Joseph Coutts (born 21 July 1945) is a Pakistani

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

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 served as Archbishop of Karachi from 2012 to 2021. He served as Bishop of Faisalabad from 1998 to 2012.

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. ...

created Coutts a cardinal on 28 June 2018.

Biography

Coutts was born in Amritsar,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 21 July 1945. He received his religious training at the

Christ the King seminary The Christ the King Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Karachi, Pakistan; located in adjacent to the Portiuncula Friary. In its early years most of the faculty were provided by the Franciscans. It has been described ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

and 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 partic ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, on 9 January 1971. After ordination, he completed ecclesiastical studies in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

from 1973 to 1976 and then became professor of philosophy and sociology at Christ the King Regional Seminary, Karachi, rector of St. Mary's Minor Seminary, Lahore, and diocesan vicar general from 1986 to 1988. On 5 May 1988 he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

in Pakistan 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 ...

and consecrated a bishop on 16 September. He chose as his episcopal motto the word ''Harmony''. He became Bishop of Hyderabad on 1 September 1990. On 27 June 1998 he was appointed Bishop of

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

. Coutts is the longtime Chairman of

Caritas Pakistan Caritas Pakistan opened in 1965 and has many years of humanitarian assistance history in Pakistan. It is affiliated with Caritas Internationalis, a Roman Catholic humanitarian organisation and one of the largest networks dedicated to reducing pove ...

and directed its earthquake relief efforts in 2005. In Faisalabad he developed ties with Muslim scholars and clerics. The Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt,

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 betwe ...

, awarded Bishop Coutts the 2007 Shalom Prize for his commitment to interfaith dialogue in Pakistan. For 25 years, the award has been given to people and projects working for human rights. On 25 January 2012, 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 ...

appointed Bishop Coutts as Archbishop of Karachi to succeed Archbishop

Evarist Pinto Evarist Pinto (born 31 December 1933 in Goa, Portuguese India) is the former archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan. Education He was educated at St. Thomas High School, Goa, India. In 1960 he started studying for priesthood at the St. Pius X Minor ...

. Anticipating his return to the city where he had studied and taught, he stressed the challenges posed by the city's refugee-driven population explosion and the "sporadic bursts of violence and terrorism" that had become a feature of life in Karachi. In both Faisalabad and Karachi, he has campaigned against Pakistan's blasphemy law, which he believes is too easily manipulated for personal attacks or to target religious minorities for insubstantial or pretended offenses. In Karachi he has established multiple connections for inter-religious dialog between Muslims and Catholics, aiming at both acceptance by the general population and increased understanding on the part of political and religious leaders. Coutts was hospitalized with pneumonia and unable to travel to Rome to receive his

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 ...

, the symbol of his status as a metropolitan archbishop, from Pope Benedict in June 2012. He was president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference from 2011 to 2017.

created Coutts a

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 ...

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 28 June 2018, assigning him the titular church of

San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio is a titular church located in Rome, Italy. Location San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio is located to the east of Centocelle Airport. The nearest Metro station is Parco di Centocelle. It is not to be confused with the ch ...

. He is a member 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 ...

. On 9 January 2021, he celebrated 50 years of his priestly ordination by celebrating Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral. His resignation as Archbishop of Karachi was accepted on 11 February 2021.

References

;Additional resources * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coutts, Joseph 1945 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Pakistan Scholars from Amritsar Pakistani people of Goan descent St. Anthony's High School, Lahore alumni Pakistani cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Francis Roman Catholic bishops of Hyderabad in Pakistan Roman Catholic archbishops of Karachi Roman Catholic bishops of Faisalabad

Biography

See also

References

External links