(a) The code of canon law governs marriage, not Italian law.

The Code of Canon Law is incorporated into the legal system of the VCS by the 1929 Law of the Sources of the Law, one of the six constitutional laws of 1929. Article 11 of the Second Law specifically outlines areas that are regulated solely by canon law. These include marriage, prescription of ecclesiastical property, and gifts and legacies upon death.

(b) The age of consent refers to marriage, not illicit sexual intercourse (seeing as how that is a mortal sin)

© The age of consent for *marriage *in the Code of Canon Law is 16 for boys and 14 for girls, and can be set to a higher age by the conference of Bishops. The Code of Canon Law acknowledges that in some cultures girls do marry at this age-- many in Africa, Asia, Middle East, etc. But, the Bishops Conference can set a higher age.

Can. 1083 §1. A man before he has completed his sixteenth year of age and a woman before she has completed her fourteenth year of age cannot enter into a valid marriage.

§2. The conference of bishops is free to establish a higher age for the licit celebration of marriage.

(d) The age of consent does not apply to priests because priests are celibate

(e) If the age of consent as it pertains to *illicit sex *between persons is governed by the criminal code of Italy, then the *Italian government *is to be properly accused of being pedophiles, not the VCS.

(f) Saying that all priests are pedophiles because the Italian criminal code specifies an age of consent of 12 (if this is even true since I could not find any documents in English which confirm this accusation) then they lack the ability to use basic logic. They aren’t even very good atheists. Atheists usually pride themselves on using logic and reason. These particular atheists would get the stuffing knocked out of them at a freshman debate meet.

Which leads me to believe you will get nowhere with these particular atheists since they are using such an absurd and weak argument. They are not going to listen to anything you have to say.