Resignation of the apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Western Europe and appointment of successor
Appointment of apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Australia
Appointment of bishop of Campo Maior, Brazil
Appointment of president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Resignation of the apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Western Europe and appointment of successor
The Holy Father Francis has accepted the resignation from the office of apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Western Europe presented by His Excellency Msgr. Basil Georges Casmoussa.
The Pope has appointed as apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Western Europe the Rev. Rami Al-Kabalan, currently vice-prosecutor and bursar of the Prosecutor’s Office at the Holy See.
Rev. Rami Al-Kabalan
The Rev. Rami Al-Kabalan was born on 17 July 1979 in Zaidal, Syria. After his primary and secondary studies he entered the “Notre Dame de Déliverance de Charfet” seminary in Lebanon, where in 1999 he obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
He completed his studies in theology in Rome first in the Greek College and then in the French College.
In 2007 he obtained a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute, and a doctorate in 2015 from the same Institute.
He was ordained a priest on 16 July 2005, and incardinated in the archieparchy of Homs, Hama and Nabek of the Syrians.
He speaks Arabic, French, Italian and Aramaic.
Appointment of apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Australia
The Pope has appointed as apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Australia H.E. Msgr. Basile Georges Casmoussa, archbishop emeritus of Mosul and former apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful resident in Western Europe.
Msgr. Basile Georges Casmoussa
Msgr. Basile Georges Casmoussa was born on 25 October 1938 in Karakoche, Iraq. He entered the “Saint Jean” seminary in Mosul, run by the Dominican Fathers, where he undertook his studies in philosophy and theology.
He was ordained a priest on 10 June 1962. He obtained a licentiate in social sciences from the University of Leuven, Belgium, in 1976.
On 8 May 1999 the Synod of the Syrian Church elected him as archbishop of Mosul, an office he held until June 2010.
In January 2014 he was appointed as apostolic visitor for Syro-Catholic faithful in Western Europe, an office he held until his resignation, presented on 7 March 2017.
Aside from Arabic, he speaks French and English. He has written and translated various books.
Appointment of bishop of Campo Maior, Brazil
The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of Campo Maior, Brazil, the Rev. Fr. Francisco de Assis Gabriel dos Santos, C.SS.R., currently parish priest of Garahuns.
Rev. Fr. Francisco de Assis Gabriel dos Santos, C.SS.R.
The Rev. Fr. Francisco de Assis Gabriel dos Santos, C.SS.R., was born on 5 February 1968 in Esperança, diocese of Campina Grande in the State of Paraíba. He carried out his studies in philosophy at the Instituto Teológico e Pastoral do Ceará-ITEP (1994) and in theology at the Instituto Teológico São Paulo-ITESP (1999). In addition, he attended a course in social communication and journalism at the Catholic University of Pernambuco (2010).
He gave his religious vows on 11 February 1996 in the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer and was ordained a priest on 22 July 2000.
From 2000 to 2002 he exercised his priestly ministry in the diocese of Garahuns as parish vicar of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro, member of the presbyteral council and coordinator of a pastoral zone. From 2003 to 2010 he worked in Recife, where he held the offices of: rector of the Beato Gaspar Stanggassinger Redemptorist Postulate, vicar of the parish of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro in the Madalena quarter and of Nossa Senhora do Rosário in the Torres quarter, rector of the Padre Pitiá Redemptorist House of Formation, and counsellor of the Redemptorist Vice Province of Recife.
In 2011 he returned to the Redemptorist community of Garanhuns, and in the diocese of the same name, he currently holds the office of pastor of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro, and episcopal vicar for consecrated life and coordinator of pastoral ministry for communication. In addition, from 2011 he has served as vice-provincial vicar of the Redemptorist Vice-Province of Recife.
Appointment of president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
The Pope has appointed as president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Professor Joachim von Braun, ordinary Professor of Economics and Technological Innovation and Director of the Centre for Development Research of the University of Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany.
Professor Joachim von Braun
Professor Joachim von Braun was born on 10 July 1950 in Brakel, Germany. After studying agrarian sciences at the University of Bonn, he continued his studies obtaining a PhD (research doctorate) and subsequently the title of ordinary Professor in agrarian economics at the University of Göttingen. He taught at the universities of Kiel and Bonn. His publications relate to international economic development, the economics of natural resources, poverty, agricultural policy, and policy relating to scientific and technological innovation and international trade. He is considered to be among the principal experts on the problems of hunger, malnutrition, and policies linked to their resolution. He served as director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington DC, United States of America, from 2002 to 2009. For many years he carried out research and consultation activities in economic policy for various countries in Africa and Asia.
Since 2009 Professor Braun has served as director of the Centre for Development Research (ZEF: leading multidisciplinary research centre in the area of economic and social development) and professor of economics and technological innovation at the University of Bonn. He is president of the Council for Bio-Economy of the German government, and of various international and European advisory councils. He has been a speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos and has taken part in a series of international conventions organized by the United Nations and other scientific conferences of international relevance. From 2000 to 2003 he was president of the International Association of Agrarian Economics (IAAE). He is an elected member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering, the Academy of Arts and Sciences of the Region of North Rhine-Westphalia and the American Association for the Development of Sciences. He has been a Pontifical Academician since 2012.
Von Braun has received several honours, including an honoris causa research doctorate from the University of Hohenheim, the Bertebos Prize of the Swedish Academy of Agrarian Sciences in 2009, and the Justus von Liebig Award for World Nutrition in 2011 for his research on global scale food safety. He is married to Dr. Barbara von Braun, and has three daughters.
