View source for Jean-Marie Lustiger

{{Short description|French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Cardinal
| honorific-prefix = [[His Eminence]]
| name = Jean-Marie Aron Lustiger
| honorific-suffix = 
| title = [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris|Archbishop emeritus of Paris]]
| image =Jean_Marie_Lustiger_par_Claude_Truong-Ngoc_1988.jpg
| caption = Lustiger outside [[Notre-Dame de Paris|Notre Dame Cathedral]], 15 August 1988
| imagesize= 230px
| province = 
| diocese = 
| see = [[Archbishop of Paris|Paris]]
| enthroned = 31 January 1981
| ended = 11 February 2005 (retired)
| predecessor = [[François Marty]]
| successor = [[André Vingt-Trois]]
| other_post = Cardinal-Priest of San Luigi dei Francesi (1994–2007) <br /> Cardinal-Priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro (1983–1994)
| previous_post = [[Bishopric of Orléans|Bishop of Orléans]] (1979-1981)
<!-- orders -->
| ordination = 17 April 1954
| ordained_by = Bishop [[Émile-Arsène Blanchet]]
| consecration = 8 December 1979
| consecrated_by = Cardinal [[François Marty]]
| cardinal = 2 February 1983
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]]
| rank =  
<!-- Personal -->
| birth_name = Aron Lustiger
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1926|9|17}}
| birth_place = Paris, France
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2007|8|5|1926|9|17}}
| death_place = Paris, France
| buried = Cathedral of [[Notre Dame de Paris]], Paris, France
| religion = [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]
| residence = 
| parents = Charles and Gisèle Lustiger
| spouse = 
| children = 
| occupation =
| profession =
| coat_of_arms = [[File:Jean-Marie Lustiger.svg|140px]]
| alma_mater = 
| signature = 
}}

'''Jean-Marie Aron Lustiger''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒɑ̃ maʁi lystiʒe|-|Fr-Jean Marie Lustiger.ogg}}; 17 September 1926 – 5 August 2007) was a French [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]] of the [[Catholic Church]]. He served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris|Archbishop of Paris]] from 1981 until his resignation in 2005. He was made a cardinal in 1983 by [[Pope John Paul II]]. His life is depicted in the 2013 film ''Le métis de Dieu'' (''The Jewish Cardinal'').

==Life and work==
===Early years===
Lustiger was born '''Aron Lustiger''' in Paris to a [[History of the Jews in France|Jewish]] family. His parents, Charles and Gisèle Lustiger, were [[Ashkenazi Jews]] from [[Będzin]], [[Poland]], who had left Poland around [[World War I]].<ref name=Fig>Sophie de Ravinel, [http://www.lefigaro.fr/france/20070805.WWW000000088_le_cardinal_lustiger_est_mort.html Le cardinal Lustiger est mort], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 5 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Lustiger's father ran a hosiery shop. Aron Lustiger studied at the [[Lycée Montaigne (Paris)|Lycée Montaigne]] in Paris, where he first encountered [[anti-Semitism]].<ref name=Monde>Henri Tincq, [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-942169@51-942139,0.html L'adieu à Jean-Marie Lustiger]{{Dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Le Monde]]'', 6 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>Interview with the Israeli daily, ''[[Yediot Ahronoth]]'', published in 1982 by the journal ''[[Le Débat]]'' (quoted by Sophie de Ravinel, [http://www.lefigaro.fr/france/20070805.WWW000000088_le_cardinal_lustiger_est_mort.html Le cardinal Lustiger est mort], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 5 August 2007) {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Visiting [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] in 1937, he was hosted by an [[anti-fascism|anti-Nazi]] [[Protestant]] family whose children had been required to join the [[Hitler Youth]].<ref name=Fig/><ref name=Telegraph/>

Sometime between the ages of ten and twelve, Lustiger came across a [[Protestant Bible]] and felt inexplicably attracted to it. On the outbreak of [[World War II]] in September 1939, the family moved to [[Orléans]].<ref name=Fig/><ref name=Telegraph>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080225101652/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/07/db0701.xml Cardinal Lustiger], ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'', 7 August 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref>

