Vatican newspaper reveals rising star in galaxy of church thinkers

Published: 2004-04-23

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The inside pages of the Vatican newspaper are not the usual place for scoops and revelations. But slogging through the columns of gray text occasionally can yield rewards. Here is where the Vatican often hones its moral arguments and introduces favored authors. In mid-April, attentive readers got both. The theme was gay marriage, and the writer was a 33-year-old German philosophy scholar named Raphaela Schmid. Vatican insiders describe her as "supercompetent" and a rising star in the galaxy of young church thinkers educated under Pope John Paul II. On homosexual unions, she is unequivocal, analytical and provocative. With the headline "Is Marriage Just Discrimination?" her article sought to systematically dismantle the argument that denying marriage to homosexuals is a form of injustice. Schmid's argument rests on the fact that society has long given advantages to married couples for reasons of procreation and socialization. A married man and woman typically produce, raise and educate children -- a vital process of social renewal that deserves preferential status, she said.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .