A cardinal's hat for Archbishop Mamberti, new head of the Signatura

Vatican City, Jan 6, 2015 / 00:03 am

Months after being named to replace Cardinal Raymond Burke as head of the Apostolic Signatura, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti will be among those joining the College of Cardinals during February's consistory.

The announcement that the French Moroccan archbishop would be created cardinal along with 19 other prelates from around the world came Jan. 4 during Pope Francis' first Angelus address of the new year.

Archbishop Mamberti, 62, was appointed Nov. 8, 2014 as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, where he will be charged with a reform of the process of annulment. Cardinal Burke, who had held the position since 2008, was moved to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which he now serves as patron.

Born March 7, 1952 in Marrakesh, Dominique Mamberti was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Ajaccio, in France, in 1981. In 2002, he was appointed apostolic nuncio to Sudan and apostolic delegate to Somalia, and was consecrated a bishop. He also served as apostolic nuncio to Eritrea.

Following his posts as a Vatican ambassador, Archbishop Mamberti was, in 2006, appointed the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States, a position he held until his transfer to the Apostolic Signatura.

In July 2014, as Secretary for Relations with States, the archbishop issued a note to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See recalling Pope Francis' appeals on behalf of Christians suffering in the Middle East, especially Iraq.

"Christian communities are suffering unjustly, they are scared and many Christians have been forced to emigrate," Archbishop Mamberti wrote. "You must remember that Christians have been present in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries since the beginning of Christianity and they have played a vital role in the development of society. They simply want to continue to be present as creators of peace and reconciliation."

In a 2012 address to the United Nations General Assembly, Archbishop Mamberti stressed international law as being "solidly based upon the dignity and nature of humanity – in other words, upon the natural law." During this speech, he called for "legislation at the international level" to be "marked by respect for the dignity of the human person, beginning with the centrality of the right to life and to freedom of religion."

The following year, he addressed another United Nations meeting, on nuclear disarmament, saying the Holy See "joins in this concerted effort to give vigorous expression to the cry of humanity to be freed from the specter of nuclear warfare … we must emphasize anew that military doctrines based on nuclear arms, as instruments of security and defense of an elite group, in a show of power and supremacy, retard and jeopardize the process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation."

During February's consistory, Archbishop Mamberti will be created a cardinal alongside 19 other prelates, from Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and Oceania.