| Styles of Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carrera |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Mexico |
Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carrera (born Norberto Rivera Carrera on 6 June 1942) is a Mexican cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the current Archbishop Primate of Mexico.
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Early life
Rivera was born in La Purísima, a small town outside Tepehuanes, Durango. He studied the classics, philosophy, and theology at the seminary in Durango, Durango and earned a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, where he was ordained a priest on 3 July 1966 by Pope Paul VI.
Priesthood
He returned to Durango where he taught dogmatic theology for 18 years at the major seminary. In 1982 he was named a professor of ecclesiology at the Pontifical University of Mexico. While there, he founded the Movement for the Days of Christian Life, became a member of the diocesan council, a diocesan consultor, and director of social communications of the archdiocese.
Bishop
In 1985 he was named and ordained Bishop of Tehuacán by Pope John Paul II and in 1995 Archbishop of Mexico. During this time, he was also chairman of the Mexican Episcopal Conference's Commission for the Family (1989–1995) and headed the Family Section of the Latin American Episcopal Council (1993–1995).
Cardenalate
Rivera Carrera was created cardinal by John Paul II in the consistory of 21 February 1998. He holds the title of Cardinal Priest of St. Francis of Assisi at Ripa Grande and was one of the cardinal electors during the 2005 papal conclave, which elected H.H. Pope Benedict XVI.
Legal Controversy
In 2006 he was named as a defendant in a lawsuit [1] brought by Joaquín Aguilar Méndez because Carrera allegedly helped priest Nicolás Aguilar escape prosecution for lewd acts against minors. [2] [3] Venued in Los Angeles, California, Carrera's legal counsel claims that the suit has been filed by a Mexican against Mexicans involving alleged acts in Mexico and thus should be tried in Mexico under Mexican law. Mexican officials typically have been reluctant to press charges and lawsuits against the Catholic Church, which is the reason for the suit's origin in the United States [4]. On September 11, 2007, Survivor's Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), per released documents, accused Mexico's cardinal of knowledge of a Mexican priest's sexual offenses upon children and in bad faith, transferred him to the United States for cover-up. Aguilar Mendez stated that he was raped by priest Nicolas Aguilar in Mexico City in 1994 (at age 12). SNAP wrote Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera and Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony. A damage suit accused Rivera and Mahony with negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy and sexual battery.[1]
Episcopal Succession
| Episcopal Lineage | |
| Consecrated by: | Antonio López Aviña |
| Date of consecration: | December 21 1985 |
| Consecrator of | |
|---|---|
| Bishop | Date of consecration |
| José de Jesús Martínez Zepeda | April 12 1997 |
| Marcelino Hernández Rodríguez | February 5 1998 |
| Felipe Tejeda García | March 4 2000 |
| José Luis Fletes Santana | March 4 2000 |
| Guillermo Rodrigo Teodoro Ortiz Mondragón | March 4 2000 |
| Francisco Clavel Gil | June 27 2001 |
| Preceded by Ernesto Cardinal Corripio Ahumada |
Archbishop of Mexico 1995–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Rafael Ayala y Ayala |
Bishop of Tehuacan 1985–1995 |
Succeeded by Mario Espinosa Contreras |
