Pedro Rubiano Sáenz (; 13 September 1932 – 15 April 2024) was a Colombian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Bogotá from 1995 to 2010. He was Bishop of Cúcuta from 1972 to 1983, and Archbishop of Cali from 1985 to 1994 after two years as coadjutor there. Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in 2001.
Biography
Early life and ordination
Pedro Rubiano Sáenz was born in Cartago, Colombia, on 13 September 1933, the fourth of six sons born to Pedro Rubiano and Tulia Sáenz. He received his episcopal consecration on 11 July 1972 in Cali from Archbishop Angelo Palmas, Nuncio to Colombia. Pope John Paul II appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of Cali on 26 March 1983 and he succeeded as archbishop there on 7 February 1985.
From 1983 to 1989 he was vice president of the International Commission for Migration and Refugees based in Geneva. From April 1990 to January 1991, he was apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Popayán. He was installed there on 11 February 1995. One of his most significant initiatives was the creation of the Archdiocesan Food Bank, which continued to operate as long as he lived. He was made a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education on 15 May 2001 and his membership on the Pontifical Council for Migrants was renewed on 18 May 2001.
In 2002, he was elected to another term as president of the Colombian Bishops Conference. He was also president of the economic committee of the Episcopal Council of Latin America (CELAM) from May 2003 to July 2007.
In 2006, as Colombia's Constitutional Court considered an abortion rights case, Rubiano Sáenz warned of the danger posed by a Latin American country breaking from the region's universal ban on abortion. He wrote: "The loss of one country will substantially weaken the pro-life fabric of all of Latin America. What begins as a small hole will end as a huge tear allowing much evil to come in." In May, after the Court ruled that abortion could not be punished in certain cases, he wrote that "decriminalizing abortion, even in the cases indicated by the ruling of the Constitutional Court, does not change either the seriousness of the fact or the moral judgment of abortion.... What is legal is not always moral."
On 31 January 2008, he mocked the idea that achieving peace between the government of Colombia and the FARC rebels required the intervention of Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez. He said: "The only thing left is to kneel down before Chavez! I believe we Colombians have dignity."
In July 2009, he advised Colombian president Álvaro Uribe against seeking a third term as president. He said: "Two terms is a lot. He has carried out important work for the good of the country and for peace. It would be better for him if after finishing his second term he left office and later on ran again."
Pope Benedict accepted Rubiano Sáenz's resignation as Archbishop of Bogotá on 8 July 2010, three years after he had submitted it.