Carlo Caffarra
His Eminence Carlo Caffarra | |
---|---|
Cardinal, Archbishop emeritus of Bologna | |
Province | Bologna |
See | Bologna |
Appointed | 16 December 2003 |
Installed | 15 February 2004 |
Term ended | 27 October 2015 |
Predecessor | Giacomo Biffi |
Successor | Matteo Zuppi |
Other post(s) | Cardinal-Priest of S. Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini |
Previous post(s) |
|
Orders | |
Ordination | 2 July 1961 by Guglielmo Bosetti |
Consecration | 21 October 1995 by Giacomo Biffi |
Created cardinal | 24 March 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI |
Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
Personal details | |
Born | Carlo Caffarra 1 June 1938 |
Died | 6 September 2017 Bologna, Italy | (aged 79)
Nationality | Italian |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Coat of arms |
Carlo Caffarra (1 June 1938 – 6 September 2017) was an Italian cardinal and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bologna. He was educated at the Episcopal Seminary of Fidenza and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, graduating with a doctorate in Canon law and has a diploma of specialization in moral theology. He was created Cardinal in the consistory of 24 March 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Styles of Carlo Caffarra | |
---|---|
Reference style | His Eminence |
Spoken style | Your Eminence |
Informal style | Cardinal |
See | Bologna (emeritus) |
Early life
Caffarra was born in Samboseto di Busseto (province of Parma), Emilia Romagna.
He was ordained priest on 2 July 1961 in Rome. He then returned to his Diocese of Fidenza in 1965, where he taught moral theology in the seminaries of Fidenza and Parma; and later, at the Studio Teologico Accademico Bolognese; at the Università Cattolica in Milan; and at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy, specialising in the moral doctrine of marriage and the bioethics of human procreation.
He taught medical ethics in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the Università Cattolica's campus in Rome. He was a Member of the International Theological Commission from 1974–1984; he also held the position of Consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He was the President of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in 1980 and founded sections of the same institute in the United States, Spain and Mexico.
Episcopate
Caffarra was named Archbishop of Ferrara-Comacchio on 8 September 1995, and consecrated on 21 October 1995, in the Cathedral of Fidenza by Giacomo Biffi, Archbishop of Bologna, assisted by Giovanni Battista Re, then an official in the Roman Curia, and Carlo Poggi, Bishop of Fidenza. Caffarra was appointed Archbishop of the Bologna on 16 December 2003, and installed there on 15 February 2004.
Caffarra was a noted opponent of contraception. In 1988, Caffarra weighed the sin of condom use against acquiring the AIDS virus: "Even the smallest moral wrong is so much greater than any physical wrong. I know this is hard for some to accept when the dangers are great, but the church is here to combat moral wrongs."[1] The next year, Caffarra argued condom campaigns further exposed society to AIDS because "the means of protection are far from reliable".[2]
Cardinalate
Caffarra was created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in the consistory of 24 March 2006, becoming the Cardinal-Priest of S. Ioannis Baptistae Florentinorum. On 6 May 2006 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him a member of the executive committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family .[3]
In a note Caffarra published on 14 February 2010, he wrote "public officials who openly support same-sex marriage cannot consider themselves to be Catholic". He said: "It is impossible for the Catholic faith and support for putting homosexual unions on equal footing with marriage to coexist in one's conscience – the two contradict each other."[4]
He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2013 papal conclave which selected Pope Francis.
In September 2015, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Caffarra to a five-year term as a member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.[5][6] His resignation as archbishop was accepted on 27 October 2015.[7]
Amoris laetitia
Caffarra, along with three other cardinals, issued a request to Pope Francis, entitled "Seeking Clarity: A Plea to Untie the Knots in Amoris laetitia", seeking clarification on various points of doctrine in the Pope's apostolic exhortation, Amoris laetitia. The cardinals had previously submitted dubia in private, but since he did not respond to these, the cardinals followed instructions in the Gospel of Matthew[8] and issued this public letter. The first dubium is regarding reception of the sacraments by the divorced and remarried. The other four ask about fundamental issues of the Christian life and reference Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis splendor.[9]
In June 2017, after seven months of not receiving a response from Pope Francis to their request the pope clarify highly disputed parts in his apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia (The Joy of Love), the four cardinals asked the Holy Father for an audience in April 2018. In an 25 April 2017, letter hand-delivered to the Holy Father on 6 May 2017, Cardinals Caffarra, Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Burke and Joachim Meisner wrote to Francis asking for the audience, having not yet received a reply to the dubia they sent him in September 2016.[10] Meisner died in his sleep in July 2017.
Caffarra died on 6 September 2017.[11]
References
- ^ Suro, Roberto (29 January 1988). "Vatican and the AIDS Fight: Amid Worry, Papal Reticence". New York Times. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ "Vatican AIDS Meeting Hears O'Connor Assail Condom Use". New York Times. Associated Press. 14 November 1980. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ 'New Cardinals Get Curial Assignments' Zenit News Service, 7 May 2006
- ^ Glatz, Carol (16 February 2010). "Politicians who support gay marriage are not Catholic, says cardinal". Catholic News Service. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http%3A%2F%2Fpress.vatican.va%2Fcontent%2Fsalastampa%2Fit%2Fbollettino%2Fpubblico%2F2015%2F09%2F26%2F0722%2F01562.html
- ^ Allen Jr., John (27 October 2014). "Francis' Pastoral Revolution rolls on with two big picks in Italy". Crux. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ http://wdtprs.com/blog/2016/11/bombshell-the-four-cardinals-letter-to-pope-francis-seeking-clarity/
- ^ http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/four-cardinals-formally-ask-pope-for-clarity-on-amoris-laetitia
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Cardinal Caffarra, one of the 'dubia' cardinals, has died aged 79". Catholic Herald. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
External links
- Carlo Caffarra at the Catholic Pages
- unofficial collection of Cardinal Caffarra's speeches
- 1938 births
- 2017 deaths
- People from Busseto
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni
- Roman Catholic archbishops of Bologna
- Italian cardinals
- Italian Roman Catholics
- 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops
- Pontifical Council for the Family
- International Theological Commission
- Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
- Pontifical Gregorian University alumni
- Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George