Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who served as the

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2002 to 2008 and became a cardinal in 2010.

Education

Amato was born in Molfetta, Apulia, Italy. He entered the Salesians after completing his novitiate at a Salesian high school. He studied philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was ordained a priest on 22 December 1967, becoming a member of the Salesians of Saint John Bosco. He studied at the

Salesian Pontifical University The Salesian Pontifical University (; ) is a pontifical university in Italy run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It has three campuses, one in Rome, one in Turin, and one in Jerusalem. The Salesian Pontifical University is an ordinary member of th ...

gaining a licentiate in philosophy, specializing in

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...

. In 1972 he began to teach at the Salesian as an assistant. In 1974 he obtained his doctorate at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

with a dissertation on ''The Tridentine pronouncements on the need for sacramental confession in canons 6–9, Session XIV''. In the years 1978 to 1979 he was a fellow of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, at the monastery Orthodox Moní Vlatádon, home of the renowned Institute of patristic studies. In 1988 he spent a sabbatical year in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, USA, where he began to study the theology of religions.

Academic life

He was professor of dogmatics at the

, and for twelve years (from 1981 to 1987 and then 1993 to 1997) was dean of the Faculty of Theology. He served as a

consultor A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...

as well as for the Congregation for Bishops. His publications include: ''Trinità in contesto'', Biblioteca di Scienze Religiose 110 (Roma: LAS, 1994); ''La Catechesi al traguardo. Studi sul Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica'', a cura di Angelo Amato, Enrico dal Covolo e Achille M. Triacca, Biblioteca di Scienze Religiose 127 (Roma: LAS, 1997); ''Il vangelo del Padre'' (Bologna: EDB, 1998); ''Gesù il Signore. Saggio di cristologia'', Corso di Teologia Sistematica 4 (Bologna: EDB, 1999); ''Maria e la Trinità. Spiritualità mariana ed esistenza cristiana – Alma Mater'' (Roma: San Paolo Edizioni, 2000); ''Il celibato di Gesù'' (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010); ''I santi della chiesa'' (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010).

Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

On 19 December 2002,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Sila. He was consecrated bishop on 6 January 2003 by Pope John Paul II. In addition to his role as CDF Secretary, Amato served as a consultor to the Pontifical Councils for Christian Unity and

Interreligious Dialogue Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

. In an April 2007 address to chaplains, he denounced same-sex marriage and abortion and criticized the Italian media's coverage of them. He said that they are evils "that remain almost invisible" due to media presentation of them as an "expression of human progress."

Church treatment of Galileo Galilei

According to Amato, a 1633 letter discovered in the Vatican's archive proved that the

Roman Inquisition The Roman Inquisition, formally the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, respons ...

, the predecessor of his Congregation, had not persecuted

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He wa ...

for maintaining that the Earth goes round the Sun. The letter from the Commissioner of the Holy Office to Francesco Barberini expressed the Pope's concern that the trial of the scientist accused of heresy be concluded quickly as his health was poor. Archbishop Amato said the letter proved that the church's attitude to the great astronomer was benign.

Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints

After the 2005 Papal conclave, Amato was the first person received in private audience by the new

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

, who until his election had been Prefect of the Congregation of which Amato continued to be Secretary until 9 July 2008, when Pope Benedict named him Prefect of the

. Thus, Amato oversees the process which leads to the canonisation of saints, which includes preparing a case, including the approval of certified miracles. The case is presented to the pope, who decides whether or not to proceed with beatification or canonisation. Amato is the second CDF Secretary to lead the Causes of Saints dicastery, the first being Alberto Bovone. On 6 July 2010 he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

. On 16 October 2010 he was appointed by Pope Benedict as a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for a five-year renewable term. It will be renewed until his 80th birthday. Being resident in Rome, he is invited to attend not only the plenary meetings of those departments, which in principle are held every year, but also the ordinary meetings. Amato was created

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Maria in Aquiro by

in the consistory of 20 November 2010. On 29 December 2010, Cardinal Amato was appointed member of the

. On Friday 14 January 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree attributing a miracle to the intercession of Pope John Paul II, clearing the way for his

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

on 1 May 2011. Amato said that the "Papal dispensation of the 5-year waiting period before opening a cause, and the second was the placing of the cause on a 'fast track' that by-passed the waiting list. There were, however, no corners cut with regard to the rigor and accuracy of procedure. The case was treated like any other, following all the steps prescribed by the law of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On the contrary, if I may speak further to one of my first observations: precisely in order to honor the dignity and the memory of this great Pope, to avoid any doubt and overcome any difficulties, the case was subjected to particularly careful scrutiny." Amato was considered '' papabile'' for the papal conclave of 2013 that elected Pope Francis. His replacement by Giovanni Angelo Becciu as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints as of 31 August was announced on 26 May 2018. After ten years at the rank of cardinal deacon, he exercised his option to assume the rank of cardinal priest, which Pope Francis confirmed on 3 May 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amato, Angelo Living people 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops 1938 births Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Salesian Pontifical University alumni Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI 21st-century Italian cardinals Salesian cardinals