Vatican spokesman suddenly resigns

In a surprising move, Holy See Press Officer Director Greg Burke, along with deputy director Paloma Garcia Ovejero, have suddenly resigned.

Pope Francis today accepted the resignations of Greg Burke and Paloma García Ovejero after almost two and a half years’ service as respective director and vice director of the Holy See Press Office.

The Vatican announced the news in a brief statement, adding that Alessandro Gisotti, currently coordinator of social media for the Vatican Dicastery for Social Communication, would temporarily take over the running of the office until a new structure is put in place.

In comments on Twitter, Burke, an Opus Dei numerary and native of St. Louis, said “at this time of transition in Vatican communications, we think it’s best the Holy Father is completely free to assemble a new team.”