Pope Stands Ground
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI yesterday set out "nonnegotiable values" as he urged Catholic lawmakers to oppose laws favoring divorce, abortion, homosexual "marriage" and euthanasia.
In a long-awaited text, the pope exhorted "Catholic politicians and legislators ... to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature."
"These values are not negotiable," he wrote, listing "respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death [and] the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman."
Benedict's first such apostolic exhortation dashed any hope for a relaxation of the requirement of celibacy for Roman Catholic priests, and comes as draft legislation before Italy's parliament proposes to give legal status to unmarried couples, including homosexuals.
The document, which is second in importance only to an encyclical and reflects the conclusions of an October 2005 synod of bishops, also comes as efforts to break the taboo against euthanasia are spreading across Europe.
Labels: Catholicism
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