VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named Archbishop José Octavio Ruiz Arenas of Villavicencio, Colombia, as vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
The announcement was made public by the Vatican press office today, the closing day of the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Archbishop Ruiz Arenas, 62, worked closely with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, serving as an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1985-1996.
Archbishop Ruiz Arenas succeeds Mexican Archbishop Luís Robles Díaz, who died on April 7 at age 69.
The commission is part of the Congregation for Bishops. The president of that congregation, currently Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, serves as the commission's president.
Code: ZE07053103
Date: 2007-05-31