Crescenzio Sepe (born 2 June 1943) is an Italian 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 served as
Archbishop of Naples
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naples ( la, Archidioecesis Neapolitana) is a Roman Catholic archdioceses in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples was r ...
from 2006 to 2020. He served in the
Roman Curia as Prefect of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
from 2001 to 2006. He was made a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
in 2001. Before that he spent 25 years in increasingly important positions in the
Roman Curia.
Biography
Early life and ordination
Born at
Carinaro
Carinaro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about southwest of Caserta.
Carinaro borders the following municipalities: Aversa, Gricignano di Aversa, Marcia ...
, in the
province of Caserta
The Province of Caserta ( it, Provincia di Caserta) is a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta, situated about by road north of Naples. The province has an area of , and had a total population of 9 ...
. He attended the Seminary of Aversa, studied philosophy at the Regional Seminary in Salerno and theology in Rome. He was ordained for the
Diocese of Aversa
The Diocese of Aversa ( la, Dioecesis Aversana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy, created in 1053. It is situated in the ''Terra di Lavoro'' (Liburia), seven miles north of Naples, and eight miles south of C ...
on 12 March 1967. He earned degrees in
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 ...
and
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 ...
at the
Pontifical Lateran University
The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...
and in philosophy from the
University of Rome La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...
. He taught theology at the Lateran and Urbanian
Pontifical Universities
A pontifical university is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and Canon Law) and at least one other faculty. These academic institute ...
.
[ To prepare for a career in the diplomatic service of the ]Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...
in 1969.
Career in the Curia
He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See and was posted to Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
from 1972 to 1975. He then returned to Rome and worked at the Secretariat of State, first in the Section for International Organizations and then in office for information and documentation. He was named the Secretariat's Assessor for General Affairs in 1987.[
Sepe was appointed Secretary of 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 regardin ...
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 Gradum on 2 April 1992. He received his episcopal consecration from 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 ...
on 26 April.[ On 29 September 1992, Pope John Paul named him a member of the . In an essay published the next year, he described celibacy as integral to the priesthood: "Christ willed ... to combine the virginal state with his mission as eternal priest.... We can therefore affirm that chastity and virginity are not simply additional or secondary in Christ's priestly existence, but belong to its very essence."
As secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, Sepe was responsible for organizing the celebration marking the 50th anniversary of Pope John Paul's ordination to the priesthood, which proved so successful that the Pope gave him even greater responsibility.] On 3 November 1997, Pope John Paul named him General Secretary of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee
The Great Jubilee in 2000 was a major event in the Catholic Church, held from Christmas Eve (December 24) 1999 to Epiphany (January 6) 2001. Like other previous Jubilee years, it was a celebration of the mercy of God and forgiveness of sins. T ...
of the Year 2000, which has been described as "almost certainly the most complex logistical enterprise in recent Roman memory"[ and "a carnival such as Rome has not seen since the days of Nero".][ He was President of Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem from 8 November 1997 to July 2001.][ On 18 February 1999, he was made a member of 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 regardin ...
.
On 9 April 2001 Pope John Paul named him 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 Evangelization of Peoples
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
. As Prefect he was ''ex officio'' the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urban University
The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...
. In 1995, as head of the Congregation, he helped implement a priest-sharing program among dioceses worldwide to help redress the geographical imbalance in vocations. He also said that the Vatican was facilitating the return of hundreds of priests who had left the active ministry and married in civil ceremonies, but who were now divorced or widowed and were "sincerely sorry" for having strayed from their vocation. In 1997 he said a relaxing of the celibacy rule for Latin Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
priests would not ease the vocations crisis and would have no theological or pastoral foundation.
Pope John Paul made him 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 Dio Padre misericordioso in the consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
*Consistory ...
of 21 February 2001. At the age of 57, he was the youngest official of the Roman Curia named a cardinal in decades. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2005 conclave that elected 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 sovereign ...
, where he was also one of the cardinals named to the group that handles the ordinary affairs of the Apostolic See until a new pope is chosen, and in the 2013 conclave that elected 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. ...
.
Pope John Paul named him a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under th ...
on 6 August 2002, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...
on 6 September 2002, 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 ...
on 8 November 2002, the Special Council for Asia of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops, considered as an advisory body for the pope, is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his office. It is described in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as "a ...
on 28 May 2004, and 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 Sign ...
on 20 November 2004.
Archbishop of Naples
On 20 May 2006, he was appointed Archbishop of Naples. With that appointment, he became a Cardinal-Priest
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 ...
with his deaconry elevated pro hac vice
In the legal field, ''pro hac vice'' () is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction. Although ''pro ...
to title. He was the first head of a Roman dicastery in decades to be given a diocesan appointment. He disputed the idea that his reassignment to Naples from the Roman Curia represented a demotion. Sepe said that when Benedict asked for his reaction in advance, he agreed because it was how he wanted to end his career. Others thought Pope Benedict preferred to have a prelate from a traditional missionary country, in this instance Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias
Ivan Cornelius Dias (14 April 1936 – 19 June 2017) was an Indian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2006 to 2011, Archbishop of Bombay from 1996 to 2006, and befo ...
, lead the Congregation responsible for missionary work.[
In 2007 he called for an end to gang violence.
In June 2010, Sepe was under investigation by ]Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
's public prosecutor's office for financial corruption in connection with the renovation and sale of some of the Congregation's properties. Media reports alleged that during his time as prefect, he sold property owned by the Congregation at discounted prices to politicians positioned to help the Congregation. Sepe said that he has "nothing to hide" and he was expected to waive the diplomatic immunity afforded by his Vatican passport and meet investigators.[
In March 2018 Sepe forwarded to the Vatican a 1,200-page dossier compiled by Francesco Mangiacapra, a male escort, that purported to identify 40 actively gay Catholic priests. He said: "those who have erred must pay the price, and be helped to repent for the harm done".
He has been a member of the ]Pontifical Council for Social Communications
The Pontifical Council for Social Communications ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Communicationibus Socialibus) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communications (now "Dicaste ...
and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...
.
He formally retired as Archbishop of Naples in 12 December 2020, with the appointment of his successor, Domenico Battaglia
Domenico Battaglia (Naples, 1842 – Naples, 1904) was an Italian painter, mainly of interior vedute.
Biography
He was a member of the Neapolitan School of Posillipo. He studied at the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Naples, and later became an ...
, currently Bishop of Diocese of Cerreto Sannita–Telese–Sant’Agata de’ Goti
The Italian Catholic Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata de' Goti ( la, Dioecesis Cerretana-Thelesina-Sanctae Agathae Gothorum), in Campania, Italy, has existed since 1986, when the Diocese of Sant'Agata de' Goti was suppressed, and it ...
.
Notes
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepe, Crescenzio
21st-century Italian cardinals
Archbishops of Naples
Sapienza University of Rome alumni
Pontifical Lateran University alumni
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni
Pontifical Roman Seminary alumni
Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Members of the Congregation for the Clergy
Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II
People from the Province of Caserta
1943 births
Living people
21st-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops