Aron Jean-Marie Lustiger (; 17 September 1926 – 5 August 2007) was a French

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, t ...

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 ...

. He was

Archbishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in Fran ...

from 1981 until his resignation in 2005. He was made a cardinal in 1983 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 ...

. His life is depicted in the 2013 film ''Le métis de Dieu'' (''The Jewish Cardinal'').

Life and work

Early years

Lustiger was born Aron Lustiger in Paris to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. His parents, Charles and Gisèle Lustiger, were

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

from

Będzin Będzin (; also ''Bendzin'' in English; german: Bendzin; yi, בענדין, Bendin) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though pa ...

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 has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, who had left Poland around

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

.Sophie de Ravinel
Le cardinal Lustiger est mort
''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', 5 August 2007 Lustiger's father ran a hosiery shop. Aron Lustiger studied at the Lycée Montaigne in Paris, where he first encountered

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

.Henri Tincq
L'adieu à Jean-Marie Lustiger
''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', 6 August 2007 Visiting

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in 1937, he was hosted by an anti-Nazi

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

family whose children had been required to join the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

. Sometime between the ages of ten and twelve, Lustiger came across a

Protestant Bible A Protestant Bible is a Christian Bible whose translation or revision was produced by Protestants. Such Bibles comprise 39 books of the Old Testament (according to the Hebrew Bible canon, known especially to non-Protestants as the protocanonical ...

and felt inexplicably attracted to it. On the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in September 1939, the family moved to

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Cardinal Lustiger
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 7 August 2007 In March 1940, during

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

, the 13-year-old Lustiger decided to convert to

Roman Catholicism 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 ...

. On 21 August he was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost i ...

as Aron Jean-Marie by the Bishop of Orléans, Jules-Marie-Victor Courcoux. His sister converted later.John Tagliabue
French Catholic leader, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, dies at 80
''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

'', 6 August 2007 In October 1940, the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

passed the first of many anti-Semitic laws, which forced increasingly strict conditions on Jews in the unoccupied zone. Lustiger, his father, and sister sought refuge in unoccupied southern France, while his mother returned to Paris to run the family business. In September 1942, his mother was deported to the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. I ...

where she was murdered the following year. The surviving family returned to Paris at the end of the war. Lustiger's father tried unsuccessfully to have his son's baptism annulled, and even sought the help of the chief rabbi of Paris.

Early career

Lustiger graduated from the Sorbonne with a literature degree in 1946. He entered the seminary of the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

fathers in Paris, and later the Institut Catholique de Paris. He first visited Israel in 1951. On 17 April 1954 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 Bishop Émile-Arsène Blanchet, rector of the Institut Catholique. From 1954 to 1959 he was a chaplain at the Sorbonne. For the next ten years, he was the director of Richelieu Centre, which trains university chaplains and counsels lay teachers and students of the ''

grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: *Agustín Muñoz Grandes Agustín Muñoz Grandes (27 January 1896 – 11 July 1970) was a Spanish general, and politician, vice-president of the Spanish Government and minister with Francisco Franco several times; also know ...

'', graduate schools such as the ÉNS-Fontenay-Saint-Cloud or the Ecole des Chartes. From 1969 to 1979, Lustiger was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the Parish of Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal, in the wealthy

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...

. His parochial assistant was André Vingt-Trois, who years later would succeed him as Archbishop of Paris. On 10 November 1979, Lustiger was appointed Bishop of Orléans 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 ...

after a 15-month vacancy. John Paul had been advised by Cardinal Paolo Bertoli, who was displeased with a new illustrated

Catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...

for French urban youth (''Pierres vivantes'') and was on bad terms with most of the French clergy.Christian Terras
Jean-Marie Lustiger : un colosse aux pieds d’argile
6 August 2007 Lustiger 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 8 December 1979 from Cardinal

François Marty Gabriel Auguste François Marty (18 May 1904 – 16 February 1994) was a French Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Paris. Early years He was born in Vaureilles, Pachins, in France. His family were farmers. His first baptismal forename was ...

