Joseph Coutts

{{short description|Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{Use Pakistani English|date=June 2017}}

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type = Cardinal

| honorific_prefix = His Eminence

| name = Joseph Coutts

| honorific_suffix = HI

| title = Cardinal, Archbishop emeritus of Karachi

| image = Mgr Coutts à la Nuit des Témoins 2016 (cropped).jpg

| image_size =

| alt = Coutts holding a candle

| caption = Coutts in 2016

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| church = Roman Catholic Church

| archdiocese = Karachi

| province =

| metropolis =

| diocese =

| see =

| appointed = 25 January 2012

| ended = 11 April 2021

| quashed =

| predecessor = Evarist Pinto

| successor = Benny Mario Travas

| opposed =

| other_post = Cardinal Priest of San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio (2018–present)

| ordination = 9 January 1971

| ordained_by = Felicissimus Alphonse Raeymaeckers

| consecration = 16 September 1988

| consecrated_by = Bonaventure Patrick Paul

| cardinal = 28 June 2018

| created_cardinal_by = Pope Francis

| rank = Cardinal priest

| laicized =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|07|21|df=y}}

| birth_place = Amritsar, British India

| death_date =

| death_place =

| buried =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| nationality = Pakistani

| previous_post = {{plainlist|

| religion =

| residence =

| parents = Pedro Jose Couto

| spouse =

| children =

| occupation =

| profession =

| education =

| alma_mater = St. Anthony High School, Lahore

| motto = Harmony

| signature = Joseph Cardinal Coutts.png

| signature_alt =

| coat_of_arms =

| coat_of_arms_alt =

}}

{{Infobox Cardinal styles

| name= Joseph Coutts

| dipstyle= His Eminence

| offstyle=Your Eminence

| relstyle= Cardinal

| See=Karachi

| image = Coat of arms of Joseph Coutts.svg

| image_size = 200px

}}

{{Ordination

| ordained deacon by =

| date of diaconal ordination =

| place of diaconal ordination =

| ordained priest by = Felicissimus Alphonse Raeymaeckers

| date of priestly ordination = 9 January 1971

| place of priestly ordination =

| consecrated by = Bonaventure Patrick Paul

| co-consecrators = {{ubl|Armando Trindade|Emanuele Gerada}}

| date of consecration = 16 September 1988

| place of consecration = Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lahore

| elevated by = Pope Francis

| date of elevation = 28 June 2018

| sources =

}}

Joseph Coutts (born 21 July 1945) is a Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Karachi from 2012 to 2021. He served as Bishop of Faisalabad from 1998 to 2012.

Pope Francis made Coutts a cardinal on 28 June 2018.

Biography

Coutts was born in Amritsar, British India on 21 July 1945 in a Goan family. His father Pedro Jose Couto was from Aldona, a village in North Goa, and the family's home was at Ucassaim. Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, Archbishop of Delhi, is his first cousin. Coutts can speak several languages including English, Italian, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi.{{cite press release | access-date = 21 May 2018 |publisher =Holy See Press Office |url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2018/05/20/0374/00807.html | title= Annuncio di Concistoro il 29 giugno per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali, 20.05.2018 | date= 20 May 2018}}[https://itsgoa.com/goan-origin-archbishop-joseph-coutts-appointed-cardinal-by-pope Goan origin archbishop Joseph Coutts appointed cardinal by Pope]. Its Goa. He received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi and was ordained a priest in Lahore, Pakistan, on 9 January 1971.{{cite news | url = http://www.asianews.it/news-en/-Multiethnic-Karachi,-a-challenge-for-Mgr-Coutts-in-his-new-mission-23812.html | work = AsiaNews | access-date = 21 May 2018 | title = Multiethnic Karachi, a challenge for Mgr Coutts in his new mission | date= 27 January 2012 | first = Shafique | last = Khokhar }}

After ordination, he completed ecclesiastical studies in Rome 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 in Pakistan by Pope John Paul II and consecrated a bishop on 16 September. He chose as his episcopal motto the word Harmony.{{cite news | work= La Stampa|url = http://www.lastampa.it/2018/05/22/vaticaninsider/harmony-bearer-joseph-coutts-new-cardinal-in-pakistan-66ykEF4OM0uXiT6akocerJ/pagina.html | title = Harmony bearer Joseph Coutts, new Cardinal in Pakistan | access-date = 28 May 2018 | date= 22 May 2018 | first =Paolo | last= Affatato }} He became Bishop of Hyderabad on 1 September 1990. On 27 June 1998 he was appointed Bishop of Faisalabad.

