“We welcome the decision of the voters who voted against the new family law. We thank all those people who personally strove to achieve such goal and helped voters acknowledge the irreplaceable role that family plays in our life”. This is how mgr. Anton Stres, metropolitan archbishop of Ljubljana and president of the Slovenian Bishops Conference (Ces), commented the outcome of the family law referendum that took place in Slovenia on March 25th. The citizens were called to the polls to vote for or against the introduction of the new family law, passed by the Slovenian Parliament on July 16th, 2011. One of the new things introduced by the new law was marriage and adoption by gay couples. The referendum was promoted by a Catholic-inspired civil movement for the protection of children’s and family rights. The law was defeated by a 55% majority. According to mgr. Stres, “the outcome of the referendum does not make family rights safe yet”, because “they must be experienced daily, in interpersonal relations”: “So, the family, in which children may grow with the help of their mother’s and father’s education, remains our alliance, and we will keep fighting for this”.

27/03/2012 -