Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi looks up as he waits for the arrival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy, May 15, 2015. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Following Ireland’s historic endorsement of same-sex marriage, Italy could soon follow suit as Italians politicians declare the Irish “Yes” as a “lesson in civility”.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has vowed to push through civil unions, seen by many as a first step towards allowing gay marriages in the heart land of the Catholic Church.

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Maria Elena Boschi, the Constitutional Reforms Minister, backed the call for civil unions.

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According to the La Repubblica newspaper, Mr Renzi conceded that while many members of his own centre-left Democratic Party wanted to go further and to legislate for gay marriage, realistically, civil partnerships would have to be the first step.

Socially conservative Italy is now the only Western European country that does not recognise either same sex marriage or civil unions.

However the unexpectedly strong "Yes" vote in Ireland has been viewed by many in Italy as a rallying cry push ahead with a bill that would introduction civil partnerships.

Several editorials on Sunday suggested that such a referendum in Italy would have a similar outcome.

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Strong resistance to gay equality remains though, as highlighted by an interview on Sunday by Monsignor Nunzio Galantino, the General Secretary of the Italian Bishops Conference.

He described how the traditional Italian family was under threat, implying that allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships was a “Trojan Horse” towards marriage quality.

Online Editors