Coutts is the longtime Chairman of Caritas Pakistan 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, 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.{{cite news | work = AsiaNews | url = http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bishop-of-Faisalabad-awarded-the-Shalom-Prize-for-2007-9658.html | access-date = 21 May 2018 | title= Bishop of Faisalabad awarded the Shalom Prize for 2007 }}

On 25 January 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Coutts as Archbishop of Karachi to succeed Archbishop Evarist Pinto.{{cite press release | access-date = 21 May 2018 | url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2012/01/25/0043/00101.html | date= 25 January 2012 | language = it | title = Rinunce e Nomine, 25.01.2012 |publisher= Holy See Press Office }}{{cite news | url = http://www.ucanews.com/2012/01/25/pope-names-new-archbishop-of-karachi/ | work= UCANews |date= 25 January 2012 | url-status = dead | title=Pope names new archbishop of Karachi | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120224063318/http://www.ucanews.com/2012/01/25/pope-names-new-archbishop-of-karachi/ |archive-date=24 February 2012 |first=Alessandro | last= Speciale }} 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.{{cite news | url = https://zenit.org/articles/pakistani-christians-second-class-citizens/ | work =Zenit | access-date = 21 May 2018 | date= 6 June 2010 | title = Pakistani Christians: Second-Class Citizens? }}{{cite news | work = Rome Reports | access-date = 21 May 2018 | url = https://www.romereports.com/en/2018/04/03/archbishop-of-karachi-blasphemy-law-causes-problems-for-both-christians-and-muslims/ | date= 3 April 2018 | title = Archbishop of Karachi: Blasphemy law causes problems for both Christians and Muslims}} 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 symbol of his status as a metropolitan archbishop, from Pope Benedict in June 2012.{{cite news | url = http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/pakistan-bishop-16385/ | work= La Stampa | date= 28 June 2012 | url-status =dead | title = Coutts, the passionate advocate of peace and dialogue | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120827023607/http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/pakistan-bishop-16385/ |archive-date=27 August 2012 |first= Gerard | last = O'Connell }}

He was president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference from 2011 to 2017.{{cite news|title=Archbishop of Karachi Joseph Coutts to be elevated as cardinal|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1714968/1-archbishop-karachi-joseph-coutts-elevated-cardinal/|work=Express Tribune|date=20 May 2018}} Pope Francis created Coutts a cardinal priest in the consistory of 28 June 2018, assigning him the titular church of San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio. He became the country's second cardinal after Joseph Cordeiro (1918–1994) who was also of Goan origin.{{cite news |last1=D'Emilio |first1=Frances|title=Pope, making new cardinals, hears Iraqi tell of martyrs |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-making-new-cardinals-hears-iraqi-tell-of-martyrs/ |access-date=29 June 2018 |work=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |date=28 June 2018}}{{cite press release |access-date = 28 May 2018 | date= 28 May 2018| language = it| url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2018/06/28/0495/01091.html |publisher= Holy See Press Office | title= Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli, 28.06.2018 }}

He is a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.[https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_coutts_j.html Vatican website Accessed April 17, 2021]

On 9 January 2021, he celebrated 50 years of his priestly ordination by celebrating Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral.[http://www.fides.org/en/news/69360 Agenza Fides, January 9, 2021] His resignation as Archbishop of Karachi was accepted on 11 February 2021.{{cite press release | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/02/11/210211a.html | publisher = Holy See Press Office | access-date = 11 February 2021 | date= 11 February 2021 | title= Resignations and Appointments, 11.02.2021 }}

On August 14, 2024, the President of Pakistan awarded Coutts the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.[https://tribune.com.pk/story/2488014/president-asif-ali-zardari-approves-awards-for-104-individuals-for-their-service-to-pakistan Tribune August 14, 2024]

He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.{{cite web| url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html| title=Cardinal Electors|date=6 May 2025|publisher=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|language=en|access-date=6 May 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506193115/https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html|archive-date=6 May 2025|url-status=live}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

;Additional resources

  • {{cite news | archive-date = 28 September 2007 |title=Interview with Bishop Joseph Coutts, Caritas Pakistan National Director, Bishop of Faisalabad Diocese | url-status = dead | url = http://www.caritas.org/jumpNews.asp?idChannel=3&idLang=ENG&idUser=0&idNews=3514 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928010332/http://www.caritas.org/jumpNews.asp?idChannel=3&idLang=ENG&idUser=0&idNews=3514 | website = Caritas Internationalis |date= 20 October 2005 }}
  • {{cite news | url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/7098/bishop-in-pakistan-struggles-for-justice-after-catholic-teen-killed | agency = Catholic News Agency | date = 5 July 2006 | access-date = 21 May 2018 | title = Bishop in Pakistan struggles for justice after Catholic teen killed | archive-date = 30 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015309/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=7098 | url-status = live }}