House in the woods, Catherine's letter outside the Senate: "We want to be a family again"

The President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa received today at Palazzo Giustiniani Catherine Birmingham and Nathan Trevallion, the parents of the so-called "family in the woods".

"It was a pleasure for me to meet Nathan and Catherine, it was my intention to try to ease the atmosphere that has developed around this matter. I have neither the titles nor the intention to question the measures of the judicial authority, nor do I want to judge the lifestyle of Nathan and Catherine - La Russa said -. What I hope can be useful is to invite everyone, with my moral suasion, to eliminate the rigidities of all, in order to favor as much as possible the return to a united family, as you desire, with the children who, as is natural, can be with their father and mother, after ensuring normal conditions. I am very pleased to have learned that on your part there is no objection to the children attending after-school programs, that the house can have the sanitary facilities that are required, and essentially that you get very close to those necessary conditions for a cohabitation. I am firmly convinced that there is no greater happiness for children than being with their dad and mom. That is what I wish for you and I hope it is possible by eliminating all existing rigidities."

And after meeting with the President of the Senate, Catherine Birmingham, visibly moved, wanted to read a letter.

"After months of complete silence, Nathan and I want to express our sincere gratitude to anyone who has supported us in long and difficult days filled with pain and sadness for our children," said the mother of the three children. "We chose Italy because it shared the same values with which we wanted to raise our children, namely family, love, and togetherness, living and eating naturally and, above all, a life full of love and peace where people support each other - she continued -. We have lived in peace and harmony, we have lived in respect for the laws of the State and the Italian Constitution, and we have never harmed our children, we have never deprived them of their needs and we have never harmed our neighbors, our Municipality, and the land in which we live.

"We have always been respectful of the laws and rules, and we have never judged or fought, nor have we ever instilled in our children hate or trust in the leaders and legal and institutional authorities around us - emphasizes Catherine Birmingham -. We have chosen our life clearly and consciously, strengthened by our travels, our education, and our experiences. As a mother and father who love their children, who have always acted with awareness and knowledge of what was right for them, while being aware of not being perfect or possessing absolute truths, being targeted and attacked in the way we have been goes beyond our capacity for understanding. We have brought our truth and our ongoing commitment to being the respectful and loving parents that we are. With this truth, we have come here to extend a hand, to ask to be heard and to ask to be a family again."