Javier Lozano Barragán (; 26 January 1933 – 20 April 2022) was a Mexican prelate of the Catholic Church who was 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 f ...

from 1997 to 2009. He was made a cardinal in 2003. He was auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mexico from 1979 to 1984 and bishop of Zacatecas from 1984 to 1997.

Early life and education

Born in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

State of México The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name o ...

, on 26 January 1933, Lozano Barragán trained at the seminary in

Zamora, Michoacán Zamora de Hidalgo () is a city in the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Michoacán. The 2010 census population was 141,627. making it the third largest city in the state. The city is the municipal seat of Zamora Municipality, Michoacán, Zamora M ...

, and was ordained a priest on 30 October 1955 while studying in Rome, where he earned a doctorate in dogmatic theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in 1958. Returning to Mexico, he taught at the seminary in Zamora In the 1970s he served as president first of the Mexican Theological Society and then of the Theological Pastoral Institute of the

Latin American Episcopal Council The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (; ), better known as CELAM, is a Episcopal Conference#Similar bodies, council of the Catholic Church, Catholic bishops in Latin America, created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ...

(CELAM).

Bishop

On 5 June 1979, Lozano Barragán was appointed auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Mexico The Archdiocese of Mexico () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that is situated in Mexico City, Mexico. It was erected as a diocese on 2 September 1530 and elevated to an archdiocese on 12 February 15 ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on 15 August from Cardinal Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, Archbishop of Mexico. While in that position, he helped to found the

Pontifical University of Mexico A pontifical () is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy Orders. While the ...

and served on its leadership council from 1982-1985. On 28 October 1984 he was named bishop of

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

. While in that post he was made a member of two Curial bodies, the

Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers The Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers () was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with promoting dialogue between the Catholic Church and non-believers. Its original designation as "Secretariat" was changed to "Pontifical Cou ...

and the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

Curial service

On 31 October 1996 he was appointed president of the

and given the personal title of archbishop. Lozano Barragán was made

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of San Michele Arcangelo a Pietralata by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 21 October 2003. Upon the death of Pope John Paul, he was one of many crediting him with miracles, citing the case of a four-year-old Mexican boy who recovered from leukemia without explanation after the pope hugged and kissed him on a visit to Zacatecas in 1990. Lozano Barragán was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

2005 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 18 and 19 April 2005 to elect a new pope to succeed John Paul II, who had died on 2 April 2005. Of the 117 eligible cardinal electors, all but two attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Josep ...

that selected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. In 2006 Pope Benedict asked Lozano Barragán to prepare a report on

condoms A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condoms, also called male condoms, and internal (female) ...

and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

to allow Curia officials to study "both the scientific and technical aspects linked to the condom, as well as the moral implications in all their amplitude". He downplayed reports that it was anything more than a study and said "we are in the first stage" and that it was scientific in nature and would not extend to assessing morality. On two occasions he opposed the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments, including artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH), from patients had spent years in a vegetative state. In 2005, when

Terry Schiavo The Terri Schiavo case was a series of court and legislative actions in the United States from 1998 to 2005, regarding the care of Theresa Marie Schiavo (née Schindler) (; December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), a woman in an irreversible ...

died after the withdrawal of life support after 15 years, he said: "Let’s stop with the euphemisms—they killed her." In 2009, he called the withdrawal of ANH from Eluana Englaro after 17 years "monstrous and inhuman murder". On 18 April 2009, Pope Benedict accepted Lozano Barragán's resignation for reasons of age and appointed

Zygmunt Zimowski Zygmunt Zimowski (7 April 1949 – 13 July 2016) was a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Archbishop Zimowski had served until his death in July 2016 as President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, ...

to the post.

In retirement

The following December, Lorenzo Barragán condemned the use of the

RU-486 Mifepristone, and also known by its developmental code name RU-486, is a drug typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days (9 wee ...

pill as "a crime that demands punishment". He described its authorization as "worse than liberalizing the sake of weapons". That same month, he discussed the Church's teaching on homosexuality and salvation. He said media reports attributing to him the view that homosexuals can not be saved had misconstrued his reference to

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

's Letter to the Romans which condemns individual homosexuals. He said scripture can not be used to condemn all homosexuals. Rather, he said that "many times one is not a homosexual through one's own fault; it all depends on one's education and environment." He offered the view "that for grave fault to exist, in addition to needing grave matter, one needs full knowledge and full consent: Where one of those three conditions is lacking, there is no grave fault." Having been ten years as a cardinal deacon, he was promoted to

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

of Santa Dorotea by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 12 June 2014. Lozano Barragán died in Rome on 20 April 2022. In offering his condolences, Pope Francis noted they had been friends since 1980.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lozano Barragan, Javier 1933 births 2022 deaths Mexican cardinals People from Toluca 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II