, with Archbishop Eugène Ernoult of

Sens Sens () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a sub-prefecture and the second city of the department, the sixth in the region. It is crossed by the Yonne an ...

and Bishop Daniel Pézeril serving as co-consecrators. When installed as bishop, Lustiger avoided all reference to his liberal predecessor Guy-Marie Riobé, a pacifist closely allied to

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, It ...

Archbishop of Paris (1981–2005)

On 31 January 1981 Lustiger was named

, succeeding Cardinal Marty. According to Georges Suffert, he was supported by a letter to John Paul II from

André Frossard André Frossard (14 January 1915 – 2 February 1995) was a French journalist and essayist. Early life André Frossard was born on 14 January 1915 in Saint-Maurice-Colombier, Doubs, France. His father, Louis-Oscar Frossardan, was one of ...

. Archbishop

Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to tra ...

, the founder of the Traditionalist Catholic group

Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the S ...

, criticized his nomination. He said that the position was being given to "someone who is not truly of French origin". Liberal French clergy considered Lustiger's nomination a defeat for them. Lustiger was considered a first-rate communicator and he was a personal friend of Jean Gélamur, head of the Catholic media group

Bayard Presse Bayard Presse is one of the oldest press and publishing companies of France, being founded in 1870. The company has various media outlets both in its native France and abroad. As of 2019, it reports approximately two thousand employees, two hundred ...

. The new archbishop was particularly attentive to the media; he developed Catholic radio and television channels (Radio Notre-Dame) after

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

's liberalization of French media in 1981. He founded KTO TV in 1999, which struggled financially.Le cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger est mort
''

'', 5 August 2007 Lustiger also founded a new

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

for training priests, bypassing the existing arrangements. He was considered, primarily by his critics, to be authoritarian, earning him the nickname of "Bulldozer". Lustiger deposed the vicars general Michel Guittet and Pierre Gervaise, had Georges Gilson transferred to

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

and Emile Marcus to

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, personally headed the meetings of the episcopal council, and made numerous other changes. He dismantled P. Béguerie's team in Saint-Séverin. In October 1981, the French bishops elected the more liberal Jean Vilnet as President of the

Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

, with whom Lustiger was on difficult terms throughout his life. In 1982, he invited for the celebration of

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

in Notre-Dame

Roger Etchegaray Roger Marie Élie Etchegaray (; 25 September 1922 – 4 September 2019) was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. Etchegaray served as the Archbishop of Marseille from 1970 to 1985 before entering the Roman Curia, where he served as Presid ...

(whom he disliked at first) and the Jesuit Roger Heckel. He participated in the annual meeting of the movement '' Comunione e Liberazione'' in

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

in summer 1982. In January 1983 he invited Cardinal

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 ...

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Middle Ages#Art and architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris ...

, where the latter criticized new catechisms proposed by a large part of the French clergy. He was incardinated

Cardinal-Priest 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 Santi Marcellino e Pietro by

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 2 February 1983, at the same time as the Jesuit theologian

Henri de Lubac Henri-Marie Joseph Sonier de Lubac (; 20 February 1896 – 4 September 1991), better known as Henri de Lubac, was a French Jesuit priest and cardinal who is considered one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His writin ...

. On 26 November 1994, he was named Cardinal-Priest of San Luigi dei Francesi. As a cardinal, Lustiger began to attract international attention. He was considered ''

papabile ''Papabile'' (, also , ; ; or "able to be pope") is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man, in practice always a cardinal, who is thought a likely ...

,'' or eligible for election as pope. Certain Catholic circles interpreted the Prophecy of Malachy in reference to him as a Jewish Pope. Lustiger carried out several reforms in the Archdiocese of Paris concerning priests' training, creating in 1984 an independent theological faculty in the École cathédrale de Paris, distinct from the ''Institut Catholique''. He constructed seven new churches in Paris. In addition, he supported the development of

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

movements, such as the Emmanuel Community (of which he was in charge until June 2006) and the

Chemin Neuf Community The Chemin Neuf Community (french: Communauté du Chemin Neuf) is a Catholic community with an ecumenical vocation. Formed from a charismatic prayer group in 1973, it has 2,000 permanent members in 30 countries, and 12,000 people serving in the co ...

