Rev. Wojciech Giertych, OP
Professor & Theologian of the Papal Household
Fr. Wojciech Giertych was born in London, England to Polish emigrants. In 1975, he entered the Polish Province of the Dominican Order. He studied theology in Kraków and was ordained a priest in 1981. He then continued his theological studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate and a doctorate in theology. For a number of years he was a professor of moral theology and the Student Master, a formator, in the Dominican House of Studies in Kraków, being also engaged in preaching. Since 1994 he is a professor of moral theology at the Angelicum. In 1998, Fr. Giertych was called to the General Council of the Dominican Order, serving first as the Socius for Central and Eastern Europe, and then as the Socius for the Intellectual Life. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Giertych the Theologian of the Papal Household – a position he currently holds. Fr. Giertych is also a member of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, a consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a consultant to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He has written a number of books in moral theology.
Bishop Kęstutis Kėvalas
Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Kaunas
Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, Kęstutis Kėvalas studied in Kaunas University of Technology, later entered the Kaunas seminary in 1993. In 1997, he was sent to study at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, USA where he completed his theological studies and obtained a BA and MA in theology (2000). He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in June 2000. In 2001, he received his Licentiate Degree in Theology writing the thesis “Catholic Social Teaching and Economic Development: A Case Study of Lithuania.” He received his Doctorate in Sacred Theology with his thesis on “The Origins and Ends of the Free Economy as Portrayed in the Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus” in 2008. He has served as youth chaplain, lecturer on moral theology at Vytautas Magnus University, seminary spiritual director, and radio program director. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Kėvalas auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Kaunas; he was ordained bishop by Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevičius. Bishop Kęstutis Kėvalas is a respected figure and well known expert on Christian social ethics, the free market, and human dignity to the people of his home country.
Professor Dr. Rocco Pezzimenti
Professor of Political Philosophy & History of Political Thought, LUMSA
Rocco Pezzimenti earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from LUISS and doctorate in philosophy from La Sapienza, both in Rome. He has also completed a two-year postgraduate course in Arab and Islamic studies at PISAI. Prof. Pezzimenti has taught at several universities and is former dean of the Department of Economics, Political Science and Modern Languages at LUMSA in Rome, where he currently serves on the university’s board of administration and is professor of political philosophy and history of political thought. His academic research has focused on “open societies”, Catholic movements, and the relationship between politics and religion in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is the author of various publications, some of which have been translated into English and Spanish. He is the former editor of Incipit magazine and currently co-editor of the academic journal Res Publica.
Bishop Dominique Rey
Bishop, Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon
Dominique Marie Jean Rey was born in Saint-Etienne, France and is the youngest of seven children. He graduated with a BA and MA in economics from Lyon (1975), received his PhD in fiscal policy from Clermont-Ferrand, and earned a licentiate in theology and a degree in canon law from the lnstitut Catholique de Paris. In 1979 he joined the Emmanuel Community and in 1984, Dominique Rey was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest for the diocese of Paris. From 1985-92, Fr. Rey served in a variety of positions including high school chaplain, parish vicar, and director of pilgrimages. In 1995, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger appointed him pastor of Holy Trinity parish where he was also director of the Trinity Centre, a training center for Christian Life. In 2000, Cardinal Lustiger ordained Fr. Dominique Rey as bishop of Fréjus-Toulon. Bishop Rey has been very active in the New Evangelization and his diocese has seen an increase in priestly vocations since his ordination. In 2012 Bishop Rey took part to the Synod for New Evangelization and has been appointed as consultor of the Pontifical Council for the Laity since 2014. Bishop Rey is also the author of several books, including Catholicism, Ecology, and the Environment: A Bishop's Reflection (Acton Institute, 2013).
Rev. Robert A. Sirico
President & Co-Founder, Acton Institute
Rev. Robert A. Sirico received his Master of Divinity degree from the Catholic University of America, following undergraduate study at the University of Southern California and the University of London. During his studies and early ministry, he experienced a growing concern over the lack of training religious studies students receive in fundamental economic principles, leaving them poorly equipped to understand and address today's social problems. As a result of these concerns, Fr. Sirico co-founded the Acton Institute with Kris Alan Mauren in 1990. As president of the Acton Institute, Fr. Sirico lectures at colleges, universities, and business organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad. His writings on religious, political, economic, and social matters are published in a variety of journals, including: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the London Financial Times, the Washington Times, the Detroit News, and National Review. Fr. Sirico is often called upon by members of the broadcast media for statements regarding economics, civil rights, and issues of religious concern, and has provided commentary for CNN, ABC, the BBC, NPR, and CBS' 60 Minutes, among others....
