Pope Leo XIV appoints Kenyan Bishop to Vatican Dicastery
Pope Leo XIV appoints Bishop Willybard Lagho as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Pope Leo XIV appoints Bishop Willybard Lagho as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Willybard Kitogho Lagho, a Kenyan Bishop in the Catholic Diocese of Malindi, to be a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
The appointment was announced on Friday, July 4, with Lagho set to join one of the main administrative bodies under the Roman Curia.
The Roman Curia is the complex administrative body that assists the Pope in the governance of the Catholic Church.
Currently, Lagho serves as the Chairperson of the Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism (CIRDE) at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB).
He is also the Chairman of the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK), a national body that promotes harmony among Kenya’s diverse religious communities.
Dicasteries are primary departments under the Roman Curia, each with a specific area of competence. The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue is one of these dicasteries and it is responsible for promoting mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration between Catholics and followers of other non-Christian religious traditions.
The Dicastery works to ensure that dialogue with the followers of other religions appropriately takes place, with an attitude of listening, esteem, and respect.
It fosters various kinds of relations with them so that, through the contribution of all, peace, freedom, social justice, the protection and safeguarding of creation, and spiritual and moral values may be promoted.
In the execution of their mandate, the Dicastery encourages the true search for God amongst all people through action, theological exchange, and spiritual experience.
It utilises timely studies and conferences in order to enhance mutual knowledge and esteem so that human dignity and the spiritual and moral riches of people can grow.
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Also, it is the Dicastery’s task to assist diocesan/eparchial Bishops in the formation of those who engage in interreligious dialogue. Further, the Dicastery provides specialized personnel for the different religious traditions it aims to build dialogue with.
In order to promote relations with followers of different religious beliefs, Commissions are established in the Dicastery under the direction of the Prefect and in cooperation with the relevant Episcopal Conferences and hierarchical structures of the Eastern Churches, including the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims.
In the exercise of its functions, the Dicastery, when required, proceeds in consultation with other dicasteries such as the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and, if necessary, with the Dicasteries for the Eastern Churches and Evangelization.
In carrying out its functions, the Dicastery proceeds and plans its initiatives in consultation with the particular Churches, Episcopal Conferences, their regional and continental groupings and the hierarchical structures of the Eastern Churches.
Bishop Lagho was born on March 23, 1958, and was ordained a deacon in Mombasa on December 21, 1985. He was later ordained a priest on April 25, 1987, still in Mombasa. Lagho was appointed Bishop of Malindi on December 28, 2020, and ordained a year later on March 19.
Lagho is expected to bring his wealth of experience in interfaith engagement drawing from his roles in the same capacity here in Kenya.
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