Twenty senators from the ruling Democratic Party (PD) on Monday formally called on Education Minister Stefania Giannini to answer for the sacking of a teacher at a publicly funded Catholic school because she might be gay.
The teacher at Sacro Cuore institute in the northern city of Trento, which is run by nuns and is funded by the State, accused the school of dismissing her solely because she wouldn't confirm or deny insinuations by the principal, Sister Eugenia, that she might be a lesbian.
"The question was offensive, because it violated my rights as a citizen and a teacher," Silvia (not her real name) told La Repubblica newspaper in an interview.
"Maybe I'm a lesbian, maybe I'm not. But asking me about my sexual orientation as a condition for renewing my contract is unacceptable".
Sister Eugenia told her that "in order to safeguard the Catholic institution" she couldn't renew the contract, but that she was prepared to turn a blind eye if Silvia agreed to "take care of the problem." "In Italy, professionalism, doing good work, don't count.
What happened to me is medieval," Silvia told La Repubblica, adding that she is aged between 30 and 40, has been teaching an "important and mandatory subject" at Sacro Cuore for five years, and lives in Trento with someone she loves.
The MPs called for the education minister to "make the Sacro Cuore school respect the law, given that it receives public funds. We invite the minister to intervene immediately to enforce the law and the rights of the dismissed teacher".
"The fact that this private school receives public funding makes this regrettable incident even more intolerable," added Reform Ministry Undersecretary Ivan Scalfarotto.
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