Pope Francis this week named Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples as member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
The pontiff made the announcement on Wednesday, July 8, at the Vatican.
The council is the central office of the Church for the promotion of inter-religious dialogue. It is responsible for promoting mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration between Catholics and followers of other religious traditions.
The office encourages the study of religions and promotes the formation of persons dedicated to dialogue.
The council is a dicastery of the Catholic Church created by Pope Paul VI on May 19, 1964, as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988.
The current president of the council is Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot who has held the post since May 25, 2019.
Also named to the council are Michael Czerny, SJ, undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Cardinals Dieudonné Nzapalainga, archbishop of Bangui; Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, vicar apostolic of Vientiane; Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, archbishop Jakarta and Ordinary of the Military Ordinariate of Indonesia; and Jean-Claude Höllerich, archbishop of Luxembourg.
Several bishops were also named as members of the council, including Lawrence Huculak, archbishop of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians; Archbishop Felix Anthony Machado, bishop of Vasai; George Frendo, archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës; Mark Tin Win, archbishop of Mandalay; Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille; Paul Yoshinao Otsuka, bishop of Kyōto;
Thomas Chung An-zu, bishop of Kiayi; Raphy Manjaly, bishop of Allahabad; Ambrogio Spreafico, bishop of Frosinone-Veroli-Ferentino; Michael Joseph McKenna, bishop of Bathurst; William Hanna Shomali, titular bishop of Lidda; Denis Chidi Isizoh, titular bishop of Legia; Patrick Joseph McKinney, bishop of Nottingham; James Massa, titular bishop of Bardstown; Paul Desfarges, archbishop of Alger; and Joseph Đình Đúc Đao, bishop of Xuân Lôc.
