Carlo Maria Martini

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

His Eminence Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J. (born 15 February 1927) is an Italian clergyman. He was Catholic Archbishop of Milan from January 1980 to July 2002 and has been a Cardinal since February 1983.

Often considered to be one of the more "progressive" members of the College of Cardinals, he has achieved widespread notice for his wide-ranging and open-minded writings — popularity in some circles, notoriety in others.

[edit] Career

Born in Turin, Piedmont, Martini entered the Society of Jesus in 1944, and was ordained a priest in 1952. He earned his doctorate in theological studies in 1958 from the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1962, he was given the Chair of Textual Criticism at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, a specialist Institute of the Gregorian and became its rector in 1969. In 1978, under Pope Paul VI he was elected the Pontifical Gregorian University's "rector magnificus." Throughout these years he edited a number of scholarly works.

In December 1979, Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Milan, a post he undertook after receiving episcopal ordination the following January. Thus his first diocesan appointment was to one of the largest and most prominent sees. When made a cardinal in 1983 he was assigned the Titulus S. Caeciliae. From 1987–1993 he was president of the European Bishops' Conference.

In 2002 he reached the Church's mandatory retirement age of 75 and was succeeded as Archbishop by Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi. At the time of the Papal conclave, 2005, he was 78 years old and hence eligible to vote for the new pope (being under 80). For years many progressive Catholics harboured hopes that he might himself be elected Pope someday. However, when John Paul II died, most commentators believed that his election was unlikely, given his liberal reputation and the fact of his suffering from Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, according to La Stampa (an Italian newspaper), he obtained more votes than Pope Benedict XVI during the first round of the election, 40 vs. 38. Conversely, an anonymous cardinal diary stated that he never mustered more than a dozen or so votes, in contrast to another Jesuit cardinal, Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, and quickly withdrew his candidacy.^[1]

Since he is two months older than Pope Benedict XVI and it has been centuries since a Pope was succeeded by an older man, his chance can now be said to have passed. Although unlikely, if there is another Papal conclave before February 15, 2007 Martini will be eligible to vote in that conclave.

In April 2006, in response to a very specific question from the bioethicist Ignazio Marino, director of the transplant center of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Martini admitted that in certain cases, the usage of condoms might be allowable stating "The use of condoms can, in certain situations, be a lesser evil".^[2] He stressed the particular case of married couples where one has HIV/AIDS.^[3] But he quickly noted that it's one thing the principle of the lesser evil in such cases, and quite another the subject who has to convey those things publicly, thus it is not up to the Church authorities to support condom use publicly, because of "the risk of promoting an irresponsible attitude". The Church is more likely to support other morally sustainable means, such as abstinence^[4]. The Cardinal's position on the start of a distinct human life during the fetilization of oocytes was rebuked by certain Vatican officials^[5]. Some of Martini's other positions may have frustrated Church leaders, but official response from the Roman Curia was limited.