MILAN (AP) — The Vatican’s Secretary of State has attempted to tamp down controversy over a Vatican diplomatic communication to Italy. He told Vatican News that the Holy See’s intention was not to block passage of a law that would extend additional protections from discrimination to the LGBT community, but to express concerns over the proposed Italian legislation. He said the Vatican is against any “attitude or gesture of intolerance or hatred toward people motivated by sexual orientations.” The lower house of parliament passed the legislation in November, but it has been stalled in the Senate by right-wing concerns that it would limit freedom of expression.