In March 1940, during [[Holy Week]], the 13-year-old Lustiger decided to convert to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]. On 21 August he was [[Baptism|baptized]] as Aron Jean-Marie by the [[Bishopric of Orléans|Bishop of Orléans]], [[Jules-Marie-Victor Courcoux]]. His sister converted later.<ref name=IHT>John Tagliabue, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/06/europe/lustiger.php French Catholic leader, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, dies at 80], ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', 6 August 2007</ref> In October 1940, the [[Vichy regime]] passed the first of many [[Vichy anti-Jewish legislation|anti-Semitic laws]], which forced increasingly strict conditions on Jews in the unoccupied zone.<ref name=Monde/>

Lustiger, his father, and sister sought refuge in [[Zone libre|unoccupied southern France]], while his mother returned to Paris to run the family business. In September 1942, his mother was deported to the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] where she was murdered the following year. The surviving family returned to Paris at the end of the war.<ref name="IHT"/> Lustiger's father tried unsuccessfully to have his son's baptism annulled, and even sought the help of the chief rabbi of Paris.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080225101652/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/07/db0701.xml Cardinal Lustiger], ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'', 7 August 2007</ref>

===Early career===
{{Infobox cardinal styles|
cardinal name=Jean-Marie Aron Lustiger|
dipstyle=His Eminence|
offstyle=Your Eminence|
See=Paris ([[:wikt:emeritus|emeritus]])|}}

Lustiger graduated from the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] with a literature degree in 1946. He entered the seminary of the [[Carmelite]] fathers in Paris, and later the [[Institut Catholique de Paris]]. He first visited Israel in 1951. On 17 April 1954 he was [[Holy Orders|ordained]] to the priesthood by Bishop Émile-Arsène Blanchet, [[Rector (academic)|rector]] of the Institut Catholique.<ref name=Fig/> From 1954 to 1959 he was a chaplain at the Sorbonne.

For the next ten years, he was the director of Richelieu Centre, which trains university chaplains and counsels lay teachers and students of the ''[[grandes écoles]]'', graduate schools such as the [[École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines|ÉNS-Fontenay-Saint-Cloud]] or the [[Ecole des Chartes]].

From 1969 to 1979, Lustiger was [[vicar]] of the Parish of [[Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal (Paris)|Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal]], in the wealthy [[16th arrondissement of Paris]]. His parochial assistant was [[André Vingt-Trois]], who years later would succeed him as Archbishop of Paris.

On 10 November 1979, Lustiger was appointed [[Bishop of Orléans]] by Pope [[John Paul II]] after a 15-month vacancy.<ref name=Fig/> John Paul had been advised by Cardinal [[Paolo Bertoli]], who was displeased with a new illustrated [[Catechism]] for French urban youth (''Pierres vivantes'') and was on bad terms with most of the French clergy.<ref name=Terras>Christian Terras, [http://golias-editions.fr/spip.php?article1575 Jean-Marie Lustiger : un colosse aux pieds d’argile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123091515/http://golias-editions.fr/spip.php?article1575 |date=2017-11-23 }}, 6 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Lustiger received his [[Bishop (Catholicism)|episcopal consecration]] on 8 December 1979 from Cardinal [[François Marty]], with Archbishop Eugène Ernoult of [[Sens]] and Bishop Daniel Pézeril serving as co-consecrators. When installed as bishop, Lustiger avoided all reference to his liberal predecessor [[Guy Riobé|Guy-Marie Riobé]], a pacifist closely allied to [[Catholic Action]].<ref name=Fig/>

===Archbishop of Paris (1981–2005)===
[[File:Pope John Paul II in Bosnia 1997g.jpg|thumb|Lustiger with Pope John Paul II in Bosnia, 1997; Cardinal [[Franjo Kuharić]] on right]]
On 31 January 1981 Lustiger was named [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris|Archbishop of Paris]], succeeding Cardinal Marty. According to Georges Suffert, he was supported by a letter to John Paul II from [[André Frossard]].<ref name=Fig/> Archbishop [[Marcel Lefebvre]], the founder of the [[Traditionalist Catholic]] group [[Society of Saint Pius X]], criticized his nomination. He said that the position was being given to "someone who is not truly of French origin".<ref name=IHT/> Liberal French clergy considered Lustiger's nomination a defeat for them.<ref name=Terras/>

