Pope Leo makes first major Vatican appointment

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, 67, has led the Dicastery for Legislative Texts since 2018 and will begin his new role on October 15, the Vatican press office announced. Archbishop Iannone has also been appointed as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Pope Leo, as Cardinal Robert Prevost, led the Dicastery for Bishops and the pontifical commission from early 2023 until his election as pope in May.

The dicastery coordinates the search for candidates to fill the office of bishop in most of the Latin-rite dioceses around the world, and makes recommendations about their appointments to the pope. It also deals with setting up, uniting and suppressing dioceses, changing diocesan boundaries, setting up military ordinariates and ordinariates for Catholics who were previously members of the Anglican Communion.

The dicastery “cooperates with the bishops in all matters concerning the correct and fruitful exercise of the pastoral office entrusted to them”, according to the constitution Praedicate Evangelium.

The prefect of the dicastery can organise an apostolic visitation of a diocese where a bishop appears to be struggling. It is also involved in the process of investigating bishops suspected of mishandling or covering up cases of sexual abuse.

As head of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, Archbishop Iannone was deeply involved with the revision of the Code of Canon Law’s “Book VI: Penal Sanctions in the Church”,one of seven books that make up the code for the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. It was promulgated by Pope Francis in 2021.

Filippo Iannone made his first solemn profession as a Carmelite in 1980 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1982.

St John Paul II named him an auxiliary bishop of Naples in 2001, and Pope Benedict XIV named him bishop of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo in 2009. Three years later, Pope Benedict named him an archbishop and vice regent of the Diocese of Rome.

Pope Francis named him adjunct secretary of the office for legislative texts in 2017 and president a year later.

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Pope taps Italian canon lawyer for top position at Dicastery for Bishops (By Cindy Wooden/CNS)