Pope Benedict XVI made two key appointments at the Vatican yesterday, naming the heads of a new ministry to fight secularisation and of a council involved in choosing new bishops.
He named prominent Archbishop of Voghenza Salvatore Fisichella to head the new Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, aimed at reviving faith in traditionally Catholic countries, a Vatican statement said.
Archbishop Fisichella, 58, was previously the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the provost of the Pontifical Lateran University.
Pope Benedict said on Monday the new body was aimed at promoting a renewed evangelism in countries going through "progressive secularisation of society" and an "eclipse of the meaning of God".
He also appointed yesterday the Archbishop of the Quebec diocese in Canada, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, as head of the Congregation for Bishops which presents to the Pope the names of future bishops for many of the world's dioceses.
The body has taken on a new importance in recent months as many bishops have resigned over their handling of the priest paedophilia scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church around the world.
Cardinal Ouellet, 66, has recently said he "recognised the gravity" of the paedophilia scandal. Like his predecessor, he will also head the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
He replaces Giovanni Battista Re, 76, who resigned from the position, equivalent to minister, after reaching the official Vatican age limit of 75 years, although this can be extended.
The Pope also named Celestino Migliore, until now the Holy See's permanent observer at the United Nations, as the new Vatican ambassador to Poland.
Vatican sources said another important appointment was expected today with Bishop of Basel Kurt Koch, 60, to be named head of the Ponitifical Council for Promoting the Christian Unity.
The religious information agency i.media said that since the beginning of his pontificate in April 2005, Pope Benedict has changed the heads of 16 of 20 divisions in the Vatican government.
Vatican commentator Marco Politi downplayed the changes saying that the priests named in recent years had not brought new impetus nor "participated in the intellectual debate over the role of the Church in the world or the relations of the Church with the modern world."