Lustiger was considered a first-rate communicator and he was a personal friend of [[Jean Gélamur]], head of the Catholic media group [[Bayard Presse]].<ref name=Terras/> The new archbishop was particularly attentive to the media; he developed Catholic radio and television channels (Radio Notre-Dame) after [[François Mitterrand]]'s liberalization of French media in 1981. He founded [[KTO (TV channel)|KTO]] TV in 1999, which struggled financially.<ref name="Monde_obituary">[https://archive.today/20130107022133/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-942138@51-942139,0.html Le cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger est mort], ''[[Le Monde]]'', 5 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Lustiger also founded a new [[seminary]] for training priests, bypassing the existing arrangements.

He was considered, primarily by his critics, to be authoritarian, earning him the nickname of "Bulldozer".<ref name=Monde_obituary/><ref name=IHT/> Lustiger deposed the vicars general [[Michel Guittet]] and [[Pierre Gervaise]], had [[Georges Gilson]] transferred to [[Le Mans]] and [[Emile Marcus]] to [[Nantes]], personally headed the meetings of the episcopal council, and made numerous other changes.<ref name=Terras/> He dismantled P. Béguerie's team in [[Saint-Séverin]].<ref name=Terras/> In October 1981, the French bishops elected the more liberal [[Jean-Félix-Albert-Marie Vilnet]] as President of the [[Conférence des évêques de France|Episcopal Conference]], with whom Lustiger was on difficult terms throughout his life.<ref name=Terras/> In 1982, he invited for the celebration of [[Lent]] in Notre-Dame [[Roger Etchegaray]] (whom he disliked at first) and the Jesuit [[Roger Heckel]].<ref name=Terras/> He participated in the annual meeting of the movement ''[[Comunione e Liberazione]]'' in [[Rimini]] in summer 1982.<ref name=Terras/> In January 1983 he invited Cardinal [[Pope Benedict XVI|Joseph Ratzinger]] to [[Notre-Dame de Paris]], where the latter criticized new catechisms proposed by a large part of the French clergy.<ref name=Terras/>

He was incardinated [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal-Priest]] of [[Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano|Santi Marcellino e Pietro]] by [[Pope John Paul II]] in the [[Papal consistory|consistory]] of 2 February 1983, at the same time as the Jesuit theologian [[Henri de Lubac]].<ref name=Terras/> On 26 November 1994, he was named Cardinal-Priest of [[San Luigi dei Francesi]]. As a cardinal, Lustiger began to attract international attention. He was considered ''[[papabile]],'' (i.e. having good chances of being elected pope). Certain Catholic circles interpreted the [[Prophecy of the Popes|Prophecy of Malachy]] in reference to him as a Jewish Pope.<ref name=Terras/>

Lustiger carried out several reforms in the Archdiocese of Paris concerning priests' training, creating in 1984 an independent theological faculty in the [[École cathédrale de Paris]], distinct from the [[Catholic University of Paris]] aka ''Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP)''. He constructed seven new churches in Paris. In addition, he supported the development of [[charismatic]] movements, such as the [[Emmanuel Community]] (of which he was in charge until June 2006) and the [[Chemin Neuf Community]]. The latter was recognized in 1984 by the Vatican as an [[Directory of International Associations of the Faithful|International Association of the Faithful]]. Some parishes were entrusted to charismatic movements. In Paris, he ordained 200 priests; they represented 15 percent of the French total, and were drawn from a diocese which had two per cent of the French population.<ref name=Telegraph/> Strongly attached to the ideal of priestly celibacy, Lustiger used his position as Ordinary for Orientals to prevent the deployment of married Eastern Rite Catholic priests in France. He favoured development of a permanent [[diaconate]], to be filled mainly by married men involved in the workplace.