. The latter was recognized in 1984 by the Vatican as an International Association of the Faithful. Some parishes were entrusted to charismatic movements. In Paris, he ordained 200 priests; they represented 15 percent of the French total, and were drawn from a diocese which had two per cent of the French population. Strongly attached to the ideal of priestly celibacy, Lustiger used his position as Ordinary for Orientals to prevent the deployment of married Eastern Rite Catholic priests in France. He favoured development of a permanent

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chu ...

, to be filled mainly by married men involved in the workplace. In 1984, Lustiger led a mass rally at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

in opposition to the Savary Law, which reduced state aid to private (which was mostly Catholic) education. He was seen to surpass his comrades Jean Vilnet, Paul Guiberteau and Jean Honoré, who were leaders on the issue. Shortly afterwards

Alain Savary Alain Savary (25 April 191817 February 1988) was a French Socialist politician, deputy to the National Assembly of France during the Fourth and Fifth Republic, chairman of the Socialist Party (PS) and a government minister in the 1950s and ...

had to resign. This opposition cemented Lustiger's relations with the groups supporting private education, from whose midst he was to draw most of his candidates for the priesthood. He supported the 1905 Law on the Separation of Church and State, but, when testifying before the Commission Stasi on secularism, he opposed the 2004 French law on secularity, which limited conspicuous religious symbols in schools. Lustiger had his right-hand man, André Vingt-Trois, appointed bishop in 1988. Following

's schism in June 1988, Lustiger tried to reduce tensions with the Traditionalist Catholics, celebrating a

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass (liturgy), Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in Editio typica, typical editions of the Roman Missal published from ...

and sending conservative priest

Patrick Le Gal Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

as his emissary to Lefebvre. Along with Cardinal

Albert Decourtray Albert Florent Augustin Decourtray S.T.D. (9 April 1923 – 16 September 1994) was a French Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Lyon. Biography Early life He was born in the hamlet of L'Amiteuse near Lille, France. He entered the minor seminar ...

, he strongly criticised

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

's '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' in 1988, clashing with the liberal bishop

Jacques Gaillot Jacques Gaillot (; born 11 September 1935) is a French Catholic clergyman and social activist. He was Bishop of Évreux in France from 1982 to 1995. In 1995, Pope John Paul II removed him as head of his diocese because he publicly expressed con ...

. Along with his clerical contacts, Lustiger maintained contacts with the political world. He developed rather good working relations with

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

government, despite their political disagreements. During the celebrations of the second centenary of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

in 1989, he opposed Minister of Culture Jack Lang about the Pantheonization of the Abbé Grégoire, one of the first priests to take the oath on the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. For this, he was criticized by the liberal Catholic review ''Golias''. He deposed the priest

Alain Maillard de La Morandais Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...

from his diplomatic functions toward the political sphere, as he considered him to be too pro- Balladur during the 1995 presidential campaign. Despite his opposition to Mitterrand's governments, Lustiger, as Archbishop of Paris, presided over Mitterrand's funeral. Lustiger's search for dialogue with politicians led to his founding in 1992 of the Centre Pastoral d'Etudes politiques at St. Clotilde church in the 7th arrondissement, close to the hub of the French establishment. He sought to identify and conciliate rising national élites in politics and communication. He was less amenable to initiatives from non-French Catholic groups or individuals (their position was inconclusively debated at the Diocesan Synod). Relations with the cultural sphere were promoted by a series of Lenten Sermons at Notre-Dame (into which dialogue with prominent French intellectuals and state-employed academics were introduced) and by plans for the opening of the Centre St. Bernard in the 5th arrondissement. Lustiger was never elected as head of the '' Conférence des évêques de France'' (French Episcopal Conference) by his peers, with whom he was not popular. He was elected a member of the ''

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

'' in 1995, succeeding

and bypassing Cardinal Paul Poupard. Two years later, he organized a

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-L ...

in Paris, attended by more than a million people.

