Odilo Scherer

Early life and ordination

Scherer is German Brazilian and was born in Cerro Largo, Rio Grande do Sul, to Edwino and Francisca (née Steffens) Scherer. He is a nephew of Alfredo Scherer, the late Cardinal Archbishop of Porto Alegre. His father's family originated from Tholey, Saarland. His mother also descended from immigrants from Saarland.

After attending the minor and major seminaries in Curitiba, Scherer studied at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná and the Pontifical Gregorian University (from where he obtained his Doctorate of Sacred Theology in 1991) in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Armando Círio, OSI, on December 7, 1976.

Professor and curialist

He served as director and professor at the diocesan seminary of Cascavel (1977–1978), the diocesan seminary of Toledo (1979–1982, 1993), and the Centro Interdiocesano de Teologia de Cascavel (1991–1993).

Before doing pastoral work in Toledo from 1985 to 1988, Scherer taught philosophy at the Ciências Humanas Arnaldo Busatto (1980–1985), and theology at the Instituto Teológico Paulo VI (1985). He then taught at the Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná until 1994.

From 1994 to 2001, he was an official of the Congregation for Bishops in the Roman Curia, while serving as a Roman pastor and chaplain during his spare time. During those years in Europe Scherer also on various occasions studied the German language at the Goethe-Institut in Staufen im Breisgau.

Bishop and Archbishop

On November 28, 2001, Scherer was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of São Paulo and Titular Bishop of Novi. He received his episcopal consecration on February 2, 2002 from Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, OFM, with Archbishops Armando Círio and Anuar Battisti serving as co-consecrators. He was made Secretary General of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference in 2003. In this way, he also became the Grand-Chancellor of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP).

Cardinal

Pope Benedict XVI named Scherer as the seventh Archbishop of São Paulo on March 21, 2007. He replaced Cardinal Hummes, who was made Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. His appointment brought an end to almost four decades of Franciscan leadership of the archdiocese; before Hummes, Paulo Evaristo Arns led the diocese for 28 years. Scherer accompanied Pope Benedict for a great part of his visit to Brazil in May 2007, which was largely held in the former's see of São Paulo, and he delivered a speech during a ceremony to celebrate the Pope's arrival.

On October 17, 2007, the Pope announced that he would make Scherer a Cardinal. Scherer was elevated to the College of Cardinals in the consistory at St. Peter's Basilica on November 24, 2007, becoming Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale.

On June 12, 2008, in addition to his main duties he was appointed by Benedict as a member of the Congregation for the Clergy. On January 5, 2011 he was appointed among the first members of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

He is considered by some to be papabile and was widely considered by odds-makers to be a top candidate to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, including in the Papal conclave, 2013 that selected his colleague, South American Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who took the name Pope Francis. He remains a highly visible member of the Sacred College of Cardinals (and, at 65, is still well away from the retirement age of 75, or the age of 80 when he loses his conclave vote).

On Saturday, November 30, 2013, he was named a Member of the Congregation for Catholic Education by Pope Francis.

General outlook

Scherer is considered to be theologically moderate. He is one of just a handful of cardinals that use modern social media routinely.

Evangelization

According to a July 23, 2010 article by the website of the Catholic news organization ZENIT, Cardinal Scherer thinks there is an "evangelization deficit" around the globe today, which is why Pope Benedict established a new division of the Roman Curia to deal with that issue. Cardinal Scherer was quoted in the article as saying that the Pope "brings all to understand that this [new evangelization] is an objective of his, and that it must be the attitude of the Church worldwide, to respond to the challenges launched by the present 'change of age in the history of humanity.'"

Abortion

Cardinal Scherer asked Brazilians that if the country’s Supreme Court legalizes abortion for babies with anencephaly, what will be the next group ‘incompatible with life’ to be eliminated?

Liberation theology

He once criticized liberation theology's use of "Marxism as a tool of analysis," but supported its focus on social injustice and poverty (as fully in keeping with established, orthodox Catholic doctrine on these issues).

Secularism in Brazil

Cardinal Scherer has argued that removing crucifixes in public places would not be in the best interests of Brazilian secularism.

Priests and the liturgy

In reference to the popular Brazilian priest Marcelo Rossi, Scherer stated that, "Priests aren't showmen... The Mass is not to be transformed into a show".