Rome (Reuters) – Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday that Italy was a secular state, putting the Vatican on guard not to interfere with a parliamentary debate over a draft law designed to combat homophobia.
The Vatican earlier this month protested to Italy over the contested bill, saying that in its present form it could restrict the religious freedom of the Catholic Church in Italy.
“Ours is a secular state, not a religious state, (with) a parliament that is certainly free to discuss and legislate,” Draghi told the upper chamber Senate.
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