In 1984, Lustiger led a mass rally at [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]] in opposition to the [[Savary Law]], which reduced state aid to [[Education in France|private (which was mostly Catholic) education]]. He was seen to surpass his comrades [[Jean Vilnet]], [[Paul Guiberteau]] and [[Jean Honoré]], who were leaders on the issue.<ref name=Terras/> Shortly afterwards [[Alain Savary]] had to resign. This opposition cemented Lustiger's relations with the groups supporting private education, from whose midst he was to draw most of his candidates for the priesthood. He supported the [[1905 Law on the Separation of Church and State]], but, when testifying before the [[Commission Stasi]] on secularism, he opposed the [[French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools|2004 French law on secularity]], which limited conspicuous religious symbols in schools.<ref>''[[La Croix (newspaper)|La Croix]]'', 24 September 2003 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Lustiger had his right-hand man, [[André Vingt-Trois]], appointed bishop in 1988. Following [[Marcel Lefebvre]]'s schism in June 1988, Lustiger tried to reduce tensions with the [[Traditionalist Catholic]]s, celebrating a [[Tridentine Mass]]<ref name=Terras/> and sending conservative priest [[Patrick Le Gal]] as his emissary to Lefebvre.<ref name=Terras/> Along with Cardinal [[Albert Decourtray]], he strongly criticised [[Martin Scorsese]]'s ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|The Last Temptation of Christ]]'' in 1988, clashing with the liberal bishop [[Jacques Gaillot]].<ref name=Terras/>

Along with his clerical contacts, Lustiger maintained contacts with the political world. He developed rather good working relations with [[François Mitterrand]]'s [[French Socialist Party|Socialist]] government, despite their political disagreements.<ref name=Terras/> During the celebrations of the second centenary of the [[French Revolution]] in 1989, he opposed Minister of Culture [[Jack Lang (French politician)|Jack Lang]] on the [[Pantheon (Paris)|Pantheonization]] of the [[Abbé Grégoire]], one of the first priests to take the oath on the [[Civil Constitution of the Clergy]]. For this, he was criticized by the liberal Catholic review ''Golias''.<ref>[http://golias-editions.fr/spip.php?article969 Quand Mgr Lustiger corrige l’abbé Grégoire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928215039/http://golias-editions.fr/spip.php?article969 |date=2007-09-28 }}, ''Golias'', 4 August 2006 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> He deposed the priest [[Alain Maillard de La Morandais]] from his diplomatic functions toward the political sphere, as he considered him to be too pro-[[Édouard Balladur|Balladur]] during the [[1995 French presidential election|1995 presidential campaign]].<ref name=Monde/> Lustiger, as Archbishop of Paris, presided over Mitterrand's funeral.

Lustiger's search for dialogue with politicians led to his founding in 1992 of the Centre Pastoral d'Etudes politiques at St. Clotilde church in the 7th arrondissement, close to the hub of the French establishment. He sought to identify and conciliate rising national élites in politics and communication. He was less amenable to initiatives from non-French Catholic groups or individuals (their position was inconclusively debated at the Diocesan Synod).

Relations with the cultural sphere were promoted by a series of Lenten Sermons at Notre-Dame (into which dialogue with prominent French intellectuals and state-employed academics were introduced) and by plans for the opening of the Centre St. Bernard in the 5th arrondissement.

Lustiger was never elected as head of the [[Conférence des évêques de France|French Episcopal Conference]] by his peers, with whom he was not popular. He was elected a member of the ''[[Académie française]]'' in 1995, succeeding [[Albert Decourtray]] and bypassing Cardinal [[Paul Poupard]].<ref name=Terras/> Two years later, he organized a [[World Youth Day]] in Paris, attended by more than a million people.<ref name=IHT/>

===Theology and ethics===
Lustiger upheld papal authority in theology and [[Morality|morals]]: "There are opinions and there is faith," he said in 1997. "When it is faith, I agree with the Pope because I am responsible for the faith." Cardinal Lustiger was a strong believer in [[Clerical celibacy (Catholic Church)|priestly celibacy]] and opposed abortion and the [[ordination of women]].<ref name=IHT/> Although he fully endorsed John Paul II's views on [[bioethics]], he considered [[condom]] use acceptable if one of the partners had HIV.<ref name=Terras/> He founded the Non-Governmental Organization ''Tibériade'' to attend to AIDS patients.<ref name=Terras/>

