New nuncio to U.S. says he’s ready to listen and learn

UNITED STATES
Crux

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service April 22, 2016

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the new nuncio to the United States, said he’s ready to learn about the Catholic Church in the country and will try his best to be Pope Francis’ emissary, particularly in promoting a church that is close to those who suffer.

The archbishop, who had a private meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis April 21, gave interviews the next day to the English and the Italian programs of Vatican Radio.

The 70-year-old French native has been in the Vatican diplomatic corps for almost 40 years and said a nuncio’s job is to help the pope fulfill his ministry of building up the local churches, respecting their diversity, while keeping them united with the universal church.

“The difficulty or the challenge,” he said, is “to listen, to be careful about what’s going on, to understand, to exercise dialogue — I think that’s very important — to discover the beauty, the richness of the culture of the people, the way the people live (and) to help the inculturation of the Gospel in a particular culture.”

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