Theology and ethics

Lustiger upheld papal authority in theology and morals: "There are opinions and there is faith," he said in 1997. "When it is faith, I agree with the Pope because I am responsible for the faith." Cardinal Lustiger was a strong believer in priestly celibacy and opposed abortion and the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...

. Although he fully endorsed John Paul II's views on

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

, he considered

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female con ...

use acceptable if one of the partners had HIV. He founded the Non-Governmental Organization ''Tibériade'' to attend to AIDS patients. He considered Christianity to be the accomplishment of Judaism, and the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

to be the logical continuation of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

. In ''Le Choix de Dieu'' (The Choice of God, 1987), he declared that modern anti-Semitism was the product of the Enlightenment, whose philosophy he attacked. He read the Thomistic philosophers

Étienne Gilson Étienne Henri Gilson (; 13 June 1884 – 19 September 1978) was a French philosopher and historian of philosophy. A scholar of medieval philosophy, he originally specialised in the thought of Descartes; he also philosophized in the tradition ...

and

Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aquinas fo ...

—one of the main Catholic thinkers of his youth—as well as Jean Guitton, but also the Protestant philosopher

Paul Ricœur Jean Paul Gustave Ricœur (; ; 27 February 1913 – 20 May 2005) was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutics. As such, his thought is within the same tradition as other major hermeneutic ...

, and

Maurice Clavel Maurice Clavel () (1920-1979) was a French writer, journalist, and philosopher. Youth Maurice Clavel was born on 10 November 1920 in Frontignan, Hérault to a family headed by a father who was a pharmacist. This conservative milieu of small shop ...

, and the existentialist philosopher

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

. Close to

Augustinism Augustinianism is the philosophical and theological system of Augustine of Hippo and its subsequent development by other thinkers, notably Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury and Bonaventure. Among Augustine's most important works are ''The City of God ...

, he preferred the post- conciliar theologian Louis Bouyer to the (pre-conciliar) neo-Thomist Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. His main influence was

, as well as the Jesuits Albert and Paul Chapelle. Lustiger, unlike other leading twentieth-century French bishops, did not draw noticeably on patristic writings and was more sensitive to rabbinic texts. When appointed to Paris he encouraged some liberal clergy to return to the lay state. He was influential in the appointment of his moderate conciliar auxiliary Georges Gilson to the See of

, replacing senior clergy with men who shared similar views to his own. He pursued

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

but also gave a critical address on

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

when welcoming Archbishop

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely ...

to Notre Dame. In 1995, Lustiger played a key role in deposing the liberal bishop of Évreux,

, who was then transferred to the titular see of Partenia. Lustiger was an outspoken opponent of racism and anti-Semitism. He was strongly critical of

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

, leader of the French National Front, comparing Le Pen's

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

views to

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

. "We have known for 50 years that the theory of racial inequality can be deadly. ...It entails outrages." He also said: "The Christian faith says that all men are equal in dignity because they are all created in the image of God." He supported the action of the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of St. Bernard-de-la-Chapelle in accepting the protracted sit-in of a group of undocumented immigrants in 1996, but subsequently showed less sympathy to such activities. The police were called to a similar sit-in at St. Merry. He incurred the hostility of some in the Spanish Church because he strongly opposed the project to canonize Queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

. In 1974, Pope Paul VI had opened her cause for beatification, which placed her on the path toward possible sainthood. Lustiger's opposition was due to the fact that Isabella and her husband Ferdinand of Aragon had expelled Jews from her domains in 1492. Lustiger was a favorite of Pope John Paul II. He had a Polish background and staunchly upheld the Pope's conservative views in the face of much hostility from liberal Catholic opinion in France. This led to some speculation that Lustiger would be a candidate to succeed John Paul II, but he always refused to discuss any such possibility. He 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 The 2005 papal conclave was convened to elect a new pope following the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals of the Catholic Church who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to el ...

that elected

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 ...

