The Rt Revd Onell A. Soto, retired bishop of Venezuela, has been appointed Acting Director of Communications for the Anglican Communion whilst the incumbent, Canon James M Rosenthal, takes a sabbatical leave until January 2003. The Revd Canon John L. Peterson (Secretary General of the Anglican Communion) who made the appointment, said,

"While Jim is on his sabbatical, I can not think of anyone in the Anglican Communion who could do a better job than Onell. He brings with him a rich background in communications and a deep love of the Anglican Communion. I am looking forward to these next three months working with Onell."

During his sabbatical, Canon Rosenthal plans to update the Essential Guide to the Anglican Communion, published by Morehouse in 1998, as well as travelling with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs Carey to his home diocese of Chicago. This will be Dr Carey's last visit as archbishop to a congregation (Church of the Holy Spirit, Lake Forest).

Born in Cuba in 1932, Bishop Soto has been active in communications work for many years and was a pioneer with Spanish-speaking publications for the Episcopal Church, including the magazine Anglicanos. In total he has been the founder and editor of four mission publications and, at present, he publishes a column in Nuevo Siglo, the international paper of the Latin American Council of Churches. The column, Rapidísimas, is also sent through the Internet.

Bishop Soto has served in Ecuador, El Salvador and Venezuela and for 10 years he was Mission Information Officer at the Episcopal Church Center in New York. During the last seven years he has served as assistant bishop in the dioceses of Atlanta and Alabama, USA.

Amongst his many tasks as Director of Communications for the Anglican Communion, Bishop Soto has been asked to write a proposal on how the Communion can respond to translation needs around the world in the hope that a funding agent might take up the proposal.

He is in London for a period of three months with his wife, Nina, editor of Día a Día, the Spanish version of Forward's Day by Day. The Sotos live in Miami, Florida, and have four children and four grandchildren.