Tag: United Nations

New Nuncio to the UN appointed

On Saturday, the Pope made news for the USA: Italian Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia is the new representative of the Holy See to the United Nations. He succeeds Philippine Archbishop Bernardito Auza, who was named by the Pope as Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and Andorra. Since September 12, 2017, Archbishop Caccia has been serving the Church as the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines. We pray that he will be accessible to both the UN, the Church in the USA and in New York.

According to the Vatican News Service, says the following of Archbishop Caccia:

Born in Milan, northern Italy, on 24 February 1958, he has ordained to the priesthood on 11 June 1983.  After serving in a parish for three years, he was sent to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome where obtained a Doctorate in Theology and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Upon graduation in 1991, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See.  His first assignment was at the Apostolic Nunciature in Tanzania, where he served for two years, until in 1993 he returned to Rome to work in the First Section (for General Affairs) of the Secretariat of State of the Vatican.

On December 17, 2002, he was appointed Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. On July 16, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon and also an archbishop.

He was consecrated bishop on September 12, 2009, by Pope Benedict. On September 12, 2017, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.

Archbishop Caccia will arrive in New York to assume his new responsibilities on January 16, 2020.  He speaks English, French and German.

Archbishop Caccia becomes the seventh Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York since the Holy See became a Permanent Observer State on April 6, 1964.

Speaking about his new responsibility, Archbishop Caccia said, “I have really loved my time in the Philippines and will miss this beautiful country and its faithful people, to whom I express my deepest gratitude.”

He hopes to be able to fulfil well the new task that Pope Francis has entrusted to him, “seeking to bring the light of Catholic social teaching to the discussions and debates of the international community.”

The UN is celebrating its 75th anniversary next year, and Archbishop Cassia says he is looking forward to helping the Holy See assist the world body in “renewing its commitment to the pillars of its Charter, preventing the scourge of war, defending human dignity and rights, promoting integral development, and fostering respect and implementation of international law and treaties.”

Don’t forget the Christians in Iraq: Pope to UN

The Holy Father sent the following message to His Excellency, Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General United Nations Organization, regarding the tragic situation of Christians in Iraq at the hands of Muslim extremists. No doubt we are seeing the systematic rejection of the Gospel and the lives of Christians in the Middle East. The aim of the reign of terror is the establishment of the caliphate. And yet, Muslim scholars deny the move. A Dominican friar working Iraq said this:

It is a humanitarian disaster. I have witnessed a hard time and a bitter history of my country and especially my beloved Church. The monster of our time (ISIS) maims all without mercy. When I see Christians persecuted in my country, humiliated and driven from their homes, it really hurt my heart. In addition, before the genocide of Christians in Iraq, there is a total silence from the international community. The fate of Christians rests between humiliation and departure, what misery! At this time of disruption, sometimes, I receive words or an email to give me a little courage, that’s nice. But now, I would like at this time to offer a practical approach from someone who is in a chaotic situation and who really needs support. 

Pope Francis’ letter to Mr Ban Ki-moon:

It is with a heavy and anguished heart that I have been following the dramatic events of these past few days in Northern Iraq where Christians and other religious minorities have been forced to flee from their homes and witness the destruction of their places of worship and religious patrimony. Moved by their plight, I have asked His Eminence Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, who served as the Representative of my predecessors, Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, to the people in Iraq, to manifest my spiritual closeness and to express my concern, and that of the entire Catholic Church, for the intolerable suffering of those who only wish to live in peace, harmony and freedom in the land of their forefathers.

In the same spirit, I write to you, Mr Secretary-General, and place before you the tears, the suffering and the heartfelt cries of despair of Christians and other religious minorities of the beloved land of Iraq. In renewing my urgent appeal to the international community to take action to end the humanitarian tragedy now underway, I encourage all the competent organs of the United Nations, in particular those responsible for security, peace, humanitarian law and assistance to refugees, to continue their efforts in accordance with the Preamble and relevant Articles of the United Nations Charter.

The violent attacks that are sweeping across Northern Iraq cannot but awaken the consciences of all men and women of goodwill to concrete acts of solidarity by protecting those affected or threatened by violence and assuring the necessary and urgent assistance for the many displaced people as well as their safe return to their cities and their homes. The tragic experiences of the Twentieth Century, and the most basic understanding of human dignity, compels the international community, particularly through the norms and mechanisms of international law, to do all that it can to stop and to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities.

Confident that my appeal, which I unite with those of the Oriental Patriarchs and other religious leaders, will meet with a positive reply, I take this opportunity to renew to your Excellency the assurances of my highest consideration.

Vatican’s new man at the UN

Francis Assisi Chullikatt.jpgEdward Pentin makes a brief intro of the new Apostolic Nuncio to the United Nations, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, JCD, 57, 32 years a priest and four years a bishop. The new nuncio is the first non-Italian to hold this appointment; he’s also worked at the New York Mission of the Holy See and other diplomatic missions for the Apostolic See.

The news post of the Conference of Religious India Bulletin
Here is the homily delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo on the occasion of the episcopal ordination of His Excellency.
May God grant the Archbishop his heart’s desire as expressed in his motto, Fidei in Virtute (By the power of faith) that all will be accomplished for the True, the Beautiful, the Good and the One.