Fr Rafael Simbine Junior, the Secretary General of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), flanked by Fr Kaufa and Ms Sheila Pires, said the seminar was to help the delegates familiarize themselves with the Instrumentum Laboris- the working document as well as the methodology of Spiritual Conversation which shall be used at the Synodal Assembly in Rome.
Bishop Valério’s nomination came as a surprise to many since Pope Francis had named Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar, auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, a cardinal on July 9. It had been wrongly presumed then that the pope would appoint the cardinal-elect as the new patriarch after the World Youth Day celebrations.
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, was made a cardinal during the consistory of Oct. 5, 2019. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.Rome Newsroom, May 20, 2023 / 11:46 am (CNA).Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has been asked by Pope Francis to head a peace mission between Russia and Ukraine on behalf of the Vatican, the Holy See press office director said Saturday."The timing of such a mission, and its modes, are currently being studied," Matteo Bruni said in a brief statement to journalists May 20.Bruni said Pope Francis hopes the operation, which will be carried out in agreement with the Secretariat of State, "can initiate paths of peace."Zuppi, the archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian bishops conference, has strong ties to the influential Sant Egidio Community.Sant Egidio is a Catholic lay association that aids migrants and promotes ecumenism. It has also helped negotiate reconciliation, including by holding peace talks in countries like Mozambique and South S