British Archbishop takes Vatican top job

Former Pope Benedict with Archbishop Paul Gallagher

VATICAN CITY – Liverpudlian Archbishop Paul Gallagher has been appointed as the new head of foreign affairs in a re-shuffle at the top of the Catholic Church.

  Originally from Liverpool, Gallagher joined the Vatican diplomatic corps in 1984 and speaks four languages fluently. Having previously been considered for the position of Archbishop of Westminster, this appointment to one of the most senior positions in the Vatican state has sparked speculation that Gallagher could be in line to become a Cardinal.

 At 60 years old, the archbishop is at an early stage of his career by Vatican standards, and this position change has marked him out as a name to watch for future papal elections.

 In the same re-shuffle US Cardinal Raymond Burke was removed from his post as head of the Vatican Supreme Court and shifted to the ceremonial position of Chaplain of the Knights of Malta. The move is evidently a demotion, and comes only a month after Burke was embroiled in scandal by a press interview in which he allegedly criticised Pope Francis’s leadership. The Cardinal later claimed that he had been unjustly misquoted.

 Until this demotion, announced by a press release over the weekend, Burke had been the most senior American in the Vatican. His conservative views have consistently put him at odds with Francis’s papacy.