Bonus Wedding Gift of 28 Million Won for Getting Married in a Cathedral?

Italy's Ruling Coalition Party 'Lega' Proposes Controversial New Bill
Opposition: "Bill Ignores Secular State Principles" ... Prime Minister's Office: "Not Discussed by Government"

Retired Italian female swimming star Federica Pellegrini's wedding ceremony at a cathedral in August this year. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] Italy's ruling coalition party Lega has sparked controversy by proposing a bill that offers up to 20,000 euros (about 28 million KRW) in wedding gifts for couples who get married in a church.

According to Italy's ANSA news agency on the 21st (local time), the bill recently introduced to the lower house by five Lega members, including Domenico Furgiuele, provides a bonus wedding gift of up to 20,000 euros to couples who marry in a church.

In Italy, where 86% of the population is Catholic, churches are the most common wedding venues, but recently, the number of weddings held at city halls has been increasing. Especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing preference for simple weddings at city halls attended only by immediate family members, causing church weddings to sharply decline.

The bill proposed by Representative Furgiuele and others aims to revive the tradition of church weddings by subsidizing the costs at the national level.

However, the bill faced strong opposition from opposition parties as soon as it was submitted to the lower house. Critics argued that the bill forgets that Italy is a secular state, not a religious one.

Even Mara Carfagna, a member of the same ruling coalition party Forward Italy (FI), sarcastically said, "We still live in a country where the Pope is king." There are also criticisms that the bill discriminates against sexual minorities, as church weddings are almost impossible for same-sex couples.

As the controversy grew, the Prime Minister's Office stepped in to halt the bill. The office stated that the bill was introduced in parliament and that the government has never discussed it, drawing a clear line.

Representative Furgiuele eventually backed down. He said, "This bill was proposed to encourage marriage by considering the costs of religious weddings," adding, "I believe that during parliamentary discussions, the bonus will naturally be expanded to include all weddings."

Meanwhile, the number of weddings in Italy has decreased due to the impact of COVID-19 and other factors. According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), the number of weddings held domestically in 2020 was 96,851, a sharp drop of 47.4% compared to 2019. Although the number has gradually increased since last year, ANSA reported that it still has not recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.