He is considered to be conservative in his views and a theological ally of his predecessor in the CEI, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
Biography
Early life
Bagnasco was born to Alfredo and Rosa Bagnasco in Pontevico (Brescia), where his family was evacuated during World War II. He said in an interview: "I became an altar boy in my parish in the historic center of Genoa, in Piazza Sarzano, when I was six years old. My old parish priest was Abbot Giovanni Battista Gazzolo, first, and afterwards Monsignor Carlo Viacava while his deputy was a young curate, Don Gianni Zamiti—the latter two are still alive and overjoyed that their little altar boy has become their archbishop—who supervised us on afternoons in the parish club where we went to play. The desire to become a priest was born precisely when I was in elementary school, but I didn’t confide it to anybody. Afterwards I went to a co-ed middle school, always with that desire in my heart".[1]
Priesthood
He attended the liceum of classics at the archdiocesan seminary of Genoa, and was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1966 by Cardinal Giuseppe Siri. While a priest in Genoa, he received a degree in philosophy from the University of Genoa, served as professor of metaphysics and contemporary atheism at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy, and led the archdiocesan liturgical and catechesis offices. He was once the diocesan representative to the FUCI (the Italian Catholic Federation of University Students) and led efforts for the pastoral care of students in the region.[2]
Since 2001, he has held several posts within the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), including president of the administrative board of its newspaper Avvenire, and secretary for schools and universities. On 20 June 2003, he was appointed Archbishop of the Military Ordinariate of Italy. He described his appointment as "totally unexpected" and that he accepted it "with surprise and some trepidation. First of all because the military world was totally unknown to me, and then because it was a matter of an extensive diocese, covering the whole country and even beyond, with our soldiers on missions to foreign countries".[1]
On 7 March 2007, Benedict XVI selected Bagnasco to succeed Camillo Ruini as President of the Italian Episcopal Conference for a five-year term. "The choice is a compromise between two of Benedict's two most influential policy-movers—Bagnasco is a confirmed Ruini-ite, 'but Bertone likes him,' as one op put it."[3]
Also in 2008 Bagnasco was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Congregation for Bishops,[5] but he was named a member when Pope Francis overhauled the membership of that Congregation in 2013.[6]
Bagnasco took part in the papal conclave of 2013 that elected Pope Francis, and was seen as a possible contender (papabili) for the papacy by some media sources.[7][8]
In February 2018, Pope Francis extended Bagnasco's tenure in Genoa for two years beyond the normal retirement age of 75.[9] On 8 May 2020, Pope Francis accepted Bagnasco's resignation as Archbishop of Genoa and named Marco Tasca OFM Conv to succeed him.[10]
Health
On 28 September 2021, shortly after returning from the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to the infectious disease unit of Genoa's Galliera Hospital. He said had been vaccinated and knew he could still be infected. On 30 September the hospital reported that his general condition was good and the outlook positive. Several other cardinals have recovered from the virus.[11] He was discharged from hospital on 8 October.[12]
Bagnasco has expressed strong opposition to abortion, especially with regards to the RU-486 pill, which has abortive effects on the conceptus.[13]
Euthanasia
Bagnasco said in remarks to the Italian news agency ANSA in 2016 that "it pains us as Christians but it also pains us as persons" that euthanasia was permitted in Belgium to enable a terminally ill 17 year-old minor to die.[14]
He has in the past said that euthanasia is an action with the absence of love and that it follows a secular criteria rather than a religious one.
Opposition to gay rights
In April 2007, following a condemnation of same-sex unions—in which he said, "Why say 'no' to forms of legally recognised co-habitation which create alternatives to the family? Why say 'no' to incest? Why say 'no' to the paedophile party in Holland?"[15]—Bagnasco allegedly found himself the target of death threats. The Genoa police department, while dismissing any serious cause for concern, assigned an armed officer to guard him.[16]Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio from the Italian Green Party, a vocal supporter of gay rights, said Bagnasco had made a "grave, foolish comparison which offends millions of people".[17]
Bagnasco later condemned a ruling made by the Tuscan courts in 2014 which, for the first time in Italy, recognized the marriage of a gay couple who had wed in New York.[18] He has also described gay civil unions and same-sex marriages as a “Trojan horse” that fundamentally weaken the institution of the family.[19]
In 2019, Bagnasco cancelled three separate public prayers of reparation for a gay pride parade that was set to be held in the archdiocese but offered no explanation for his decision. His decision was, however, met with some criticism as was the lack of explanation for his action.[citation needed]
Social teaching
Bagnasco affirmed that each man has the right to be employed. He has also advised that the flexibility of the workforce has to be limited.[citation needed]
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