Antonio Mennini
Encyclopedia
Antonio Mennini is an Italian
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He serves as the Nuncio to Great Britain
from 18 December 2010, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI
.
, Italy
, Antonio Mennini was ordained
to the priesthood
on 14 December 1974. Mennini obtained Doctor of Theology
degree from the Pontifical University
.
Mennini is known in Italy as the priest who heard the final confession of the country’s murdered Prime Minister, Aldo Moro
, in the 1970s
. Moro who had been kidnapped and was being held captive in a secret location by the Red Brigades, a leftist Italian militant group. Archbishop Mennini, then an assistant priest, is believed to have delivered a letter to the terrorists from Pope Paul VI
and a letter to Mr Moro from his wife. Shortly after his secret mission, the Prime Minister was killed and his body dumped in central Rome. The Vatican has shielded the priest from ever having to testify in subsequent state hearings concerning Moro’s abduction and murder.
Archbishop Mennini's family has strong links with the Holy See. His father (Luigi Mennini) worked for Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the former president of the Holy See's Institute for Religious Works Mr Mennini, who died in 1997, was managing director of the Vatican Bank at the time allegations of money laundering were made against Archbishop Marcinkus. Archbishop Mennini has 13 siblings, among them Pietro Mennini, prosecutor
of Repubblica di Chieti.
degree he entered the diplomatic
service of the Holy See
in 1981, serving as an attache in the Pontifical Representations in Uganda
and Turkey
, and then in the Council of Public Affairs of the Church of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
(2000–2002) where after arriving in Sofia he began preparing Pope John Paul II
’s 2002 pastoral visit to the Eastern European country amid great controversy. The visit was hailed as a success, largely because the new nuncio established excellent working relations with Orthodox leaders who had originally opposed it.
On 8 July 2000, he was appointed Titular Archbishop
of Ferentium by Pope John Paul II
. Mennini received his episcopal consecration
on 12 September from Cardinal Angelo Sodano
, with Cardinals Camillo Ruini and Jean-Louis Tauran serving as co-consecrators
.
and from 2008 to Uzbekistan
. He is credited with dramatically improving the Holy See’s relations with the former Soviet countries in the federation and with the Russian Orthodox Church
.
As recently as 2001 Rome was criticised by the Russian Orthodox for establishing dioceses, with little consultation in Russia. However, through the nuncio’s fence-mending efforts the situation gradually began to change and in December 2009 President Dmitry Medvedev
ordered that full diplomatic relations between the two states be established. On 13 February 2011 Dmitry Medvedev awarded Miennini with the Order of Friendship
for his contribution to the development of Russian-Vatican relations.
on 18 December 2010 following the early retirement of Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz
on 2 December 2010. As the new Apostolic Nuncio to the UK, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, presented his diplomatic papers to HM Queen Elizabeth on 2 March 2011.
One of the most important duties facing him will be to oversee the vetting process for the appointment
of a substantial number of new bishops for England, Wales and Scotland. For example, three of Scotland's eight bishops have applied to retire on age and health grounds; these include Vincent Logan of Dunkeld and John Cunningham, Bishop of Galloway, while three more, including Cardinal
Keith O'Brien, the de facto leader of Scotland's Catholics, are expected to have left by the end of 2013. A writer in the English Catholic publication The Tablet considered it likely that Archbishop Mennini's appointment was recognition of the delicate diplomatic work that will be required for the establishment of the personal ordinariate
for former Anglicans in Britain.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He serves as the Nuncio to Great Britain
Nunciature to Great Britain
The Nunciature to Great Britain is an ecclesiastical office of the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio to the Court of St. James with the rank of an ambassador. The office of the nunciature is located...
from 18 December 2010, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
.
Biography
Born in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Antonio Mennini was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on 14 December 1974. Mennini obtained Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
degree from the Pontifical University
Pontifical university
A pontifical university is a Catholic University established by and directly under the authority of the Holy See. It is licensed to grant academic degrees in sacred faculties, the most important of which are Sacred Theology, Canon Law, Sacred Scripture and...
.
