Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru (born 10 April 1951) is a Spanish prelate 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 has been secretary of the

Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, formerly named Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. It is distinct from the highest tribunal or court in the Church, which is the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Sig ...

since 15 February 2007. A bishop since 2008, he has held several other appointments in the Roman Curia.

Biography

Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru was born in

Vitoria, Spain es, vitoriano, vitoriana, , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Spanish, Basque , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, on 10 April 1951. He was ordained to the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

hood for the Prelature of the Holy Cross (Opus Dei) on 23 August 1977. He received

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

s in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

and

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

and served as professor of canon law, first at the

University of Navarra , image = UNAV.svg , latin_name = Universitas Studiorum Navarrensis , established = 17 October 1952 , type = Private, Roman Catholic , chancellor = Fernando Ocáriz Braña , president = María Iraburu Eliz ...

(Spain) and then in Rome and Venice. Arrieta was Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law at the

Pontifical University of the Holy Cross Pontifical University of the Holy Cross ( la, Pontificia Universitas Sanctae Crucis, it, Pontificia Università della Santa Croce) is a Roman Catholic university under the Curial Congregation for Catholic Education, now entrusted to the Prela ...

from its creation in 1984 until 1993, and again from 1995 to 1999. He founded and until 2002 directed the journal ''Ius Ecclesiae''. In 2003 he became Dean of the Institute of Canon Law of Saint Pius X, Venice. In the Roman Curia he held the positions of canon prelate of the

Apostolic Penitentiary The Apostolic Penitentiary (), formerly called the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia and is one of the three ordinary tribunals of the Apostolic See. The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tri ...

, legal secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, and judge of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of the State of Vatican City. He served as a consultor to the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

, the

Pontifical Council for the Family The Pontifical Council for the Family was a pontifical council of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church from 1981 to 2016. It was established by Pope John Paul II on 9 May 1981 with his motu proprio ''Familia a Deo Instituta'', replacing the Com ...

, and the

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 ...

appointed Arrieta secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts on 15 February 2007 and named him

titular bishop 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 ...

of Civitate on 12 April 2008. He received his episcopal consecration on 1 May 2008 from Cardinal

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine o ...

. His position as secretary occasionally requires him to play a public role, commenting on a papal document or providing a legal assessment of proposals like that of the German synod in 2019. On 26 June 2013,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named Arrieta to the five-member Pontifical Commission investigating the

Institute for the Works of Religion The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...

and made him the group's coordinator.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrieta Ochoa De Chinchetru, Juan Ignacio 1951 births Living people Spanish Roman Catholic titular bishops University of Navarra faculty Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts Opus Dei members Officials of the Roman Curia Pontifical University of the Holy Cross faculty