Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Witness for Christ crucial; more mixed Muslim-Christian marriages jeopardize faith in Europe

Muslim-Christian Marriages Stir Concern in Italy
Cardinal Ruini Appeals for "Prudence and Firmness"

ROME, DEC. 1, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Italian bishops' conference has called for prudence given the increase of mixed Muslim-Christian marriages in the country.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini said that "the existential and ecclesial implications" of such unions "suggest prudence and firmness and call for a reaffirmed awareness of the Christian identity and Catholic view on marriage and the family, in virtue also of the consequences that derive at the religious and social level and interreligious dialogue."

The Pope's vicar for Rome addressed the issue in the introduction to a note on "Marriages between Catholics and Muslims." The note was presented Tuesday as "Guidelines of the Presidency of the Italian Episcopal Conference."
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Italian bishops discourage mixed marriages
Rome, Dec. 02, 2005 (CNA) - The Bishops’ Conference of Italy has issued a statement discouraging mixed marriages, especially between Catholics and Muslims, citing the numerous problems such unions pose for couples.

“Because of the experience of recent years, we would advise against, or least discourage, mixed marriages,” the bishops stated, saying that such unions are “inherently fragile,” that mixed couples tend to disagree about “the religious education of their children” and that couples often have opposing views regarding “the role of women” and the very meaning of marriage.
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Italian bishops get signal on Muslims

By Brian Wingfield
The New York Times
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2005

ROME Bishops in Italy should discourage interfaith marriages between Roman Catholics and Muslims, according to one of the church's most prominent cardinals.

"The experience of recent years shows as a general rule to advise against or, however, to not encourage these marriages," Cardinal Camillo Ruini, head of the Italian bishops conference, said in a document published Tuesday for the conference.

The document discussed the difficulties of interfaith marriages in Italy, a country which is, at least nominally, about 90 percent Roman Catholic. It noted, among other things, the "intrinsic fragility of such unions," "the diverse conceptions of the institute of marriage," and "the different visions of the role of women," according to La Repubblica, a Rome daily.

The issue of interfaith marriages has been the subject of discussion by the bishops conference here for several months. The church has grappled with relations between Islam and Christianity for several years, both worldwide and in Italy, where the number of Muslims has increased markedly in recent years due to immigration. In 2000, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, who then was the archbishop of Bologna and who is now retired, called on Italy to favor Christian immigrants over those from Muslim countries in order to preserve the country's identity.

Before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger suggested that Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country, was not part of Europe, and he encouraged Europeans to rediscover their Christian roots.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 9:46 PM