Christians Under Attack

In 1991 there were 60,000 such “mixed marriages” registered in Italy; last year there were 600,000, Caritas reports.

Italian men preferred Filipino, Romanian, Peruvian, and Albanian women. In contrast, Italian women preferred Senegalese, Tunisians, and Moroccans. The more affluent northern section of Italy leads the way in mixed marriages.

About 10% of the mixed marriages involve a Muslim with a Catholic spouse. In the vast majority of such cases, the children are raised as Muslims. If the wife is Catholic, statistics show that she is likely to convert to Islam.

Given the tensions that mark Italian culture today, it is not surprising that these mixed marriages are fragile-- although there too the figures show a geographical difference. The average Catholic-Muslim union lasts just 5 years in the northern city of Milan, and 13 years in southern Lecce.

The figures on mixed marriages were released just a day after Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) released his annual statement for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. In that statement the Pontiff underlined the need to support the families of migrants as they adjust to a new cultural surrounding.