- Renato Martino
Renato Raffaele Martino (born
23 November 1932 ) is an ItalianCardinal Deacon , and President of thePontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in theRoman Catholic Church .Biography
Born in
Salerno , Martino was ordained as a priest in 1957. He holds a doctorate in Canon law and is fluent in Italian, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Renato Martino
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
relstyle=
See=Segerme (titular )|After finishing his studies, Martino entered the Vatican's diplomatic service in 1962, serving in
Nicaragua , thePhilippines ,Lebanon ,Canada , andBrazil .In 1980, Martino was given a
pro-nuncio diplomatic appointment toThailand , and he was named Archbishop of thetitular see ofSegerme that same year.On
1 October 2002 , Martino was named President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace after being Permanent Observer of theHoly See to theUnited Nations inNew York City from 1986.Martino was elevated to the
College of Cardinals in theconsistory of21 October 2003 becomingCardinal-Deacon of "S. Francesco di Paola ai Monti ".Martino was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected
Pope Benedict XVI . On6 November 2006 , after the death sentence had been passed onSaddam Hussein , Martino said that:...punishing a crime with another crime – which is what killing for vindication is – would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth...
He pleaded for clemency for Hussein and called for a peace conference aimed at solving all the major conflicts in the
Middle East and reiterated his position thatinvasion of Iraq by U.S.-led coalition was wrong.On June 14, 2007, Martino urged Catholics to withhold donations to
Amnesty International , citing the group's support of women's abortion rights in cases of incest or rape, or for women whose lives would be endangered by pregnancy.External links
* [http://www.catholic-pages.com/hierarchy/cardinals_bio.asp?ref=203 Biography at catholic-pages.com]
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