SYNOD OF BISHOPS S.Em.R. Card. Jan Pieter Schotte, C.I.C.M., D.D., I.C.L. General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops Curriculum Vitae Biographical data Born: April 29, 1928 in Beveren-Leie, Belgium. Entered the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (C.I.C.M. Scheut Missionaries) in 1946, Brussels, Belgium. Ordained to Priesthood in 1952. Promoted to Titular Bishop of Silli in 1983. Ordained a Bishop by John Paul II, 6 January 1984. Promoted to Titular Archbishop of Silli in 1985. Elevated to the Cardinalate at the Consistory of 26 November 1994 and assigned the titular Church, San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi (St. Julian of the Flemish). Studied Canon Law at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, 1953 - 1956, and at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., 1962 - 1963. Death: 10 January 2005, Rome, Italy. In the Service of CICM (1956 - 1972) Vice-Rector of the C.I.C.M. Theological Seminary in Louvain, Belgium (1956 - 1962. Professor of Canon Law at C.I.C.M. Theological Seminary, Louvain, Belgium (1955 - 1962). Assistant Professor at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium from 1957 to 1962, as Assistant to Monsignor Prof. W. Onclin. Rector of the Immaculate Heart Mission Seminary in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. from 1962 - 1966. Secretary General of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Rome, Italy from 1967 to 1972. During this period: extensive involvement in international and social issues as: Chairman of the SEDOS Work Group on Development (Rome, 1968 - 1972); Rapporteur of the Intermediate Technology Seminar (Rome, 1968); Member of the Board of Directors of Agrimissio (1969); Co-organizer of the Ecumenical Planning Session on Credit Unions (Rome, 1970); Member of the Justice and Peace Round Table, Plenary Consultation II (1968), III (1969) and IV (1970); Vice-Chairman of the Commission of the Superiors General for the 1971 Synod of Bishops on Justice in the World (Rome, 1970 - 1971); Vice-Chairman of Joint (USG-UISG) Committee on the Year of Peace through Justice (Rome, 1972); and Vice-Chairman of the Commission on Justice in the World, Union of Superiors General (Rome, 1969 - 1972). In the Service of the Holy See (1972 - 2005) Attaché in the International Organizations Division of the Secretariat of State of Pope Paul VI (1972 - 1978), John Paul I (1978), John Paul Il (1978 - 1980). Secretary (1980 - 1983) and Vice-President (1984 - 1985) of the Pontifical Commission Iustitia et Pax; Member of the Pontifical Commission on Tourism and Migration (1980 - 1985); Consultor to the Pontifical Commission on Latin America (1980 - 1985); Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity (1980 - 1985); Consultor to the Secretariat for Non-Christians (1981 - 1985); Member of the Joint Consultative Group on Social Thought and Action of the Holy See and the World Council of Churches (1981 - 1985); Chairman of the Vatican Labor Relations Commission (1982 - 1989); Member of the Joint Working Group of the Holy See and the World Council of Churches (1981 - 1998). Staff Member of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Netherlands (1980). Press Officer, French language, for the Synod of Bishops on the Family (1980) and, English language, for the Synod of Bishops on Penance and Reconciliation (1983). Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Holy See's "Charter of the Rights of the Family" (1981 - 1983). Rapporteur of the Informal Consultation on Nuclear Disarmament, Vatican City, 18 - 19 January 1983. General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops (1985 - 2004). Participant at Second Extraordinary Synod of Bishops (1985), VII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Laity (1987), VIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Priestly Formation (1990), Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Europe (1991); Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa (1994), IX Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Consecrated Life (1994), Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Lebanon(1995), Special Assembly for America (1997), Special Assembly for Asia (1998), Special Assembly for Oceania (1998), II Special Assembly for Europe (1999), X Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Role of the Bishop (2001). Consultor to the Congregation for Bishops (l986 - l994), Member of same (1994 - 2005). Member of the Pontifical Commission for the Universal Catechism (1986 -1992). Member of the Inter-dicasterial Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1993 - 2005). President of the Holy See Labor Office (1989 - 2005). Councillor of the Commission on Latin America (C.A.L.) of the Congregation for Bishops (1989 - 1994), Member of same (1994 - 2005). Member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (1995 - 2005). Judge of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (1997 - 2005). Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal of Vatican City State (1998 - 2005). Member of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (2002 - 2005) Member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (2002 - 2005) Member of the ad hoc Commission for the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2003 - 2005) Member of the papal entourage for the Apostolic Visitations of His Holiness John Paul II to Ireland (1979), to the United Nations Organization (1979), to the United States of America (1979), to Zaïre (1980), to Congo (1980), to Kenya (1980), to Ghana (1980), to Burkina Faso (1980), to Ivory Coast (1980), to France (1980), to the International Labor Organization, Geneva (1982), to the Netherlands (1985), to Luxembourg (1985), to Belgium (1985), to Ivory Coast (1990), to Angola (1992), to Uganda (1993), to Cameroon (1995), South Africa (1995) and Kenya (1995), to Belgium (1995), to Lebanon (1997), to Poland (Gniezno & Krakov 1997), to Mexico (1999), to the United States of America (1999), to India (1999) and to Georgia (1999), to Poland (Krakov 1999), to Poland (Krakov 2002) . Served on the Holy See Delegations to various international meetings in the following capacities: Member of the Holy See Delegations to:
U.N. World Population Conference, Bucharest, Rumania, 1974; U.N. World Food Conference, Rome, Italy, 1974; Second General Conference of United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Lima, Peru, 1975; U.N. Committee on United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Vienna, Austria, 1976; International Conference on South-East Asia Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland, 1979.
Head of Holy See Delegation at II European Demographic Conference, Strasbourg, France, 1982. Head of Holy See Delegation to World Christian Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, Uppsala, Sweden, 1983. Representative of the Holy See at the General Assembly of the "Club of Rome", Tokyo, Japan, 1983. Head of the Holy See Delegation at the U.N. Population Conference, Mexico City, Mexico, 1984. Special Envoy of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, to the Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hierarchy in China, Taiwan, R.O.C., 8 December 1996. Special Envoy of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, to the Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Metropolitan See of St. Louis, U.S.A., 19 October 1997. Special Envoy of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, to the Consecration of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Irkutsk - Siberia, Russia, 8 September 2000. Special Envoy of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, to St. Louis, U.S.A., commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the First Eucharistic Congress, 15 -16 June 2001. Papal Representative of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, at the National Conference “New Millennium-New Evangelization” at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C., 26 - 28 January 2001. Special Envoy of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to the Celebration of 150 Year reestablished Catholic Hierarchy in the Netherlands, 7 June 2003. Special Envoy of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the closing of the year dedicated to the 150th Anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., 8 December 2004. Honors Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Grand Officer (Knight Commander) of the Order of Leopold, Belgium. Officer of La Légion d'honneur, France. Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice, of the Sacred and Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Dr. Juris h.c., Catholic University Fu Jen, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, 1996. Dr. Humane Letters, Christendom College, Front Royal, Virginia, U.S.A., 2002. |