Professor Dr. Manfred Spieker
Professor, Universität Osnabrück
Prof. Manfred Spieker studied political science, philosophy and history at the Universities of Freiburg, Berlin and Munich, where he received his doctorate in political science. From 1972-82, he served as assistant professor at the Research Institute for Political Science and European Affairs of the University of Cologne. In 1983 he was appointed professor of Christian Social Sciences at the Institute of Catholic Theology at the Universität Osnabrück. He was the founder and director of the Osnabrück peace talks (1984-92). He has been a visiting professor at the Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile (1988), University Gabriela Mistral, Chile (1997), and at the University of Vilnius, Lithuania (1998). From 1995-2001, Prof. Spieker also served as observer for the Holy See in the Steering Committee of the Council of Europe. In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Prof. Spieker consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Prof. Spieker writes for a variety of publications including The New Order, Journal of Markets and Morality, Ethos, and Intus- Legere Filosofia. Prof. Spieker is married and has six children.
Zev Golan
Author & Senior Research Fellow, Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies
Historian and author Zev Golan is Senior Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies. Golan was Director of Israel's Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (1992-2003). His economic commentary has appeared in Globes, Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post. He has edited over 100 studies of the Israeli economy. Golan’s historical research focuses on the Jewish people’s struggle for freedom. He has authored the histories Stern: The Man and His Gang, and Free Jerusalem, as well as the philosophical God, Man and Nietzsche, and edited An Economy in Crisis (Hebrew). His play The Ghosts of Mizrachi Bet Street, based on the life of underground leader Abraham Stern, will be performed at the Jerusalem Theater in January 2016.
David P. Goldman
Columnist, Asia Times Online & Managing Director, REORIENT Group
David Goldman has written for Asia Times under the byline “Spengler” since 2000. He is Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, Fellow the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, and Wax Family Fellow at the Middle East Forum. A successful author and prolific writer, Goldman has written hundreds of articles, on fixed income research and economics for investment banks, financial media and academic journals. His book How Civilizations Die (and why Islam is Dying, Too) was published by Regnery Press in September 2011. A volume of his essays on culture, religion and economics, It’s Not the End of the World – It’s Just the End of You, also appeared in 2011, from Van Praag Press. A former editor of First Things magazine and Forbes columnist, he was also global head of fixed income research for Bank of America and held senior positions at several other financial firms, including REORIENT Group (Hong Kong), where he presently is the Managing Director and Head of Americas.
Professor Santiago Legarre
Professor of Law, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina
Santiago Legarre is a Professor of Law at Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina and also works at CONICET (Argentine National Council for the Research in the Humanities). He is also a Visiting Professor at the Notre Dame Law School, the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University, and the Valparaiso University Law School (Indiana). He has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University, the University of Oxford and the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Legarre studied for his LL.B. at Universidad Católica Argentina. Thereafter he pursued a Master of Studies in Legal Research (M.St.) at the University of Oxford, which was conferred with distinction in 2004. His dissertation title was “The Historical Background of the Police Power in American Constitutional Law” and his supervisor was Professor John Finnis. He holds a PhD in Law from Universidad de Buenos Aires. He has authored and contributed to a number of books, and published numerous articles on morality, law, history, and politics.
