The Vatican this morning announced the long-expected retirement of Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the apostolic nuncio to the US and the appointment of Archbishop Pietro Sambi as his successor.
The nuncio is the Pope’s official diplomatic representative to a country, holding a position equivalent to an ambassador. He is also the Pope’s official representative to the bishops’ conference, and his office has the responsibility of passing on the list of potential candidates for episcopal ordination and appointment from the conference to the Congregation for Bishops.
Sambi: pro-Palestinian, solid on homosexuality
This should be a very interesting appointment. Sambi’s last post was as Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, where he was very strongly pro-Palestinian. In fact, he has been criticized for openly embracing that old, now-dead terrorist Yasser Arafat.
Interestingly he also had some harsh words for an international gay pride march in Jerusalem. He called it “a provocation to the Jews, Christians, and Muslims of Jerusalem and all over the world” and said, “This is a holy city for people who accept the Lordship of God on their life.”