He considered Christianity to be the [[Supersessionism|accomplishment of Judaism]], and the [[New Testament]] to be the logical continuation of the [[Old Testament]]. In ''Le Choix de Dieu'' (The Choice of God, 1987), he declared that modern anti-Semitism was the product of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], whose philosophy he attacked.<ref name=Monde/><ref name=Terras/>

He read the [[Thomism|Thomistic]] philosophers [[Étienne Gilson]] and [[Jacques Maritain]]—one of the main Catholic thinkers of his youth—as well as [[Jean Guitton]], but also the Protestant philosopher [[Paul Ricœur]], and [[Maurice Clavel]], and the [[existentialism|existentialist]] philosopher [[Jean-Paul Sartre]].<ref name=Terras/> Close to [[Augustinism]], he preferred the post-[[Second Vatican Council|conciliar]] theologian [[Louis Bouyer]] to the (pre-conciliar) neo-Thomist [[Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange]].<ref name=Terras/> His main influence was [[Henri de Lubac]], as well as the Jesuits [[Albert Chapelle|Albert]] and [[Paul Chapelle]].<ref name=Terras/> Lustiger, unlike other leading twentieth-century French bishops, did not draw noticeably on [[patristic writings]] and was more sensitive to rabbinic texts.

When appointed to Paris he encouraged some liberal clergy to return to the lay state. He was influential in the appointment of his moderate conciliar auxiliary [[Georges Gilson]] to the [[Episcopal see|See]] of [[Le Mans]], replacing senior clergy with men who shared similar views to his own.

He pursued [[ecumenism]] but also gave a critical address on [[Anglicanism]] when welcoming Archbishop [[Robert Runcie]] to Notre Dame.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}} In 1995, Lustiger played a key role in deposing the liberal [[bishop of Évreux]], [[Jacques Gaillot]], who was then transferred to the titular see of Partenia.

Lustiger was an outspoken opponent of racism and anti-Semitism. He was strongly critical of [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]], leader of the French [[National Front (France)|National Front]], comparing Le Pen's [[xenophobia|xenophobic]] views to [[Nazism]]. "We have known for 50 years that the [[scientific racism|theory of racial inequality]] can be deadly. ...It entails outrages." He also said: "The Christian faith says that all men are equal in dignity because they are all created in the image of God." He supported the action of the [[parish priest]] of St. Bernard-de-la-Chapelle in accepting the protracted sit-in of a group of [[illegal aliens|undocumented immigrants]] in 1996, but subsequently showed less sympathy to such activities. The police were called to a similar sit-in at St. Merry.

He incurred the hostility of some in the Spanish Church because he strongly opposed the project to canonize Queen [[Isabella I of Castile]]. In 1974, Pope Paul VI had opened her cause for beatification, which placed her on the path toward possible sainthood. Lustiger's opposition was due to the fact that Isabella and her husband Ferdinand of Aragon had expelled Jews from her domains in 1492.

Lustiger was a favorite of Pope John Paul II. He had a Polish background and staunchly upheld the Pope's conservative views in the face of much hostility from [[Catholic religion in France|liberal Catholic opinion in France]]. This led to some speculation that Lustiger would be a candidate to succeed John Paul II,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/18/pope.betting/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD |title=Bookmakers lay odds on new pope |last=Oaks |first=Tammy |date= April 19, 2005 |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 13, 2017}}</ref> but he always refused to discuss any such possibility. He was one of the [[Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 2005|cardinal electors]] who participated in the [[Papal conclave, 2005|2005 papal conclave]] that elected [[Pope Benedict XVI]].

