MANILA, July 13, 2011— Newly-appointed Papal nuncio in the Philippines, Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, is set to arrive in Manila on Friday, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said.
According to Monsignor Juanito Figura, CBCP secretary general, Archbishop Pinto will arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1 at 9:50am via Cathay Pacific from Chile.
Figura said the papal envoy will be welcomed at the airport by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar and other prelates.
Archbishop Pinto, previously the papal nuncio to Chile, is the 15th Papal representative and the 10th Apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.
On May 10, Pope Benedict XVI officially named the Italian prelate as apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, a seat left by his predecessor, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, last May 7.
Archbishop Adams was reassigned to Greece after almost 3 years in the Philippines.
Pinto holds a doctorate in Canon Law and is fluent in Italian, French, English, and Spanish.
He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on May 1, 1984. He had been posted in Papua New Guinea, Argentina, and Vatican City state secretariat. Pinto also served as apostolic nuncio to Senegal, Cape Verde, Mali, and Guinea-Bissau, and as apostolic delegate to Mauritania.
As apostolic nuncio, Pinto’s principal task will involve strengthening ties between the Pope and the Philippine President as well as the local bishops.
Pinto comes to the Philippines at a time when the Church’s image is challenged after some bishops accepted donations from a state-run lottery and became entangled in a corruption scandal. [CBCPNews]
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