Holy Father has appointed the Salesian Rector Major as a Consulter for the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization

The Salesian News Agency reports a new honor for our Salesian Rector Major:

On 19 May the Holy Father has appointed new Consulters for the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation. Among them is Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva, Rector Major of the Salesians.

With Fr Chávez, who is President of the Union of Superiors General (USG), are Mons. Fernando Ocáriz (Spain), Vicar General of the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei; Fr. Julián Carrón (Spain), President of Communion and Liberation; Fr François-Xavier Dumortier, S.I. (France), Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome; Fr Pierangelo Sequeri (Italy), Vice Principal and Lecturer in Fundamental Theology at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy,; Sr Sara Butler (United States of America), of the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, Lecturer in Dogmatic Theology at the St. Mary of the Lake University,; Sr Mary Lou Wirtz, F.C.J.M. (United States of America), Superior General of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jeus and Mary, President of the International Union of Female Superiors General. Also on the list are the lay people Dr Chiara Amirante (Italy), Founder and Leader of the "New Horizons Association "; Mt. Kiko Argüello (Spain), Leader of the International Team of the New-Catecumenal Way; Prof. Lucetta Scaraffia (Italy), Lecturer in History at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at La Sapienza University in Rome.

The Pontifical Council established on 28 June 2010 by Benedict XVI, “whose principal task will be to promote a renewed evangelization in the countries where the first proclamation of the faith has already resonated and where Churches with an ancient foundation exist but are experiencing the progressive secularization of society and a sort of "eclipse of the sense of God", which pose a challenge to finding appropriate to propose anew the perennial truth of Christ`s Gospel.”

On the following 30 June Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella was appointed President of the new Pontifical Council. On 12 October 2010 the Apostolic Letter in the form of a motu proprio, “Ubicumque et Semper” was published by which the Roman Pontiff established the department and named its members.