Today, the Pope, visiting Croatia, reiterated his "no" to cohabitation and de facto couples that would absolutize "a freedom without commitment to the truth [which] cultivates individual well-being as an ideal through the consumption of material goods and ephemeral experiences, neglecting the quality of relationships with people and the deepest human values".
Besides being incomprehensible and false, his argument is unrealistic. Millions of de facto couples in Europe, straight or gay, form families in which the sharing of commitments, feelings, affections, joys, and sorrows characterizes a stable daily life capable of building a future.
The Pope's latest insult to de facto couples is an invitation to everyone to take to the streets of Rome on June 11th for Europride, the demonstration of European gay, lesbian, and transgender pride and visibility, as well as the visibility of the rights of all cohabiting couples and de facto couples.
It will be a moment to reiterate that the world, beyond the Pope's words, has profoundly changed and that Italy, in particular, urgently needs to hear the voice of the State on these issues rather than the falsehoods of the Pontiff.
The Rome Europride Committee – Mario Mieli Circle, Arcigay, Agedo, Mit, Rainbow Families
