Following the resignation of France’s chief rabbi in a plagiarism scandal, the Vatican reaffirmed its support for his position against same-sex marriage.
Rabbi Gilles Bernheim, 60, stepped down April 11 after admitting that he had falsified his academic record and had not authored some of the writings published under his name. These included an essay arguing against same-sex marriage that was praised in December by then-Pope Benedict XVI.
According to Vatican Radio, the Vatican’s chief spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said this did not change the Vatican’s position regarding the stand expressed in that essay.
“Benedict XVI showed his appreciation of arguments in favor of marriage between a man and a woman, as expressed in the document published by Rabbi Bernheim,” Lombardi was quoted by Vatican Radio as saying. “The recent issues don’t change that.”
Bernheim had published his essay, “Homosexual Marriage, Gay Parenting and Adoption: What We Forgot to Say,” in October, as part of debate ahead of a parliamentary vote on gay marriage. The French Senate approved the bill on April 12; the lower house is expected to pass the measure next month.