Mennini is known in Italy as the priest who heard the final confession of the country’s murdered Prime Minister, Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro
Aldo Moro was an Italian politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976. He was one of Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Ministers, holding power for a combined total of more than six years....
, in the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. Moro who had been kidnapped and was being held captive in a secret location by the Red Brigades, a leftist Italian militant group. Archbishop Mennini, then an assistant priest, is believed to have delivered a letter to the terrorists from Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
and a letter to Mr Moro from his wife. Shortly after his secret mission, the Prime Minister was killed and his body dumped in central Rome. The Vatican has shielded the priest from ever having to testify in subsequent state hearings concerning Moro’s abduction and murder.
Archbishop Mennini's family has strong links with the Holy See. His father (Luigi Mennini) worked for Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the former president of the Holy See's Institute for Religious Works Mr Mennini, who died in 1997, was managing director of the Vatican Bank at the time allegations of money laundering were made against Archbishop Marcinkus. Archbishop Mennini has 13 siblings, among them Pietro Mennini, prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
of Repubblica di Chieti.
Career
After obtaining Doctor of TheologyDoctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
degree he entered the diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
service of the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in 1981, serving as an attache in the Pontifical Representations in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and then in the Council of Public Affairs of the Church of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Nuncio to Bulgaria
In 2000 he was made the Holy See’s liaison with BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
(2000–2002) where after arriving in Sofia he began preparing Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
’s 2002 pastoral visit to the Eastern European country amid great controversy. The visit was hailed as a success, largely because the new nuncio established excellent working relations with Orthodox leaders who had originally opposed it.
On 8 July 2000, he was appointed Titular Archbishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Ferentium by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. Mennini received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on 12 September from Cardinal Angelo Sodano
Angelo Sodano
Angelo Sodano is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Dean of the College of Cardinals and former Vatican Secretary of State, having held that post from 1990 to 2006, under both popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI...
, with Cardinals Camillo Ruini and Jean-Louis Tauran serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.
Nuncio to Russia and Uzbekistan
In 2002 he was posted to RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and from 2008 to Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. He is credited with dramatically improving the Holy See’s relations with the former Soviet countries in the federation and with the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
As recently as 2001 Rome was criticised by the Russian Orthodox for establishing dioceses, with little consultation in Russia. However, through the nuncio’s fence-mending efforts the situation gradually began to change and in December 2009 President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
ordered that full diplomatic relations between the two states be established. On 13 February 2011 Dmitry Medvedev awarded Miennini with the Order of Friendship
Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship is a state decoration of Russia established by decree # 442 of March 2, 1994 of the President of the Russian Federation....
for his contribution to the development of Russian-Vatican relations.
Nuncio to Great Britain
Mennini was named Nuncio to Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
on 18 December 2010 following the early retirement of Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz
Faustino Sainz Muñoz
Faustino Sainz Muñoz is a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Nuncio to Great Britain from 2004 until December 2010, having been appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2004.-Biography:...
on 2 December 2010. As the new Apostolic Nuncio to the UK, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, presented his diplomatic papers to HM Queen Elizabeth on 2 March 2011.
One of the most important duties facing him will be to oversee the vetting process for the appointment
Appointment of Catholic bishops
The appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church is a complicated process. Outgoing bishops, neighbouring bishops, the faithful, the apostolic nuncio, various members of the Roman Curia, and the pope all have a role in the selection...
of a substantial number of new bishops for England, Wales and Scotland. For example, three of Scotland's eight bishops have applied to retire on age and health grounds; these include Vincent Logan of Dunkeld and John Cunningham, Bishop of Galloway, while three more, including Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Keith O'Brien, the de facto leader of Scotland's Catholics, are expected to have left by the end of 2013. A writer in the English Catholic publication The Tablet considered it likely that Archbishop Mennini's appointment was recognition of the delicate diplomatic work that will be required for the establishment of the personal ordinariate
Personal Ordinariate
A personal ordinariate is a canonical structure within the Catholic Church enabling former Anglicans to maintain some degree of corporate identity and autonomy with regard to the bishops of the geographical dioceses of the Catholic Church and to preserve elements of their distinctive Anglican...
for former Anglicans in Britain.
Trivia
- Besides his native ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, he can speak EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
and RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.