Pope names Congolese bishop as special secretary of synod on Bible
(August26, 2008):- Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya
of Kinshasa, Congo, as the special secretary of the October Synod of Bishops on the
Bible. Archbishop Monsengwo, a longtime biblicist and one of Africa's most experienced
churchmen, will assist in the preparation of two reports during the synod and the
preparation of its final recommendations. He replaces Bishop Wilhelm Egger of Bolzano-Bressanone,
Italy, who died of a heart attack in mid-August. Bishop Egger was named special secretary
in January and had been working over the summer to prepare for the Oct. 5-26 assembly.
68-year-old Archbishop Monsengwo, has participated in several synods in recent
decades. As a member of the Synod of Bishops' 15-man council, he has been involved
closely in the planning for the synod on the Bible. Archbishop Monsengwo studied in
the 1960s at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute, earning a doctorate in biblical
sciences. He was made a bishop in 1980, and was named to head the Archdiocese of Kinshasa
in late 2007. He is president of the Congolese bishops' conference and former president
of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. Archbishop
Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, said that the planning
for the October synod was in its final phase, and that a list of papal appointees
to the synod would be announced soon. Some 250 bishops and some priests are expected
to participate in the synod.