Relations with the Jewish world

Along with Cardinal Francis Arinze and Bishop Jean-Baptiste Gourion of Jerusalem, Lustiger was one of only three prelates of his time who were converts to the Roman Catholic faith; he and Gourion were the only two who were born Jewish and still considered themselves "Jewish" all their lives. He said he was proud of his Jewish origins and described himself as a "fulfilled Jew", for which he was chastised by Christians and Jews alike. Former Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel Yisrael Meir Lau publicly denounced Lustiger. Lau accused Lustiger of betraying the Jewish people by converting to Catholicism. Lustiger, who claimed that he was still a Jew, considered being "Jewish" as an ethnic designation and not exclusively a religious one. Lustiger's strong support for the State of Israel, conflicting with the Vatican's officially neutral position, also won him Jewish support. On becoming Archbishop of Paris, Lustiger said:

I was born Jewish and so I remain, even if that is unacceptable for many. For me, the vocation of Israel is bringing light to the '' goyim''. That is my hope and I believe that Christianity is the means for achieving it.

The former

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

of France, Rabbi René Samuel Sirat, says he personally witnessed Lustiger entering the synagogue to recite ''

kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

''—the Jewish mourners' prayer—for his mother. Cardinal Lustiger gained recognition after negotiating in 1987 with representatives of the organized Jewish community (including

Théo Klein Théo Klein (25 June 1920 – 28 January 2020) was a French lawyer who presided over the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France from 1983 to 1989. Klein was a Zionist and a French patriot. He advocated for secular values. He was ...

, the former president of the CRIF)Théo Klein
Aron-Jean-Marie Lustiger, mon cousin
''

'', 8 August 2007 the departure of the

Carmelite nuns , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

who built a convent in

(''see Auschwitz cross''). He represented Pope John Paul II in January 2005 during the 60th-year commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz camp by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. He was also in

Birkenau Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It c ...

along with the new

in May 2006. In 1995, Cardinal Lustiger attended the reading of an act of repentance with a group of French rabbis, during which Catholic authorities apologized for the French Church's passive attitude towards the

collaborationism Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to ...

policies enacted by the

during World War II. In 1998, Lustiger was awarded the Nostra Aetate Award for advancing Catholic-Jewish relations by the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding, an

interfaith Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

group housed on the campus of

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic uni ...

, a Catholic university at

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan ar ...

, in the United States. The

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

, a Jewish civil rights group, protested the award, saying it was "inappropriate" to honor Lustiger, who was born a Jew but left the faith. "It's fine to have him speak at a conference or colloquium," said the league's national director Abraham Foxman. "But I don't think he should be honored because he converted out, which makes him a poor example." In France, however, Lustiger enjoyed good relations with the Jewish community. Théo Klein observed that although conversions usually carry negative connotations in the Jewish world, it was not so with the Cardinal.Catherine Corroler, "Jean-Marie Lustiger, mort d'un cardinal d'action" in ''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France' ...

'', 6 August 200
Read here
Klein called Lustiger "his cousin". In 2004 and 2006, Lustiger visited New York and included visits to the Bobover Rebbe (who blessed him),

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, JTSA, and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah where he addressed the students and faculty along with fellow visiting European bishops. The

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...

paid homage to him after his death.

Retirement and death

When Lustiger reached the age of 75 on 17 September 2001, he submitted his resignation as Archbishop of Paris to Pope John Paul II, as required by canon law. The Pope kept it on file for some years. But on 11 February 2005, Lustiger's resignation was accepted and André Vingt-Trois, a former auxiliary bishop of Paris who had become

Archbishop of Tours The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Turonensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Tours'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd centu ...

