Jorge Arturo Agustín Medina Estévez (; 23 December 1926 – 3 October 2021) was a Chilean prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who held senior positions both in his native country and in the Roman Curia. He was prefect of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

from 1996 to 2002 and was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 1998. Beginning in 1985 he served as auxiliary bishop and then from 1987 bishop of

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Sant ...

and then bishop of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

from 1993 to 1996. As Cardinal Protodeacon, the longest serving cardinal of the order of cardinal deacons, he announced the election of

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 sovereign ...

to the world on 19 April 2005.

Early life and ordination

Medina was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

in 1926, and studied at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in the arts and biology, and the Major Seminary of Santiago. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 12 June 1954 by Bishop Pio Fariña Fariña, the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and an auxiliary bishop of Santiago.

Church scholar

Earning a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in 1955, Medina taught

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and theology at the Major Seminary of Santiago and of the Pontifical Catholic University, respectively until 1965. He also served as a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the university, and as a

peritus ''Peritus'' (Latin for "expert") is the title given to Roman Catholic theologians attending an ecumenical council to give advice. At the Second Vatican Council, some ''periti'' (the plural form) accompanied individual bishops or groups of bisho ...

at the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

; for the latter he later received an ''honoris causa'' doctorate from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1996.

Bishop

Pro-Grand Chancellor of the Catholic University from 1974 to 1985, he was named

titular bishop 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 ...

Thibilis Thibilis (a.k.a. Tibilis) was a Roman and Byzantine era town in what was Numidia but is today northeast Algeria. The site has extensive Roman and Byzantine ruins. History The numerous Latin inscriptions discovered on the site of Thibilis provided i ...

and auxiliary bishop of

on 18 December 1984. Medina was consecrated to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on 6 January 1985, by

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 ...

, with Cardinals

Eduardo Martínez Somalo Eduardo Martínez Somalo (; 31 March 1927 – 10 August 2021) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who spent most of his career in the Roman Curia, first in the Secretariat of State from 1956 to 1975 and from 1979 to 1988, and then l ...

and

Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy (5 February 1924 – 2 June 2014) was an Indian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. His ...

acting as co-consecrators. He was made Bishop of Rancagua on 25 November 1987, and then Bishop of

on 16 April 1993.

Pro-Prefect and Prefect

On 21 June 1996 Medina was appointed Pro-Prefect of the

in Rome, being given the title of Prefect of the Congregation from 23 February 1998 until his retirement on 1 October 2002.

Cardinal

Medina was created a

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

in the consistory of 21 February 1998, with the title of San Saba. Medina was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the 2005 papal conclave. Following the conclusion of the conclave, as Cardinal Protodeacon, the senior cardinal deacon, he announced to the world the election of

. He was the first non-Italian to do so in centuries and the first Latin American. As protodeacon, Medina imposed the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...

on Pope Benedict XVI and was one of the three cardinals who made the public act of obedience to him at the

papal inauguration Papal inauguration is a liturgical service of the Catholic Church within Mass celebrated in the Roman Rite but with elements of Byzantine Rite for the ecclesiastical investiture of a pope. Since the inauguration of Pope John Paul I, it has not i ...

.Pope Benedict XVI Starts His Papacy
AmericanCatholic.org article on Pope Benedict XVI's inauguration. Retrieved 13 April 2013 Retrieved 12 April 2013. In retirement he returned to Chile in order to work as a parish priest. In the same period he published many short works of a pastoral nature. He died in Santiago on 3 October 2021.

Views

Medina was a man of controversial views. He was a supporter of the Chilean coup d'etat by General

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

and the regime it established. He was accused of having in his capacity as

of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile of being one of the main denouncers of students and teachers suspected of having communist or socialist affiliations, many of whom become disappeared detainees. He never acknowledged the human rights violations of Pinochet's regime, including those featured in the

Rettig Report The Rettig Report, officially The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Report, is a 1991 report by a commission designated by Chilean President Patricio Aylwin (from the ''Concertación'') detailing human rights abuses resulting in dea ...

or the

Valech Report The Valech Report (officially The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report) is a record of abuses committed in Chile between 1973 and 1990 by agents of Augusto Pinochet's military regime. The report was published on November ...

. In December 2008, at a Mass marking the second anniversary of the death of Pinochet, Medina condemned pop musician

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, who was appearing in Santiago. He said "The atmosphere in our city is pretty agitated because this woman is visiting and with incredibly shameful behavior provokes a wild and lustful enthusiasm."

Sexual abuse of minors by priests

The prominent 80-year-old priest

Fernando Karadima The case of Fernando Karadima concerned the sexual abuse of minors in Chile, which became public in 2010. It raised questions about the responsibility and complicity of several Chilean bishops, including some of the country's highest-ranking Cath ...

was found guilty in January 2011 by the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

of having sexually abused minors and ordered to retire to a life of prayer and penitence and never to exercise the priesthood in public again, Karadima was then accused under Chilean civil law of sexual abuse of minors, Medina is reported to have said that he doubted that the cleric would be sent to prison, since homosexual activity was not a crime in Chilean civil law and use of the term "sexual abuse" could be questioned: "With all due respect to the laws of my country, a child of 8 or 9 is very different from a 17-year-old ... A 17-year-old youngster knows what he is doing." He also remarked that priests are not immune to the devil's works: "Any informed Christian knows we are prone to weakness because of our human fragility. The devil gets in where he can. Priests are not immune from his snares." He defended the canonical sanctions imposed on Karadima as being the heaviest that could be imposed short of laicization, and as having taken into account Karadima's age and merits. One of Karadima's accusers called the cardinal's remark about 17-year-olds "an unwarranted attack". Another added that it was an attack not only on those who had denounced Karadima, but on all who were honestly looking for truth and justice for their lives. He regarded Medina's statements as "extremely suspicious, as if he wanted to diminish the outline of these grave actions, reducing the issue to

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

in a very silly manner, as if, furthermore, homosexuality and abuse were synonymous". The statements, he said, "were an attempt to free from responsibility someone who took advantage of his position of power over more vulnerable persons".

References

External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Jorge 1926 births 2021 deaths People from Santiago Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Chilean cardinals Protodeacons Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Participants in the Second Vatican Council Second Vatican Council Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century Roman Catholic theologians 21st-century Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Chile Roman Catholic bishops of Rancagua Roman Catholic bishops of Valparaíso University of Notre Dame people