Angelo Bagnasco
| His Eminence Angelo Bagnasco | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop of Genoa | |
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| Archdiocese | Genoa |
| See | Genoa |
| Appointed | 29 August 2006 |
| Installed | 24 September 2006 |
| Predecessor | Tarcisio Bertone, SDB |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of Gran Madre di Dio |
| Orders | |
| Ordination |
29 June 1966 by Giuseppe Siri |
| Consecration |
7 February 1998 by Dionigi Tettamanzi |
| Created cardinal |
24 November 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Angelo Bagnasco |
| Born |
14 January 1943 Pontevico, Brescia, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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| Motto | Christus spes mea |
| Coat of arms |
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Angelo Bagnasco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈandʒelo baɲˈɲasko]; born 14 January 1943) is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the Archbishop of Genoa. He was President of the Italien Episcopal Conference (CEI) from 2007 to 2017 and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2007. Since 2016 he has been President of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe.
He is considered to be conservative in his views and a theological ally of his predecessor in the CEI, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
Early life
Bagnasco was born to Alfredo and Rosa Bagnasco in Pontevico (Brescia), where his family was evacuated during World War II. He said in an interview: "I became an altar boy in my parish in the historic center of Genoa, in Piazza Sarzano, when I was six years old. My old parish priest was Abbot Giovanni Battista Gazzolo, first, and afterwards Monsignor Carlo Viacava while his deputy was a young curate, Don Gianni Zamiti—the latter two are still alive and overjoyed that their little altar boy has become their archbishop—who supervised us on afternoons in the parish club where we went to play. The desire to become a priest was born precisely when I was in elementary school, but I didn’t confide it to anybody. Afterwards I went to a co-ed middle school, always with that desire in my heart".[1]
Priesthood
He attended the liceum of classics at the archdiocosean seminary of Genoa, and was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1966 by Cardinal Giuseppe Siri. While a priest in Genoa, he received a degree in philosophy from the University of Genoa, served as professor of metaphysics and contemporary atheism at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy, and led the archdiocesan liturgical and catechesis offices. He was once the diocesan representative to the FUCI (the Italian Catholic Federation of University Students) and led efforts for the pastoral care of students in the region.[2]
Early episcopal career
Bagnasco was appointed Bishop of Pesaro on 3 January 1998. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 7 February from Archbishop Dionigi Tettamanzi, with Bishops Gaetano Michetti and Giacomo Barabino serving as co-consecrators. Bagnasco became Metropolitan Archbishop of the same see on 11 March 2000.
Since 2001, he has held several posts within the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), including president of the administrative board of its newspaper Avvenire, and secretary for schools and universities. On 20 June 2003, he was appointed Archbishop of the Military Ordinariate of Italy. He described his appointment as "totally unexpected" and that he accepted it "with surprise and some trepidation. First of all because the military world was totally unknown to me, and then because it was a matter of an extensive diocese, covering the whole country and even beyond, with our soldiers on missions to foreign countries".[3]
Archbishop of Genoa
| Styles of Angelo Bagnasco | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Genoa |
Following the resignation of Tarcisio Bertone, Bagnasco was appointed Archbishop of Genoa on 29 August 2006. He was installed on the following 24 September. He defended Pope Benedict XVI in the Regensburg controversy.
On 7 March 2007, Benedict XVI selected Bagnasco to succeed Camillo Ruini as President of the Italian Episcopal Conference for a five-year term. "The choice is a compromise between two of Benedict's two most influential policy-movers—Bagnasco is a confirmed Ruini-ite, 'but Bertone likes him,' as one op put it."[4]
On 27 June 2007, Archbishop Bagnasco, along with several other prelates, attended a briefing at the Apostolic Palace on Pope Benedict's impending motu proprio allowing wider celebration of the Tridentine Mass.[5] Two days after this meeting, on 29 June, he and forty-five others were invested with the pallium, a woolen vestment reserved for metropolitan bishops, by Benedict in St. Peter's Basilica.
