Focus on lay people, his knowledge of art
Apr 17, 2005
The Italian Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, 66, is Archbishop of Florence and former president of the Italian bishops' conference. He is known in Italy for his focus on lay people, his knowledge of art, and a 1990 pastoral letter condemning superstition in all its local forms - notably horoscopes and tarot cards.
(The Tablet, 23 April 2005) An outspoken critic of the war on Iraq, he asked all the Churches in his archdiocese to toll their bells in mourning the first night of the war and said his own opposition to military action in Iraq was "convinced, firm and passionate."
In almost every archdiocesan celebration he has been involved in, the former bishop of Gubbio as well as Perugia has spoken of "the unique religious and civil vocation" of Florence as a treasury of religious art visited by millions each year.
Each Catholic in Florence, he said in a June pastoral letter, has an obligation to share the religious significance of the works of Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael with the tourists who come to see them.
Focus on lay people, his knowledge of art