Belgian Jesuit Bernard Pottier has been appointed by Pope Francis as a member of the International Theological Commission. This body, which brings together the world's leading "theological experts", is responsible for studying complex doctrinal issues for the Holy See.

Bernard Pottier SJ is a member of the Jesuit community of Saint Michael in Brussels. He has a degree in philosophy and psychology and a doctorate in theology, author of a thesis entitled "God and Christ according to Gregory of Nyssa", published in 1994. For many years he taught dogmatic and fundamental theology, as well as philosophy, at the Institute of Theological Studies (IET), the Jesuit Faculty of Theology in Brussels.

As a member of the editorial board of the theological review Communio, Fr Bernard Pottier sj was also a member of the Study Commission on the female diaconate, as requested by Pope Francis. He has also been, for twenty years, the parish priest of a Portuguese diaspora parish in Brussels. Today, he is the director of the Saint-Michel (Jesuit) Forum in Brussels, where he is also in charge of the Christian Formation Department.

Appointed today to the International Theological Commission, he will serve for the five-year period 2021-2026. He has already been a member of the Commission in the years 2014-2019.

What is the International Theological Commission?

Created by Pope Paul VI in April 1969, this body of the Roman Curia has as its mission "to assist the Holy See, and principally the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in the examination of doctrinal questions of major importance". This consultative body is composed of theologians from various schools and countries, renowned for their expertise. It has a maximum of thirty members, all of whom are appointed by the Pope.

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