Carlos Aguiar Retes

He was ordained a deacon on 24 December 1971. He was ordained a priest on 23 April 1973[4] in the Cathedral of Tepic. That year he began working as parochial vicar in the Parish of St. Maria Goretti, where he remained until 1974. He studied in Rome at the Pontifical Latin American College from 1974 to 1977, where he earned a degree in Holy Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute. He returned to Mexico and was appointed rector of the Seminary of Tepic.[3]

In 1991 he returned to Rome to continue his studies. From 1992 to 1993 he was part of a team of biblical scholars who prepared the edition of la Biblia de América, a translation of the Bible into accessible language.[5][6] In 1996 completed a doctorate in biblical theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, with a thesis "Criticism of the prophets fasting". Between 1996 and 1997 he held the chair of Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical University of Mexico, where he was also rector of the John XXIII Residence for Priests.[3]

On 28 May 1997 Pope John Paul II appointed him the third bishop of Texcoco.[4] He was ordained a bishop on 29 June. He was named a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on 8 March 2007.[7]

In May 2003, he was elected to a four-year term as Vice President of the Latin American Bishops' Conference (CELAM).[8] In preparation for that year's conference held in Aparecida, Brazil, he authored a paper on globalization and the new evangelization that linked the devaluation of local cultures and traditional community-sanctioned norms to the economic forces behind mass migration and environmental damage.[9] At the conference, he served on the drafting committee headed by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (later Pope Francis)[10] that produced a conference statement that endorsed key elements of liberation theology recast as less overtly political and integrated into the Church's mission.[11][12][13]

In 2008 he discussed the relationship between the Mexican bishops and drug traffickers who at times funded the construction of local churches. After several other bishops denied the Church accepted donations of funds from illegal activities, Aguiar said the drug lords "are generous and often they provide money for building a church or chapel" and "install electricity, establish communication links, highways [and] roads" in poor communities. He said that some criminals hope to ease their consciences through good works and seek reassurances from the clergy: "There has been a rapprochement with them as it's known that discretion is going to be kept. What they want is to encounter peace in their consciences. What they're going to get from us is a sharp response: Change your life."[14][15]

On 5 February 2009, Pope Benedict XVI named him Archbishop of Tlalnepantla.[16] He was installed on 31 March.

In May 2011, when he was head of the Mexican Episcopal Conference,[17] he was elected to a four-year term as President of the Latin American Bishops' Conference (CELAM).[18] He previously served as the organization's secretary-general and vice president. He presented an interviewer with his assessment of the Latin American church as "the transition from a time when Christian values were accepted by everyone to a situation where the models are changing, and a multi-cultural society is forming". He said:[19]

We can't take the view that our primary task is to stand on the threshold checking whether or not people have the administrative requirements for belonging to the Church. This is the moment to proclaim the essentials of Christianity, to everybody. To people as they are, in the concrete circumstances in which they live now, with the expectations that they now have. In the area of Mexico where I live, there are twelve dioceses where people live who come and go each day because of their vital needs. That’s the point, we must take on board all the new conditions of coexistence. For example, making access to the sacraments easier, so that the demands of the parish do not become a reason to lose all contact with the Church.

He said that ideological descriptions of church activity were outdated, that most of the Church leadership recognized the need to promote government policies rather than align themselves with a particular government, and that humility about the Church's failings would render media attempts to "denigrate the ecclesiastical institution" harmless.[19] He nevertheless worked in concert with local government officials, including Enrique Pena Nieto, the Governor of the state of Mexico who later became President of Mexico. The state government helped fund some religious instruction. In 2009 Aguiar helped negotiate an enhanced constitutional recognition of religious liberty.[1] He worked with Governor Eruviel Ávila and representatives of other religions on a statement of shared values, the "Pact for the Strengthening of Values with Religious Associations" (Pacto por el Fortalecimiento de los Valores con Asociaciones Religiosas"), to coordinate efforts to strengthen social institutions.[20][21]

On 18 September 2012, Pope Benedict named Aguilar one of the Synod Fathers for the October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.[22] He served as moderator of one of the Spanish language groups.[23] Addressing the Synod he said that "the institutional organization of the Church is necessary, it is not sufficient. To achieve New Evangelization and to transmit the faith to the new generations, the Church must be considered with complete honesty, through a self-examination on the way of living the faith. The proposal of a new style of life applies not only to the Pastors, but to all Christians living in America."[24] Along with his Latin American colleagues, he stressed that "Religiosity remains alive and is the great potential reserve of our peoples", that "deep popular piety rooted in all the countries" of the region. He said that "We cannot forget the simple prayer of the masses who, at shrines and in folk festivals, express their own devotion and unfortunately feel unwelcomed and unaccompanied" and said that the Church needs to develop this piety as pastors and encourage it to develop "a commitment to social transformation which contributes to the well-being of the most needy".[25] He called for a renewed emphasis on communities of faith rather than institutional structures.[26] He had mentioned similar themes in anticipation of Benedict's visit to Mexico earlier in the year.[27]

In Tlalnepantla, Aguiar developed a program that had lay Catholics invite neighbors to join in parish activities. In promoting the Church's position on government policies, he asked the laity to lead the effort, for example in opposing a plan to establish a right to same-sex marriage in the constitution.[1] He emphasized a variety of social service ministries including local psychological counseling centers, services for single mothers, and religious instruction for prisoners and their families. The diocese promoted a youth festival that featured sports like biker acrobatics, a graffiti contest, a car tuning demonstration, and popular music concerts from boombox to classic rock. In religious education he stressed experience and assimilating Catholic doctrine into daily life over memorization and recitation.[20]

In April 2013, as President of CELAM along with its other officers he met with Pope Francis shortly after his election. He reported they discussed the ongoing implementation of Aparecida and he said that "Pope Francis is the one — if not the one who most – certainly expresses in his attitudes and words the theological-pastoral development of Aparecida".[28]

He was again a Synod Father appointed by Pope Francis in 2014[29] and 2015 sessions of the Synod on the Family.[30][31] At the end of the 2014 session, he participated in drafting the relatio that summarized the bishops' discussions.[32]

On 9 October 2016, Pope Francis announced that he was one of the 17 new cardinals to be created on 19 November 2016.[33] He was made Cardinal Priest of Santi Fabiano e Venanzio a Villa Fiorelli.[4] He was the sixth Mexican to become a cardinal.[34]

He was named a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America in January 2017.[35]

On 7 December 2017, Pope Francis named him Archbishop of Mexico to succeed Norberto Rivera Carrera, "a pastor who had as many detractors as supporters" after 22 years in the post.[36][37] His installation was scheduled for 5 February 2018.[38] The Tablet said the appointment was not a surprise because Aguiar is "a towering ecclesial figure in Central and Latin America".[39]