Carlo Caffarra

His Eminence
Carlo Caffarra
Cardinal, Archbishop of Bologna
Cardinal Carlo Caffarra in Madrid for World Youth Day 2011.
Archdiocese Bologna
Province Bologna
See Bologna
Appointed 16 December 2003
Installed 15 February 2004
Predecessor Giacomo Biffi
Other posts Cardinal-Priest of S. Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini
Orders
Ordination 2 July 1961
by Guglielmo Bosetti
Consecration 21 October 1995
by Giacomo Biffi
Created Cardinal 24 March 2006
Rank Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth name Carlo Caffarra
Born 1 June 1938
Samboseto di Busseto, Italy
Nationality Italian
Denomination Roman Catholic
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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 24 March 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Styles of
Carlo Caffarra
Reference style His Eminence
Spoken style Your Eminence
Informal style Cardinal
See Bologna

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 was taught moral theology in the seminaries of Fidenza and Parma; and later, at the Studio Teologico 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 concerning human procreation.

He taught medical ethics at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in 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

He was elected Archbishop of Ferrara-Comacchio on 8 September 1995 being consecrated on 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]

Cardinalate

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]

In June 2013 Cardinal Caffarra will submit his age induced resignation to the Pope who will decide on a successor.

He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis.

References

External links

Preceded by
Giacomo Biffi
Archbishop of Bologna
16 December 2003–present
Incumbent