Professor Daniel Mark
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Villanova University
Daniel Mark is an assistant professor of political science at Villanova University. He teaches political theory, philosophy of law, American government, and politics and religion. He is a faculty associate of the Matthew J. Ryan Center for the Study of Free Institutions and the Public Good. He also holds the rank of Battalion Professor and serves as the university representative to the performance review board for Villanova’s Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps unit. He is the faculty adviser to the mock trial team and to the men’s club lacrosse team, and he is a mentor in the university’s Faith and Learning Scholars Program. Dr. Mark serves on the Jewish Religion and Culture Lecture Committee and the Graduate Committee of the Department of Political Science. Appointed in 2014, Daniel serves on the nine-member, bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom. In this role, he monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad and makes policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress. Daniel has recently participated in USCIRF delegations to Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Vietnam. He has written on international religious freedom in Foreign Affairs, US News & World Report, Investor’s Business Daily, and Philadelphia Inquirer, and he has been interviewed on CNN, Al Jazeera America, and CBS radio in Philadelphia. In addition, Daniel is an assistant editor of Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy; a fellow of the Witherspoon Institute; and a contributor to Arc of the Universe: Ethics and Global Justice. Daniel also works with the Tikvah Fund in New York and the Hertog Foundation in Washington, DC, and he has taught at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. Before graduate school, Daniel spent four years as a high school teacher in New York City. He holds a BA, MA, and PhD from the Department of Politics at Princeton University. He wrote his dissertation under the direction of Professor Robert P. George on the subject of “Authority and Legal Obligation.” For the 2015-16 academic year, Daniel is a visiting fellow in the Department of Politics at Princeton University under the sponsorship of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
Michael Matheson Miller
Research Fellow and Producer of Poverty, Inc., Acton Institute
Michael Matheson Miller is a Research Fellow at the Acton Institute and the Producer of Poverty, Inc. With some ten years of international experience, Miller has lived and traveled in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He is the Director and Host of the PovertyCure DVD Series and has appeared in various video curricula including Doing the Right Thing, Effective Stewardship, and the Birth of Freedom. He is Chairman of the Advisory Board and former Director of PovertyCure, which promotes entrepreneurial solutions to poverty in the developing world. Mr. Miller lectures internationally on such themes as moral philosophy, economic development, and social theory, and entrepreneurship....
Rev. Professor Martin Schlag
Co-Founder & Academic Director, Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Center
Born in New York in 1964, Rev. Professor Martin Schlag is an Austrian and American citizen. He obtained degrees in jurisprudence, archaeology and ancient history from the University of Vienna and holds doctorates both in law (1989) and in theology (1998). Lawyer and theologian, he was ordained a priest in 1996. Following his pastoral work in Vienna, he became a professor of the Social Doctrine of the Church at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2008. In 2012, he was nominated consultor to the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice. Together with Prof. Juan Andrés Mercado, Fr. Schlag founded the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Center at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and he currently serves as the Academic Director.
Professor Mario Silar
General Manager, European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) & Senior Researcher, Instituto Acton Argentina
Professor Mario Silar is the senior researcher at Instituto Acton Argentina, executive secretary for Centro Diego de Covarrubias (Spain), and the general manager of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN). Previously, Prof. Silar was a visiting scholar at University of Reading, UK (2007-08) a fellow at the Witherspoon Institute (University of Princeton), and associate professor of ethics and human resources at the Universidad de Navarra and professor of Corporate Social Responsibility at the Universidad de Deusto. He received a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino (UNSTA), a Master’s in economic integration law from the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, a Master’s in professorship formation from UNED (Spain), and a diploma in advanced studies in philosophy from the Universidad de Navarra. He has also studied organization and education management at the Universidad Austral. Prof. Silar has authored several articles and books, including Ética y Teoría de la Acción, Análisis de Instituciones, Empresarialidad, Pensamiento Cristiano y Liberalismo Económico. He is co-editor of Natural Law: Historical, Systematic and Juridical Approaches (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008); co-author of Metodología de Investigación y técnicas para la elaboración de tesis (Ciudad Argentina, 2006); editor of Una vida santa dedicada a la libertad: Ensayos en honor de Joe Keckeissen (Instituto Acton, 2013), and Liberalismo, pensamiento cristiano y bien común (Madrid, 2014); and co-author of Estado liberal de derecho y laicidad (Instituto Acton, 2013).
Dr. Gabriel J. Zanotti
Professor, Universidad Austral & Academic Director, Instituto Acton Argentina
Dr. Gabriel Zanotti is a full-time professor at the Universidad Austral and professor at the Centro de Estudios Macroeconómicos de Argentina (CEMA), as well as visiting professor at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín. He is also the academic director of Instituto Acton Argentina. Dr. Zanotti earned his BA in philosophy from Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino (UNSTA) in 1984 and his Ph.D in philosophy from Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) in 1990. Dr. Zanotti has authored several books, including Economía de Mercado y Doctrina Social de la Iglesia (Ed. de Belgrano, 1985; 2nd Ed, Ediciones Cooperativas, 2005); El humanismo del futuro (Ed. de Belgrano, 1989; 2nd Ed., Ediciones Cooperativas, 2007); Popper: búsqueda con esperanza (Ed. de Belgrano, 1993); Epistemología da economia (Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, 1997); Introducción filosófica a Hayek (Universidad Francisco Marroquín, 2003); Filosofía para filósofos (Universidad Francisco Marroquín, 2003); Fundamentos filosóficos y epistemológicos de la praxeología (Unsta, 2009); Hacia una hermenéutica realista (Universidad Austral, 2005); La economía de la Acción Humana (Unión Editorial, 2009); Antropología cristiana y economía de mercado (Unión Editorial, 2011). Dr. Zanotti regularly writes, lectures, and teaches for numerous organizations and universities in Argentina and abroad.
