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Growing Population
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issues defense of priestly celibacy
The number of Catholics has increased ste'adily with the global population.
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CATHOLICS
18.2% 1970
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1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
Source: Catholic Almanac
2000
2005 @2007CNS
Church-state showdown: Italian. bill proposes rights' for unwed couples By JOHN THAVIS CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
---------13----J1 ~ New head l of clergy congregation
"No human law can subvert the norm written by the Creator without dramatically wounding socic ety in that which con~titutes its basic foundation. To forget this' would mean weakening the family, penalizing children and making the future ,of society precarious," the pope said. , Whenever a pope'weighs in even indirectly - in Italian political affairs, a politiCal backlash is sure to follow. Some lawmakers said the Church had so bla-
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VATICAN CITY -Tho months after taking over as head of the Vatican~s Congregation for Clergy, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes has issued a strong and le9gthy defense of priestly celibacy. I "Priestly celibacy is a precious gift ofChrist to his Church, a1gift that must continually be meditat~d upon and strengthened, especially,: in the deeply' secularized modem wotld," Cardinal Hummes said The cardinal made tl;te comments in a full-page article he Iwrote for the Vatican newspaper, L:Osse11latore Romano. It was published February 14 under the headline !''The impor" tance of priestly celibacy:' Cardinal Hummes, Iformerly the archbishop ofSao Paolo, anived at his new Vatican post last December, shortly after telling a Bblian news~ paper that priestlY. celibfCY was a disa Church ciplinary norm and not II dogma and w~ therefore open to change.' Vatican officials were concerned, and within hours of aniving in Rome Cardinal Hummes issuect a statement emphasizing that priestly celibacy was a long and valuable tradition in the Latin-rite Church, b~d on strong theological and pastoral arguments. The cardinal's new~paper article was Written to mark th~, 40th anniversary of "Sacerdotalis:' Caelibatus, " Pope 'Paul VI's encycli9a1 on priestly celibacy~ issued June 24, 1967. II
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Cardinal Hummes reviewed what he said was strong evidence that priestly celibacy has its roots in apostolic times, not later centuries. The cardinal said celibacy represents "a more full configuration with the Lord Jesus," who lived his own life as a celibate, and is a sign of the total love priests give to the Church. For all priests, he said, celibacy should be a call to happiness and not a burden of suffering. Cardinal Hummes said celibacy is also a sign of pastoral charity. "Common experience confirms that it is easier to open one's heart to one's brothers fully and without reserve for those who have no other emotional attachments, no matter how legitimate and holy, except the attachment to Chris!," he saia. Cardinal Hummes reviewed Pope Paul's reasons for confirming priestly celibacy 40 years ago and said the same reasons were still valid today. At the same time, he said, Pope Paul also'recognized that celibacy is not required by the nature ofthe priesthood itself, as shown by the fact that the Eastern ri~ ofthe Catholic Church allow the ordination of manied men. Cardinal Hummes reviewed various discus~ions on celibacy over the last 40 years, particularly in synods of bishops and otherRome meetings. On every occasion, he said, the participants. have ended up confirming the 'value of priestly celibacy.
