The Intimate. Polity and the Catholic Church: Laws about Life, Death and the Family in So-called Catholic Countries PDF
Preview The Intimate. Polity and the Catholic Church: Laws about Life, Death and the Family in So-called Catholic Countries
The Intimate Polity and the Catholic Church POLITY AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH THE INTIMATE Laws about Life, Death and the Family in So-called Catholic Countries KAREL DOBBELAERE & ALFONSO PÉREZ-AGOTE, EDS Leuven University Press EDITORIAL BOARD Urs Altermatt, Université de Fribourg Timothy Brittain-Catlin, University of Kent Wilhelm Damberg, Ruhr-Universität Bochum Jan De Maeyer, KU Leuven - KADOC Jean-Dominique Durand, Université Lyon 3 Emmanuel Gerard, KU Leuven - KADOC James C. Kennedy, Universiteit van Amsterdam Rupert Klieber, Universität Wien Mathijs Lamberigts, KU Leuven Emiel Lamberts, KU Leuven Jean-Michel Leniaud, École pratique des hautes études, Sorbonne, Paris Daniele Menozzi, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa Anne Morelli, Université Libre de Bruxelles Silvia Mostaccio, Université catholique de Louvain Patrick Pasture, KU Leuven Liliane Voyé, Université Catholique de Louvain © 2015 Leuven University Press/Presses Universitaires de Louvain/Universitaire Pers Leuven Minderbroedersstraat 4, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium) All rights reserved. Except in those cases expressly determined by law, no part of this publication may be multiplied, saved in an automated data file or made public in any way whatsoever without the express prior written consent of the publishers. ISBN 978 94 6270 027 7 D/2015/1869/11 NUR: 697, 695 CONTENTS Introduction 7 Karel Dobbelaere & Alfonso Pérez-Agote Euthanasia and the Belgian Catholic World 13 Liliane Voyé & Karel Dobbelaere “Mariage pour tous” 55 The Same-Sex Marriage Controversy in France Céline Béraud & Philippe Portier The Italian Catholic Church and the Artificial-Insemination Referendum 93 Annalisa Frisina, Franco Garelli, Enzo Pace & Roberto Scalon Ethical Challenges of the Catholic Church in Portugal 125 The Case of Same-Sex Marriage Helena Vilaça & Maria João Oliveira The Catholic Church Faces Ethical Challenges in Spain 155 The Regulation of Abortion Alfonso Pérez-Agote, Jose Santiago & Antonio Montañés Comparative Synthesis 199 Karel Dobbelaere, Alfonso Pérez-Agote & Céline Béraud Authors 223 Colophon 224 INTRODUCTION KAREL DOBBELAERE & ALFONSO PÉREZ-AGOTE M ost studies concerning the evolution of Catholicism in Western Europe under- score in general the clear decrease in church practices and, sometimes also, the decline or even the erosion of the orthodox beliefs. However, the loss of the impact of Catholicism on these societies manifests itself also in the changes in certain laws in the domain of ethics, which until very recently, were profoundly marked by the Christian vision. This indicates the diminishing ascendancy of Catholi- cism over our societies, an ‘exculturation’ that testifies to a further step in the secu- larization process.1 Indeed, in the last quarter of the 20th and the early years of the 21st century, European countries saw the enactment of laws authorising practices whose content contradicts the doctrine, the teachings, and – generally speaking – the ethi- cal and ideological positions of the Roman Catholic Church. These laws pose unques- tionably challenges in a range of different areas, all belonging to personal intimacy. Some concern life, such as the legislation on abortion and euthanasia; others refer to the family, such as the legislation on divorce, contraception, same-sex marriage or the adoption of children by such couples; while still others involve science, including stem cell research and genetic engineering. These are not the only challenges facing the Catholic Church, but in a certain sense they are the most visible in the contempo- rary age in Western European countries. In table 1, we give an overview of the enact- ment of such laws in Western European countries with a strong Catholic tradition: Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In all countries, the first departure from the Catholic ethic concerning the family was on the level of the indissoluble bonds of matrimony. This occurred first in France and Belgium, nearly a century later in Portugal, later in Spain and last in Italy. 