New secretariat will oversee all Vatican media

Pope Francis last weekend issued a motu proprio setting up a new curial dicastery, the Secretariat for Communications, writes James Roberts.

The powerful department will have jurisdiction over the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican Internet Service, Vatican Radio, Vatican Television Centre, l’Osservatore Romano and Vatican Publishing House. Along with the Secretariat of State it will have responsibility for the Vatican website and the Pope’s Twitter account.

The prefect of the new secretariat, established from 29 June, is Mgr Dario Edoardo Viganò, formerly head of Vatican Television Centre, who filmed the departure from the Vatican of Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013. Its secretary is Argentinian Mgr Lucio Adrian Ruiz, former head of the Vatican Internet Service; its director general is Italian Dr Paolo Nusiner, director general of the Avvenire Catholic daily paper; and its vice-director general is Italian Dr Giacomo Ghisani, head of international relations and legal affairs at Vatican Radio.

The motu proprio, Pope Francis’ response to the feasibility studies that he commissioned last year, was unanimously approved by the Council of Cardinals. The new structure, Francis said, “will respond in an ever more ­efficacious manner to the needs of the mission of the Church”.

The absence of Mgr Paul Tighe, since 2007 secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, surprised many observers. In July last year he was made secretary to the Committee for Vatican media, chaired by former BBC Trust chairman Lord (Chris) Patten, and set up by Francis to update the Holy See media operation.

Also remarked on was the absence from the new structure of a separate body, made up of leading members of other dicasteries, charged with monitoring the new secretariat.