Pope Francis strengthens Vatican Secretariat for Communication

Pope Francis has appointed news 13 consultants to Secretariat for Communication
Michael Warsaw and Father James Martin. (Credits: CNA/ DeChant-Hughes & Associates Public Relations.)
By Ines San Martin, April 12, 2017

 

Pope Francis has green-lighted the appointment of Jesuit Father James Martin and Michael Warsaw, Chairman of the Board for ETWN, as two of the 13 new consultants for the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications. For American Catholics, those names can’t help but suggest an effort by the pontiff to project balance, since Martin is seen as progressive and EWTN as fairly conservative.

ROME – In a fairly obvious attempt to project openness to different voices, Pope Francis on Wednesday green-lighted the appointment of 13 new consultants to the Vatican’s Secretariat for communications, including both Jesuit Father James Martin of America magazine and Michael Warsaw of EWTN.

Those names will speak for themselves for many American Catholics, but to spell it out, Martin is widely seen as a progressive voice in Catholic affairs, including on LGBT issues, while EWTN is generally perceived as solidly conservative.

Both Martin and Warsaw will now work together as consultants of the Secretariat for Communications, a body created by Pope Francis in 2015 to manage and overhaul the Vatican’s different news and media outlets.

The body is headed by Italian Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, who, seeking inspiration for a reform of the Vatican’s communications operations, has declared himself open to turning towards unlikely sources of inspiration such as Walt Disney.

Warsaw has been Chairman of the Board for the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the Catholic network founded by Mother Angelica, since 2013, having been with the company since 1991.

Read the full article at Crux.

For more information about the Secretariat for Communication click here.

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