Cardinal Gracias gets Vatican job
HERALD NEWS BUREAU
PANJIM, JULY 7
Pope Benedict XVI on Monday appointed Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay and of Goan origin, as member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church (as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches) and also some technical matters relating to the Sacraments.
Cardinal Gracias – a native of Orlim – is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, a key department in the Roman Curia, which is responsible for interpreting the laws of the Church.
It may be recalled that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, as Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church on October 17, 2007.
Cardinal Gracias is the fourth cardinal of Goan origin, after Cardinal Valerian Gracias of Bombay, Cardinal Joseph Cordeiro of Karachi and Cardinal Ivan Dias.
Prelates of Goan origin have been given key positions in the Catholic Church in recent times. Cardinal Dias, who traces his roots to Velsao, is presently the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of People, an important department in the Vatican.
