ASIA/LEBANON - National director of Pontifical Mission Societies appointed

Vatican City (Fides Service) - Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples on 24 March 2006 appointed National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Lebanon for a five year term (2006-2011) Rev. Paul Karam of the diocesan clergy of Jbeil.
The new national director was born in Kartaba (Lebanon) 24 February 1967. He is a diocesan priest of the Maronite diocese of Jbeil. He was ordained a priest on 5 August 1995. After initial formation for the priesthood at the Patriarchal Maronite Seminary in Ghazir - Jounieh, he studied philosophy and theology at Saint Esprit University in Kaslik. In 2001 he studied for a Licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome; in 2002 he specialised in youth pastoral and catechesis at the Institut Supérieur de Pastorale Catéchétique de l’Institut Catholique de Paris; in 2003 at the same college he obtained a degree in pastoral theology specialising in catechesis. He then obtained a diploma in-depth studies of fundamental theology at Marc Bloch University, Strasbourg. He has ministered as follows: Youth Community co-founder, formator and animator; Catechesis Committee coordinator general; parish priest of Maronite communities in various parts of Nigeria, Benin and Sweden; assistant priest in Rome; in Paris student and in charge of international pastoral; president and chaplain of Jbeil Caritas-Lebanon; member of the mission animation group of the Bishops’ Commission for Missionary Cooperation among Churches APECL. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 25/4/2006 - 20 righe, 247 parole)