Ms. Anielka (Münkel) Olson
Co-Producer, Poverty, Inc. & Project Manager, Acton Institute
Anielka (Münkel) Olson is a project manager at the Acton Institute and co-producer of the Poverty, Inc. documentary and the PovertyCure DVD Series. A native and citizen of Nicaragua, she served as advisor to the minister of tourism, promoting Nicaragua as a tourism and investment destination. She collaborated on speeches for former President Enrique Bolaños and negotiated investment opportunities with international corporations. Previously, she served as coordinator of the Government Investor Network (GIN) at PRONicaragua, the Investment Promotion Agency of the Presidency, and presented the results of this project at the United Nations High-level Dialog on Financing for Development in 2005. She also authored “Nicaragua: A UN Pilot Country on the Road to Success” and was selected to participate in the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program. Anielka holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, where she won the grand prize in the Social Venture Plan Competition with Sustainable Health Enterprises. Most of Anielka’s work is focused on PovertyCure, a global initiative that advances entrepreneurial solutions to poverty. Through a network of 340+ partner organizations, a DVD series, a documentary and a social media following of over 1.3 million people, PovertyCure challenges conventional thinking and reframes the poverty debate around the creative capacity of the human person, made in the image of God.
Cardinal Robert Sarah
President, Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'
Robert Sarah was born in Ourous in the archdiocese of Conakry in Guinea, on June 15, 1945. He was ordained priest on July 20, 1969 and was then sent to Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He also studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and obtained a licentiate in Sacred Scriptures from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. He returned to Guinea where he served as a parish priest and then rector of the junior seminary of Kindia. He was appointed archbishop of Conakry on August 13, 1979, where he served until October 2001 when he was appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On October 7, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him president of the ‘Cor Unum’ Pontifical Council and was created cardinal in the consistory of November 20, 2010. ‘Cor Unum’ is the agency of the Holy See responsible for coordinating the organizations and charitable activities promoted by the Catholic Church. On December 29, 2010, Cardinal Sarah was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Pontifical Council for the Laity, and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Professor F. Russell Hittinger
William K. Warren Chair of Catholic Studies, University of Tulsa
Prof. Russell Hittinger is the William K. Warren Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa, where he is also research professor of law. He specializes in issues of philosophy, theology, and law. From 2002-05 he was the chair of the department of philosophy and religion. Prof. Hittinger received his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from St. Louis University. He serves on several boards of advisors, including First Things, the American Journal of Jurisprudence, Nova et Vetera, and the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. On Sept. 8, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Prof. Hittinger as an ordinarius in the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. He is one of two lay academics in the world to serve as ordinarius in two Pontifical academies. His books and articles have appeared on the University of Notre Dame Press, Oxford University Press, Columbia University Press, Fordham University Press, the Review of Metaphysics, the Review of Politics, several law journals (American and European). His most recent book Thomas Aquinas and the Rule of Law. The First Grace: Re-Discovering Natural Law in a Post-Christian Age was published in Jan. 2003. His essays on papal social doctrine appeared in a two-volume work Law and Human 2 Nature: Teachings of Modern Christianity (Columbia University Press, 2005). He is currently working on a book on the evolution of Catholic social theory and doctrine during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Mr. Michael Novak
Visiting Professor and Trustee, Ave Maria University
Theologian, author, and former U.S. ambassador, Michael Novak was the George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and is currently Visiting Professor and Trustee at Ave Maria University in Florida. He is the 1994 recipient of the million-dollar Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Mr. Novak has written numerous influential books on economics, philosophy, and theology. His masterpiece, The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, was published underground in Poland in 1984, and after 1989 in Czechoslovakia, Germany, China, Hungary, Bangladesh, Korea, and many times in Latin America. For his work and influence, he has received many international awards.
