PRESS RELEASE

30th November 2007

Irish priest appointed to senior Vatican post

The Holy See has announced today the appointment, by Pope Benedict XVI, of a Dublin priest to a senior position in the Roman Curia.

Monsignor Paul Tighe, currently Director of the Office for Public Affairs in the Archdiocese of Dublin, is to become Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Welcoming news of the appointment, the Archbishop of Dublin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, said: “Mgr Tighe is a priest of great competence and I am glad that he will have the possibility now to place his talents at the service of the Universal Church. I thank him for the service he has given to the Archdiocese of Dublin and wish him every success.”

The Pontifical Council for Social Communications is the department of the Roman Curia responsible for the Church’s contact with the mass media on an international level. A review process is currently underway to improve and develop Vatican communications policy.

As Secretary, Mgr Tighe will assume the role of deputy to the President of the Council, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli.

A native of Navan in County Meath, Mgr Tighe graduated from UCD in 1979 with a degree in Law. Having studied for the priesthood in Holy Cross College in Clonliffe and at the Irish College in Rome, he was ordained a priest of the Dublin Diocese in 1983. His first appointment was as parish chaplain and teacher in Ballyfermot. Later, he went on to study Moral Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. Since 1990 he has been a lecturer in Moral Theology in the Mater Dei Institute in Dublin, he was appointed head of the Theology department in 2000.

Mgr Tighe has a particular interest in the interface between politics and religion. He has been an advisor to the Irish Episcopal Conference on a range of issues of national and international interest.

Three years ago he was charged with overseeing the restructuring of the Archdiocese of Dublin Communications Office and also established for the first time in the Diocese an Office for Public Affairs, providing a more effective link between the Dublin Diocese, government, public bodies and non-governmental organisations in Ireland and Europe.

He has played an important role in the ongoing development of the Diocesan Communications office in its work with local, national and international media. He has been central in developing relations with a variety of media outlets and working with the Office in improving its web based information services, Diocesan website and links with new media.

Monsignor Paul Tighe said: “This appointment has come as a surprise to me. Communication of the Gospel must be at heart of the ministry of a priest and I am pleased to be asked to work in the Council that has a mandate to harness the potential of the media – new and old – as a means of evangelisation. I look forward to serving Pope Benedict XVI in his mission.

“I would like to thank my Archbishop, Diarmuid Martin, for releasing me to take up this post. He has been a very good friend to me for many years. Working for him in Dublin for the last four years has been a particularly enjoyable and instructive experience.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Curriculum Vitae - Paul Tighe

Date of Birth: 12th February 1958
Education:
      1962 - 1966 Loreto Convent Primary School, Navan.
      1966 - 1970 De La Salle Primary School, Navan
      1970 - 1971 Saint Patrick’s Classical (Secondary) School, Navan
      1971 - 1975 Summerhill College (Secondary School), Sligo
      1975 - 1976 Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin – Foundational Studies in Theology
      1976 - 1979 University College Dublin – Bachelor of Civil Law
      1979 - 1980 Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Dublin – Philosophical Studies
      1980 - 1983 Gregorian University, Rome – Under-Graduate studies in Theology
      1984 - 1990 Gregorian University, Rome – Post-Graduate studies in Moral Theology
Priestly Formation:
      1975 - 1980 Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Dublin
      1980 - 1983 Pontifical Irish College, Rome
Priestly Ministry
      1983 Ordained – Parish of Saint Laurence O’Toole, Kilmacud, Dublin
      1983 - 1984 Priest/Teacher, Ballyfermot Senior College and Parish Chaplain, Our Lady of the Assumption, Ballyfermot, Dublin
      1984 - 1990 Post-Graduate student, Rome
      1990 - 1999 Lecturer in Moral Theology, Holy Cross College (Seminary), Clonliffe, Dublin
      1990 - Lecturer in Moral Theology and Ethics, Mater Dei Institute of Education (Catechetical Institute), Dublin
      1999 - 2004 Parish Chaplain, Rathmines Parish, Dublin
      2004 - Parish Chaplain, Cabra, Dublin
      2004 - Director, Office for Public Affairs, Archdiocese of Dublin with special responsibilities for communications.
Diocesan Activities
      1990 - Teacher of Moral Theology – specialising in bioethics. Particular interest in interface of law and ethics and politics and religion
      1996 Co-ordinated and contributed to Response of Archdiocese of Dublin to Report of Constitutional Review Group
      2001 - 2004 Member of Diocesan Communications Advisory Committee
      2004 - Established Office for Public Affairs. Monitor public debates, policy formation and legal developments concerning healthcare, immigration, bioethics, education and family issues. Formulating and communicating Church perspectives on and contributions to these issues. Establishing and maintaining contact with other stakeholders and interest groups engaged by these questions
      2004 - Managed restructuring of Communications Office of Archdiocese of Dublin. Continue to work closely with Director of Communications in liaising with local, national and international media including print, broadcast and web media. Oversaw re-launch of website for Archdiocese of Dublin www.dublindiocese.ie

      Member of delegations of Irish Episcopal Conference to All-Party Oireachtais (Parliamentary) Committees on Constitution – July 2000 and April 2005

      Member of Theological Commission of Irish Episcopal Conference

      Member of Bio-ethics Committee of Irish Episcopal Conference
Personal
      Family:
      Parents: Macartan Tighe and Monica Johnson
      2 brothers and 3 sisters

      Interests: Law (Constitutional Theory and Jurisprudence), politics and ethics.
      Hobbies: Reading, hill-walking and fishing.

Further information:
Martin Long Director of Communications (086 172 7678)
Kathy Tynan Communications Officer (086 817 5674)
Annette O’Donnell, Director, Communications Office of the Archdiocese of Dublin (087 814 3462)