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Charles John Brown

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Styles of
Charles Brown
Reference styleThe Most Reverend
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleMonsignor
Posthumous stylenot applicable

Charles John Brown (born 13 October 1959) is the current nuncio to Ireland[1][2] since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 26 November 2011. He had previously served as an official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Early life and education

His mother’s maiden name was Patricia Murphy and one great grandparent was called O’Callaghan, but Archbishop Brown has had little contact with Ireland. The Brown surname an anglicization of German Braun.[3]

Brown made ​​the following academic studies: BA (History), University of Notre Dame,[4] MA (Theology), University of Oxford (England), MA (Medieval Studies), University of Toronto, M. Div., Saint Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers (USA), STD (Sacramental Theology), Pontifical University St. Anselmo, Rome.

His only experience of Ireland came via two short holidays in the early 1980s when, while studying theology at Oxford, he took the boat to Dublin to visit a US friend and his Irish girlfriend for Christmas.[5]

Priesthood

He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor on 13 May 1989[6] in St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. From 1989 to 1991 he was assistant priest at St. Brendan's Parish in the Bronx, New York City. From 1994 to his appointment as nuncio, he worked as an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He became a Chaplain of His Holiness on 6 May 2000. He was appointed Adjunct Secretary of the International Theological Commission in September 2009.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the curial department where he worked, has dealt with child abuse scandals since 1994,[7][4][8][9][10] when it was headed by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who as Pope Benedict XVI appointed him nuncio.

Episcopal career

Brown was named Titular Archbishop of Aquileia and nuncio to Ireland on 26 November 2011 and was ordained to the episcopate by Pope Benedict XVI on 6 January 2012, along with Marek Solczynski, Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Mauritania and Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia and Armenia.[11]

Brown is one of the very few nuncios appointed from outside the ranks of the Holy See's diplomatic service and who have not attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains those diplomats. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said he did not believe the appointment was an attempt by the Vatican to patch up relations with the Irish Government. He called Brown a theologian "much more focused on theology than relations between church and state". Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York said: “He’s a young, vibrant, very theologically savvy but pastorally sensitive guy.”[12]

Among the main tasks of the new nuncio will be to assist the Pope by sending recommendations to fill the vacancies in the already dioceses of Cloyne, Derry, Kildare and Leighlin and Limerick and in other sees whose incumbents have passed retirement age. It has been envisaged that there could also be a merging and reordering of the dioceses of Ireland.

2012 interview

In a 2012 interview Archbishop Brown said that he is well aware of the delicate moment in Ireland but says that he goes to Ireland “to learn” and “to help”. He added that “Let us not exaggerate. The nuncio is a representative of the Holy See on the ground there. It is not that, in any sense, he is in control of the church in Ireland. “It is the bishops of Ireland who are in control of the church in Ireland.”[13]

Archbishop Brown acknowledged that he has a good line of communication with Pope Benedict, saying: “I know him, he knows me. I worked with him closely for 10 years, I travelled with him, I worked hard for him. He trusts me, for better or for worse.” He added that “I have not seen anything yet. I have a steep mountain to climb and I hope to be there helping. As for reforms to the Irish church, I am agnostic about this. I need to study all that material and then talk to the Irish bishops” He concluded that “The church was left behind the curve on all of that, the church has to modernise and to find new ways of presenting her message to people in this new context of the materialism and consumerism of a society that is now more similar to other European countries than it was in the 1980s.”[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ NOMINA DEL NUNZIO APOSTOLICO IN IRLANDA
  2. ^ Cheney, David M., Archbishop Charles John Brown. Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  3. ^ Papal nuncio faces tough task in mending relations
  4. ^ a b Pentin, Edward (November 28, 2011). "An American Goes to Dublin". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  5. ^ Papal nuncio faces tough task in mending relations
  6. ^ Pope Benedict XVI appoints Monsignor Charles Brown as new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland
  7. ^ New Papal Nuncio will take up post in January
  8. ^ "New Papal Nuncio to Ireland announced". RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd. November 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  9. ^ "Ireland's new papal nuncio appointed". IrishExaminer.com. Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited. November 26, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  10. ^ O'Brien, James (November 24, 2011). "Pope appoints Irish American as Papal Nuncio to Ireland: Shock appointment from outside Vatican diplomatic corps". IrishCentral LLC. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  11. ^ http://translate.google.com/translate?tl=en&sourceid=ie8-activity&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpress.catholica.va%2Fnews_services%2Fbulletin%2Fnews%2F28583.php%3Findex%3D28583%26lang%3Den
  12. ^ Kerr, David (November 25, 2011). "New York priest tipped as next Irish Nuncio". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  13. ^ Papal nuncio faces tough task in mending relations
  14. ^ Papal nuncio faces tough task in mending relations
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland
26 November 2011 –present 		Succeeded by

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