Ex-papal spokesman and Catholic luminary Navarro-Valls dies, aged 80
Last edited Fri Jul 21, 2017, 10:34 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Wed Jul 5, 2017 | 5:23pm EDT
Ex-papal spokesman and Catholic luminary Navarro-Valls dies, aged 80
By Philip Pullella | VATICAN CITY
Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who as spokesman for two popes was the world's second-most visible Catholic luminary for nearly a quarter of a century, died on Wednesday at the age of 80, friends said.
Navarro-Valls, a Spaniard who had degrees in medicine and psychiatry before becoming a journalist, had been suffering from cancer. He died in Rome.
In 1984 Pope John Paul named Navarro-Valls, a layman, to be Vatican spokesman and gave him direct access to his inner circle to a degree that no papal spokesman had before or has had since.
The photogenic Navarro-Valls became a celebrity in his own right, a global media personality often appearing on television to explain Catholic teachings in simple language.
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