After Criticism, Priest Defends Nativity Scene Depicting Jesus with Two Mothers
Fr. Vitaliano Della Sala with the Nativity scene at Saints Peter and Paul Church, Capocastello di Mercogliano
An Italian priest has defended a Nativity scene depicting Jesus with two mothers after receiving criticism from right- wing activists in the country.
In December, Fr. Vitaliano Della Sala, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Church in the town of Capocastello di Mercogliano, set up the parish’s Nativity scene with two figures of Mary surrounding Jesus in the manger. A figure of Joseph is also included off to the side of the scene, which is set before the church’s altar. He said he intended the representation to be a gesture of welcome.
The scene attracted critics from the political right wing. According to Reuters, “Senator Maurizio Gasparri, of the co-ruling Forza Italia party, said the LGBT creche ‘offends all those who always had respect and devotion for the Holy Family.'” A conservative Catholic group launched a petition asking Avellino’s Bishop Arturo Aiello to remove the scene, which the group described as “dangerous” and “blasphemous.”
The depiction of Jesus with two mothers comes as Italians grapple with whether parents in same-gender relationships should have legal rights. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her allies have tried to strip such parents of municipal recognitions and sought to ban Italians from seeking surrogacy arrangements abroad.
For Fr. Della Sala, however, the Nativity scene was simply meant to be show the church’s welcoming message. Just before Christmas—and the day after the Vatican announced it would allow same-gender couples to be blessed—the priest posted on Facebook, in part:
“Many ways of being a family: ‘nothing is impossible for God’! . . .
“The contempt, even on the part of sectors of the Catholic Church, against the ‘rainbow families’ and their condemnation regardless, without a serious and honest discussion and comparison, is the brushstroke of darkness that contributes to painting the night of our time. Therefore there are two mothers in the nativity scene: This year I also see the light of Christmas shining on these families affected by inhuman and anti-evangelical criticism and condemnation.
“Every year Christmas reminds us that it is God’s intention to start again from the margins, from not only geographical borders, where people, languages, religions and cultures merge into a new and colorful Babel.”
In his reflection, Della Sala noted that it is not only society which excludes, but the church. He wrote:
“But exclusion is not only practiced within civil society, the Church also often practices exclusion, relegating to the margins authentic witnesses of Jesus Christ who clash with power, who follow new paths, those paths on which they immediately take the last ones walk, the poor of God, and over which the right-thinking people stumble, scandalized.
“Instead, the very logic of inclusiveness is the future of the Church: a Church that does not marginalize, does not use the heavy ax of judgment against anyone, a ‘Church of the excluded and not of exclusion’ (Mgr. J. Gaillot), capable to welcome, to carry everyone within.
“The liberation brought about by Jesus begins precisely in Galilee, a metaphor for all social and religious exclusion. At the ‘center’, idolized as a symbol of all power, God prefers the periphery, a symbol of all marginalization.”
Della Sala has been a controversial figure in the Italian church. A longtime LGBTQ+ advocate, he spoke at World Pride when it was held in Rome in 2000—and even directly criticized some cardinals by name. He has likewise been critical of the church for other failings, and has been active in peace efforts in some conflict zones. Over time, Della Sala faced censure and then sanctions, and he was removed from parish ministry altogether at one point.
But, in the era of Pope Francis, the priest’s pastoral instincts led to his rehabilitation. The sanctions were removed, returning him to parish ministry—and, in this present incident, Della Sala cited Pope Francis as an influence for why an inclusive Nativity scene was needed. He explained:
“‘I wanted to show with this scene that families are no longer just the traditional ones. . .In our parishes we see more and more children from the new types of families that exist and are part of our society, children of separated and divorced people, gay couples, single people, young mothers.'”
The Christmas season has passed and the queer Nativity scene in Capocastello di Mercogliano may be packed up. What remains is the truth that Fr. Della Sala preaches: There are many ways of being a family for nothing is impossible for God!
—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, January 26, 2024
Well, I am very supportive of same-sex marriage, I am not in favor of a same-sex nativity scene as it takes away from the truth of what happened in scripture I draw the line on this, because it is not acceptable given that the narrative is of Mary and Joseph. Sometimes people can go too far and I think this is one example. I understand. People are trying to make a point about same-sex marriage here, but some things you don’t mess with specially, since this is not the true event that happened as depicted in this nativity scene.
I agree with Sarah adding that this is the kind of action that creates more resistance because, as Francis offered in his recent post, this gesture provokes fear because it seems like an attack on what we hold sacred, even when that is not the intention. If the scene expanded to include other outcasts as the shepherds were, then it is consistent with the scene and Jesus’ teaching that all are welcome. At the very least, the skin color of the holy family, shepherds and Magi sure wasn’t Neanderthal white. But that upsets people, too.
A beautiful and courageous initiative; a welcoming gesture from the Church! I’m always amazed how some people want to use the Holy Family to illustrate a restrictive view, whereas it was quite different than that from the get go, not far from some form of surrogacy or adoption really.