On 2 February 1979, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Paris and Titular Bishop of Usula. Poupard received his episcopal consecration on the following 6 April from Cardinal François Marty, with Archbishop André Pailler and Bishop Jean Orchampt serving as co-consecrators, in the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. A year and a half later, in 1980, he received a position in the Roman Curia, the Holy See's governing body, as Pro-President of the Secretariat for Non-Believers, later (in 1988) renamed the Pontifical Council for Culture. In 1985, his title was changed to President, on his becoming Cardinal-Deacon of S. Eugenio. After the sede vacante period that followed the death of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI immediately reappointed him to the same position and on 11 March 2006 also named him President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Poupard has been interested in the relationships between faith and reason, Church and state, and science and religion from an early age. He is an accomplished scholar and author. Some of his writings have been translated into languages including Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, English, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. He holds doctorates in theology and history from the Sorbonne, as well as honorary doctorates from at the Universities of Aix-en-Provence, Fu Jen, Louvain, Kyoto, Santiago de Chile, Puebla de los Angeles and the Babes-Bolyai University/Cluj-Napoca.
In 1996 he was appointed Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prassede. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
In September 2007 he was replaced as President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and as President of the Pontifical Council for Culture by Gianfranco Ravasi, at that time Prefect of the Ambrosian Library.
Category:1930 births Category:Living people Category:People from Maine-et-Loire Category:French cardinals Category:University of Paris alumni Category:Fu Jen Catholic University Category:Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Category:Pontifical Council for Culture Category:Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II
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