The first wave

This last Sunday and Monday, a few Italians went to the polls to vote. Most did not. The fertility referendum as we all know was not valid, as not enough of the electorate participated. In fact, I've not even seen any results as to if the referendum passed (aside from the 50% rule).

In any case, Sandro Magister has hailed this as the first victory in Pope Benedict's bid to combat secularism and the culture of death. Cardinal Ruini, the Vicar of Rome and president of the Italian bishops conference CEI has been hailed as the chief architect of this victory.

[...]
As June 12 drew near, the president of the CEI was certain that the boycott would succeed. For weeks IPSOS, a research institute directed by Nando Pagnocelli, had been giving him confidential access to some reassuring data, which showed that voter turnout would not rise above 40 percent. And during the last days, as the citizens understood better what was being put to referendum, their decision not to vote grew as well.

But six months ago, at the beginning of winter, the forecasts were much less certain, and the adversary far more terrible. On January 14, three days before Ruini spoke out against the referendum for the first time, "Corriere della Sera" – the newspaper that embodies secular, rationalist Italy and is immediately imitated by almost all of the national press – had already taken an official position: "the 'yes' vote should win," and "all of the attempts to avoid a popular pronouncement, with predictions that this would only increase confusion, should be dismissed."
[...]

Ruini faced an 'uphill battle' and he and his colleagues managed to persevere. As Magister notes, "One key element in the Church's opposition to the June 12 referendum is that all of its arguments were drawn from reason, and not from faith: in this way, it gained the assent of secular thinkers like Giuliano Ferrara and Oriana Fallaci, agnostic scientists like Angelo Vescovi, feminists like Eugenia Roccella and Paola Tavella, and Jews like Giorgio Israel."

When it comes to dealing with these issues, that is probably the key. Most reasonable people who are relatively unbiased politically or morally are going to side with the idea that abortion and other reproductive matters such as fertility (etc.) ought to be properly regulated to avoid abuse. Yet since not all of them are Catholics, trying to sway them with religious arguments is not the best way of gaining support. However, reason... Fair-minded people are reasonable people. That is how they can be swayed.

Magister points to Spain as the next great test. Hopefully they'll take the example of their Italian colleagues to heart.

Read the complete article Embryos Welcome: Ruini Wins the Referendum, and Sets an Example from www.chiesa.