Cardinal Sandri confirmed as head of Eastern Churches congregation

Vatican City, Feb 19, 2014 / 20:41 pm

Pope Francis appointed members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Feb. 19, confirming both Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as prefect, and Archbishop Cyril Vasil as secretary.

Both had been initially appointed to their roles by Benedict XVI: Cardinal Sandri in 2007; and Archbishop Vasil, who is a Jesuit and was ordained a priest of the Slovakian Catholic Church, in 2009.

The Congregation for the Oriental Churches "considers those matters … affecting the Catholic Oriental Churches." There are 22 Eastern Catholic Church in union with the Pope and the Latin rite; the largest of these is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, with more than 5 million members.

Pope Francis renewed as members of the congregation both Coptic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak of Alexandria and Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako of Babylon.

The Pope nominated as members Archbishop William Skurla of the Ruthenian Archeparchy of Pittsburgh; Archbishop Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo of Belo Horizonte, who is also Bishop of the Brazilian Faithful of the Eastern Rites; Archbishop Mario Poli of Buenos Aires, who is also Bishop of the Argentine Faithful of the Eastern Rites; Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome; Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State; Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster; Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville; and Bishop Joseph Werth of Transfiguration of Novosibirsk.

Those confirmed as members were Archbishop Berhaneyesus Souraphiel, of the Ethiopian Archeparchy of Addis Abeba; Archbishop Jan Babjak of the Slovakian Archdiocese of Presov; Bishop Antoine Audo of the Chaldean Eparchy of Aleppo; Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem; Cardinals Christoph Schonborn, Jean-Louis Tauran, Tarcisio Bertone, Dionigi Tettamanzi, Angelo Scola, Marc Ouellet, Andre Vingt-Trois, Angelo Bagnasco, Reinhard Marx, Timothy Dolan, William Levada, Francesco Monterisi, Kurt Koch, Fernando Filoni, and Edwin O'Brien; Archbishop Piero Marini; and Bishop Peter Burcher of Reykjavik.

Pope Francis nominated as consultors Bishop Dimitrios Salachas, Greek Apostolic Exarch of Greece; and the priests Massimo Pampaloni, Philippe Luisier, Michael Kuchera, Lorenzo Lorusso, Georges Ruyssen, Thomas Pott, Pablo Gefaell, G. Ronald Roberson, Paul Pallath, Adam Konstanc, Guido Marini, and George Gallaro.

Those confirmed as consultors to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches were Msgr. Christo Proykov; Hanna Alwan; Borys Gudziak; Fr. Michel Van Parys; Msgr. Michel Berger; Msgr. Osvaldo Raineri; Fr. Jan Sergiusz Gajek; Msgr. Natale Loda; and Archpriest Vasyl Hovera.