===Relations with the Jewish world===
Along with Cardinal [[Francis Arinze]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/barinze.html|title=Francis Cardinal Arinze [Catholic-Hierarchy]|last=Cheney|first=David M.|website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org|access-date=2018-08-29}}</ref> and Bishop [[Jean-Baptiste Gourion]] of Jerusalem, Lustiger was one of only three prelates of his time who were converts to the Catholic faith; he and Gourion were the only two who were born Jewish and still considered themselves "Jewish" all their lives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/6972?eng=y|title=Arab Patriarch Sabbah has an Auxiliary - But He Speaks Hebrew|last=Internet|first=Elemedia S.p.A. - Area|website=chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it|access-date=2018-08-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgour.html|title=Bishop Jean-Baptiste Gourion [Catholic-Hierarchy]|last=Cheney|first=David M.|website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org|access-date=2018-08-29}}</ref> He said he was proud of his Jewish origins and described himself as a [[Supersessionism|"fulfilled Jew"]], for which he was chastised by Christians and Jews alike. Former Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel [[Yisrael Meir Lau]] publicly denounced Lustiger. Lau accused Lustiger of betraying the Jewish people by converting to Catholicism, <ref>[http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/camps/auschwitz/ftp.py?camps/auschwitz//press/archbishop-converted  Archbishop's Israel visit prompts betrayal charges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914200016/http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/camps/auschwitz/ftp.py?camps/auschwitz//press/archbishop-converted |date=2007-09-14 }}, 26 April, [[Reuters]] mirrored by [[Nizkor Project]] {{in lang|en}}.</ref> alongside another rabbi {{who|date=September 2024}} who accused him of causing more harm than Adolf Hitler by converting to Christianity.<ref>[https://www.calameo.com/books/005295962b62c6ea708ea Extrait - Jean-Miguel Garrigues - L'impossible substitution. Juifs et chrétiens (Ier-IIIe siècles)]</ref> Lustiger, who claimed that he was still a Jew, considered [[Who is a Jew?|being "Jewish"]] as an ethnic designation and not exclusively a religious one. Lustiger's [[Zionism|strong support]] for the State of Israel, conflicting with the Vatican's officially neutral position, also won him Jewish support.

On becoming Archbishop of Paris, Lustiger said:

<blockquote>I was born Jewish and so I remain, even if that is unacceptable for many. For me, the vocation of Israel is bringing light to the ''[[goyim]]''. That is my hope and I believe that Christianity is the means for achieving it.</blockquote>

The former [[chief rabbi]] of France, Rabbi René Samuel Sirat, says he personally witnessed Lustiger entering the synagogue to recite ''[[kaddish]]''—the Jewish mourners' prayer—for his mother.<ref>Daniel Ben Simon, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080316194416/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/890521.html 'He'd say kaddish for his mother'], ''[[Haaretz]]'', 7 August 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref>

Cardinal Lustiger gained recognition after negotiating in 1987 with representatives of the organized Jewish community (including [[Théo Klein]], the former president of the [[Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France|CRIF]])<ref name="Klein">Théo Klein, [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-942870,0.html Aron-Jean-Marie Lustiger, mon cousin]{{Dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Le Monde]]'', 8 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> the departure of the [[Carmelite nuns]] who built a convent in [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] (''see [[Auschwitz cross]]'').<ref name=Fig/><ref name=IHT/> He represented Pope John Paul II in January 2005 during the 60th-year commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz camp by the [[Allies (World War II)|Allies]].<ref>[http://www.zenit.org/article-9568?l=french Auschwitz : « Il n’est permis à personne de passer avec indifférence »] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930211021/http://www.zenit.org/article-9568?l=french |date=2007-09-30 }}, ''[[Zenit News Agency|Zenit]]'', 27 January 2005 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> He was also in [[Birkenau concentration camp|Birkenau]] along with the new [[Pope Benedict XVI]] in May 2006.<ref>[http://www.zenit.org/article-12902?l=french Auschwitz: Benoît XVI évoque d’emblée « les victimes de la terreur nazie »] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235204/http://www.zenit.org/article-12902?l=french |date=2007-09-27 }}, ''[[Zenit News Agency|Zenit]]'', 25 May 2006 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In 1995, Cardinal Lustiger attended the reading of an act of repentance with a group of French rabbis, during which Catholic authorities apologized for the French Church's passive attitude towards the [[collaborationism]] policies enacted by the [[Vichy regime]] during World War II.<ref name=IHT/>

