Carlo Caffarra (born 1 June 1938 in Busseto) is an Italian cardinal and the current Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bologna. He was educated at the Episcopal Seminary of Fidenza, 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 March 24, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.
| Styles of Carlo Caffarra |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Bologna |
Contents |
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 was taught moral theology in the seminaries of Fidenza and Parma; and later, at the Studio Teologico bolognese; at the Catholic University of Milan; and at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy, specialising in the moral doctrine of marriage and the bioethics concerning human procreation.
He taught medical ethics at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Catholic University Sacro Cuore 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 Institute "Giovanni Paolo II" for the study of Marriage and Family in 1980 and founded sections of the same institute in the United States, Spain and Mexico.
He was elected Archbishop of Ferrara-Comacchio on 8 September 1995 being consecrated on the 21 October 1995 at the cathedral of Fidenza, by Giacomo Biffi, Archbishop of Bologna, assisted by Giovanni Battista Re, Titular Archbishop of Vescovio, and by Carlo Poggi, Bishop of Fidenza. In 2003 he was transferred to the metropolitan see of Bologna.
Caffara is a noted opponent of contraception within the Church and has argued that condom campaigns further exposed society to AIDS because the means of protection are far from reliable. [1] In 1988, the NY Times quoted Caffara as asserting in regards to the use of condoms that acting in accord with morality outweighed any potential "physical harm": "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."[2]
Caffarra was created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in the consistory of 24 March 2006, becoming the Cardinal-Priest of the Titulus 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 that Caffarra published on 14 February 2010, he wrote that "public officials who openly support same-sex marriage cannot consider themselves to be Catholic". As his reason for making this judgement he said: "It's 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]
| Preceded by Giacomo Biffi |
Archbishop of Bologna 16 December 2003–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |