Talk:Giacomo Biffi

Sensationalist bent?
This sentence: "Biffi has stated ... that Catholics must prepare for persecution by homosexual activists and their allies," is not supported by the source material, in which Biffi asks, in the hypothetical, "Is it still permitted ... to be faithful and consistent disciples of the teaching of Christ ... or must we prepare ourselves for a new form of persecution, promoted by homosexual activists, by their ideological accomplices, and even by those whose task it should be to defend the intellectual freedom of all, including Christians?" He is not affirming that gays will persecute Catholics, he is questioning what will happen and presenting two concrete options: persecution is one, and the other is non persecution. Also the phrase "exceedingly rich," which appears in quotes and is attributed to Biffi, is not uttered by Biffi in the article cited, but is used by the author of the article. That's just misleading. 108.23.216.206 (talk) 16:59, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Name or title?
An editor has claimed that once a man is created a cardinal, "Cardinal" becomes part of his name. "Cardinal" is not a name or part of a name. It is a title, wherever it is placed in relation to the name. The man's name remains as before. He doesn't have to get his birth certificate altered. Platia (talk) 13:54, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Most, if not all, cardinals are formally addressed or sign their names as (First) Cardinal (Last). The best example I can think of for this is the Habemus Papam announcement, when the Cardinal Protodeacon says: ''I announce to you a great joy, we have a pope. The Most Eminent and Reverend Lord, Lord (first name) Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (last name).'' Tajm (talk) 10:12, 4 June 2009 (EST)
 * Sign their names? Yes, they do sign in that form, in accordance with tradition.  The Pope too signs as "Benedictus Papa XVI", but he is referred to in English as "Pope Benedict XVI", not as "Benedict Pope XVI".  The monogram of Queen Elizabeth is "ER" for "Elizabeth Regina", and her royal sign-manual is "Elizabeth R"; but she is referred to in English as "Queen Elizabeth", not "Elizabeth Queen".
 * Are formally addressed? Surely nobody addresses a cardinal as: "Giacomo Cardinal Biffi, thank you for coming."
 * Are referred to? The announcement of the election of a pope is made in Latin, not in English, and follows the Latin order. In English, the custom of referring to cardinals according to the Latin order ("Giacomo Cardinal Biffi"), which was once common, has become more and more archaic.  It is not the form that the Vatican uses in English (or Italian): see College of Cardinals, Biographical notes or, if you want Cardinal Giacomo Biffi in particular, see this biography. Platia (talk) 19:04, 4 June 2009 (UTC)