Vatican City, Jul 5, 2018 / 03:35 am
After the Vatican's former communications head stepped down in the fallout of a major fake-news scandal, Pope Francis has tapped layman Paolo Ruffini for the job, pulling him from a post with the Italian bishops conference.
Ruffini, born in Palermo in 1956, has until now worked as the director of TV2000, the official television channel for the Italian bishops, and will be responsible for continuing the pope's overhaul of Vatican communications. He is the first layperson to head a Vatican department.
He graduated with a law degree from Rome's Sapienza University, and has been a professional journalist since 1979. He has been married for roughly 32 years and has worked for various publications, including "Il Mattino" of Naples; "Il Messaggero" in Rome; the radio and television sections for Italian broadcaster "Rai," among others.
In addition to his hefty background in radio, print and television communications, Ruffini has also received several prizes for journalism and has participated in study conferences about the role Christians play in information, communications ethics and new media.