Giovanni Angelo Becciu
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His Excellency Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
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| Substitute of the Secretariat of State | |
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| See | Rusellae |
| Appointed | 10 May 2011 |
| Predecessor | Fernando Filoni |
| Other posts | Titular Archbishop of Rusellae |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 27 August 1972 by Francesco Cogoni, Bishop of Ozieri |
| Consecration | 1 December 2001 by Angelo Sodano |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 June 1948 Pattada, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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Styles of Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
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| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Grace |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
Giovanni Angelo Becciu (born 2 June 1948) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, an archbishop since 2001. He held several apppointments in the diplomatic service of the Holy See between 1984 and 2011, including those of nuncio to Angola and to Cuba. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State on 10 May 2011, a key position in the Roman Curia in which he fills a role for the pope much like chief of staff.
Becciu was born in 1948 in Pattada (Sassari), Sardinia, Italy. After completing his studies in theology and philosophy he was ordained to the priesthood on 27 August 1972. He attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where he earned a doctoral degree in canon law.
He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 May 1984. He worked at the Pontifical Representations in Central African Republic, Sudan, New Zealand, Liberia, United Kingdom, France and the United States. Becciu knows the French, English, Spanish and Portuguese languages.
On 15 October 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Angola, at the same time as was customary elevating him as Titular Archbishop of Rusellae. On 15 November of the same year he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to São Tomé and Principe as well. He received his episcopal consecration on 1 December 2001 from Cardinal Angelo Sodano with co-consecrators Archbishop Paolo Romeo, a Vatican diplomat, and Bishop Sebastiano Sanguinetti from his native diocese in Sardinia. While Nuncio to Angola, in advance of Pope Benedict's arrival there in 2009, he defended the pope's rejection of condoms as a means of preventing the spread of AIDS. He said: "It's too easy and it's very cheap to say the solution of AIDS is the condom, you don't have the solution there.... So what the Pope is saying is that we must surpass this, because AIDS means there is a lack of understanding of the concept of true love between men and women.... Because of that, many times we are not of the same thinking as NGOs." As he left Angola for his next assignment, Becciu denounced popular belief in witchcraft that led to children being accused as sorcerers and abused: "the charges are a frequent practice on the African continent and they must be eliminated".
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