Vatican official says not to expect papal encyclical on poverty

Vatican
Dec 11, 2013

An official at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said despite widespread news reports, he does not expect Pope Francis to write an encyclical on poverty.

From New Jersey to the Vatican, opening a dialogue with the Gospel

Vatican
Nov 7, 2013

Mentoring inner-city youths is hardly the most obvious way to prepare for working at the Vatican, but Fr. Geno Sylva says the lessons he learned in a low-income New Jersey community have served him abundantly well in his current job as an official at the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

Ordained in 1993, the New Jersey native has long had a passion for spreading the Gospel. He worked as a teacher, chaplain and president at DePaul Catholic High School in the diocese of Paterson, as well as a mentor at Young Prophets, a program for inner-city teenagers there.