In 1998, Lustiger was awarded the [[Nostra Aetate Award|''Nostra Aetate'' Award]] for advancing Catholic-Jewish relations by the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding, an [[Religious pluralism|interfaith]] group housed on the campus of [[Sacred Heart University]], a Catholic university at [[Fairfield, Connecticut]], in the United States. The [[Anti-Defamation League]], a Jewish civil rights group, protested the award, saying it was "inappropriate" to honor Lustiger, who was born a Jew but left the faith. "It's fine to have him speak at a conference or colloquium," said the league's national director [[Abraham Foxman]]. "But I don't think he should be honored because he converted out, which makes him a poor example." In France, however, Lustiger enjoyed good relations with the Jewish community. Théo Klein observed that although [[religious conversion|conversions]] usually carry negative connotations in the Jewish world, it was not so with the Cardinal.<ref name="Liberation">Catherine Corroler, "Jean-Marie Lustiger, mort d'un cardinal d'action" in ''[[Libération]]'', 6 August 2007 [http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/270829.FR.php Read here]  <!-- link may rot; see [[link rot]] -->{{in lang|fr}}</ref> Klein called Lustiger "his cousin".<ref name=Klein/>

In 2004 and 2006, Lustiger visited New York and included visits to the [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bobover Rebbe]] (who blessed him), [[Yeshiva University]], [[JTSA]], and [[Yeshivat Chovevei Torah]] where he addressed the students and faculty along with fellow visiting European bishops.

The [[World Jewish Congress]] paid homage to him after his death.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929142439/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-06-2007/0004640167&EDATE= Statement of the World Jewish Congress on the Death of French Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger], PRNewswire-USNewswire, 6 August 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref>

===Retirement and death===
When Lustiger reached the age of 75 on 17 September 2001, he submitted his resignation as Archbishop of Paris to Pope John Paul II, as required by canon law. The Pope kept it on file for some years. But on 11 February 2005, Lustiger's resignation was accepted and [[André Vingt-Trois]], a former auxiliary bishop of Paris who had become [[Bishop of Tours|Archbishop of Tours]], succeeded him as Archbishop of Paris.

Lustiger made his final public appearance in January 2007. He died on 5 August 2007 at a clinic outside Paris where he had been battling bone and lung cancer since April.<ref name=IHT/>

The funeral, presided over by Cardinal Lustiger's successor, was held at [[Notre Dame Cathedral]] on 10 August 2007. French President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]], on vacation in the United States, returned to attend Lustiger's funeral.<ref>[http://www.lexpress.fr/info/infojour/reuters.asp?id=50441&1104 Nicolas Sarkozy assistera aux obsèques du cardinal Lustiger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215135528/http://www.lexpress.fr/info/infojour/reuters.asp?id=50441&1104 |date=2008-02-15 }}, ''[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]'', 9 August 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name=JP/> In homage to Lustiger's Jewish heritage, the [[Kaddish]] — the traditional hymn of praise of God's name — was recited by his cousin [[Arno Lustiger]] in front of the portal of the cathedral.<ref name=JP>[https://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Sarkozy-present-at-Lustigers-funeral Sarkozy present at Lustiger's funeral], ''[[Jerusalem Post]]'', 10 August 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref>

Lustiger's [[epitaph]], which he wrote himself in 2004, can be seen in the crypt of [[Notre-Dame Cathedral]], and translates as:

<blockquote><poem>I was born Jewish.
I received the name
Of my paternal grandfather, Aron.
Having become Christian
By faith and by Baptism,
I have remained Jewish
As did the Apostles.
I have as my patron saints
Aron the High Priest,
Saint John the Apostle,
Holy Mary full of grace.
Named 139th archbishop of Paris
by His Holiness Pope John Paul II,
I was enthroned in this Cathedral
on 27 February 1981,
And here I exercised my entire ministry.
Passers-by, pray for me.

† Aron Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger
Archbishop of Paris</poem></blockquote>

==Distinctions==
*{{flag|Lebanon}}: [[Grand cordon]] of the [[National Order of the Cedar]]<ref name=AF>[http://www.academie-francaise.fr/immortels/base/academiciens/fiche.asp?param=687 Biographical notice] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615052753/http://www.academie-francaise.fr/immortels/base/academiciens/fiche.asp?param=687 |date=2007-06-15 }} of the [[Académie française]] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*{{flag|Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}: [[Bailli]] [[Grand Cross]] of Honour and Devotion of the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]<ref name=AF/>
*{{flag|Portugal}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Prince Henry]]<ref name=AF/>

==Auxiliaries==
{{incomplete list|date=June 2021}}
The following bishops served as auxiliaries in the Paris diocese under Cardinal Lustiger.

