Today, Leo XIV has appointed Lebanese Archbishop Christophe Zakhia
El-Kassis, 58, as the Holy See's new Permanent Observer to the United
Nations in New York.
A Maronite priest and canon lawyer from Beirut, El-Kassis has served in the Vatican's diplomatic corps since 2000.
He had spent eleven years (2007–2018) in the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.
Career in Muslim-Majority Countries
Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan in 2018.
In 2023, he became the first resident Apostolic Nuncio to the United Arab Emirates.
In 2024, Francis expanded his responsibilities by naming him Nuncio to Yemen and Apostolic Delegate for the Arabian Peninsula.
At
the UN, he now succeeds Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, 68, from
Milan. Leo XIV had appointed him as the Nuncio to the USA in March.
Ecology as Priority
During
the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), held in Dubai in 2023,
El-Kassis told Vatican News that religions have "a big role to play" in
addressing the alleged human-made climate change.
He praised the
UAE's environmental policies, describing its transition from oil to
clean energy as "very impressive" and "a model for other countries."
Abu Dhabi Document Is His Source of Inspiration
At
the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in May 2024, Monsignor El-Kassis
praised Francis’ heretical 2019 Abu Dhabi document (“God wills all
religions”). It represents “the culmination of constructive and sincere
dialogue between the two largest religious institutions in the world,
the Catholic Church and Al-Azhar”, Egypt's Sunni religious authority.
El-Kassis called the document "a source of inspiration for millions of people worldwide, embodying lofty human values."
He
valued Francis’ efforts to spread the document's values by engaging
institutions, organizations, and decision-makers to integrate it into
educational systems.
Consecrated the church in the Abrahamic Family House
In
November 2024, Archbishop El-Kassis presided over the blessing of St.
Francis Church within Abrahamic Family House complex. The building on
Saadiyat Island contains a mosque, a church, and a synagogue side by
side, explicitly built as the physical realization of the 2019 Abu Dhabi
document.
El-Kassis praised Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, saying the
Abrahamic Family House "visibly materialized" peace and dialogue among
religions.
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