, who allowed the Council to express a political and symbolic act of great significance.
«"It took three months to express a condemnation that should have arrived the next day," says Vera Navarria, president of Arcigay Catania. "However, we finally succeeded: we obtained a word of condemnation from our city, thanks also to the commitment of Councilor Caserta."»
The debate preceding the vote, however, highlighted the difficulty some councilors—particularly those from the Brothers of Italy group—had in acknowledging the specific and targeted nature of the attack. Attempts were made to water down the motion's content with generic statements such as "violence is always condemnable," which, behind a supposedly neutral stance, ultimately obscured the political and discriminatory dimension of the attack, which targeted the entire LGBTQIA+ community.
For this reason, we believe it is particularly important that, with this vote, the Council explicitly acknowledged the fascist and homophobic, lesbian, and transphobic nature of the act. This is a crucial step in understanding its gravity and the cultural and social context in which it occurred.
It's disappointing, however, to note the continuing silence of the city administration and the mayor, who was also absent from the council chamber, who have so far not deemed it appropriate to speak out publicly. Will they do so now, after the council's clear pronouncement? At a time when, even in Catania, violence against LGBTQIA+ people is on an alarming rise, institutional silence risks turning into complicity.
It's time for local institutions to take responsibility for openly opposing hatred and discrimination, without ambiguity or reticence.
Arcigay Catania
Catania, June 18, 2025[:]
