Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran (; 5 April 1943 – 5 July 2018) was a French

cardinal of the Catholic Church 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 ...

. When he died, he had been the president of the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...

since 2007 and

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As reg ...

since the end of 2014. He was made a cardinal in 2003 and was the Cardinal Protodeacon from 2011 to 2014. His earlier career included almost thirty years in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and several years as the Vatican's chief archivist and librarian.

Early life and church service

Born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, France, Tauran studied at

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome, Italy, earning licentiates in philosophy and

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 ...

and a doctorate in canon law. He also studied at Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome and Catholic University of Toulouse, France. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop Marius Maziers on 20 September 1969 and worked as a curate in the

Archdiocese of Bordeaux The Archdiocese of Bordeaux (–Bazas) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Burdigalensis (–Bazensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bordeaux (–Bazas)''; Occitan: ''Archidiocèsi de Bordèu (–Vasats)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or a ...

before entering the Vatican's diplomatic service in 1975. He was secretary of the nunciatures 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), and

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and Damascus (1986). He was also a member of the Vatican delegation to the meetings of the Conference on European Security and Cooperation,

Conference on Disarmament The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is a multilateral disarmament forum established by the international community to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Conference meets annually i ...

in Stockholm, and Cultural Forum in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and later

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Secretary for Relations with States

On 1 December 1990, Tauran was appointed Secretary for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State and

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 Thélepte 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 ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 1991 from John Paul II himself, with Archbishops

Giovanni Battista Re Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops ...

and Justin Francis Rigali serving as co-consecrators, in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. As Secretary, Tauran essentially served as the foreign minister of the Vatican. In regards to the

Iraqi conflict The Iraqi conflict is an armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led Multi-National Force – Iraq, coalition that toppled the Ba'athist Iraq, government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued as an insurge ...

, he once emphasized the importance of dialogue and the United Nations,Whispers in the Loggia
Tauran Around the City
25 June 2007 and said that "a unilateral war of aggression would constitute a crime against peace and against the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...

Cardinal-Deacon, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church

Tauran was created

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 ...

of Sant'Apollinare alle Terme by Pope John Paul II in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of 21 October 2003. On the following 24 November, he was named

Archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...

and Librarian of the

Holy Roman Church The Diocese of Rome ( la, Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana; it, Diocesi di Roma) is the ecclesiastical district under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

, overseeing the

Vatican Secret Archives The Vatican Apostolic Archive ( la, Archivum Apostolicum Vaticanum; it, Archivio Apostolico Vaticano), formerly known as the Vatican Secret Archive, is the central repository in the Vatican City of all acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pont ...

and

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

. In late 2003, Tauran drew attention to the " second-class" treatment of non-Muslims in "many

Muslim countries The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

," especially Saudi Arabia. Representing the Pope, Tauran attended the March 2005 dedication of the new

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

museum at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Tauran was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected

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 soverei ...

. He was also one of the cardinal electors in the 2013 conclave that elected

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. ...

. In the days prior to the 2013 conclave, the Vaticanologist John L. Allen Jr. viewed Tauran as a "long-shot" ''papabile''. "On paper," Allen remarked, "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." As the Cardinal Protodeacon (senior Cardinal-Deacon) at the 2013 conclave, he announced the election of the new pope on 13 March 2013 and bestowed the pallium on Pope Francis at his

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 ...

on 19 March. In his role as Protodeacon for the 2013 conclave Tauran said that "people asked 'How do you prepare yourself for the Habemus 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". Cardinal Tauran exercised his option to be promoted to cardinal-priest and accordingly on 12 June 2014, Pope Francis elevated Tauran to the title of Cardinal-Priest. He was succeeded as Protodeacon by Cardinal

Renato Raffaele Martino Renato Raffaele Martino (born 23 November 1932) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2003. He has been the longest serving cardinal deacon, the cardinal protodeacon, since June 2014. He served for more ...

President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

Though he had

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, Tauran was appointed president of the

on 25 June 2007, effective 1 September. 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); 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 ...

; the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

; the Congregation for Bishops; the

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...

; the

Pontifical Council for Culture The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...

; the Apostolic Signatura; the

Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; it, Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, link=no) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the fun ...

; the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, and the Cardinal Commission for the Supervision of the

Institute for Works of Religion The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...

(IOR). He was a friend of Anglican John Andrew (1931–2014), former

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St. Thomas Church in New York City. For the fiftieth anniversary of Andrew's

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

in late June 2007, Tauran served as a guest preacher. He was a friend of the Anglican priest Roger Greenacre, former

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

in England. For Greenacre's fiftieth anniversary of his

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, ...

(the Feast of the

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

) of 2005, Tauran traveled to Chichester and served as a guest preacher. He was also present at Greenacre's Memorial Requiem at Chichester Cathedral on 23 September 2011. In an April 2012 message marking the upcoming Buddhist celebration of Vesakh, a feast commemorating the key events in the life of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

, 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". He described his role as president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, saying: In June 2013 Pope Francis named Cardinal Tauran a member of the five-person Pontifical Commission investigating the

Institute for the Works of Religion The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...

Camerlengo

Pope Francis named Tauran to replace Cardinal

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine o ...

on 20 December 2014. Tauran was sworn in as Camerlengo, in the presence of Pope Francis, on 9 March 2015.

Death

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. Tauran died aged 75 on 5 July 2018 in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, where he had been hospitalized for treatment of Parkinson's. His remains were transferred to Rome where he received the customary funeral rites of a cardinal of the Roman Curia.

Views

War in Iraq

Tauran was a "fierce critic" of U.S. plans to invade Iraq in 2003, which he said would constitute a "

crime against peace A crime of aggression or crime against peace is the planning, initiation, or execution of a large-scale and serious act of aggression using state military force. The definition and scope of the crime is controversial. The Rome Statute contains an ...

" and a violation of

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. In August 2007 he said that the facts speak for themselves on Iraq, and that Christians had been better protected under Saddam Hussein.

Interfaith relations

Each year the

sends a message, signed by its president, to Hindus for the festival of Diwali, 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. The Council sends similar messages each year on the occasion of the feasts of Eid ul-Fitr (Islam) and

Vesak Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival commemora ...

(

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

Sharia

In a breakfast meeting with journalists, in March, 2008, Tauran said

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, had been "mistaken and naive" for suggesting that some aspects of Sharia 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.

Notes

References

;Additional sources *

External links

* *
Al Jazeera interview

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tauran, Jean-Louis 1943 births 2018 deaths Clergy from Bordeaux 20th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops Diplomats of the Holy See Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century French cardinals French Roman Catholic titular bishops Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Secretaries for Relations with States of the Holy See Members of the Apostolic Signatura Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Members of the Congregation for Bishops Members of the Pontifical Council for Culture Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Neurological disease deaths in Connecticut Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Deaths from Parkinson's disease