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Pope faces gay vote test
POPE Benedict XVI has conferred with cardinals as he seeks to put an early stamp on the papacy, but already he faces his first test as pontiff over a controversial Spanish vote on gay marriage.The cardinal head of the Pontifical Council on the Family, denouncing a Bill in Spain's lower house of parliament that would allow homosexuals to marry and adopt children, said Christians had a duty to oppose "iniquitous" laws. "A law as profoundly iniquitous as this one is not an obligation, it cannot be an obligation," Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo told Italy's Corriere della Sera. "One cannot say that a law is right simply because it is law." Spain is a traditionally deeply Catholic country, and King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are due to attend Sunday's inauguration of the Pope. The Pope is deeply conservative and has taken a strong line in the past on homosexuality, calling homosexual orientation a tendency toward "intrinsic moral evil". His handling of the latest controversy will be scrutinised for clues about how he intends to drive forward his papacy in a Church divided over other hot-button issues such as contraception, abortion, divorce and the ordination of women. The Spanish Bill, which is expected to be passed by the Senate upper house after approval by lower house deputies yesterday, would allow gays to marry as well as adopt children. Cardinal Trujillo said anyone asked to conduct such a ceremony should exercise the same right to conscientious objection as doctors asked to perform abort a fetus. "This is not a matter of choice," he said. "All Christians ... must be prepared to pay the highest price, including the loss of a job. The Pope, thanking cardinals for their support, meanwhile said he was aware of the intense burden thrust upon him as leader of 1.1 billion Catholics. "I know well the nature of this mission that I was assigned," he said. "It is not about honours, but about service." The 78-year-old pope, who was applauded when he entered the Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace, asked the prelates for their continuing support. "Please never let me be deprived of your support," he urged. "Your spiritual closeness, your wise counsel, and your active cooperation will be for me a gift for which I will always be grateful." Each cardinal then went up to the Pope in turn, knelt, and kissed his hand before exchanging a few words. The Pope, elected earlier this week by his 114 cardinal colleagues, will be inaugurated on Sunday at a mass expected to draw half a million people and a clutch of world leaders. They will include a strong delegation out of his native Germany, including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Horst Koehler as well as thousands of Germans now beginning to flock into Rome. The Pope will formally receive the insignia of his office, a pallium — a circular band of fabric with a pendant and decorated with square crosses — and the Fisherman's Ring with the image of Saint Peter, a disciple of Jesus and the first pope in the Church's 2000-year history. Yesterday, Pope Benedict sought to ensure continuity and stability after the 26-year pontificate of his mentor pope John Paul II by retaining his predecessor's Vatican team. He confirmed Cardinal Angelo Sodano as Secretary of State, effectively his No.2, and kept Leonardo Sandri as Cardinal Sodano's deputy and Giovanni Lajolo as the Vatican's Foreign Minister. Rome's chief rabbi meanwhile said the Pope had promised to foster the dialogue with Jews begun under his predecessor. Riccardo Di Segni said Pope Benedict sent a message saying he was putting "trust in the help of the Almighty to continue and to strengthen the dialogue and collaboration with the sons and daughters of the Jewish people". Pope John Paul II, who died on April 2, won widespread admiration in Israel not only for being the first pontiff to visit a synagogue but also for his work in reconciling the Roman Catholic Church with the Jewish people. Posted by: tipper 2005-04-22 |
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