Jean-Louis Tauran | |
|---|---|
| President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church | |
 Tauran in 2012 | |
| Appointed | 25 June 2007 (President) 20 December 2014 (Camerlengo) |
| Installed | 9 March 2015 (as Camerlengo) |
| Term ended | 5 July 2018 |
| Predecessor | Paul Poupard (President) andTarcisio Bertone (Camerlengo) |
| Successor | Kevin Joseph Farrell (Camerlengo) Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot (President) |
| Other post | Cardinal-Priest ofSant'Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrinepro hac vice (2003–18) |
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 September 1969 by Marius-Félix-Antoine Maziers |
| Consecration | 6 January 1991 by Pope John Paul II |
| Created cardinal | 21 October 2003 byPope John Paul II |
| Rank |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran (1943-04-05)5 April 1943 |
| Died | 5 July 2018(2018-07-05) (aged 75) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Nationality | French |
| Denomination | Catholic (Roman Rite) |
| Alma mater | |
| Motto |
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| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Jean-Louis Tauran | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Thelepte (titular see) |
Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran (French:[ʒɑ̃lwitoʁɑ̃]; 5 April 1943 – 5 July 2018) was a Frenchcardinal of the Catholic Church. When he died, he had been the president of thePontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since 2007 andCamerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since the end of 2014. He was made a cardinal in 2003 and was theCardinal Protodeacon from 2011 to 2014. His earlier career included almost thirty years in the diplomatic service of theHoly See and several years as the Vatican's chief archivist and librarian.[1]
Born inBordeaux, France, Tauran studied atPontifical Gregorian University inRome, Italy, earninglicentiates in philosophy andtheology and adoctorate in canon law. He also studied atPontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome andCatholic University of Toulouse, France. He wasordained to the priesthood by ArchbishopMarius Maziers on 20 September 1969 and worked as acurate in theArchdiocese of Bordeaux before entering theVatican's diplomatic service in 1975. He was secretary of thenunciatures to the Dominican Republic (1975–1978) and to Lebanon (1979–1983). Tauran became an official of the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church in 1983, and then participated in special missions in Haiti (1984), andBeirut andDamascus (1986). He was also a member of the Vatican delegation to the meetings of theConference on European Security and Cooperation,Conference on Disarmament inStockholm, and Cultural Forum inBudapest and laterVienna.
On 1 December 1990, Tauran was appointedSecretary for Relations with States of theSecretariat of State andTitular Archbishop ofThélepte byPope John Paul II. He received hisepiscopal consecration on 6 January 1991 from John Paul II himself, with ArchbishopsGiovanni Battista Re andJustin Francis Rigali serving asco-consecrators, inSt. Peter's Basilica. As Secretary, Tauran essentially served as theforeign minister of the Vatican. In regards to theIraqi conflict, he once emphasized the importance ofdialogue and the United Nations,[2] and said that "a unilateral war of aggression would constitute a crime against peace and against theGeneva Conventions".[3]
Tauran was createdCardinal-Deacon ofSant'Apollinare alle Terme by Pope John Paul II in theconsistory of 21 October 2003. On the following 24 November, he was namedArchivist and Librarian of theHoly Roman Church, overseeing theVatican Secret Archives andVatican Library. In late 2003, Tauran drew attention to the "second-class" treatment of non-Muslims in "manyMuslim countries", especially Saudi Arabia.[2]
Representing the Pope, Tauran attended the March 2005 dedication of the newHolocaust museum atYad Vashem inJerusalem. Tauran was one of thecardinal electors who participated in the2005 papal conclave that selectedPope Benedict XVI. He was also one of thecardinal electors in the2013 conclave that electedPope Francis. In the days prior to the 2013 conclave, the VaticanologistJohn L. Allen Jr. viewed Tauran as a "long-shot"papabile. Allen remarked: "On paper, Tauran profiles as virtually the perfect anti-candidate, meaning someone who really shouldn't be in the running at all: a history of health scares, a career bureaucrat with zero pastoral experience, and a delicate personality at a time when many cardinals are seeking a strong governor."[4]
As the Cardinal Protodeacon (senior Cardinal-Deacon) at the 2013 conclave, he announced the election of the new pope on 13 March 2013 andbestowed the pallium on Pope Francis at hispapal inauguration on 19 March. In his role as Protodeacon for the2013 conclave Tauran said that "people asked 'How do you prepare yourself for theHabemus Papam?' I'd say 'No, I'm preparing myself for the conclave.' The conclave is not like the parliament with a campaign. It's a spiritual meeting. You have to remember the conclave is a liturgical celebration particularly from the morning to the evening. It's a spiritual experience. It was very deep for me. It's the manifestation of the singularity of the Catholic Church. You can feel the richness of the life of the church and how the positive aspects are greater than the negative ones".[5]
Cardinal Tauran exercised his option to be promoted to cardinal-priest[a] and accordingly on 12 June 2014, Pope Francis elevated Tauran to the title of Cardinal-Priest.[6] He was succeeded as Protodeacon by CardinalRenato Raffaele Martino.[6]
Although he hadParkinson's disease, Tauran was appointed president of thePontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on 25 June 2007, effective 1 September.[7] In addition to his duties as president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, he was a member of the Secretariat of State (Second Section); theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; theCongregation for the Oriental Churches; theCongregation for Bishops; thePontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; thePontifical Council for Culture; theApostolic Signatura; theAdministration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See; thePontifical Commission for Vatican City State, and the Cardinal Commission for the Supervision of theInstitute for Works of Religion (IOR).
