Federico Lombardi
Federico Lombardi, SJ (born 20 August 1942 in Saluzzo, Piedmont) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the current director of the Holy See Press Office.
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[edit] Early life and ordination
Lombardi was born in Saluzzo, Piedmont, and was trained in mathematics and studied theology in Germany. He became a Jesuit priest in 1972, and then worked for the influential Jesuit-run magazine, La Civiltà Cattolica, and served as superior of the Jesuits' Italian province.[1]
[edit] Vatican Radio
Lombardi was named program director (1991) and later general director (2005) of Vatican Radio, and was also made general director of the Vatican Television Centre in 2001.
[edit] Press Office of the Holy See
On 11 July 2006 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him director of the Vatican Press Office, replacing Joaquín Navarro-Valls who had held the post for 22 years.[2] Lombardi's appointment to the Press Office of the Holy See merged with it the leadership of Vatican Radio and Vatican Television Center as well, as he continues to hold those directorships.[1]
Upon assuming the directorate, Lombardi said he would not be a papal "spokesman" since he believes Benedict XVI does not need an interpreter, saying, "I don't think my role is to explain the Pope's thinking or explain the things that he already states in an extraordinarily clear and rich way."[3] He is considered to be taking a more low-key approach than his predecessor.[3]
[edit] Crises in communication
In an editorial for "Octava Dies", a weekly program of the Vatican Television Center, he criticized statements made by Bishop Richard Williamson denying the extent of the Holocaust.[4] Lombardi was later criticized himself by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos over the problems in communication revealed during the affair.[5]
Lombardi said that the Pope had never been a member of the Hitler Youth, but journalists quickly pointed out to him that Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope, had admitted this himself in the 1997 book Salt of the Earth.[6]
In 2009 Lombardi said that in "cases like Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg discourse, the bishop Williamson affair, or the controversy over Pope Benedict XVI’s statements regarding condoms and the spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa ... once the first wave of criticism had passed, people were able to do some real hard thinking ... subsequent reflections were serious, penetrating and well-argued."[7]
[edit] Other
In addition to his native Italian, Lombardi speaks French, German, and English, as well as reading and understanding Spanish and Portuguese.[3]
At the end of October 2011, he addressed his weekly editorial as a letter of welcome to the 7 billionth baby born on Earth.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Glatz, Carol (11 July 2006). "Pope accepts resignation of longtime Vatican spokesman, Navarro-Valls". Catholic News Service (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops). http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603926.htm. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
- ^ [unattributed] (12 July 2006). "Federico Lombardi is the new Head of the Vatican Press Office". SIGNIS (Brussels, Belgium: World Catholic Association for Communication). http://www.signis.net/article.php3?id_article=587. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
- ^ a b c Thavis, John (8 September 2006). "'Sala Stampa' style change: From toreador to low-key mathematician". Catholic News Service (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops). http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0605114.htm. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
- ^ Father Lombardi Denounces Holocaust-Deniers
- ^ La Croix article
- ^ The pope and Hitler Youth (Benedict’s own words)
- ^ Vatican spokesman: Pope’s PR controversies led to ‘some real hard thinking’
- ^ http://www.zenit.org/article-33783?l=english
