Latest from the Vatican Information Service - Pope Francis Appoints


MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF CARDINALS
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF CARDINALS
Vatican City, 2 July 2014 (VIS) – The Council of Cardinals met on the morning of Tuesday, 1 July at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, as planned. The Pope is participating in all the meetings; today, Wednesday morning, he participated in the entire meeting, as the general Audiences have been suspended. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin is regularly present at the meetings, and the Holy Father has established that he will participate fully like the other members of the Council, of whom at present there are nine.
On Tuesday and on Wednesday morning three main themes were considered. There was a presentation by Cardinal Bertello on matters relating to the Governorate, and a presentation relating to the Secretariat of State by Cardinal Parolin.
The issue of the structure of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) was discussed in depth. The meetings, held in two sessions, were also attended by members of the Supervisory Commission of Cardinals present in Rome, Cardinals Santos Abril y Castelló, Thomas Collins and Jean-Louis Tauran, as well as Pietro Parolin.
With regard to the news and questions circulating in the press in recent days, the Director of the Holy See Press Office made the following declaration:
“The IOR is in a time of natural and peaceful transition. The contribution of Ernst von Freyberg continues to be deeply appreciated and highly valued, and further clarifications are possible, indeed likely, next week after the meeting of the Council for the Economy on Saturday”.
The Director then gave a concise explanation of the agenda of the next meeting of the Council for the Economy, which will focus on the Statutes and programme for future work, and will be informed on developments relating to the IOR and – by the Prefecture for Economic Affairs – on the 2013 budget and the provisional budget for 2014.
The Director also announced that a major press conference is expected to be held next week on various matters, including the IOR, linked to the sphere of competence of the Council and the Secretariat for the Economy.
The Council is now continuing its meetings, again taking into consideration and systematically developing the reflections already formulated in the first round of study and review of the different bodies of the Roman Curia.
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 2 July 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Bernardito C. Auza, apostolic nuncio in Haiti, as the Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations.
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 3 July 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
- appointed Rev. Julian LeowBengKim as archbishop of Kuala Lumpur (area 63,760, population 11,000,000, Catholics 180,000, priests 55, permanent deacons 1, religious 154), Malaysia. The bishop-elect was born in Seremban, Malaysia in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 2002. He holds a licentiate in ecclesiastical history from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and has served as vicar of the “Visitation” parish in Seremban and priest of the “Holy Family” parish in Kajang. He is currently dean of studies and formator at the major seminary of Penang.
- appointed Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha, S.D.V., auxiliary of the archdiocese of Newark, U.S.A., as bishop of Fall River (area 3,107, population 834,000, Catholics 315,00, priests 224, permanent deacons 81, religious 245), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop George W. Coleman, whose resignation upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
- appointed Rev. Fr. John Bonaventure Kwofie, C.S.Sp., as bishop of Sekondi-Takoradi (area 12,681, population 2,033,000, Catholics 408,651, priests 110, religious 70), Ghana. The bishop-elect was born in Powa, Ghana in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1988. He holds a licentiate in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, and has served as vicar of the “Sacred Heart” parish in Banjul, Gambia and has held a number of pastoral roles in the parishes of “St. John” in Bohyen Bamtama, “Holy Spirit” in the archdiocese of Kumasi, and “St. Catherine” and “St. Maurice” in the archdiocese of Accra. He has also served as vice president of the Conference of Major Superiors for Africa; provincial superior of the Congregation of West Africa; coordinator of the Continental Conference of Major Superiors for Africa, and first assistant of the Superior General of the Congregation.
- appointed Msgr. Jean-Paul Gusching as bishop of Verdun (area 6,211, population 197,100, Catholics 172,700, priests 55, permanent deacons 15, religious 44), France. The bishop-elect was born in Neuville Coppegueule, France in 1955 and was ordained a priest in 1983. He holds a bachelor's degree in theology from the seminary of Rheims and has served in a several pastoral roles, including: priest of the parish of Corbie, vicar of the Cathedral parish, priest at the Amiens city centre parish, priest in the parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Peronne, moderator of the parishes of Saint-Joseph de Moilains-Combles and Notre Dame de Moyenpoint, Roisel. He is currently vicar general of the diocese and diocesan administrator of Amiens.
- appointed Msgr. Hector David Garcia Osorio as bishop of Yoro (area 7,781, population 575,000, Catholics 461,000, priests 28, religious 43), Honduras. The bishop-elect was born in Concepcion de Maria, Honduras in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1997. He holds a licentiate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and has served in a number of pastoral roles in the diocese of Choluteca, including diocesan coordinator of delegates for the celebration of the Word of God, diocesan vicar for pastoral care, chancellor of the diocesan curia, vicar general of the diocese, and rector of the “Pablo VI” minor seminary; and then priest of the parish of “San Jeronimo” in Goascoran. He is currently vice rector of the “Nuestra Senora de Suyapa” major seminary in Tegucigalpa and adjunct secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Honduras.

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