The Queen received the new apostolic nuncio last week as he began his tenure in Britain.
The Vatican appointed Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams as nuncio to Great Britain in April.
During his visit to the Queen, Archbishop Adams received the Letters of Recall from his predecessor as well as his Letters of Credence.
As nuncio, Archbishop Adams will keep the Vatican informed about Brexit developments and advise on the appointment of new bishops.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Archbishop Adams studied at Villanova University and St Charles Theological Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1970.
In 1976 he began a career as a papal diplomat, following advanced studies in Rome. Archbishop Adams was apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh from 1996 to 2002 before being appointed nuncio to Zimbabwe.
In 2007 Benedict XVI appointed him to the Philippines and, in 2011 to Greece. Archbishop Adams replaces Archbishop Antonio Mennini, who was appointed to the Secretariat of State in Rome.
The position of nuncio to Britain may be Archbishop Adams’s last, as he is 72 and the retirement age for bishops is 75.
Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, warmly received Archbishop Adams’s appointment in April.
“On behalf of the bishops’ conference and of the whole Catholic community of Scotland, I welcome the appointment of the new apostolic nuncio and offer him our prayerful good wishes for his important service as nuncio,” he said.
Abortion of disabled babies rises
Abortions on the grounds of serious disability in Scotland have risen by 57 per cent since 2008, according to new figures.
The number of abortions overall, however, has dropped from nearly 14,000 to just over 12,000 in the same period.
John Deighan, CEO of SPUC Scotland, told the Scottish Catholic Observer that the figures suggested there was a “contradiction between our commitment to equality for the disabled and a woman’s right to choose”.
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