Cardinal Georges Cottier, former theologian of the papal household, has died aged 93. Sending his condolences to the Swiss cardinal’s sister, Pope Francis said he would be remembered particularly for “his strong faith, paternal kindness and intense cultural and ecclesial activity, especially in the service of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI as theologian of the papal household”. Cardinal Cottier, a Dominican, had served as a theological expert at the Second Vatican Council, as secretary of the International Theological Commission and was theologian of the papal household from 1989 to 2005, retiring at the age of 83. Before retiring he told Catholic News Service that the papal theologian’s main task was to vet the many thousands of words prepared by Vatican aides for the pope to speak or publish, and checking for statements of dubious theology and otherwise hazardous phrases that could come back to haunt the pope. Part of the task, the cardinal said, was to be careful not to make the pope say too much about some topics. “By this, I mean that when we have a theological issue that is still open to discussion and study, it’s not a good thing that the pope pronounce on it too early. Because when the pope speaks with authority, it means the discussion is closed,” he said. In an interview last year the cardinal said the Catholic Church must develop better ways to accompany people and not simply condemn those who fail. “In rigorism, there is an innate brutality that is contrary to the delicacy with which God guides each person,” the cardinal told La Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit journal. “Some people have been scandalised by the Church because of a negative judgment issued in an impersonal and soulless way,” Cardinal Cottier said. “They have felt driven away, rejected in a serious manner.” While the Church’s ministers must uphold Church teaching, he said, “this must be presented and explained in a language that clearly transmits the maternal concern of the Church”. Speaking about Vatican II’s reforms in 2013, the cardinal said: “The liturgical reform went badly, I would say. The document is beautiful, but the bishops didn’t handle it well, at least not in Switzerland and France. Every pastor did what he liked.”