DICASTERY MEMBER. Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma is shown in this undated photo delivering a sermon at one of the Archdiocese of Cebu's celebrations. Right photo shows the Vatican document announcing Palma's appointment as a member of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, a body in the Roman Curia that is in charge of supporting bishops and episcopal conferences in promoting Catholic identity in schools and institutes of higher education in the world. (Photos courtesy of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu)
CEBU CITY – Pope Francis has appointed Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma, a member of a body in the Roman Curia that supports bishops and episcopal conferences in promoting Catholic identity in schools and institutes of higher education.
The Archdiocese of Cebu said Palma was named a member of the Dicastery for Culture and Education based in the Vatican and is currently headed by a Portuguese theologian, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça.
In a statement posted Sunday, the archdiocese said the Dicastery was formed through the merger of the Vatican’s former Pontifical Council for Culture and the Congregation for Catholic Education.
Palma was a former member of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
“The dicastery comprises the Section for Culture, dedicated to the promotion of culture, pastoral activity, and the enhancement of cultural heritage, and the Section for Education, which develops the fundamental principles of education regarding schools, Catholic and ecclesiastical institutes of higher education and research, and is competent for hierarchical recourses in these matters,” it said.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a separate statement confirming Palma’s appointment to the Vatican office.
Quoting its constitution, the CBCP said the dicastery “works for the development of human values in people within the horizon of Christian anthropology, contributing to the full realization of Christian discipleship.”
The CBCP said the dicastery also coordinates the activities of several pontifical academies, such as the Pontifical Academy of Archeology and the Pontifical Academy of Theology. (PNA)
