Archbishop Angelo Amato, SDB: The New Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints!

I read on our Salesian news page (ANS) that the Holy Father Benedict XVI has entrusted the role of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to Archbishop Angelo Amato, SDB. This is a great blessing for our congregation! Pope Benedict, in accepting the resignation presented by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins on reaching the age limit, has entrusted the role of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to Archbishop Amato, who until now has been the Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Archbishop Amato born at Molfetta, in the Province of Bari in 1938 and ordained priest in 1967, obtained a doctorate in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Holding the chair as Professor of dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Salesian University, he was also Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Vice Rector. On 19 December 2002 he was appointed archbishop and Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith succeeding the then Archbishop Bertone who had become Archbishop of Genova.

The following comes from the Catholic World News:

Vatican, Jul. 09 (CWNews.com) - Archbishop Angelo Amato, the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has been named by Pope Benedict XVI to become the new prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of saints.

Å Salesian priest, Archbishop Amato became secretary of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation in 2002-- succeeding another Salesian, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who is now the Secretary of State.

At the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Italian archbishop-- who is likely to elevated to the College of Cardinals at the next consistory-- will succeed Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, who is retiring at the age of 76 after 10 years as prefect.

The appointment of Archbishop Amato confirms a report earlier this week by Andrea Tornielli, the veteran Vatican-watcher for the daily Il Giornale. Tornielli had even predicted accurately that the appointment would be announced on July 9.

To replace Archbishop Amato as secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pope appointed Father Luis Franciso Ladaria Ferrer, a Spanish Jesuit theologian on the faculty of the Gregorian University. Father Ladaria-- who will become an archbishop as he takes his new role-- will double as secretary of the International Theological Commission.

The July 9 announcement has left one major post in the Roman Curia as the main subject of journalistic speculation. Vatican-watchers expect that Cardinal Francis Arinze, the 76-year-old prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, will soon be replaced as well. The names frequently mentioned as likely replacements for Cardinal Arinze are those of Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera of Toledo, Spain; and Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, the current secretary of the Congregation.