NCReporter's John Allen:Showdown in war vs. 'dictatorship of relativism' looms while General is out of town

Meanwhile back in Rome, a Catholic happening with arguably the greatest potential political and social significance in recent memory will be unfolding: a “Family Day” rally in the Piazza of St. John Lateran, which organizers hope will draw between half a million and a million Italians, both to celebrate the family and also to demonstrate opposition to proposals from Italy’s center-left government to grant civil recognition to same-sex couples.

Though the event is officially being sponsored by a variety of lay Catholic associations and movements and not by the hierarchy, the Italian bishops’ conference and the Vatican are working hard behind the scenes to promote it, which they hope will spell the end of efforts to pass the law on civil unions, known by its Italian acronym as “Dico.”