BEVERLY HILLS, January 01, (THEWILL) – The spokesman for the Vatican and his deputy resigned suddenly on Monday, an official statement said.
It gave no reason for the resignation of Greg Burke, an American, and Paloma Ovejero, a Spaniard.
But they quit several weeks after Pope Francis appointed an Italian journalist and personal friend, Andrea Tornielli, to become editorial director of Vatican communications.
A Vatican statement said Pope Francis accepted their resignations on Monday.
In a tweet, Burke said he and his deputy, Ovejero, had resigned effective from January 1.
Burke wrote, “At this time of transition in Vatican communications, we think it’s best the Holy Father is completely free to assemble a new team.”
Francis named a member of the Vatican’s communications office, Alessandro Gisotti, as an interim replacement.
The pope has recently overhauled the Vatican’s media operations by ousting the longtime editor of the Vatican newspaper and naming a new director of editorial content for all Vatican media.
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