The European Union has reiterated its appeal to all member states to press ahead with the legalization of homosexual unions, but resistance to the homosexual agenda is growing—especially in Italy.

The recently deposed government of Massinio D’Alema had proposed to prohibit discrimination based on “sexual orientation.” Persons or groups violating this law would have faced up to four years in prison. It is not difficult to identify the targets of this legislation; conservative groups ranging from Associazione Famiglia Domani to Tradition, Family, Property, and all those who promote a sound natural and Christian order. The foremost target is the Catholic Church, which since her inception has promoted good and discriminated against evil.

A worldwide Gay Pride Week gathering is scheduled to take place in Rome in July as a counter to the Church’s Jubilee Year. Rome Mayor Francesco Rutelli earmarked a substantial amount of taxpayers’ money for this event. But the recent regional election, in which the center-right Freedom Front “Polo” defeated the D’Alema-led center-left coalition, has changed things. The newly elected president (governor) of Lazio, Rome’s region, called for the march to be postponed until next year out of respect for the sacredness of the Holy Year. The intentions of the gay-pride organizers were expressed on May Day, when tens of thousands of people rallied under the supervision of hard-line leftist unions and parties in Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s most beautiful squares, to proclaim the rights of, among others, the unemployed, immigrants, homosexuals, and the homeless. A participant had painted the massive Victor Emmanuel monument with a graffito saying, “We’re gonna burn down this Jubilee of yours.”

Italian conservative and religious groups have addressed an open letter to Al Gore, expressing their concern that he has granted his official support to the worldwide Gay Pride Week in his capacity as U.S. Vice President. They called upon him to reconsider, respectfully asking that he either demand of the event’s sponsors a commitment to prohibit any public gestures in defiance of morals and decency, or withdraw his endorsement.

The backbone of the resistance to the homosexual movement is not located in opposition political parties but in grassroots groups, which are exerting increasing pressure on moderate-conservative politicians to honor their electoral pledges. The moderate conservatives won an overwhelming consensus by promising to uphold natural and family values; they are now being asked to translate words into action. These grassroots organizations have good leverage at the moment, since the general elections are due in less than a year and politicians are highly sensitive to their re-election.

But even if we are successful in putting off the gay-pride march, we will have only won a battle, not the war. We cannot full}’ reverse the course of the radical homosexual agenda overnight. As one of the masters of the counterrevolution, Plinio Correa de Oliveira, wrote in Revolution and Counter-Revolution, “The Revolution . . . uses its metamorphoses not only to advance but also to earn, out the tactical retreats that have so frequently been necessary.”

While in Stockholm two years ago for the First World Cities Conference Against Drugs under the aegis of ECAD (European Cities Against Drugs), which is probably the world’s leading organization in fighting illicit drug use, I was struck by a passionate speech by an Australian deputy mayor, Warren Woodley. With regard to an effective war on drugs, he said, “We must raise the flag of truth to the world and take down the white flag of surrender.” With regard to the homosexual movement, we must also take down the white flag of surrender and keep on fighting until the end because we fight for the truth. In the long run, the truth will not simply win, but triumph.