Conclusion of mandate of prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and appointment of successor
Letter of the Holy Father to the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Appointment of bishop of Lwena, Angola
Appointment of vicar apostolic of Aleppo of the Latins, Syria
Conclusion of mandate of prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and appointment of successor
The Holy Father Francis has thanked his Eminence Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., at the conclusion of his mandate as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission, and has called Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of La Plata, Argentina, to succeed him in the same roles. Archbishop Fernández will take office in mid-September 2023.
Curriculum vitae
Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández was born on 18 July 1962 in Alcira Gigena, in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. He was ordained a priest on 15 August 1986 for the diocese of Villa de la Concepción del Río Cuarto, Argentina.
He was awarded a licentiate in theology with biblical specialization from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and subsequently a doctorate in theology from the Faculty of Theology of Buenos Aires.
From 1993 to 2000 he was parish priest of Santa Teresita in Río Cuarto, Córdoba. He was the founder and director of the Institute for Lay Formation and the Jesús Buen Pastor Formation Centre for Teachers in the same city. In his diocese he was also a seminary formator, director for ecumenism and director for catechesis.
In 2007 he participated in the Fifth Conference of Latin American Bishops (Aparecida) as a priest representing Argentina and later as a member of the drafting group for the final document.
From 2008 to 2009 he was dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and president of the Argentine Theological Society.
From 2009 to 2018 he was rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.
On 13 May 2013 he was appointed archbishop by Pope Francis.
He participated, as a member, in the 2014 and 2015 Synods of Bishops on the family, in which he was also part of the drafting groups.
In the 2017 Assembly of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, he was elected president of the Episcopal Commission for Faith and Culture (Doctrinal Commission).
In June 2018 he assumed the office of archbishop of La Plata.
He has been a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture and Consultor of the Congregation for Catholic Education. He is currently a member of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
He has published more than 300 books and scientific articles, many of which have been translated into various languages. These works demonstrate an important biblical foundation and a constant commitment to the dialogue between theology and culture, the evangelizing mission, spirituality and social issues.
Some publications
Books
Salir de sí. Plenitud de conocimiento y de vida en san Buenaventura, Ediciones del Icala, Córdoba 1991.
San Juan y su mundo. Comentario al cuarto Evangelio, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 1992.
El Apocalipsis y el tercer milenio, San Pablo, Buenos Aires-Bogotá 1998.
Un Padre. Encuentros con la primera Persona, Paulinas, Buenos Aires 1999.
Encuentros con la Eucaristía, Paulinas, Buenos Aires 1999.
Actividad, espiritualidad y descanso, San Pablo, Madrid 2001.
La gracia y la vida entera, Herder, Barcelona 2003.
Claves para vivir en plenitud, San Pablo, Madrid 2003.
Teología espiritual encarnada. Profundidad espiritual en acción, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2004
La oración pastoral, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2006.
Valores argentinos o un país insulso, Bouquet, Buenos Aires 2006.
Aparecida. Guía-Comentario al documento y otros aportes, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2007.
Cómo interpretar y comunicar la Palabra de Dios. Métodos y recursos prácticos, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2008.
Pablo apasionado. De Tarso hasta su plenitud, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2008.
Conversión pastoral y nuevas estructuras, Agape, Buenos Aires 2010.
Gracia. Nociones básicas para pensar la vida nueva, Agape, Buenos Aires 2010.
La fuerza sanadora de la mística, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2012.
La fuerza transformadora de la mística, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2013.
Il progetto di Francesco, EMI, Bologna 2014.
Dar da mangiare, dar da bere, EMI, Bologna 2015.
El fruto del Espíritu Santo. Una vida diferente es posible, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2019.
Río de alabanza. Sólo Dios, Agape, Buenos Aires 2022.
Catequesis con Espíritu, Agape, Buenos Aires 2023.
Articoli
Obras mayores que las de Cristo (Jn 14, 12-14), Revista bíblica 58, Buenos Aires 1995.
Gracia y predestinación (Romanos 1-11), Teología 65, Buenos Aires 1995.
Lamentaciones, en W. Farmer et al., Comentario Bíblico Internacional, Verbo Divino, Estella 1999.
El misterio del pobre en la economía globalizada, en Ferrara-Galli eds., Nuestro Padre misericordioso, Paulinas, Buenos Aires 1999.
