(From SirEuropa’s correspondent in Esztrgom Hungary) The Portuguese Father Duarte Nuno Queiroz de Barros da Cunha is the new Secretary General of Ccee. He has been unanimously appointed for a five-year term this afternoon by the Presidents of the European Bishops Conferences, gathered in Budapest for their plenary meeting. Father Duarte da Cunha replaces mgr. Aldo Giordano, who on June 7th was appointed by Benedict XVI special envoy permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Duarte da Cunha is a priest of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. Born in 1968, he was ordained priest in 1993. He took a bachelor’s degree in theology at the Catholic University of Lisbon, where one year later he attended a master’s degree in pastoral studies; at the Gregorian University in Rome, he got a diploma in theology (1995), then in 1998 a master’s degree in theology with a dissertation on "Friendship in Saint Thomas Aquinas’ works". Da Cunha, who is involved in many academic activities, was a teacher at the Catholic seminary of Timor East between 2002 and 2005. In Lisbon, he was secretary general of the Patriarchate of Lisbon (1997 – 2000) and assistant at the Family Office (1997-2007). In 1998, he founded the association "Ponto de Apoio à Vida", which helps pregnant women in distress. He is chaplain of "Ajuda de Berço", a shelter for homeless children.
