ROME, Nov 8: Saying Europe was facing the spectre of "a new creeping totalitarianism," Rocco Buttiglione has called on Italians to form a cross-party political movement to defend traditional Christian values throughout the continent.

In a spate of interviews and speeches over the weekend, Buttiglione, who stepped down as candidate for EU commissioner after sparking a Europe-wide row with comments on homosexuality and marriage, said his ordeal was a blessing in disguise.

"We have to get going, make our voices heard, defend our rights and our ideas," he said in one interview. "Catholics are the victims of discrimination. Today in Europe, one must be politically correct against everyone except Christians."

Buttiglione, a softly spoken philosopher, appeared more like a politician on the stump at the weekend, boosted by the victory of fellow conservative George W. Bush and the rejection of gay marriage amendments in 11 U.S. states.

Newspapers dubbed his call to action "the birth of the Buttiglione Movement," particularly after it won unqualified backing from Giuliano Ferrara, an influential conservative newspaper editor who is a self-proclaimed atheist.

"I think we need a great new movement that crosses party lines in order to defend freedom of conscience from a new, creeping totalitarianism that is making headway on the continent," Buttiglione told a seminar in Milan.-Reuters