Tareas y desafíos para la Filosofía, en Varios, Fe y Razón, Educa, Buenos Aires 1999.
Sentido teológico de la paternidad de la primera Persona, Angelicum 77, Roma 2000.
El cristiano ante el magisterio del Judaísmo, El Olivo, Madrid 2000.
Inmortalidad, cuerpo y materia, Angelicum 78, Roma 2001.
Le meilleur de la Lettre aux Romains procède du judaïsme de Paul, Nouvelle Revue Théologique 124/3, Bruxelles 2002.
Carta a los Romanos, en Comentario Bíblico Latinoamericano, Verbo Divino, Estella 2003, 777-816.
“¿Tomarán serpientes en sus manos?”. Exégesis de extrañas promesas (Mc 16, 14-18), en Teología 85, Buenos Aires 2004.
L’introculturation de la spiritualité. Encore un neologisme necessaire, Nouvelle Revue Teologique 125/4, Bruxelles 2004.
La dimensión trinitaria de la Moral. I. Aspecto místico, en Teología 87, Buenos Aires 2005.
La dimensión trinitaria de la Moral. II. Profundización del aspecto ético a la luz de Deus caritas est, en Teología 87, Buenos Aires 2005.
El carácter del Sacramento de la Confirmación, en Teología 86, Buenos Aires 2005.
La complementarité irréductible. L’herménéutique biblique après la Shoah, Nouvelle Revue Théologique 128/4, Bruxelles 2006.
La legitimidad de la opinión de los pastores sobre cuestiones sociales en una sociedad pluralista, en Pastores 36, Buenos Aires 2006.
Estructuras internas de la vitalidad cristiana. La vida digna y plena como clave de interpretación de “Aparecida”, en Teología 93, Buenos Aires 2007.
Amor y justicia en la vida social, en Fernández-Galli, Eros y agape, San Pablo, Buenos Aires 2008.
La misión como comunicación de vida. Un estado permanente de misión para la plenitud de nuestros pueblos, en CELAM, Testigos de Aparecida, Bogotá 2008.
Pablo de Tarso, de la adhesión personal a Cristo al compromiso comunitario y social, en Seminarios 192, Salamanca 2009.
El diálogo con la cultura en perspectiva latinoamericana, en O. González de C., Nuevos horizontes, San Benito, Buenos Aires 2010.
Cinco claves de fondo para leer Laudato si’, en Arellano-Granados, Loado seas mi Señor. Comentario a la encíclica Laudato si’, BAC, Madrid 2016.
El capítulo VIII de Amoris laetitia. Lo que queda después de la tormenta, en revista Medellín, agosto 2017.
El kerygma y la inculturación, en Comisión Episcopal de Fe y Cultura - CEA, La inculturación del kerygma, Oficina del libro, Buenos Aires 2019.
La conversione pastorale, en Pontificio Consiglio per la Promozione della Nuova Evangelizzazione, Una pastorale rinnovata. Vol. 2, San Paolo, Milano 2020.
Letter of the Holy Father to the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
To His Most Reverend Excellency
Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández
Vatican City, 1 July 2023
Dear Brother,
As the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, I entrust to you a task that I consider very valuable. Its central purpose is to guard the teaching that flows from the faith in order to " to give reasons for our hope, but not as an enemy who critiques and condemns”.1
The Dicastery over which you will preside in other times came to use immoral methods. Those were times when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, possible doctrinal errors were pursued. What I expect from you is certainly something very different.
You have served as dean of the Faculty of Theology of Buenos Aires, president of the Argentinean Society of Theology and president of the Faith and Culture Commission of the Argentinean Episcopate, in all cases voted by your peers, who have thus valued your theological charisma. As rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina you encouraged a healthy integration of knowledge. On the other hand, you were parish priest of "Santa Teresita" and until now archbishop of La Plata, where you knew how to bring theological knowledge into dialogue with the life of the holy People of God.
Given that for disciplinary matters - especially related to the abuse of minors - a specific Section has recently been created with very competent professionals, I ask you as prefect to dedicate your personal commitment more directly to the main purpose of the Dicastery which is "keeping the faith".2
In order not to limit the significance of this task, it should be added that it is a matter of “increasing the understanding and transmission of the faith in the service of evangelization, so that its light may be a criterion for understanding the meaning of existence, especially in the face of the questions posed by the progress of the sciences and the development of society”. 3 These issues, incorporated in a renewed proclamation of the Gospel message, “become tools of evangelization” 4 because they allow is to enter into conversation with “our present situation, which is in many ways unprecedented in the history of humanity” 5.
