The Archbishop of Lyon is known for its commitment to social issues and minorities but his positions as marriage for all, have sometimes provoked controversy.
political pressures, new complaint against a priest Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, one of the most influential figures of the Church of France, is in turmoil for several weeks. Nicknamed “Monsignor 100,000 Volts” for his activism, the archbishop of Lyon, 65, is accused by victims of pedophile priests for not having acted when he learned of the facts.
Born October 17, 1950 in Rabat, Philippe Barbarin, 65, grew up in Morocco in a family of eleven children, “including four (three sisters and I) have been known to devote to the Lord” , as he tells in a book published in 2007 . The son of a former military became a banker in Paris and a housewife, lived in Morocco until the age of 10 years before moving to Paris, where there is all his studies. He holds two master’s degrees: one in philosophy he got to the Paris-Sorbonne University and another in theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris.
From priest to cardinal in Alfortville of the des-Monts Trinity
Philippe Barbarin was 27 when he joined the Church: He was ordained priest in 1977 for the diocese in Alfortville Creteil, where he performed various functions for several years. In 1994, who is also pastor of Boissy-Saint-Léger (when he was the happiest of his life, he confided to Paris-Match ) flies to Madagascar where it will be a missionary priest for four years. Back in France, he became bishop in Moulins Cathedral in Allier before being appointed Archbishop of Lyon and Primate of the Gauls in 2002. The following year, Pope John Paul II, he feels spiritually close the created cardinal priest of the Trinity-des-Monts. It will thus contribute to the two conclaves that allowed the election of Pope Benedict XVI and Francis.
The Cardinal Barbarin is also known for its commitment to interreligious dialogue. This is also the rector of the Grand Mosque of Lyon who will give him the insignia of the Order of Merit in 2007. The same year, the cardinal announced the priests of his diocese that he is suffering from cancer prostate, thus following the terrible tradition of the archbishops of Lyon (his three predecessors had been diagnosed with cancer). The reviews have been made early enough, the Primate of the Gauls manages to escape the disease and cured. The following year, it publishes The Rabbi and the Cardinal , in which he meets with Chief Rabbi Gilles Bernheim. He is the author of fifteen books.
Opposed to marriage for all and abortion
His positions on topics related to the family earned him great popularity in conservative currents of the French church : opposed to abortion, he participated in many marches for life and spoke against marriage for all during the debate on the Taubira law. This will cause controversy. In 2012, he had referred to “the consequences” of a union between people of the same sex. “Then they will want to make couples with three or four,” he warned. “One day maybe, who knows? the prohibition of incest will fall. ” Later, in an interview with Obs , he will try to explain: “Homophobic? Certainly not. Homosexuals also have a place in the Church. ”
Cardinal Barbarin on Tuesday March 15 at a press conference on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings bishops.
But the commitments of Philippe Barbarin not stop there. Described as a “wise man”, he expressed both on the compensation of top managers, as secularism and more recently the attacks that occurred in France in 2015. Sensitive to social issues, this field Bishop will regularly the meeting of undocumented aliens or Roma, he considers abused by the authorities.
Voted ‘Lyonnais of the year “
It is also committed to for the Christians of the east and traveled several times to Iraq to denounce the forced exile of the Christian community. Special Envoy of the Pope in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, he announced in July 2014 the twinning of dioceses of Lyon and Mosul. It is also the origin of the call with the bishop of Aleppo, to ring the bells of all the churches in France on 15 August to support the Eastern Christians. In an interview with the daily L a Cross last summer, he was in favor of their home in France. Both conservative and progressive on some issues, the cardinal is “unclassifiable”. “It is actually a bishop of the John Paul II generation”, write about it and Jean Comby Bernard Berthod in their Church History Lyon .
Regular the media, the archbishop is more discreet about his private life. It is known passion for running, Tintin great connoisseur and a passion for astronomy. Enjoyed in the capital of Gaul – news website readers of the Lyon Mag have designated “Lyonnais of the Year” in 2015 – this fan of running now at the heart a pedophile scandal that has shaken the diocese of Lyon since May 2015. Affected by a complaint for failure to report crime and endangering the lives of others, he denied Tuesday that covered “any act of pedophilia” in his diocese. Already weakened by the case of Bernard Preynat priest indicted early January for sexual assaults between 1986 and 1991, the archbishop of Lyon faces a new complaint filed in February by a senior official of the Interior Ministry. It is also subject to a preliminary investigation for failing to report sexual abuse of minors under 15 years. For its part, the Vatican said it was “appropriate to await the outcome” of the investigation.
(With AFP)
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