Pope Francis appointed Filipino Msgr. Erwin Balagapo and Korean Msgr. Han Hyuntaek to the Dicastery for Evangelization of the Vatican.
The two Asian priests will work for the Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle-led Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches.
Both Msgrs. Balagapo and Hyuntaek served within the dicastery in their capacities. As they assume their new positions as office heads, they will be serving five-year terms.
Msgr. Balagapo was born in Tacloban City, Leyte, in the Philippines, and is a clergyman of the Archdiocese of Palo. A canon lawyer, he authored the book "Marriage and Family: An Exemplary Human Reality According to the Teachings of Karol Wojtyla" in 2013.
On the other hand, Msgr. Hyuntaek is known for his studies on the Baptism of Christ according to St. Thomas Aquinas. He also participated in a conference on the missionary journey to Japan of Giovanni Battista Sidotti.
Following the pope’s document "Praedicate Evangelium," which made significant adjustments to the Roman Curia, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization were merged to form the Dicastery for Evangelization.
Personally overseen by Pope Francis, the dicastery was divided into two and supervised by two pro prefects.
Cardinal Tagle holds the section wherein Msgrs. Balagapo and Hyuntaek are appointed. Meanwhile, the Section for Fundamental Questions Regarding Evangelization in the World is under American Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella. Luke Godoy
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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