.- Following the resignation of its director and six editors, the international Catholic news agency Zenit has announced that Italian journalist Antonio Gaspari will be its new editorial coordinator.
“He has been a member of the Zenit team since the beginning and, with his vast curriculum and experience, he will guarantee the quality of the service and guide it through the new challenges of the future,” Zenit executive director Alberto Ramirez said Oct. 11.
Gaspari, a longtime Zenit contributor, said he is “humbled and proud” to have been chosen for the position and was “enthusiastic and moved.”
“I humbly put myself at the service of positive communication,” he said. “Our daily service will strive to discover and write about all that is true, good and beautiful in the life of the Church.”
Gaspari was born in Cascia, Italy in 1955. The veteran Vatican journalist has written for many leading Italian Catholic publications such as L’Avvenire, Tempi, Il Timone, Mondo e Missione, and Sě alla vita.
He is an expert in journalism and environmental issues. Gaspari is also the scientific coordinator of the master’s program of environmental sciences for the European University of Rome, which is run by the Legionaries of Christ.
His books include one on the confrontations between the United Nations and the Holy See and another titled “From Malthus to green racism: the true story of the birth control movement.”
Gaspari is married and has one son.
Gaspari specifically asked for prayers “that Our Lord continue to illuminate our minds and our hearts.”
On Oct. 7 six editors of Zenit resigned, citing their disagreement with plans to increase agency’s ties with the Legionaries of Christ. Zenit is an independent news agency, but the Legionaries of Christ have served as spiritual advisors to ensure its fidelity to the teaching of the Catholic Church.
“After years of fruitful collaboration with the Legionaries of Christ, we disagree with the decision of the congregation to underline the institutional dependence of the agency on the Legion,” they said.
Jesús Colina, who founded Zenit in 1997, resigned as its director on Sept. 27.
“Antonio Gaspari is a good friend with whom I collaborated since 1992, and I really wish him the best and for Zenit to continue to grow. I wish it wholeheartedly,” Colina told CNA Oct. 13.
Zenit publishes in seven languages and sends its daily service to some 450,000 subscribers.
