Jean-Louis Tauran

Jean-Louis Pierre Cardinal Tauran (born 3 April 1943) is a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in the Roman Curia, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003.

Biography

Born in Bordeaux, Jean-Louis Tauran studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University (from where he earned licentiates in philosophy and theology, and in 1973 his Doctorate in Canon Law) and Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, and the [http://www.ict-toulouse.asso.fr Catholic Institute] in Toulouse. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Marius Maziers on 20 September, 1969, and worked as a curate in the Archdiocese of Bordeaux 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 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 in Stockholm, and Cultural Forum in Budapest and later Vienna.infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
See=Thelepte (titular see)|

ecretary for Relations with States

On 1 December, 1990, Tauran was appointed Secretary for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State and Titular Archbishop of "Thelepte" by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January, 1991 from John Paul II himself, with Archbishops Giovanni Battista Re and Justin Francis Rigali serving as co-consecrators, in St. Peter's Basilica. As Secretary, Tauran essentially served as the foreign minister of the Vatican. In regards to the Iraqi conflict, he once emphasized the importance of dialogue and the United Nations [Whispers in the Loggia. [http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html Tauran Around the City] June 25, 2007] , and said that "a unilateral war of aggression would constitute a crime against peace and against the Geneva Conventions" [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,427996-2,00.html Fighting the Tide] March 2, 2003] .

Archivist of the Holy Roman Church

He was created Cardinal Deacon of "S. Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine" by John Paul in the consistory of October 21, 2003. On the following November 24, he was named Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, overseeing the Vatican Secret Archives and Vatican Library. In late 2003, Tauran mourned the "second-class" treatment of non-Muslims in "many Muslim countries," especially Saudi Arabia [Whispers in the Loggia. [http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html Tauran Around the City] June 25, 2007] .

Representing the Pope, Tauran attended the March 2005 dedication of the new Holocaust museum at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. That same year, he was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.

President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

In spite of the Cardinal's having Parkinson's disease Pope Benedict appointed Tauran as President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on 25 June, 2007. This shows the disease is not getting any worse for the cardinal and thus is able to handle more responsibility. The Cardinal fully assumed this position on 1 September, 2007.

He is a friend of the Anglican Dr. John Andrew, former rector of St. Thomas Church in New York City. For Andrews' fiftieth anniversary of his ordination in late June 2007, Cardinal Tauran traveled to New York and served as a guest preacher [Ibid.] .

References

External links

* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/btauran.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
* [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-t.htm#Tauran Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church]
* [http://www.catholic-pages.com/hierarchy/cardinals_bio.asp?ref=202 Catholic-pages.com]