Cardinal and curial assignments
On 17 October 2007 Pope Benedict announced that Bagnasco would be created cardinal in a consistory on 24 November. He was created Cardinal-Priest of Gran Madre di Dio. On 12 June 2008, Benedict appointed him to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.[6]
Also in 2008 Bagnasco was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Congregation for Bishops,[6] but he was named a member when Pope Francis overhauled the membership of that Congregation in 2013.[7]
Bagnasco took part in the papal conclave of 2013 that elected Pope Francis, and was seen as a possible contender (papabili) for the papacy by some media sources.[8][9]
In February 2018, Pope Francis extended Bagnasco's tenure in Genoa for two years beyond the normal retirement age of 75.[10]
Views
Abortion
Cardinal Bagnasco has expressed strong opposition to abortion, especially with regards to the RU-486 pill, which has abortive effects on the conceptus.[11]
Opposition to gay rights
In April 2007, following a condemnation of same-sex unions—in which he said, "Why say 'no' to forms of legally recognised co-habitation which create alternatives to the family? Why say 'no' to incest? Why say 'no' to the paedophile party in Holland?"[12]—Bagnasco allegedly found himself the target of death threats. The Genoa police department, while dismissing any serious cause for concern, assigned an armed officer to guard him.[13]
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio from the Italian Green Party, a vocal supporter of gay rights, said Bagnasco had made a "grave, foolish comparison which offends millions of people".[14]
Bagnasco later condemned a ruling made by the Tuscan courts in 2014 which, for the first time in Italy, recognized the marriage of a gay couple who had wed in New York.[15] He has also described gay civil unions and same-sex marriages as a “Trojan horse” that fundamentally weaken the institution of the family.[16]
Social teaching
Bagnasco affirmed that each man has the right to be employed. He also advised that the flexibility of the workforce has to be limited.
Transparency in politics
On 15 February 2011, he said: "Transparency is a value which is needed at all levels for the good of the country."[17]
References
- ↑ 30 Days. "When the Pope Calls, One Answers" Archived 19 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine. February 2007
- ↑ Biography – Archdiocese of Genoa Archived 1 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine., www.diocesi.genova.it. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ↑ 30 Days. "When the Pope Calls, One Answers" Archived 19 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine. February 2007
- ↑ Whispers in the Loggia. 7 March 2007
- ↑ Catholic World News. Vatican confirms briefing on motu proprio; publication near 28 June 2007
- 1 2 "Article".
- ↑ Cindy Wooden (16 December 2013). "Pope reconfirms Cardinal Ouellet to lead bishops' congregation". Catholic News Service.
- ↑ "Pope Election – Papal Conclave 2013".
- ↑ "Papabile of the Day: The Men Who Could Be Pope". National Catholic Reporter. 27 February 2013.
- ↑ "Il Papa proroga di due anni il cardinale Bagnasco". La Repubblica (in Italian). 15 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ↑ Pillola Ru486, Cardinale Bagnasco: Chi la usa diventa criminale, L'Unione Sarda
- ↑ Pink News Bishop Compares Gay Rights to Incest 2 April 2007
- ↑ Catholic World News. New Threats Against Italian Archbishop Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. 9 April 2007
- ↑ News 24. Storm Over Bishop's Gay Remarks Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. 2 April 2007
- ↑ http://www.thelocal.it/20140410/italian-bishop-lambasts-gay-marriage-ruling
- ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/11223136/Gay-marriage-a-Trojan-horse-says-Catholic-cardinal.html
- ↑ From Repubblica website
External links
- "Bagnasco Card. Angelo". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- Angelo Bagnasco at Catholic-pages
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gaetano Michetti |
Archbishop of Pesaro 3 January 1998 – 20 June 2003 |
Succeeded by Piero Coccia |
| Preceded by Giuseppe Mani |
Military Ordinary of Italy 20 June 2003 – 29 August 2006 |
Succeeded by Vincenzo Pelvi |
| Preceded by Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, SDB |
Archbishop of Genoa 29 August 2006 – present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Camillo Ruini |
President of the Italian Episcopal Conference 7 March 2007 - 24 May 2017 |
Succeeded by Gualtiero Bassetti |
Authority control  |
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