Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of Santo Domingo Primate Emeritus of the Indies | |
 | |
| Archdiocese | Santo Domingo |
| Province | Santo Domingo |
| Appointed | 15 November 1981 |
| Term ended | 4 July 2016 |
| Predecessor | Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas |
| Successor | Francisco Ozoria Acosta |
| Other post | Cardinal-Priest ofSan Pio X alla Balduina (1991–) |
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 18 March 1961 by Francisco Panal Ramírez |
| Consecration | 25 February 1978 by Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas |
| Created cardinal | 28 June 1991 byPope John Paul II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez (1936-10-31)31 October 1936 (age 89) |
| Denomination | Catholic (Roman Rite) |
| Alma mater | Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas |
| Motto | Fortes in fide |
| Signature |  |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Santo Domingo |
Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez (Spanish pronunciation:[nikoˈlasðexeˈsusˈlopesroˈðɾiɣes]; born 31 October 1936) is aDominican Catholic prelate who served asArchbishop of Santo Domingo from 1981 to 2016. He was made acardinal in 1991.
He was ordained on 18 March 1961 by Francisco Panal Ramírez OFM, bishop of La Vega. He served as Vicar cooperator of the cathedral of La Vega, 1961–1963. Further studies in Rome, 1963–1965. Chancellor and secretary of the diocesan curia of La Vega, 1966–1968. Further studies, Rome, 1968–1969. In the diocese of La Vega, 1969–1978, diocesan assessor for the pastoral of the youth and pastor of the cathedral, 1969–1970. Vicar for the pastoral and pro-vicar general, 1970–1976. Vicar general, 1976–1978.
At thePontifical University of St. Thomas AquinasAngelicum he earned a licentiate insocial science in 1965.[1]
Besides his native Spanish, he speaks Italian, English, German, Portuguese and Latin.
He was appointed bishop of San Francisco de Macorís on 16 January 1978 byPope Paul VI and was consecrated on 25 February 1978 by Cardinal Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas, archbishop of Santo Domingo, assisted by Juan Antonio Flores Santana, bishop of La Vega, and by Jesús María De Jesús Moya, auxiliary of Santiago de los Caballeros. He served asrector of the University of San Francisco de Macorís from 1979 to 1984. He was promoted to the metropolitan and primatial see of Santo Domingo on 15 November 1981. He was elected president of the Conference of the Dominican Episcopate in July 1984 and served as President of theLatin American Episcopal Council from 25 April 1991 to 1994. He was created Cardinal and assigned the titular church ofSan Pio X alla Balduina in the consistory of 28 June 1991.
He participated ascardinal elector in thepapal conclaves of2005[2] and2013.[3] When he reached age 80 in 2016, he became a non-elector.
He held the title of "Primate of the Indies", because the diocese ofSanto Domingo was the first erected in the New World.[4][5]
Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 4 July 2016, namingFrancisco Ozoria Acosta, Bishop ofSan Pedro de Macorís, to succeed him.[6] At the time his resignation was accepted, Lopez Rodríguez had rarely been seen in public for several months.[7] He broke his silence early in September by writing an open letter apologizing to anyone he had offended while Archbishop. He said he felt no bitterness toward those who disagreed with him and professed joy at his successor's appointment.[8]
Ozoria Acosta also succeeded Lopez Rodriguez as Ordinary of theMilitary Bishopric of Dominican Republic on 2 January 2017.[9]
López Rodríguez organized a meeting of the Latin American bishops held in Santo Domingo in 1992, which was a showcase for his very traditional views, described as "temporalist and pyramidal" by veteran Vatican observer Giancarlo Zizola. He tends to support theintegralist view that the organic relationship of social classes supersedes social differentiation and social conflicts. He has advocated adding the Catholic feast of the Annunciation, 25 March, to the national holidays celebrated in the Dominican Republic.[10]
In July 2013, López Rodríguez reported toPope Francis personally that the papal nuncio to the Dominican Republic was rumored to have engaged in the sexual abuse of minors, which resulted in the nuncio's recall.[11] He continued for several weeks to praise the nuncio,Józef Wesołowski, in public and say that his recall was routine.[12] By the second week of September he asked the civil authorities to investigate the matter with "determination".[13]
During a 27 June 2013 interview, responding to a question aboutBarack Obama's appointment ofWally Brewster, an openly gay man, as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic (D.R.), Lopez Rodriguez expressed his opposition to the appointment of a homosexual ambassador and said it was an attempt to promote the approval ofsame-sex marriages in the D.R. Moments later, when asked aboutproblems between Haiti and the D.R. resulting from Haiti's claim thatbird flu could be found in the D.R., Cardinal López Rodríguez laughed and said: "After talking about faggots and lesbians, now we'll talk about chickens".[14][15][16][17][18][19] In the Dominican Republic, the wordpájaro (bird) is used to refer pejoratively to a male homosexual.[20]
In June 2014, after Brewster and his husband released a video promoting the celebration of June as Gay Pride Month, Lopez Rodriguez said "Diplomacy is not for that sort of thing, an absolutely negative propaganda" and that Brewster should "take his gay pride elsewhere".[21] In December 2015, a week after Brewster criticized corruption in the Dominican Republic, Lopez Rodriguez said "That man [Brewster] needs to go back to his embassy. Let him focus on housework, since he's the wife to a man."[22] These remarks were criticised by the US State Department. US SenatorDick Durbin asked Pope Francis to ask Rodriguez to treat Brewster with respect, citing the Pope's comments on the need to respect the dignity of all.[23]
The Special Envoy of Pope Francis, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, Archbishop of Santo Domingo, presided at the Mass concelebrated by the Bishops from Central America and priests from Nicaragua. (...) The Archbishop of Managua, His Exc. Mgr. Leopoldo Brenes, said: "It is a blessing to have in our celebration the CardinalPrimate of America, because it was in Santo Domingo that the work of evangelization in Latin America began.
Ahora saltamos de maricones y lesbianas a hablar de pollos
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Diocese created | Bishop of San Francisco de Macorís 16 January 1978 – 15 November 1981 | Succeeded by Jesús María de Jesús Moya |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Santo Domingo 15 November 1981 – 4 July 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Military Ordinary of the Dominican Republic 4 April 1982 – 2 January 2017 | ||
| Preceded by | First Vice-President of the Latin American Episcopal Council 1987 – 1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Latin American Episcopal Council 1991 – 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal Priest ofSan Pio X alla Balduina 28 June 1991 – | Incumbent |
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