Vatican spokesman, deputy quit without explanation

Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The Vatican announced Monday its chief spokesman and his deputy resigned without explanation.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of American Greg Burke, the director of the Holy See Press Office, and appointed Alessandro Gisotti to fill the position in the interim, the Vatican said. Deputy Director Paloma Garcia Ovejero, of Spain, also resigned.

Burke was a member of the ultra-conservative Opus Dei movement and was appointed Vatican spokesman in July 2016.

Burke previously worked as a journalist for publications like the National Catholic Reporter, Time magazine and Fox News. He was the second Opus Dei member to become Vatican spokesman after Spain's Joaquin Navarro Valls, who headed communications for Pope John Paul II.

Ovejero was the first woman to hold the deputy position. She previously worked as a Vatican correspondent for Cadena COPE, a Spanish radio network.