Dr. Jay W. Richards
Assistant Research Professor, The Catholic University of America
Jay W. Richards, Ph.D., is Assistant Research Professor in the School of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, and Executive Editor of The Stream. He has authored and co-authored many books, including the New York Times bestsellers Infiltrated and Indivisible, as well as Money, Greed, and God, The Privileged Planet and The Untamed God. He is also executive producer of several television documentaries, including The Call of the Entrepreneur and The Birth of Freedom. Richards’ articles and essays have been published in The Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes, The Daily Caller, National Review, The Washington Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Huffington Post, The American Spectator, and a wide variety of other publications. Richards’ work has been covered in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Nature, Science, Astronomy, Physics Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, American Enterprise, Congressional Quarterly Researcher, and The American Spectator. Richards has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs. He has lectured at scores of academic conferences; on scores of college and university campuses in the United States, Europe, and Asia; at many think tanks in the U.S. and Europe; at scores of public policy meetings; and on several occasions to members of the U.S. Congress and U.S. congressional staff. Dr. Richards has a Ph.D., with honors, in philosophy and theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. He also has an M.Div., a Th.M., and a B.A. with majors in political science and religion
Dr. Samuel Gregg
Director of Research, Acton Institute
Dr. Samuel Gregg is director of research at the Acton Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, ethics in finance, and natural law theory. He has an MA in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy and political economy from the University of Oxford, where he worked under the supervision of Professor John Finnis.
He is the author of several books, including Morality, Law, and Public Policy (2000), Economic Thinking for the Theologically Minded (2001),...
Archbishop Maroun Lahham
Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem for Jordan
Archbishop Maroun Elias Lahham was born in Irbed Jordan. From 1961-72, he completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Latin Patriarchate Seminary in Beit Jala, where he received a bachelor degree in philosophy and theology. He was ordained priest in Jerusalem on June 24, 1972. He studied in Rome from 1988-92, earning a doctorate in pastoral theology and catechesis at the Pontifical Lateran University with a thesis: “The Catechesis of Adult in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.” He was appointed director general of the Latin Patriarchate Schools (1992-94) upon his return to Jerusalem. He was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Beit Jala from 1994 until his appointment as Bishop of Tunis, on September 8, 2005. He taught catechesis and pastoral theology at the Seminary in Beit Jala, at the Salesian seminary in Cremisan and at the seminary of the Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI raised Tunis to an Archdiocese and Bishop Lahham was appointed the first Archbishop. In 2012 Lahham was recalled to Middle East where he became Auxiliary Bishop and vicar of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem for Jordan. Bishop Lahham has written and translated many books and articles, as well as presented conferences, on adult catechesis, Christian spirituality, peace in the Holy Land, the significance of Jerusalem for the three monotheistic religions, interreligious dialogue, Lectio Divina, sacraments, Christian anthropology, and history of the Latin Patriarchate.
Rev. Professor Martin Rhonheimer
Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
Rev. Professor Martin Rhonheimer (born 1950 in Zurich, Switzerland) is a professor of ethics and political philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Fr. Rhonheimer studied philosophy, history, political science and theology in Zurich and Rome. He joined Opus Dei in 1974 and was ordained a priest in 1983. His main interests lie in the field of ethics, action theory and the history of classical liberalism and economics. He has published on a wide range of topics, especially concerning the philosophy of moral action, virtue, natural law, Aquinas, Aristotle, and the ethics of sexuality and bioethics, and more recently on philosophical an ethical questions concerning the economic order.
Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun
Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, S.D.B., Bishop emeritus of Hong Kong (China), was born on 13 January 1932 in Yang King-pang, Shanghai, China. He was ordained a priest on 11 February 1961 for the Society of Don Bosco, the Salesian Order. Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun served as a Salesian Provincial Superior for China for six years, and from 1989-96 he taught philosophy and sacramental theology in various Chinese seminaries. On 13 September 1996 he was appointed coadjutor of the diocese of Hong Kong, and on 23 September 2002 he was made bishop of the diocese. During the 11th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2005, he spoke on “Sensus ecclesiae and religious freedom”, addressing the situation of the Church in China and of the signs of hope that the Church, after years of forced separation which had apparently “divided it in two”, is a single Church headings towards a “normalization”. He was created and proclaimed cardinal by Benedict XVI in the consistory of 24 March 2006, given the title of Santa Maria Madre del Redentore a Tor Bella Monaca.
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