‘Job pressure to greet new papal nuncio’

Job pressure is expected to greet Archbishop Fernando Filoni on his first day as Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, the Catholic Church’s National Office of Mass Media (NOMM) said yesterday.

"Coming to us in these troubled times representing Pope Benedict XVI, he is under pressure from Day One," NOMM secretary general Fr. James Reuter said yesterday.

But Reuter said the Catholic hierarchy is confident that Filoni will do well at his new task, having had nine years of experience in the Apostolic Nunciature of the Philippines.

The position of the Catholic Church on political issues facing the country is perceived to be very crucial in the Philippines, which is predominantly Roman Catholic.

The Pope’s order for the transfer of Filoni from war-torn Iraq to the Philippines was announced by NOMM last Sunday.

Filoni, 59, was born in Manduria, Italy on April 15, 1946 and has been in the Church for over 35 years now. His prior posts include those as Vatican ambassador to Iraq and Jordan and work as part of the staff at the office of the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines from 1992 to 2001.

The archbishop, who speaks Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, holds a doctorate degree in philosophy and specializes in canon law.

Filoni will replace Archbishop Antonio Franco, who is set to leave this week for his new post as Papal Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus.

No definite date has been set for the installation of Filoni, as the Vatican has not announced who will replace him in Iraq. — Edu Punay