Tauran was a friend ofAnglicanJohn Andrew (1931–2014), formerrector ofSt. Thomas Church in New York City. For thefiftieth anniversary of Andrew'sordination in late June 2007, Tauran served as a guest preacher.[2] He was a friend of theAnglican priest Roger Greenacre, formerprecentor ofChichester Cathedral in England. For Greenacre'sfiftieth anniversary of hisordination atMichaelmas (the Feast of theArchangelSaint Michael) of 2005, Tauran traveled to Chichester and served as a guest preacher.[8] He was also present at Greenacre's Memorial Requiem at Chichester Cathedral on 23 September 2011.[9]
In an April 2012 message marking the upcoming Buddhist celebration ofVesakh, a feast commemorating the key events in the life of theBuddha, Tauran said that "Young people are an asset for all societies" and called for education about varieties of religious practice in order to allow them to "advance together as responsible human beings and to be ready to join hands with those of other religions to resolve conflicts and to promote friendship, justice, peace and authentic human development".[10]
Tauran described his role as president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, saying:
[Y]ou have to remember that interreligious dialogue is not dialogue between religions. It's dialogue between believers. It's not a theological, philosophical exercise. First you have to accept that we live in a world that's plural: culture, religion, education, scientific research. Every human being has a religious dimension. Between believers we try first of all to know each other. And the first thing you have to do is to proclaim your faith because you can not build that dialogue on ambiguity. When we are understood, we have to see what separates us and what unites us and to put those commonalities at the service of society. Dialogue is not for the consumption of the community. It's at the service of society. And remember that man doesn't live only on bread. There are spiritual dimensions. Believers have a special role to play in the public dialogue.[5]
In June 2013, Pope Francis named Tauran a member of the five-personPontifical Commission investigating theInstitute for the Works of Religion.[11]
Pope Francis named Tauran to replace CardinalTarcisio Bertone asCamerlengo of the Holy Roman Church on 20 December 2014.[12] Tauran was sworn in as Camerlengo, in the presence of Pope Francis, on 9 March 2015.[13]
Tauran showed evidence of Parkinson's disease as early as 2003, but his condition had stabilized sufficiently by 2007 for him to take on the Pontifical Council presidency.[14] Tauran died aged 75 on 5 July 2018 inHartford,Connecticut, where he had been hospitalized for treatment of Parkinson's.[15] His remains were transferred to Rome where he received the customary funeral rites of a cardinal of theRoman Curia.[16]
Tauran was a "fierce critic" of U.S. plans toinvade Iraq in 2003, which he said would constitute a "crime against peace" and a violation ofinternational law.[17] In August 2007 he said that the facts speak for themselves on Iraq, and that Christians had been better protectedunder Saddam Hussein.[18]
Each year, thePontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sends a message, signed by its president, to Hindus for the festival ofDiwali, which is celebrated during the month of October. In the 2017 message, Tauran called for the promotion of integral development, protection of human life and respect for the dignity and fundamental rights of the person.[19] The Council sends similar messages each year on the occasion of the feasts ofEid ul-Fitr (Islam) andVesak (Buddhism).
In a breakfast meeting with journalists in March 2008, Tauran saidRowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, had been "mistaken and naive" for suggesting that some aspects ofSharia law in Britain were unavoidable. He also lamented the fact that relations with Islam so dominated interreligious dialogue, and that all religions needed to be addressed on equal terms with none assigned second-class status.[20]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Undersecretary for Relations with States 1 March 1989 – 1 December 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary for Relations with States 1 December 1990 – 6 October 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Librarian of the Holy Roman Church 24 November 2003 – 25 June 2007 | Succeeded by Raffaele Farina, SDB |
| Archivist of the Holy Roman Church 24 November 2003 – 25 June 2007 | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue 25 June 2007 – 5 July 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal Protodeacon 21 February 2011 – 12 June 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Tarcisio Bertone, SDB | Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church 20 December 2014 – 5 July 2018 | Succeeded by |
