José Policarpo

His Eminence José IV
Cardinal, Patriarch of Lisbon
Church	Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major
Archdiocese	Lisbon
Appointed	5 March 1997 (Coadjutor Patriarch)
Installed	24 March 1998
Term ended	18 May 2013
Predecessor	António Ribeiro
Successor	Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of S. Antonio in Campo Marzio
Orders
Ordination	15 August 1961 by Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira
Consecration	29 June 1978 by António Ribeiro
Created Cardinal	21 February 2001 by John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth name	José da Cruz Policarpo
Born	26 February 1936 Alvorninha, Estremadura Portugal
Died	12 March 2014 (aged 78) Lisbon, Portugal
Nationality	Portuguese
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon (1978–1997) Titular Bishop of Caliabria (1978–1997)
Motto	per obedientiam ad libertatem (By Obeidence to Freedom)
Coat of arms

Styles of José da Cruz Policarpo
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Lisbon

José da Cruz Policarpo (Portuguese: [ʒuˈzɛ dɐ kɾujʃ poliˈkaɾpu]; 26 February 1936 – 12 March 2014), officially referred to as José IV, Patriarch of Lisbon, though commonly just referred to as "D. José Policarpo", was Cardinal and Patriarch Emeritus of Lisbon. Policarpo held a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He served from 24 March 1998 to 18 May 2013, and upon his resignation being accepted by Pope Francis, he was succeeded as Patriarch of Lisbon by the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto in Porto, Portugal, Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente.^[1]

Early life

He was born on 26 February 1936 in Alvorninha, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, the first of nine children of José Policarpo sr. (Caldas da Rainha, Alvorninha, Lugar do Pego, 18 April 1902 – Lisbon, Odivelas, 20 October 1987) and wife (m. Caldas da Rainha, Alvorninha, 26 January 1935) Maria Gertrudes Rosa (Alcobaça, Benedita, 17 October 1909 – Caldas da Rainha, Alvorninha, 6 September 1994), and ordained a priest on 15 August 1961 in Lisbon by Manuel Cardinal Cerejeira. José da Cruz' eight siblings were: Maria do Céu (b. 1939), Maria Adélia (b. 1942), Aníbal, Joaquim, António, Maria da Graça, Maria Edite (b. 1947) and Fernando (b. 1952).

Early career

Policarpo was director of the seminary in Penafirme, rector of the seminary in Olivais and dean of the Theological Faculty of the Portuguese Catholic University. He later served two terms as rector of the same university (1988–96) and is the author of a number of books and scholarly articles.

Appointed bishop

On 26 May 1978 Policarpo was appointed titular bishop of Caliabria and auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, receiving episcopal consecration on 29 June. On 5 March 1997 he was appointed Coadjuctor Archbishop of Lisbon and succeeded Cardinal António Ribeiro as Patriarch on 24 March 1998. Cardinal Policarpo is also President of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference and Grand Chancellor of the Portuguese Catholic University.

Cardinalate

He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of 21 February 2001, as Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Antonio in Campo Marzio (St. Anthony in the Field of Mars). Cardinal da Cruz Policarpo is a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Pontifical Council for the Laity, and Pontifical Council for Culture in the Roman Curia.

Upon the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Policarpo was considered to be papabile – a possible successor to the papacy. On 11 April 2005, British newspaper The Guardian considered him to be "a dark-horse candidate for pope, capable of bridging the divide between the Europeans and the Latin American Roman Catholic cardinals". The 2005 papal conclave, in which he participated as a cardinal elector, ultimately elected Pope Benedict XVI. He was also a cardinal elector in the conclave of 2013 which elected Pope Francis.^[2][3][4] As a result of his position in the seniority among cardinals, when Cardinal Policarpo took the oath of secrecy in the Sistine Chapel at the start of the conclave, he took the oath immediately after Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the cardinal ultimately elected as Pope Francis.^[4]

His resignation because of his age was accepted in May 2013 and Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, formerly bishop of Porto was named in his place.^[5]

Controversies

Pro-choice politicians

His refusal to deny communion or excommunicate those who called themselves Catholics and who openly supported legalization of abortion was also criticised by many pro-life Catholics for being one of the main reasons for the legalisation of abortion in Portugal, in 2007. However, he did not openly deny the right to the Portuguese Roman Catholic priests to refuse them communion, which many in fact did.^[6] Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who chose not to veto the law that legalised abortion in Portugal, is a Roman Catholic, but he was never openly criticised by Cardinal Policarpo for his attitude.

Marriages with Muslim men

On 14 January 2009, the cardinal directed a warning to young women to "think twice" before marrying Muslim men: Christians should learn more about Islam and respect Muslims, but marrying a Muslim man is getting into a lot of trouble, that not even Allah knows where it would end, if the couple moved to an Islamic country.^[7][8][9] He also said that dialogue "with our Muslim brothers" is difficult, because it is possible to dialogue only with those who want to have dialogue.^[7] Human rights group Amnesty International criticized Policarpo for inciting "discrimination" and "intolerance", and a representative of the Muslim community in Portugal said they were hurt and surprised by his words, but remarked that his words could be interpreted as a call to respect differences and get to know the other religion.^[10] A spokesman for the Portuguese Episcopal Conference said the cardinal had offered "realistic advice" rather than "discrimination" or "contempt for another culture or religion".^[8]

Ordination of women

Cardinal da Cruz Policarpo in June 2011 stated in a magazine interview that, while there is no fundamental theological obstacle to ordination of women, there is, in fact, an obstacle regarding the strong tradition dating from Jesus. There will certainly be no change in our lifetime, he said, and so the question ought not to be raised – it provokes many reactions.^[11][12] Nearly two weeks after giving the interview, he issued a clarification of his comments, in which he unequivocally reaffirmed the teaching of Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.^[13]

See also

• College of Cardinals
• List of Cardinals from Portugal

References

1. http://attualita.vatican.va/sala-stampa/bollettino/2013/05/18/news/31008.html
2. "Cardinal electors – Conclave of March 2013 – Arranged in alphabetical order". Salvador Miranda. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
3. "Conclave of March 2013". Salvador Miranda. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
4. Procession and entrance in Conclave (Television production) (in Italian). Rome: Centro Televisivo Vaticano. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
7. "Portugal cardinal warns of marriage with Muslims". Reuters. 14 January 2009.
8. "Portuguese Catholic Leader: 'Think Twice about Marrying a Muslim'". Der Spiegel. 15 January 2009.
9. Portuguese Church: 'Think twice about marrying Muslims' (Daily Mail, 15 January 2009)
10. Controversy over Christian-Muslim marriages in Portugal (Trend, Azerbaijan, 15 January 2009)
11. "Não foi por acaso que Jesus escolheu para apóstolos homens e deu às mulheres outro tipo de atenção [...] teológicamente não há nenhum obstáculo fundamental [...] O problema põe-se noutra ótica, numa forte tradição, que vem desde Jesus [...] Não é com certeza para a nossa vida, hoje então, no momento que estamos a viver, é um daqueles problemas que é melhor não levantar...suscita uma série de reações" (Text of the interview, in Portuguese).
12. The Patriarch of Lisbon: "There are no theological reasons for excluding women from the priesthood" (La Stampa, 25 June 2011)
13. Statement from the Patriarchate of Lisbon