1 Hervieu-Léger, Catholicisme. KAREL DOBBELAERE & ALFONSO PÉREZ-AGOTE 8 TABLE 1 DATES OF THE (FIRST) LATEST LEGISLATION* CONCERNING ETHICAL MATTERS IN FIVE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WITH A STRONG CATHOLIC TRADITION Laws on Belgium France Italy Portugal Spain Abortion 1990 1975 1978 (1984) (1985) 2007 2010** Divorce (1830) (1792) 1970 (1910) (1932) 2007 2005 1975 1981 Euthanasia 2002 Medically assisted procreation 2007 1994 2004 2006 (1988) 2006 Same-sex marriage 2003 2013 2010 2005 * The successive changes in these laws go nearly always in the direction of a growing liberalisation of the laws. ** December 20th 2013, the Spanish government adopted a draft bill tightening the abortion law of 2010, how- ever on September 23, 2014, the Prime Minister announced the withdrawal of the bill. A second change concerning family life occurred around the end of the 20th centu- ry. All five countries legalised abortion under certain conditions. This challenged a centuries old traditional Western, basically Christian, ethic holding that all human life, irrespective of its nature or quality, has intrinsic value and should be protected.2 This was the first step in questioning the so-called sanctity of human life. The next changes in laws, further challenging it were the law on euthanasia in Belgium and the laws on medically assisted procreation in all countries under study. In the early 21st century, the traditional family ethic came under further pressure with the legali- sation of same-sex marriages, except in Italy. This change was not always introduced immediately but after an intermediate step: the legalisation of a civil union between two adults of same sex organizing their joint life, implying legal rights and responsi- bilities, the cases of France and Portugal. All these ethical laws challenged the Catho- lic doctrine and the Episcopal Conferences opposed these laws in different ways. This book is the result of research carried out by GERICR3 in five Western European countries with a strong Catholic tradition. In each country the aim was to understand the position of the Catholic Church in relation to the tide of legisla- tion described above. This was done by analysing the stance adopted by the national Catholic hierarchy and the degree of homogeneity within the Catholic ranks, and by studying internal trends, and the positions and attitudes of the Catholic population 2 Singer, Rethinking Life and Death, 1-4. 3 Groupe Européen de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur le Changement Religieux. This is the second book by the Group. The first was in 2012: Pérez-Agote, ed., Portraits du Catholicisme. Three Spanish institutions have funded the work of the Group: BBVA Foundation, Ministry of Education (SEJ 2007- 64625) and Ministry of Science and Technology (CSO 2010-16148). INTRODUCTION 9 TABLE 2 PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS DEFINING THEMSELVES TO BELONG TO A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION OR NOT ACCORDING TO THE EUROPEAN VALUES STUDY IN 2008-2009* The Catholic Church Another denomination Un-churched Belgium 51 6 43 France 45 6 49 Italy 80 1 19 Portugal 83 4 13 Spain 58 18 24 * Pérez-Agote, ed. Portraits du Catholicisme, 255. in relation to these new phenomena. There is also an analysis of the methods and degree of response to these legislative processes by the Church in the public political sphere, and of the varying extent concerning its autonomy from the Vatican, and the means of achieving or failing to achieve this autonomy. In order to conduct this analysis, in each country, the research subgroups select- ed a specific theme on which to carry out an in-depth study. Each country has chosen the issue which best highlights the characteristics and the forms of response of Catholicism to these contemporary ethical challenges. In Belgium the issue is eutha- nasia; in France and Portugal, the issue selected was the legalisation of marriage between same-sex couples; in Spain, abortion and in Italy medically assisted procre- ation was the choice of the researchers. All chapters present an analysis of the laws under consideration and the reaction of the ‘church’. This research considers the term ‘church’ in its broadest sociological sense, as a heterogeneous and complex grouping comprising – on the one hand – the hierarchy, the Catholic population as a whole and the individual and collective actors in gener- al; and – on the other hand – the interactions between these different social actors. Homogeneity and heterogeneity, on the one hand, and solidarity and conflict dynam- ics on the other. In order to understand the reactions of the Church in each country to the ethical challenge in question, as viewed from this standpoint, the following elements were described and analysed: • The main legal and political decisions which have posed problems for the Catholic Church and the key historical moments which have provoked reactions from the Church. • The institutions, actors and groups that have been the main protagonists of these reac- tions, both within the official hierarchy and in other groups, whether dissident or not. • The means of response deployed by the Catholic hierarchy and by the other signifi- cant individual or collective actors: documents, the media, public demonstrations, conscientious objection, the adoption of an electoral stance, adoption of a position with regard to voting intentions, relations with political parties, etc. • Data on the opinions concerning these ethical issues held by society at large and by the Catholic population in particular.
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