, succeeded him as Archbishop of Paris. Lustiger made his final public appearance in January 2007. He died on 5 August 2007 at a clinic outside Paris where he had been battling bone and lung cancer since April. ''

'', and French President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, announced Lustiger's death. The funeral, presided over by Cardinal Lustiger's successor, was held at Notre Dame Cathedral on 10 August 2007. Sarkozy, on vacation in the United States, returned to attend Lustiger's funeral.Nicolas Sarkozy assistera aux obsèques du cardinal Lustiger
''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'', 9 August 2007 In homage to Lustiger's Jewish heritage, the

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

—the traditional hymn of praise of God's name—was recited by his cousin Arno Lustiger in front of the portal of the cathedral.Sarkozy present at Lustiger's funeral
''

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

'', 10 August 2007 Lustiger's

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

, which he wrote himself in 2004, can be seen in the crypt of

Notre-Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to th ...

, and translates as:

I was born Jewish. I received the name Of my paternal grandfather, Aron. Having become Christian By faith and by Baptism, I have remained Jewish As did the Apostles. I have as my patron saints Aron the High Priest, Saint John the Apostle, Holy Mary full of grace. Named 139th archbishop of Paris by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, I was enthroned in this Cathedral on 27 February 1981, And here I exercised my entire ministry. Passers-by, pray for me. † Aron Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger Archbishop of Paris

Distinctions

*: Grand cordon of the National Order of the CedarBiographical notice
of the

Bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

of Honour and Devotion of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

Auxiliaries

The following bishops served as auxiliaries in the Paris diocese under Cardinal Lustiger. * Daniel Pézeril * Georges Gilson * Emile Marcus * Claude Fricard * André Vingt-Trois * Éric Aumonier * Michel Pollien

Published works

*''Sermons d'un curé de Paris'' (1978) *''Pain de vie et peuple de Dieu'' (1981) *''Osez croire'' (1985) *''Osez vivre'' (1985) *''Premiers pas dans la prière'' (1986) *''Prenez place au cœur de l'Église'' (1986) *''Six sermons aux élus de la Nation, 1981-1986'' (1987) *''Le Choix de Dieu. Entretiens avec Jean-Louis Missika et Dominique Wolton'' (1987) *''La Messe'' (1988) *''Dieu merci, les droits de l'homme'' (1990) *''Le Sacrement de l'onction des malades'' (1990) *''Le Saint-Ayoul de Jeanclos'' (in collaboration with Alain Peyrefitte, 1990) *''Nous avons rendez-vous avec l'Europe'' (1991) *''Dare to rejoice'' (American compilation) (1991) *''Petites paroles de nuit de Noël'' (1992) *''Devenez dignes de la condition humaine'' (1995) *''

et le mystère de l'Eglise : actes du colloque du 12 octobre 1996 à l'Institut de France'' (1999) *''Le Baptême de votre enfant'' (1997) *''Soyez heureux'' (1997) *''Pour l'Europe, un nouvel art de vivre'' (1999) *''Les prêtres que Dieu donne'' (2000) *''Comme Dieu vous aime. Un pèlerinage à Jérusalem, Rome et Lourdes'' (2001) *''La Promesse'' (2002) *''Comment Dieu ouvre la porte de la foi'' (2004) *''Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger on Christians and Jews'' (2010)

References

External links

Institutlustiger.fr ''Institut Lustiger'' website

of the ''

'' (includes texts by Lustiger)
Cardinal Lustiger of France dies aged 80
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

, 6 August 2007
Obituary, ''The Independent'', 7 August 2007

Obituary, ''The Times'', 8 August 2007

Intervention
"L’Europe en quête de son identité culturelle" December 2005 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lustiger, Jean-Marie 1926 births 2007 deaths Clergy from Paris 20th-century French Jews French people of Polish-Jewish descent Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Lycée Montaigne (Paris) alumni University of Paris alumni Institut Catholique de Paris alumni Bishops of Orléans Archbishops of Paris 21st-century French cardinals 20th-century French cardinals Members of the Académie Française Grand Cordons of the National Order of the Cedar Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from lung cancer in France Burials at Notre-Dame de Paris