Edward Joseph Adams

Edward Joseph Adams (born August 24, 1944) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1976. He was the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain from 2017 to 2020.

His Excellency Edward Joseph Adams
Apostolic Nuncio emeritus to Great Britain
Adams in 2009
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Scala
Appointed	April 8, 2017
Term ended	January 31, 2020
Predecessor	Antonio Mennini
Successor	Claudio Gugerotti
Other posts	Titular Archbishop of Scala
Orders
Ordination	May 16, 1970 by John Joseph Cardinal Krol
Consecration	October 23, 1996 by Angelo Cardinal Sodano
Rank	Titular Archbishop
Personal details
Birth name	Edward Joseph Adams
Born	August 24, 1944 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh (1996-2002) Zimbabwe (2002–2007) Philippines (2007-2011) Greece (2011-2017)
Alma mater	Villanova University St. Charles Theological Seminary Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
Motto	In Cruce Salus (In the Cross is Salvation)
Coat of arms

Styles of Edward Joseph Adams
Reference style	His Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

Early life

Adams was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA), on August 24, 1944.[1] After his elementary education in Catholic grammar schools, he attended St. Joseph's Preparatory School, Villanova University, and Philadelphia's St. Charles Theological Seminary. He was ordained a priest on May 16, 1970,[1] by John Joseph Cardinal Krol, the Archbishop of Philadelphia.

He graduated from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy with a degree in canon law in 1976.

Diplomatic service

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on March 8, 1976. He held positions in the office of the Secretary of State and in Rwanda, Kenya, Honduras, Ireland, Denmark and the Czech Republic.[1]

Adams was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh and Titular Archbishop of Scala, on August 24, 1996.[1] He was consecrated on October 23 of that year by Angelo Cardinal Sodano, the Papal Secretary of State. His principal co-consecrators were Anthony Joseph Cardinal Bevilacqua and John Patrick Cardinal Foley.

After six years as Papal Representative in Bangladesh, Adams was named Nuncio to Zimbabwe on August 22, 2002,[1] and on September 3, 2007, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.[2]

On February 22, 2011, he was appointed papal nuncio to Greece[3] and on April 8, 2017, he was named to replace Archbishop Antonio Mennini as Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain.[4][5][6] Though his title named Great Britain, his role was that of ambassador to the United Kingdom, though he played no role with respect to the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland.[7]

It was reported in February 2019 that Archbishop Adams received repeated requests to provide information to the UK's Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA). The Nuncio did send a response via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office because that was the appropriate channel.[8] Later, on October 5, 2019, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was quoted by a London-based Catholic international weekly review saying that the Holy See told it (ICSA) that "the domestic laws and internal proceedings of a foreign sovereign entity are not the proper object for a British inquiry".[9]

Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Nuncio to Great Britain on January 31, 2020.[10]

Honours

• Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog, July 23, 1993.
• Grand Cross ('Μεγαλόσταυρος'), Order of the Phoenix (Greece), May 16, 2017.[11]

References

1. "Rinunce e nomine, 22.08.2002" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. August 22, 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
2. "Rinunce e nomine, 03.09.2007" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. September 3, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
3. "Rinunce e nomine, 22.02.2011" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. February 22, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
4. "American archbishop appointed nuncio to Great Britain". Catholic Herald. April 10, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017. ... has been appointed the Holy See’s ambassador to Great Britain.
5. "Rinunce e Nomine, 08.04.2017" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. April 8, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2018. Il Santo Padre ha nominato Nunzio Apostolico in Gran Bretagna...
6. Lamb, Christopher (April 8, 2017). "Francis appoints American archbishop as Vatican nuncio to Great Britain". The Tablet. Retrieved June 14, 2018. Archbishop Edward Adams was named to the role which requires him to be the Holy See’s representative to Government authorities in England, Wales and Scotland, while also playing a crucial role in the selection of bishops.
7. "Diplomatic Mission: Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain". The Catholic Church in England and Wales. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
8. Bowcott, Owen (February 4, 2019). "Pope's UK envoy fails to respond to requests by child abuse inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
9. The Tablet, 5 October 2019 issue, p. 29.
10. "Resignations and Appointments, 31.01.2020" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
11. "Deputy Foreign Minister I. Amanatidis meets with the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Greece" (news published at the website of the Embassy of Greece to the Vatican, dated May 17, 2017)