Pope Francis appoints new Nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar

– Catholic Herald, Rome – Pope Francis appointed 62-year-old Archbishop Eugene Nugent as the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait and Qatar on Thursday. Archbishop Nugent previously served as Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, a post he’d held since 2015.

In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Nugent discussed his experience in Haiti and the significance of his new assignment, especially insofar as the Pope’s commitment to interreligious dialogue is concerned.

“Haiti is a very poor country,” Archbishop Nugent told Vatican News. “It gets a lot of negative publicity in the media because of the natural disasters, the political instability, and the violence,” but that is only one side of the story, he said. “What I discovered [in Hait] was an enormously gifted people, very creative artists, musicians, writers, and poets,” the Nuncio said, adding that he will miss the many friends he made there and hopes that Haitians will see improvement in their conditions

“They really deserve a better future,” he said.

His new role as Nuncio to Kuwait and Qatar presents new challenges, not least among them is bringin himslef up to speed on the history and culture of the countries and the region. He told Vatican News that, though he knows very little about the Middle East, he is anxious to learn and looking forward to taking up his new assignment.

Archbishop Nugent called his appointment a “sign of the Holy Father’s confidence in me, but also the importance that he has placed on dialogue with the world of Islam.”

Image credit: Pope Francis with Archbishop Nugent (© Vatican Media)