Agostino Vallini

His Eminence Agostino Vallini
Vicar General of Rome
Appointed	27 June 2008
Predecessor	Camillo Ruini
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of San Pier Damiani ai Monti di San Paolo Archpriest of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran Member of Council for the Economy
Orders
Ordination	19 July 1964 by Vittorio Longo
Consecration	13 May 1989 by Michele Giordano
Created Cardinal	24 March 2006 by Benedict XVI
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1940-04-17) April 17, 1940 Poli, Lazio, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Naples (1989–1999) Titular Bishop of Tortibulum (1989–1999) Bishop of Albano (1999–2004) Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (2004–2008)
Motto	sequere me
Coat of arms

Styles of Agostino Vallini
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal

Agostino Vallini (born 17 April 1940) is an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He serves as Vicar General of Rome, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2006.

Biography

Agostino Vallini was born in Poli, near Rome, but moved with his family to Barra, near Naples, as a child. He studied at the Major Archiepiscopal Seminary of Naples and the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy, on the S. Tommaso d'Aquinoncampus, where he obtained his licentiate in theology. Vallini also attended the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, earning his doctorate in canon and civil law with a dissertation on the new Code of Canon Law.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Vittorio Longo on 19 July 1964. He then taught canon law at his alma mater, the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy. From 1971 to 1978 he taught ecclesiastical law at the Pontifical Lateran University, while also serving as adviser for the Italian Catholic University Federation, the movement Seguimi, and the Union of Major Religious Superiors of Italy. He later became Rector of the Major Archiepiscopal Seminary of Naples and Regional Counselor of Catholic Action. On his return to Naples in 1978 he became rector of the major seminary until 1987, when he took up the post of dean of the S. Tommaso d'Aquino campus, where he had continued to teach.

On 23 March 1989, Vallini was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Naples and Titular Bishop of Tortibulum by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 13 May from Cardinal Michele Giordano, with Archbishops Luigi Diligenza and Antonio Ambrosanio serving as co-consecrators, in the Cathedral of Naples. Vallini was named Diocesan Bishop of Albano on 13 November 1999. On 27 May 2004, he was appointed Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, more commonly known as the Apostolic Signatura, resigning from the See of Albano. As prefect of the Signatura, he served as the highest judicial authority beneath the Pope in the Church.

Upon the death of John Paul II on 2 April 2005, Vallini and all major Vatican officials, in accord with custom, automatically lost their positions. He was later confirmed as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura by Pope Benedict XVI on the following 21 April. Pope Benedict later created him Cardinal-Deacon of S. Pier Damiani ai Monti di S. Paolo in the consistory of 24 March 2006.

Vallini was appointed Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome on 27 June 2008, succeeding Camillo Ruini. As Vicar General, he takes care of the diocese of Rome on behalf of the pope, as well as being Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University. In 2008 Cardinal Vallini was awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.^[1]

On 24 February 2009, he was promoted to the order of cardinal priests, with his deaconry being raised pro hac vice to title.^[2]

In addition to his duties as Vicar General, Vallini serves as a member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; Congregation for Bishops; Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He also serves as a member of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See and Council of Cardinals for Study of Organizational and Economic Affairs of the Holy See. He will hold these memberships until his 80th birthday.

On 18 September 2012, Vallini was named by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as one of the papally-appointed Synod Fathers of the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.^[3]

He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis.

On 8 March 2014, he was named by Pope Francis to serve as one of the Cardinal Members of the newly established Council for Economic Affairs, which will oversee the work of the new Secretariat for the Economy, an agency which will have financial regulatory authority over all the departments of the Roman Curia.^[4]

Views

AIDS and contraception

Distributing condoms in schools in the context of combating AIDS trivializes sexuality and education and must be fought by concerned parents, according to Vallini. In an official statement, he responded to a decision by the civil authorities of the province of Rome to allow the distribution of condoms from vending machines in high schools (see religion and AIDS).^[5]

References

External links

• Agostino Cardinal Vallini at Catholic.pages.com
• biography in Italian at Santi.beati.it