Pope Francis appointed Monsignor as Apostolic Ambassador to the European Union. Aldo Giordano, 66, from Cuneo, Honorary Archbishop of Tamada, current Ambassador of Venezuela. According to what was reported by the Holy See’s information portal “Vatican News”, he succeeded the Mgr. Alan Paul Lyubin, who ended his term in November last year. The designation was made on the eve of Europe Day, which falls on Sunday May 9.

Giordano was born on August 20, 1954 in Cuneo, ordained a priest in 1979, and obtained his baccalaureate from the Theological College of Northern Italy in Milan and a BA in Philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He devoted himself to his doctoral research on Nietzsche’s thought. During his studies in Rome he collaborated as a vicar parish priest in the parish of the SS. Sacramento on Prenestina.

From 1982 to 1996 he was Professor of Philosophy in Interfaith Theological Study and Higher School of Religious Sciences in Fusano (Cuneo). At the diocese level, he taught the history of philosophy for several years at the Classical High School of the Seminary, held ethics courses at the Theological Seminary for the Laity, and collaborated as the vicar of the parish priest in the parish of St. Pius. X in Cuneo and pursued pastoral care in the diocese in the fields of politics, economics, medicine and culture. Research and publications are devoted particularly to contemporary philosophy, ethics, and the topic of Christianity and Europe.

On May 15, 1995, he was elected Secretary General of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and moved to the headquarters of the Secretariat in St. Gallen (Switzerland). He held this position in the service of the firm and cooperating with European bishops for 13 years. He was appointed a Priest for his Holiness in 2002 and Bishops for his Holiness in 2006. In 2008 he was appointed Permanent Observer of the Holy See in the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and in 2013 the Ambassador of Venezuela, the year in which he was consecrated as Bishop. In September 2013, he published a book: Another Europe Is Possible, Christian Ideals and Perspectives for the Ancient Continent, in which he collected the experiences and reflections of nearly 20 years of church service in Europe. He knows French, English, German and Spanish.

“the church – Monsignor Giordano confirmed in an interview with Vatican Radio – he Interested in the fact that Europe is more united. We are interested in a unification process that gives our continent more stability, always from a global perspective. The Church has always had a very broad horizon, and the interest is for all humankind and all countries. We want a more united and stable Europe, because in this way it is more able to contribute to other regions of the earth, in the exchange of gifts. “

At the same time, think about the issue of values:When we draw up the list of values ​​that we easily agree upon, we still all agree that human dignity, freedom, brotherhood, equality and the right of minorities are recognized as values. But the question that arises is when we want to give content to the values. At this point, we often find ourselves empty-handed, because we can use the same value for very diverse or even contradictory speeches to one another. Human dignity is mentioned today in many pro-life speeches or speeches that are contrary to life. So, the problem is the content, the problem is also the basis of the values. I believe the church and Christians can make a great contribution to the foundation, interpretation, and content of values. From a global perspective, we have a very urgent need to possess universal values ​​that transcend the relativity of individual cultures or even governments, legislators, or even religions. This seems to me to be an important contribution from the Church. “