) is an Italian cleric of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. He is the current archbishop of Florence

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence

The Archdiocese of Florence is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy. Traditionally founded in the 1st century, it was elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on May 10, 1419, by Pope Martin V. Its mother church is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, which has as its pastor the...

 and the former Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference

Conferenza Episcopale Italiana

The Italian Episcopal Conference is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church and as such is the official assembly of all the bishops in Italy. The conference was founded in 1971 and carries out certain tasks as well as having authority assigned to setting the...

.

Early life

Ordained priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 in 1970. He received a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University

Pontifical Gregorian University

The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...

 and a doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute

Pontifical Biblical Institute

The Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, Italy is an institution of the Holy See run by the Jesuits that offers instruction at the university level...

. He was Professor of anthropology biblical exegesis; Dean of the Theological Institute of Assisi. He also served as undersecretary

Undersecretary

An under secretary is an executive government official in many countries, frequently a career public servant, who typically acts as a senior administrator or second-in-command to a politically-appointed Cabinet Minister or other government official...

 of Italian Episcopal Conference.

Bishop

He was nominated by Pope John Paul II as Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference

Conferenza Episcopale Italiana

The Italian Episcopal Conference is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church and as such is the official assembly of all the bishops in Italy. The conference was founded in 1971 and carries out certain tasks as well as having authority assigned to setting the...

 and was simultaneously appointed Titular Bishop

Titular bishop

A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...

 of Falerone

Falerone

Falerone is a town and comune in province of Fermo, in the Italian region of the Marche, southeast of Urbisaglia.-History:Almost nothing is known of the ancient town except from inscriptions, from which, and from the remains of its buildings, it appears to have been a centre of some importance in...

. He received episcopal consecration on 6 May 2001. He was confirmed as Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference, for a further five-year term, on 6 April 2006.

Archbishop of Florence

Betori was appointed to replace Ennio Antonelli, who had been appointed as president of the Pontifical Council for the Family

Pontifical Council for the Family

The Pontifical Council for the Family is part of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio Familia a Deo Instituta, replacing the Committee for the Family that Pope Paul VI had established in 1973...

, as archbishop of Florence by Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 on 8 September 2008. He received the pallium

Pallium

The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...

 from Pope Benedict on 29 June 2009, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...

 in Rome. http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/b0_en.htm

On 5 November 2011 Archbishop Betori survived an apparent assassination attempt. An unidentified man confronted the archbishop outside his office, shot and wounded the prelate’s secretary, and waved a gun at the cardinal before escaping. Fr Paolo Brogi, the archbishop's secretary, was reportedly in satisfactory condition after surgery to repair an abdominal wound. Archbishop Betori and witnesses that the gunman said something as he gestured toward the prelate with his firearm, but they could not understand his intent.

Life and family issues

In a 2007 speech, he identified as the new enemies of Christianity: abortion, euthanasia, the negation of sexual duality and of a family based on marriage.

Ordination of homosexuals

Betori has favored a ban on the ordination of homosexuals, saying the word discrimination can be used where there is a right, but that a vocation is not a right but a gift.

Relationship with Benedict XVI

According to Abbé Claude Barthe, Betori is a member of the paleoliberal wing of the Roman Curia

Roman Curia

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...

, who along with Giovanni Battista Re, has constituted a kind of internal curial opposition to the decisions and policies of Pope Benedict XVI.

External links

• Profile of Giuseppe Betori on Catholic Hierarchy

Sources