Yesterday, Wednesday, 8 Aprile Pope Francis appointed 50-year-old Father Augusto Zampini to the position of adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development. In this position, he will be a close collaborator to the Dicastery’s Prefect, Cardinal Peter Turkson. The Dicastery was created in 2016. Its purpose is to work with the Pope in promoting the integral development of men and women in the light of the Gospel, fostering justice, peace, safeguarding creation. It also is concerned with health issues, works of charity and migrants.
In an interview published two days ago, the Pope, responding to a question regarding how to live this COVID-19 crisis, said: “I’m thinking of my responsibilities now, and what will come afterwards. What will be my service as Bishop of Rome, as head of the church, in the aftermath? That aftermath has already begun to be revealed as tragic and painful, which is why we must be thinking about it now. The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development has been working on this, and meeting with me.
Fr. Augusto Zampini-Davies, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 25 July 1969, was ordained a priest of the Diocese of San Isidro, Province of Buenos Aires, on 22 October 2004 by Bishop Jorge Casaretto.
Before entering the seminary, he studied law at the Catholic University in Argentina (1987-1993), and worked as a lawyer at the Central Bank of Argentina and at the international law firm Baker & McKenzie (1993-1997).
As a priest, he served in different parishes and institutions in Argentina and England, including Nuestra Señora de Fátima (Dique Lujan, Tigre); Nuestra Señora de La Guardia (Florida, Vicente López); Santa María del Camino (Bajo Boulogne); Nuestra Señora de Fátima (Olivos), St John the Baptist (Bath), and Holy Apostles (London).
Trained as a moral theologian at the Colegio Maximo, Universidad del Salvador (2004-6), he holds a Masters Degree in International Development (University of Bath, 2009-10, Chevening Scholar), a Doctorate in Theology (Roehampton University, London, 2010-14, Sacred Heart Scholar), and has been a post-doctoral research fellow at Margaret Beaufort Institute, University of Cambridge (2013-14, Cardinal Hume Scholar). His area of expertise is moral theology, with a focus on economics and environmental ethics. He is an Honorary Fellow at Durham University (UK), Roehampton University (London, UK) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa), and has been lecturing since 2004 at different universities in Argentina and the UK.
When Pope Francis created the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in 2016, Cardinal Turkson invited him to be the Coordinator of Development and Faith, an area dealing with economics and finance, labor and social movements, indigenous people and peace, and new technologies. In 2018, Pope Francis appointed him as one of the experts/advisors to the Synod of the Amazon in 2019. Vatican News
