Sandro Magister on his blog calls attention to an interview Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco gave to Corriere della Sera on Sunday, Oct. 18, which I missed. It appears the Cardinal is standing his ground - and with good reason (he has the statute to back him up) - against Cardinal Bertone's avowed intention to take charge of the Church of Italy's political relations with the Italian government. An attempt, by the way, that Magister has always questioned.
The 'asymmetry' between the CEI
and the Vatican, according to Bagnasco
Oct. 20, 2009
With his long interview on Sunday, October 18, in Corriere della Sera, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian bishops' conference (CEI), has sent a precise memo across the Tiber, that is, to Vatican Secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. To tell him to stop trying to 'lead' the Italian bishops on political terrain.
There are no 'clashes' between the CEI and the Secretariat of State, Bagnasco insists. But 'a division of labor', yes. The two institutions are of a different nature, and therefore, the responsibilities pertaining to each are 'asymmetrical'.
Cardinal Bagnasco cites John Paul II's Apostolic Letter
Apostolos Suos of May 21, 1998, which defines the theological and juridical nature of bishops' conferences:
"The CEI, like every other bishops' conference in the world," he said, "has the following responsibilities, according to the explicit instructions in Paragraph 15 of
Apostolos Suos:
the promotion and guardianship of the faith and of customs, the translation of liturgical books, the promotion and formation of priestly vocations, setting up subsidies for catechesis, the promotion and custody of Catholic universities and other educational institutions, the ecumenical effort, relationships with civilian authorities; the defense of human life, peace and human rights, and to see that these are protected by civilian legislation, promotion of social justice, and the use of mass communications.
After that list, what remains for Bertone to do [insofar as the Church in Italy is concerned]? Simply the diplomatic side, according to Bagnasco.
"The work of the Holy See is different, and definitely with an international breadth, which is why the Secretariat of State is responsible on the diplomatic level for relations with individual states."
L’Osservatore Romano, reporting on the interview in its Monday-Tuesday double issue, omitted the parts cited above.
The 'asymmetry' claimed by Bagnasco also goes for other national bishops' conferences, not just the CEI.
That is why, for instance, the Spanish bishops conference looks to the CEI as a model, not to the Secretariat of State, to guide them in their pastoral activity in relation to the government.
For the mammoth demonstration last Saturday in Madrid, in defense of life in the womb and against a new law that would liberalize abortion excessively, the Spanish bishops allowed lay organizations to organize the event as an expression of civil society not limited to Catholics, but also including Jews and Muslims who condemn abortion.
The model was clearly the Family Day rally in Rome two years ago - in which the Italian Church, also allowing the demonstration to be organized by lay movements - was careful not to be seen as protesting the Prodi government's initiatives in isolation, but as part of a broad-based manifestation of all Italians.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/10/2009 03:34]