Georges Marie Martin Cottier
O.P., (25 April 1922 – 31 March 2016) was a Swiss prelate and theologian of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
who served from 1990 to 2005 as theologian to
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
as
Theologian of the Pontifical Household
In the Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household ( la, Pontificalis Domus Doctor Theologus) is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's ...
after a career as an theologian and teacher. He was made a cardinal in 2003.
Biography
Cottier was born in
Carouge
Carouge () is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
History
Carouge is first mentioned in the Early Middle Ages as ''Quadruvium'' and ''Quatruvio''. In 1248 it was mentioned as ''Carrogium'' while in the 14th Century it was ...
, Switzerland, on 25 April 1922 and took his vows as a member of the Dominican Order in 4 July 1946. Cottier studied theology and philosophy at the Pontificium Athenaeum Internationale Angelicum, the future
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas
A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...
, until 1952 obtaining a baccalaureate in philosophy and a licentiate in theology. While there he was ordained a priest on 2 July 1951.
He was a professor at the Universities of
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
and
Fribourg
, neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne
, twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France)
, website = www.ville-fribourg.ch
, Location of , Location of ()
() ...
. He became a member of the
International Theological Commission in 1986 and its secretary in 1989, a post he held until 2003. He was appointed
Theologian of the Pontifical Household
In the Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household ( la, Pontificalis Domus Doctor Theologus) is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's ...
in 1990.
As papal theologian, he participated in the development of works authored by the pope, either drafting, researching, or editing. In 2004, Cottier told an interviewer: "Going back to the early years, the first “big” text I worked on was the social encyclical ''
Centesimus annus
''Centesimus annus'' (Latin for "the hundredth year") is an encyclical which was written by Pope John Paul II in 1991 on the hundredth anniversary of '' Rerum novarum'', an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. It is part of a larger body ...
''. And then the ''
Ut unum sint
''Ut unum sint'' (Latin: ' That they may be one') is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II of 25 May 1995. It was one of 14 encyclicals issued by John Paul II. Cardinal Georges Cottier, Theologian emeritus of the Pontifical Household, was influen ...
'' on ecumenicalism, the moral encyclical ''
Veritatis splendor'', and the ''
Fides et ratio''... also the Catechism of the Catholic Church."
He was appointed
titular archbishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of Tullia in 2003 and received his episcopal consecration on 20 October 2003 to meet the requirement that only bishops be cardinals. The next day, 21 October,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
made him Cardinal-Deacon of
Santi Domenico e Sisto
The Church of Santi Domenico e Sisto is one of the titular churches in Rome, Italy in the care of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. It is located at No. 1 Largo Angelicum on the Quirinal Hill on the ...
.
His service as papal theologian ended on 1 December 2005.
After ten years, he exercised his option to become a member of the order of cardinal priests, to which
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...
gave his consent on 12 June 2014.
Views
In the run-up to President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
's 10 July 2009 meeting with
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
, Cottier praised Obama's “humble realism” in recognizing that the president's "words move in the direction of reducing the evil
f abortion" and in this manner might align to the thinking of St. Thomas Aquinas and early Christian tradition in terms of framing laws in a pluralistic society. Cottier reacted to John Paul II's encyclical
Ecclesia de Eucharistia by saying that the Catholic Church rejects the concept of
open communion
Open communion is the practice of some Protestant Churches of allowing members and non-members to receive the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper). Many but not all churches that practice open communion require that the ...
. Cottier defended the Church's view that the embryo is fully a human being. He came out in defense of
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
against those who continue to criticize his legacy. Cottier was critical of
anonymous Christianity, saying that a theological system that absorbs all realities into Christ ends by turning Christ into a kind of metaphysical postulate of the affirmation of human values, which makes the Church incapable of engaging in serious dialogue, even on the level of human rights. Then, saying that everybody is already of Christ, whether they know it or not, can make the mission futile. Cottier said that the use of condoms may be morally licit in the context of fighting AIDS.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottier, Georges
1922 births
2016 deaths
Burials at Campo Verano
Clergy from Geneva
20th-century Swiss Roman Catholic theologians
Swiss cardinals
Swiss Dominicans
International Theological Commission
Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II
Swiss Roman Catholic archbishops
Roman Catholic titular archbishops
People from Carouge
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni
Dominican cardinals