Philippe Barbarin

Early life and ordination

Barbarin was born in 1950 in Rabat, Morocco, then a French protectorate, into a large family (six sisters, two of whom are nuns, and four brothers). Barbarin studied for the priesthood in Paris. He was ordained on 17 December 1977 by Bishop Robert de Provenchères of Créteil.

Pastoral work

Barbarin was involved in pastoral work until 1994, when he taught theology in the Archdiocese of Fianarantsoa, Madagascar.

Bishop and Archbishop

On 1 October 1998, he was appointed Bishop of Moulins. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 22 November from the Jesuit Archbishop Philibert Randriambololona of Fianarantsoa (with Bishops André Quélen and Daniel Labille serving as co-consecrators). Barbarin was named Archbishop of Lyon on 16 July 2002.

Cardinal

As is customary for archbishops of Lyon, Monsignor Barbarin was promptly elevated to the Cardinalate. He was created Cardinal-Priest of SS. Trinità al Monte Pincio by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of 21 October 2003. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI and the 2013 conclave which elected Pope Francis. He is eligible to participate in any conclave that begins on or before his 80th birthday on 17 October 2030.

In addition to his native French, Barbarin speaks Italian, English, Spanish, German, and Malagasy.

Activities

In 2010, Barbarin created a program at the diocesan seminary to prepare for the priesthood any Francophone candidate who wished, in accordance with the tradition in which he was raised, to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

In November 2012, as France prepared to legalize same-sex marriage, he told Osservatore Romano: "Everyone knows marriage is the union between a man and a woman. The parliaments of the 21st century cannot change that.... I and many other priests are engaged in dialogue with a number of homosexual people. They know they are loved and that they will always be welcome. I would remind them however that God watches over and says to everyone: 'You are precious in my eyes.' I hope that everyone listens to Christ's call and are helped to reciprocate."

In July 2015, he led the bishops of the Rhône-Alpes region in calling for a Reims hospital to maintain the life support systems of Vincent Lambert, a man who had been in a coma for seven years.

He has been "at the forefront of Islamic-Christian dialogue". In 2013, accompanied by the Imam of Lyon, he visited the village of Tibhirine, Algeria, where some Trappist monks were assassinated in 1996. In July 2014, he visited Mosul and Erbil and other villages in Iraq as well as refugee camps for displaced Christians.

Health

Cardinal Barbarin suffered a double heart infarction in the plane from Lyon to 2013 World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. He was taken to a hospital in Cayenne, French Guiana, where he received a coronary angiography. He was transferred to Fort de France, Martinique, where he underwent a triple bypass operation on 23 July 2013.

Sexual abuses under his watch

Barbarin has been criticized for allegedly covering up sexual abuses committed by one of his priests, which is a crime under French law. As of February 2016 Barbarin, four of his subordinates and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, are the defendants in a lawsuit by the abuse victims. A judge is conducting a preliminary inquiry. On 1 August 2016, the faillure to report whose the Cardinal Barbarin was accused was closed without follow-up by the Attorney of Lyon, due largely to statute of limitations considerations.