WASHINGTON (November 6, 2001) -- Coadjutor Bishop Joseph A. Galante of Dallas has been appointed a member of the Holy See's Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Msgr. Francis Maniscalco, Director of Communications for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has been appointed a consultor to the Council.

The appointments were announced at the Holy See on November 3.

A Philadelphia native, Bishop Galante studied at St. Charles Seminary, Overbrook, PA, and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on May 16, 1964. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio, Oct. 13, 1992, Bishop of Beaumont, Apr. 5, 1994, and Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas on Nov. 23, 1999.

Bishop Galante served as Vicar for Religious of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, and for six years, 1986 to 1992, as Undersecretary of the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes in Rome. He holds a doctorate in canon law from the Lateran University.

Bishop Galante has served as Chairman of the USCCB Communications Committee since January, 2001.

Monsignor Maniscalco was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 1971. Among his assignments was editor of the diocesan newspaper, The Long Island Catholic.

He was appointed director of the Office of Media Relations of the Bishops' Conference in 1993. Among his responsibilities, he acted as national media coordinator for the 1995 papal trip in the U.S. He was appointed director of communications in 1995.

The USCCB Committee and Department for Communications develop policy responses to significant communications issues in Church and society and supervise the Office of the Catholic Communication Campaign, the Office of Film and Broadcasting, and the Catholic News Service (CNS).

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