Surprise appointments

Pope Francis this week made two surprise appointments to Italian dioceses usually led by cardinals, writes Christopher Lamb. One is Fr Corrado Lorefice, 53, a parish priest, made Archbishop of Palermo, and the other is Bishop Matteo Zuppi, an auxiliary bishop of Rome, made Archbishop of Bologna. Fr Lorefice wrote a book on Fr Pino Puglisi, beatified in 2013, who opposed the mafia in Brancaccio, Palermo and was killed. Bishop Zuppi is a key figure in Sant’ Egidio, which works to combat poverty and for reconciliation.