Rome, Italy - 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.
However, as pope, Benedict has made a public effort to open the interfaith dialogue. During a visit to Cologne, Germany, for World Youth Day in August, he met publicly with Muslim leaders, reminding them of their "great responsibility" to educate their youth. He also encouraged them to show tolerance for Christians in predominantly Islamic countries. "Respect for minorities is a clear sign of civilization," the pope said.
The issue of Muslim assimilation in Ruini's comments seem to contrast with the Italian government's recent efforts to integrate Muslims into Italian society. On Wednesday, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu announced the formation of an Islamic advisory council to help the government deal with issues related to Islamic integration, immigration and the prevention of terrorism while preserving Italian identity. The council consists of 16 Muslim members - both Italian and foreign - who are community leaders, including imams, journalists and academics.