GLOBAL GOANS IN FOCUS
Cardinal Joseph Coutts at his home in Ucassaim-Goa, in front of the photos of his first cousin, Archbishop of Delhi Anil Couto, his uncle late Fr Antonio Jose Faustino Couto and granduncle late Canon Jose Romaldo Menezes.
PANAJI
For Cardinal Joseph Coutts, the Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Karachi, a visit to Goa has always been special as it brings him back to his roots.
He may have missed the recent 18th Exposition at Old Goa by a week, but Cardinal Coutts was pleased to participate in the Feast of St Joseph Vaz in Sancoale along with Archbishop of Goa Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, Auxiliary Bishop Simiao Fernandes, Emeritus Bishop of Port Blair Alex Dias, hundreds of priests, nuns and laity on January 16.
Cardinal Coutts (79), who traces his roots to Aldona-Goa, had been presently staying in his family home at Ucassaim during his short stay in Goa.
He is currently among the six cardinals of Goan origin: Cardinal Valerian Gracias (Dramapur), Cardinal Joseph Cordeiro (Salvador do Mundo), Cardinal Ivan Dias (Velsao) and Cardinal Oswald Gracias (Orlim), Cardinal Coutts (Aldona) and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao (Aldona).
GOAN IDENTITY, CONNECT
Cardinal Coutts’ father, Pedro Jose Couto hailed from Aldona, but grew up in Lahore and was later trained in dyes and chemicals at Bombay, before working at the Karachi office of the then multinational British company, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Pedro changed his surname from Couto to Coutts at the behest of his school principal, an Irish Brother, in Lahore.
Pedro was transferred from Karachi to the Amritsar office of the ICI, where Cardinal Coutts was born on July 21, 1945. The family moved back to Lahore when Cardinal Coutts was about 2 years. His elder brother Trason was born in Karachi, while their younger sister, Maria, was born in Goa.
“I have vague memories of my first visit with my family to Goa for the Exposition in 1952 and then in 1962. We would visit Goa every 10 years or so, and we would be happy to meet our relatives and cousins. We maintained our Goan roots and are proud of our Goan identity,” recalled Cardinal Coutts, while interacting with The Goan at his home in Ucassaim.
Extreme left is the late Archbishop Raul Gonsalves of Goa. Three bishops (seen together) who hail from Aldona-Goa are the late Bishop Ferdinand Fonseca (left), Archbishop Joseph Coutts (centre) and Auxiliary Bishop Filipe Neri Ferrao (right). All four bishops were participating in the fourth centenary celebrations of the St Thomas Church, Aldona-Goa in 1996.
Incidentally, Cardinal Coutts is the first cousin of Archbishop of Delhi Anil Couto (Aldona), the nephew of late Fr Antonio Jose Faustino Couto and grandnephew of late Canon Jose Romaldo Menezes.
“I was so happy to be in Goa again, after a gap of about 10 years. I had hoped to come for the Exposition, but my sister and I got our visas just after Christmas and since I had work, I could reach Goa only on January 12, a week after the Exposition ended on January 5,” said Cardinal Coutts.
“I was pleased to be in Goa to participate in the celebration of the Feast of St Joseph Vaz in Sancoale with my good friend, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao. I also got to meet the new auxiliary bishop of Goa.”
Incidentally, Cardinal Coutts had last concelebrated at the Feast of St Joseph Vaz at Sancoale in 2014.
FROM PRIEST TO CARDINAL
Cardinal Coutts said he had never dreamt that he would go on to become a leading figure of the Catholic Church in Pakistan.
“As a young boy, I was impressed with the Belgian Capuchins who were serving the Church in Lahore at the time. As an altar boy and at school, I would marvel at their dedication and hardwork,” said Cardinal Coutts.
“After my SSC, I first approached the few Jesuits in the area and voiced my desire to be a Jesuit. But they told me that they were not accepting vocations at that time. I then met my parish priest, a Belgian Capuchin, with the same intention, but he too gave me a similar reply.”
“I then decided to join the minor seminary as a diocesan candidate about a year after the seminary was established. The bishop had placed as its rector, a young, wonderful and dynamic Goan priest, Fr Wilson Almeida, who hailed from Mapusa. He along with 3-4 priests had come from Goa to work in the Punjab province.”
Cardinal Coutts was ordained priest in Lahore on January 9, 1971, and was later appointed vicar general of Lahore diocese.
Pope John Paul II appointed him as coadjutor bishop of Hyderabad in the Sindh Province of Pakistan, on May 5, 1988 and he was consecrated on September 16, 1988. He became bishop of Hyderabad on September 1, 1990. He was later transferred to the diocese of Faisalabad on June 27, 1998.
Cardinal Joseph Coutts meets Pope Francis and Pope Benedict in the Vatican.
Pope Benedict elevated Cardinal Coutts as archbishop to the Metropolitan See of Karachi on January 25, 2012 and he served as Metropolitan Archbishop until his retirement in February 11, 2021.
Besides, Cardinal Coutts served as president of Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference from 2011 until 2017, and was also Chairman of Caritas Pakistan.
He was created Cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory of June 28, 2018 and he also served as member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in the Vatican.
He presently serves as chairman on the Board of the Christian Study Centre (CSC) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
RECOGNITION, ACCLAIM
Cardinal Coutts has been acclaimed for his mission to promote dialogue among communities and to work towards social welfare and minority rights in Pakistan.
According to LiCAS.news, his initiatives have focused on improving healthcare, education, and community well-being across Pakistan.
In 2007, Cardinal Coutts was awarded the Shalom Prize by the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany, for his commitment to promote interfaith dialogue in Pakistan.
On August 14, 2024, the government of Pakistan announced that Cardinal Coutts would receive the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz award, in recognition of his exceptional contributions and efforts to foster peace among various religions. This award will be presented to him by the President of Pakistan on March 23, the Republic Day of Pakistan.
“My priority has been to first strengthen ourselves and promote unity as Christians and also to promote good relations with the Muslims and other communities in Pakistan,” Cardinal Coutts told The Goan.
