Catholic Church
US Journalist press Secretary of the Vatican is
Pope Francis gets a new spokesperson: The American Journalist Greg Burke is the chief of the press. The Opus-Dei member, had worked for Fox News. Surprisingly, a further change of personnel.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi is retiring. As the Holy see reported, Pope Francis, the resignation of the 73-year-old Italian Jesuit. The successor is, therefore, from the 1. August to Lombardi’s current Deputy, an American, Greg Burke. His appointment is part of a larger transformation in the media Department of the Vatican to be more modern.
Greg Burke, new Director of Holy see Press Office §RV https://t.co/trNaF2RpVt
— Vatican – news (@news_va_en) 11. July 2016
The Journalist Burke (56), since February, Deputy Director of the press office. In 2012, he was appointed the communications adviser to the Holy see, he should have the former Pope Benedict, for example, the Twitter account set up. Previously Burke for a variety of media as a Rome correspondent, worked, last, since 2001, for the American news channel Fox News. Burke speaks besides English also Spanish, Italian and French.
Voluntary Celibacy
Burke, celibacy living member of the conservative Opus Dei movement, is the first Anglo-Saxon to the Post. So far, Valls, spokesman for Pope John Paul II, all of the Italians were, with the exception of the Spaniard Joaquín Navarro -. With Navarro-Valls, Burke also shares the peculiarity that he is not a priest. On the question of what he now wants to change all that, said Burke, according to the newspaper “La Repubblica”: “Everything in the series, but you will, more English hear.”
Paloma Garcia Ovejero with Pope Francis
For the first time a woman Vice-Director of the press office of the Vatican is also. The Spaniard Paloma Garcia Ovejero will take over the Job since December, Burke held. She was since 1998, editor, presenter and later editor-in-chief of the Spanish Catholic radio station “Cadena Cope”, one of the most listened to in the country.
Lombardi’s resignation was on the day of his tenth anniversary as Pope, a speaker known. Over a Retirement of the health of the embattled speaker had already been long speculated. Benedict XVI had called him in July 2006 as head of the Vatican press office.
Federico Lombardi remained on the day exactly ten years
Lombardi was entered into in 1991 as a program Director of Vatican Radio in the service of the Holy see. In 2005, he was appointed by Benedict XVI to the head of the Pope’s transmitter. Since 2001, he also stood at the top of the Vatican television center, CTV. This office he gave up in the beginning of 2013. On 1. March 2016 he also left the Post of Director General of Vatican Radio.
stu/rb (afp, dpa, kna)