Asunción, Paraguay, Jun 25, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Prefect of the Congregation of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Cardinal Franc Rodé, said that the Catholic Church "cannot negotiate" the defense of marriage as the exclusive union of a man and a woman.
In a statement for Radio Cáritas, Cardinal Rodé said that, "it is simply ridiculous to say that same-sex unions should be called families." He recalled Pope Benedict words in a recent speech before members of the European Parliament, in which he said that the defense of the family is one of the issues on which the Catholic Church "cannot negotiate."
Cardinal Rodé said that the Pontiff will speak "very clearly" in defense of the family in the World Meeting of the Families in Valencia.
Cardinal Rodé made his comments while participating in the General Assembly of the Latin-American Conference for Religious, taking place in Paraguay. In his first message he told those gathered that "among consecrated people ideologies have also spread that are against the gospel" and he asked the religious present not to be ruled by the pagan ideology characteristic of the world today.