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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
______________________ITALY____________________
Moral issues in national campaign
Abortion, marriage, drug use
As Italy prepares for new national elections, the president of the nation’s episcopal conference has called for a “serious” public debate on issues involving human life and the family.
Speaking to his fellow members of the Italian bishops’ conference, Cardinal Camillo Ruini said that Italy should not be afraid to take policy stands different from those of the other European countries. He pointed to a number of issues on which the Catholic stance differs markedly from recent European political trends, which are now taking hold in Italy.
Cardinal Ruini first mentioned the “morning-after pill,” which has been available in Italy since October, observing that the drug is “not just a contraceptive but an abortifacient.” Then he expressed regrets about efforts to decriminalize the use of “soft” drugs, saying that this “permissive” approach sends an unfortunate message, especially to young people.
Next the cardinal pointed to new trends in European law, such as the legalization of euthanasia and the approval of same-sex marriage in Holland, and the recognition of common-law unions in Germany. Italian political leaders, he said, should be encouraged forthrightly to oppose measures that are “contrary to universal ethical values.”
Finally Cardinal Ruini called attention to the “complex” and “difficult” issue of immigration. He said that society should respect the rights of immigrants, but that respect should not “give way to indifference” regarding the preservation of Italy’s culture.
Vatican paper opposes decriminalization
Response to government effort
In the latest of a series of public disagreements with Italian government health officials, the Vatican’s official newspaper has criticized the suggestion that drug use should be decriminalized.
L’Osservatore Romano rejected a proposal by Italian health minister Umberto Veronese that the criminal penalties on drug usage should be dropped. Although Veronese did not call for the legalization of drug use, he “seems to speak with unwarranted ease about a grave phenomenon that he does not adequately understand,” the Vatican paper charged.
Veronese has argued that educational campaigns could be more effective than bans in preventing drug use, especially among young people. But L’Osservatore Romano countered that decriminalization would undermine the work of those agencies and organizations already involved in the effort to help drug users kick their habits.
Prelate wants more collegial Church
Hints at Vatican III
In a long and provocative interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini has called for “more concrete forms of collegiality” within the Church. The Milan prelate stopped just short of calling for a Third Vatican Council.
Explaining that his remarks were made in response to the Pope’s apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, Cardinal Martini stressed John Paul’s call for greater “communion” within the Church. This, the cardinal said, would require a greater sharing of power among the bishops of the Church.
In October 1999, during the Synod of Bishops for Europe, Cardinal Martini had spoken of “a more universal instrument” to express collegiality within the Church. Many observers had seen his remarks as a call for a Third Vatican Council. While he said there had been some “confusion” about those remarks, the cardinal told Corriere della Sera, “I have never excluded the possibility of a new council.”
The Milan prelate went on to say that the “emerging problems” that face the Church might be reason for a new worldwide council. Because of the practical problems involved in convening an ecumenical council, Cardinal Martini suggested that it might be easier to bring together “regional convocations” prior to the “plenary convocation” of the world’s bishops. And he said that Orthodox and Protestant representatives should participate in such a council “in one way or another.”
Cardinal Martini, who is frequently identified as the most prominent “liberal” leader within the College of Cardinals, said nothing during his interview with Corriere della Sera to change that reputation. He said that all forms of “triumphalism” should be excluded from the Jubilee. He expressed regret that the publication of the Vatican document Dominus Iesus had “not been well received, and created some distress.” And he argued that the Church must engage in “dialogue” with scientists involved in genetic manipulation, using “rational and convincing arguments” rather than issuing condemnations which “are not sufficient, and even produce the opposite effect.”