the line into the legitimate lay sphere of politics. VATICAN CITY -An Italian A poll showed that Italians . legislative proposal that would overwhelmingly supported the grant some legal rights to unwed provisions of the bill, although practicing Catholics were divided couples - including same-sex partners - has set the stage for a over whether the legal rights major Church-state showdown. should be limited to heterosexuOn one side is a wide spectrum als or extended to gay couples, Argent~ne of Italian social and political too. forces, including many lay CathoBecause the number of cohabI . lics, who say the bill would ~nd iting couples in Italy had reached BUENOS AIRE~, Argentina victions ofits members." An estimated discrimination against unwed 560,000, doubling in the last 10 (CNS) - TheArgentine bishops' con·40 percent of Argentine schools are couples in areas of health care, years, the bishops see that as a ference has published a sex education Catholic. . I' pensions, housing and emsign that marriage is already manual for Catholic schools, where the The bishops' manual teaches adoployment. eroding and believe the new subject has become mandatory for the lescents about the importance of marOn the other side is the "No human iaw can subvert the' law would accelerate the new academic year. riage, responsible parenthood, "sexual Italian bishops' conference, norm written by the Creator without process. The 16Q.:pagemanu3J., ''Education deviation," the importance of virginwhich has argued that the dramatically wounding society in Opposidon to the legis- for Love," will be availf'le to parents ity and natural contraceptive methods. law would u.ndermine mar- that which constitutes1ts basic foun- lation has been led by Car- ap,d teachers and will teach the It is designed to ensure that the miniriage and the traditiona'i dation. To forget this would mean dinal Camillo Ruini, the pa- Church's position on sex education for mum content required by law is when the new adapted in accordance with Catholic family. Some bishops have weakening the family, penalizing pal vicar of Rome, who is use in the classroom . I warned Catholic legislators children and making the future of expected to retire soon. But academic year begins in March. beliefs and that other issues which the Last year Argentin~ passed a fed- Church considers importimt are inthat they are duty-bound to society precarious, " the, pope said. some bishops and theolo- . vote against the proposal. gians have taken a more erallaw making sex eCiucation com- cluded. ''We can't, as a Church, allow ourSupporters point out that flexible position. Arch- pulsory for students· as young as age " selves to teach what we believe is bad the bill is a compromise proposal, tantly interfered in political affairs bishop Ignazio Sanna, a member ·five. The law outlines certain issues that for the child," Father Revello said not,a "gay marriage" bill. that it constituted a violation of of the International Theological must be raised in class - such as disIn an early February statemen~ the Opponents agree, but say the the concordat that r.egulates Commission, said he could accrimination ~ainst wotnen, sexuality, bishops said they "profoundly·1aeffect would be the same: creat- church-state relations. cept the new law if the final lanII. methods mented the (law's) surprise inclusion" homosex'uality, cont:rac¥ptlve ing a second-class form of marCaught in the middle of the dis- guage recognizes only the rights and abortion - which the Church oflanguage designed to eliminate dis~ riage and deconstructing a soci- pute was Rosy -Bindi, a leading of those involved in nonmarriage . considers "dangerou~'," said Father crimination against women. They said ety built on the traditional family. Catholic politician who cp-spon- unions, and not the unions themRuben Rev.ello, co6rdihator of the In- such language "insists on the use of "We're facing a clash that is sored the compromise legislation. selves. stitute ofBioethics at the Catholic Uni- .programs of family planning, which unprecedented in the history of Bindi, who is unmarried and lives Vatican sources say the pope is . 0 fArg' verslty entma. I': could facilitate practices such as conchurch-state relations in Italy," in a residence run by nuns, said unlikely ~o intervene explicitly on However, in the case ofcontrover- traception, sterilization and abortion." said Italian Church historian the strong reaction by the Church the matter. In a sense, the sources sial issues such as ~ontraception, It is the first time the Church in Alberto Melloni. hierarchy surprised her and said, he h~s already given Italian Church schools couldII teach ''from a Argentina has published such a comPope Benedict XVI was drawn caused her "great suffering." bishops the tools they need: In Christian standpoint," Father Revello prehensive document on sex educa. into the fray February 12 when he The debate has exposed some 2003, guidelines for Catholic told Catholic News Se~ce lilst week. tion. . addressed a conference on natu- serious fault lines within Italy's politicians were issued by the The law says the Education MinJose del Corral ofthe Buenos Aires rallaw. The pope said the institu- Catholic community. Several Congregation for the Doctrine of istry sets the basic curriculum, which archdiocesan education council told tion of marriage was divinely or- leading Catholic intellectuals the Faith, headed at the time by is to be adapted by eac~ school "to its CNS that the Church had "taken a dered and not subject to political urged the bishops to back off their Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the sociocultural reality, with respect to its leadership role" by publishing ,its institutional standpomt and the con- guide before classes began. compromise. opposition, saying it had crossed future pope.
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bishops publish sex ed manual for Catholic schools
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