| Styles of Charles Brown |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Posthumous style | not applicable |
Charles John Brown (born 13 October 1959) is the current nuncio to Ireland[1][2] since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 26 November 2011. He had previously served as an official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
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Brown made the following academic studies: BA (History), University of Notre Dame,[3] MA (Theology), University of Oxford (England), MA (Medieval Studies), University of Toronto, M. Div., Saint Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers (USA), STD (Sacramental Theology), Pontifical University St. Anselmo, Rome.
He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York by John Joseph O'Connor on 13 May 1989[4] in St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. From 1989 to 1991 he was assistant priest at St. Brendan's Parish in the Bronx, New York City. From 1994 to his appointment as nuncio, he worked as an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He became a Chaplain of His Holiness on 6 May 2000. He was appointed Adjunct Secretary of the International Theological Commission in September 2009.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the curial department where he worked, has dealt with child abuse scandals since 1994,[5][3][6][7][8] when it was headed by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who as Pope Benedict XVI appointed him nuncio.
Brown was named Titular Archbishop of Aquileia and nuncio to Ireland on 26 November 2011 and will be ordained to the episcopate by the Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, 6 January 2012, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, along with Marek Solczynski, Titular Archbishop of Caesarea in Mauritania and Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia and Armenia.[9]
Brown, along with Archbishop Michael August Blume, S.V.D., is one of a tiny minority of nuncios appointed from outside the ranks of the Holy See's diplomatic service and who have not attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains those diplomats. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said he did not believe the appointment was an attempt by the Vatican to patch up relations with the Irish Government. He called Brown a theologian "much more focused on theology than relations between church and state". Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York said: “He’s a young, vibrant, very theologically savvy but pastorally sensitive guy.”[10]
Among the main tasks of the new nuncio will be to assist the Pope by sending recommendations to fill the vacancies in the already dioceses of Cloyne, Derry, Kildare and Leighlin and Limerick and in other sees whose incumbents have passed retirement age. It has been envisaged that there could also be a merging and reordering of the dioceses of Ireland.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Giuseppe Leanza |
Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland 26 November 2011 –present |
Succeeded by incumbent |