Paris, France, Nov 8, 2007 / 10:51 am
Commenting on the country’s law on bioethics, the newly elected president of the Bishops’ Conference of France, Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois, said this week that it should uphold “respect for human dignity” without exception.
The Archbishop of Paris made his comments during an interview on the Catholic television program “Le jour du Seigneur” (The Day of the Lord), in which he said, “We must be on the alert. I think that with regards to respect for human dignity, we must be very aware of the way in which men and women are treated.”
The archbishop’s election as head of the bishops’ conference comes as he was also chosen by Pope Benedict XVI to be elevated to the College of Cardinals on November 24. “I am amazed at the trust my brothers have placed in me in electing me so quickly. I feel like I am beginning an adventure about which I do not know the details,” he said.
“I think that because of my 20 years of experience as a bishop, I have an important primary mission, which is to help my brother bishops to work together with each other” so that “their different sensibilities and tendencies can be expressed within the Bishops’ Conference,” he said.