Zygmunt Zimowski (7 April 1949 – 13 July 2016) was a Polish

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

. Archbishop Zimowski had served until his death in July 2016 as President of the

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers was a pontifical council set up on 11 February 1985 by Pope John Paul II who reformed the Pontifical Commission for the Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers into its new fo ...

, having been head of that office since his appointment by

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 ...

on 18 April 2009. He previously served as

bishop 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 c ...

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

from 2002 until 2009.

Biography

Zimowski was born in Kupienin, Poland, located in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarnów The Diocese of Tarnów is a Roman Catholic diocese in Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland h ...

. He was ordained a priest on 27 May 1973, and incardinated in Tarnów. He received a Licentiate in

Dogmatic Theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...

from the Catholic University of Lublin. He continued his studies and subsequently received his Doctorate in Dogmatic Theology from the Faculty of Theology at the Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck. On 1 February 1983 he entered the service of 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 ...

, where he remained until elevated to the episcopate. He was appointed

Chaplain of His Holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.Prelate of Honour on 10 July 1999. He was Postulator of some processes of beatification and canonization. He taught ecclesiology at the Catholic University of Lublin and at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and is the author of 120 publications, 40 pastoral letters and some books and several articles. He participated in the preparation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and worked with the Polish section of

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. On 28 March 2002, Zimowski was appointed Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Radom The Roman Catholic Diocese of Radom ( la, Radomen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Radom in the Ecclesiastical province of Częstochowa in Poland. History * March 25, 1992: Established as Diocese of Radom from the Diocese of Sandomierz ...

, and was consecrated in the Cathedral of Radom on 25 May 2002 by the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,

Joseph Ratzinger 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 ...

, later Pope Benedict XVI. In the Polish Bishops' Conference, he held the following positions: President of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith, Member of the Permanent Council, Delegate for the Pastoral Care of Migrants Poles, Member of the Ecumenical Commission and the Group for Contacts with the Polish Ecumenical Council, Member of the group of Bishops for the Pastoral Care for Radio Maria, and Member of the Polish Society of Mariology.

Curia service

He remained Bishop of Radom until his appointment as the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers in 2009. He was at the same time raised to the dignity of Archbishop ''ad personam''. In addition to his native Polish, Archbishop Zimowski speaks Italian, German, English, French and Russian. In January 2011 Archbishop Zimowski said that "Leprosy, in fact, after the upgrading of effective pharmacological therapies, witnessed a notable reduction of the lethal infection, but continues to cause suffering, diminution and social exclusion. Flourishing around it are ignorance, inequality and discrimination that, in turn, fuel its diffusion". He noted that from a statistical point of view, the countries that are most affected are in Asia, South America and Africa. India has the greatest number of affected people, followed by Brazil. Numerous cases are recorded also in Angola, Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal and Tanzania. He said that "Hansen's disease is an 'ancient' illness, but, because of this, no less devastating physically and also morally," Archbishop Zimowski reflected. "In all ages and civilizations, the fate of the leprosy sufferer is marginalization, being deprived of any type of social life, condemned to seeing his body disintegrate until death comes." On 4 May 2011, Pope Benedict appointed him a member of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

. On 18 May 2011, in a speech to the annual assembly of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

Geneva, Switzerland 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 ...

, he said that the world seemed "stalled in the status quo where the rich people have higher levels of coverage, while most of the poor people miss out, and

ven Ven may refer to: Places * Ven, Heeze-Leende, a hamlet in the Netherlands * Ven (Sweden), an island * Ven, Tajikistan, a town * VEN or Venezuela Other uses * von Economo neurons, also called ''spindle neurons'' * '' Vên'', an EP by Eluveiti ...

those who do have access often incur high, sometimes catastrophic costs in paying for services and medicine." He raised objections to needle-exchange programs and called for increased funding for poor nations. On 2 April 2012, World Autism Awareness Day, Archbishop Zimowski said that "The Church needs to address the alienation often surrounding those living with autism, especially children and young people, by coming to the aid of those affected". He added: "The church sees as impelling the task of placing herself at the side of these people – children and young people in particular – and their families, if not to break down these barriers of silence then at least to share in solidarity and prayer in their journey of suffering". In May 2012 Archbishop Zimowski, as head of the Holy See delegation to the 65th World Health Assembly, reaffirmed the Holy See's support for Resolution WHA64.9 on "sustainable health financing structures and universal coverage," which urges member states to aim for affordable

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

coverage and access for all citizens on the basis of equity and solidarity. Zimowski said "more countries, especially those with emerging economies, are moving towards universal coverage," thanks also to "good policies that promote equity. ... Therefore my delegation strongly believes that in the endeavor to promote universal coverage, fundamental values such as equity, human rights and social justice need to become explicit policy objectives". The archbishop made an appeal for high-income countries to show greater solidarity toward poorer nations in order to overcome funding shortfalls in health. On 28 July 2012, Archbishop Zimowski was named a Member of the Congregation for Bishops by

. Zimowski died in Poland on 13 July 2016, while convalescing following treatment for pancreatic cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimowski, Zygmunt 1949 births 2016 deaths 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland People from Dąbrowa County Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Members of the Congregation for Bishops Recipients of the Pro Memoria Medal Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Poland