Layman named to head bishops' Latin American secretariat

Published: 2003-12-22

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has appointed Daniel Lizarraga as director of its Secretariat for the Church in Latin America, effective Jan. 1. Lizarraga, acting director since November 2002, becomes the first Hispanic named to the post. The secretariat promotes relations between the U.S. bishops and the Latin American hierarchy. The announcement was made Dec. 19 by Msgr. William Fay, USCCB general secretary, who said Lizarraga "has shown great skill and competence in directing the work of the secretariat during the past year." Lizarraga, a native of El Paso, Texas, was named the secretariat's assistant director in 1998. Prior to that he was a field representative for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he has a master's degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He also is completing graduate studies in theology at Washington Theological Union.

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