*[[Daniel Pézeril]]
*[[Georges Gilson]]
*[[Emile Marcus]]
*[[Claude Fricard]]
*[[André Vingt-Trois]]
*[[Éric Aumonier (bishop)|Éric Aumonier]]
*[[Michel Pollien]]

==Published works==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
*''Sermons d'un curé de Paris''  (1978)
*''Pain de vie et peuple de Dieu''  (1981)
*''Osez croire''  (1985)
*''Osez vivre''  (1985)
*''Premiers pas dans la prière''  (1986)
*''Prenez place au cœur de l'Église''  (1986)
*''Six sermons aux élus de la Nation, 1981-1986''  (1987)
*''Le Choix de Dieu. Entretiens avec Jean-Louis Missika et Dominique Wolton''  (1987)
*''La Messe''  (1988)
*''Dieu merci, les droits de l'homme''  (1990)
*''Le Sacrement de l'onction des malades''  (1990)
*''Le Saint-Ayoul de Jeanclos'' (in collaboration with Alain Peyrefitte, 1990)
{{Col-break}}
*''Nous avons rendez-vous avec l'Europe''  (1991)
*''Dare to rejoice'' (American compilation)  (1991)
*''Petites paroles de nuit de Noël''  (1992)
*''Devenez dignes de la condition humaine''  (1995)
*''[[Henri de Lubac]] et le mystère de l'Eglise : actes du colloque du 12 octobre 1996 à l'Institut de France'' (1999)
*''Le Baptême de votre enfant''  (1997)
*''Soyez heureux''  (1997)
*''Pour l'Europe, un nouvel art de vivre''  (1999)
*''Les prêtres que Dieu donne''  (2000)
*''Comme Dieu vous aime. Un pèlerinage à Jérusalem, Rome et Lourdes''  (2001)
*''La Promesse''  (2002)
*''Comment Dieu ouvre la porte de la foi''  (2004)
*''Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger on Christians and Jews'' (2010)
{{Col-end}}

== See also ==
* [[Jacques Fesch]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.institutlustiger.fr Institutlustiger.fr ''Institut Lustiger'' website]
* [http://www.academie-francaise.fr/immortels/index.html Biographical notice] of the ''[[Académie française]]'' (includes texts by Lustiger) {{in lang|fr}}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/france/story/0,,2142673,00.html Cardinal Lustiger of France dies aged 80], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 6 August 2007
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930212611/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2841322.ece Obituary, ''The Independent'', 7 August 2007]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110523220454/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2223596.ece Obituary, ''The Times'', 8 August 2007]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,2181389,00.html  Obituary, ''The Guardian'', 2 October 2007]
* [http://www.canalc2.tv/video.asp?idvideo=4353 Intervention] "L’Europe en quête de son identité culturelle" December 2005 {{in lang|fr}}
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q16654062|title=The Jewish Cardinal (Le métis de Dieu)}}

{{s-start}}
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{{succession box | title=[[Archbishop of Paris]]| before=[[François Marty]] | after=[[André Vingt-Trois]] | years=31 January 1981 – 11 February 2005}}
{{s-end}}
{{Académie française Seat 4}}
{{Archbishops of Paris}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lustiger, Jean-Marie}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Clergy from Paris]]
[[Category:20th-century French Jews]]
[[Category:French Ashkenazi Jews]]
[[Category:French people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism]]
[[Category:Lycée Montaigne (Paris) alumni]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:Bishops of Orléans]]
[[Category:Archbishops of Paris]]
[[Category:21st-century French cardinals]]
[[Category:20th-century French cardinals]]
[[Category:Members of the Académie Française]]
[[Category:Grand Cordons of the National Order of the Cedar]]
[[Category:Deaths from bone cancer in France]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in France]]
[[Category:Burials at Notre-Dame de Paris]]