Moreover, you know that the Church “grow in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth” 6 without this implying the imposition of a single way of expressing it. For “Differing currents of thought in philosophy, theology and pastoral practice, if open to being reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow” 7. This harmonious growth will preserve Christian doctrine more effectively than any control mechanism.
It is good that your task expresses that the Church “encourages the charism of theologians and their scholarly efforts” as long as they are not “content with a desk-bound theology” 8, with a “a cold and harsh logic that seeks to dominate everything” 9. It will always be true that reality is superior to the idea. In this sense, we need theology to be attentive to a fundamental criterion: to consider that “all theological notions that ultimately call into question the very omnipotence of God, and his mercy in particular, are inadequate” 10. We need a way of thinking which can convincingly present a God who loves, who forgives, who saves, who liberates, who promotes people and calls them to fraternal service.
This happens if “the message has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary” 11. You are well aware that there is a harmonious order among the truths of our message, and the greatest danger occurs when secondary issues end up overshadowing the central ones.
In the horizon of this richness, your task also implies a special care to verify that the documents of your own Dicastery and of the others have an adequate theological support, are coherent with the rich humus of the perennial teaching of the Church and at the same time take into account the recent Magisterium.
May the Blessed Virgin protect and watch over you in this new mission. Please do not cease to pray for me.
Fraternally,
FRANCIS
__________________
[1] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 271.
[2] Motu proprio Fidem servare (11 February 2022), Introduction.
[3] Ibíd., 2.
[4] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 132.
[5] Encyclical Letter Laudato si’ (24 May 2015), 17.
[6] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 40.
[7] Ibíd.
[8] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 133.
[9] Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et exsultate (19 March 2018), 39.
[10] International Theological Commission, The Hope of Salvation for Infants who die without being baptized (19 April 2007), 2.
[11] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 35.
Appointment of bishop of Lwena, Angola
The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Martín Lasarte Topolansky, S.D.B., until now provincial superior of the Salesian Society of Saint John Bosco (Salesians) in Angola.
Curriculum vitae
Msgr. Martín Lasarte Topolansky, S.D.B., was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 12 October 1962. After entering the Salesian novitiate of Montevideo-Manga, he gave his first vows on 31 January 1982. In 1990 he was sent as a deacon to Angola, in the diocese of Lwena.
He received priestly ordination on 17 August 1991 in Montevideo.
Following specialist studies in sacred scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome (1991-1995), he went on to serve as formator in the Salesian Seminary and professor in the Major Seminary of Luanda (1995-2001); parish priest of São Pedro e São Paulo in Lwena and advisor to the Mamã Muxima Visitation of Angola (2001-2008); delegate for Salesian youth pastoral care in Angola, professor at the Major Seminary of Luanda, the Universidade Católica de Angola and the Instituto Superior Dom Bosco, Luanda, and director of the department of the Universidade Católica de Angola (2009-2015); vicar of the Mamã Muxima Visitation of Angola (2013-2015); collaborator in the Department for Missions of the General Curia of the Salesians of Don Bosco (2015-2020). From 2020 until now he has been Superior of the Mamã Muxima Visitation of Angola.
Appointment of vicar apostolic of Aleppo of the Latins, Syria
The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. Hanna Jallouf, O.F.M., currently parish priest of Knaye, Syria, as vicar apostolic of Aleppo of the Latins.
Curriculum vitae
Msgr. Fr. Hanna Jallouf was born in Knayeh, Syria, on 16 July 1952. He entered the Custody of the Holy Land, studied philosophy and theology in Assisi and was awarded a licentiate in history in Beirut and a licentiate in youth pastoral care and catechetics from the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome.
He gave his religious vows on 17 February 1979, and was ordained a priest on 29 July of the same year.
He has held the following offices: vice-rector (1979-1982) and then rector of the Terra Sancta College of Amman in Jordan (1992-2001); and rector of the Franciscan Minor Seminary in Aleppo (1982-1987). Since 2001 he has served as superior and parish priest in Ghassanieh, Knaye and Jisser El Chougur. He speaks Arabic, Italian and French.
