Papal nuncio moving to Croatia after 6 years in PH

By Roy Lagarde MANILA --- Papal nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto has received a new assignment from Pope Francis as Nuncio to Croatia. A Vatican communiqué issued on Saturday evening said that the Italian prelate will shortly be moving to the Eastern European country, but did not say anything about his likely successor. Archbishop Pinto, 65, has been serving as Nuncio to the Philippines since July 2011. Appointed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the archbishop is the 15th Papal representative and the 10th Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines. The archbishop’s new post in Croatia will be his 7th assignment as papal ambassador ever since he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1984. He will succeed Archbishop Alessandro D’Errico, also an Italian, who was earlier appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Libya. Catholicism is the dominant religion in Croatia with around 4.2 million population. As Nuncio, Archbishop Pinto previously served in Sénégal, Cape Verde, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Chile, and as apostolic delegate to Mauritania. He also had been posted in Papua New Guinea, Argentina, and Vatican State secretariat. Pinto holds a doctorate in Canon Law and is fluent in Italian, French, English, and Spanish. CBCPNews