Mexican cardinal-designate known in homeland for loyalty to pope

Published: 2003-10-20

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal-designate Javier Lozano Barragan, a well-known theologian in his native Mexico, has spent most of the last seven years promoting health care that respects the human person and the teachings of the Catholic Church. The 70-year-old former bishop of Zacatecas, Mexico, referred to in Mexican media as "the Loyalist" to Pope John Paul II, has been president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers since 1997. Pope John Paul named him a cardinal Sept. 28 and was to induct him into the College of Cardinals Oct. 21. Cardinal-designate Lozano's Vatican post has taken him around the world to highlight the tremendous service offered by Catholic hospitals and clinics, to promote the spiritual care of the sick and to defend church teaching on human life and sexuality.

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