Aloysius Matthew Cardinal Ambrozic (born January 27, 1930) is a Roman Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Toronto. He became a cardinal on February 21, 1998.
Ambrozic was born in Gabrje, Slovenia as Alojzij Ambrožič. In 1945 he and his family fled to Austria, where he completed high school in various refugee camps. The family came to Canada in 1948, and Ambrozic was ordained as a priest in Toronto in 1955. He served first in Port Colborne, Ontario, and later taught at St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto. He also studied theology in Rome, and in 1970 he earned a doctorate in theology at the University of Würzburg in Germany. He taught exegesis at the Toronto School of Theology from 1970 to 1976, when he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto. In 1990 he became Archbishop. In 1998 he was created cardinal by Pope John Paul II, and he is currently a member of the College of Cardinals.
During his archiepiscopate, Toronto hosted World Youth Day in 2002. He is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage in Canada.
Ambrozic has been a somewhat contentious figure in Canadian Catholicism, and the subject of vocal opposition from some liberal or progressive Catholics or former Catholics for his conservative stands.
He was eligible to vote in the 2005 papal conclave.
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Last updated: 08-25-2005 04:32:49
