Italian church blasts civil unions as 'alternative' to family

(ANSA) - Rome, January 29 - The Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) on Friday blasted civil unions as an "alternative" to the traditional family. The Italian parliament is currently examining a bill to recognize civil unions, including same-sex ones. "The process underway of putting marriage and civil unions on the same level - with the introduction of an alternative to the family - was addressed within wider concern about the cultural change that is crossing the West," the CEI said in a statement at the end of its Episcopal Council.