A woman Archbishop of Canterbury between expectations and resistance (Opinion)

The appointment of Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury marks a significant milestone in the history of the Church of England. 

With its 85 million members across 165 countries, the Anglican Communion will, for the first time, have a woman as its primate - a figure with a diverse professional and pastoral background. 

At 63 years old, Mullally is a former nurse, married, and mother of two. She was ordained as a priest in 2001, became a bishop in 2015, and has led the Diocese of London since 2018.

Her appointment, announced on October 3, precedes her installation scheduled for March 2026. 

The new archbishop has stated her intention to promote “a culture of safety and well-being” and to be “a pastor who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish”. 

Her emphasis on safeguarding is no coincidence: the Church of England is emerging from difficult years marked by the fallout of abuse scandals and the resignation of Justin Welby after twelve years of service as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Mullally inherits a complex community shaped by diverse theological perspectives. Already at the time of her election as Bishop of London, she expressed respect for those who, for theological reasons, did not accept her ordination - a position she maintains today in a global context marked by internal tensions.

The announcement of her appointment has reignited divisions within the Anglican Communion, particularly with provinces in Africa and Asia where female ordination is not recognized. 

The Primate of Rwanda, Laurent Mbanda, criticized the decision, stating that “the majority of the Anglican Communion continues to believe that the Bible requires a male episcopate”, while the Primate of Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba, spoke of a rupture with the mother Church of Anglicanism.

Debates have also focused on the issue of same-sex unions. Mullally has supported blessings for same-sex couples, while opposing changes to the Church’s doc trine on marriage. 

Within the Church of England, her leadership is met with respect, though not without reservations from some members of the more conservative wing.

Her role also unfolds within an ecumenical context. In a letter “expressing the Catholic Church’s most sincere congratulations”, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled sixty years of theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, “during which we have grown greatly in mutual understanding”.

Pope greets Hollywood stars at the Vatican as he calls cinema a 'vehicle of hope'

THE POPE WELCOMED a number of Hollywood film stars to the Vatican this week, where he called cinema a “vehicle of hope”.

More than 100 film industry professionals, whether actors, directors or producers, were received by the pope inside the Apostolic Palace, including Cate Blanchett, Alison Brie, Judd Apatow and Viggo Mortensen.

“His words were extraordinary and I wish cultural ministers around the world would take heed. He talked about compassion and leaning into the problems of the world,” Blanchett told journalists following the audience.

Italians Monica Bellucci, Dario Argento and Matteo Garrone were also onhand for the audience with the pope, who shook hands individually with all the invitees, including director Spike Lee, an ardent New York Knicks fan who presented him with the basketball team’s jersey.

“He’s the 14th Pope (Leo), so (the jersey) was number 14. And the back, it said Pope Leo,” Lee said afterwards, explaining that the Knicks had three players from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, which the former Robert Prevost attended.

The 70-year-old pope, dressed in white, told the group that “when the magic light of cinema illuminates the darkness, it simultaneously ignites the eyes of the soul.”

“One of cinema’s most valuable contributions is helping audiences consider their own lives, look at the complexity of their experiences with new eyes and examine the world as if for the first time. In doing so, they rediscover a portion of the hope that is essential for humanity to live to the fullest,” he said.

‘Heralds of humanity’

On Wednesday, the Vatican said the invitation to the world of cinema was intended to explore “the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values”.

Ahead of the audience, Leo revealed his four favourite films, most of them with hope as a central theme.

The films were: “It’s a Wonderful Life”, in which an angel is sent from heaven to help a desperate family man, the iconic musical “The Sound of Music”, Robert Redford’s family drama “Ordinary People” and Roberto Benigni’s “Life Is Beautiful” (1997), about a father trying to shield his son from the horrors of a World War II concentration camp.

Today, the pope called the film professionals “pilgrims of the imagination” and “narrators of hope and heralds of humanity”.

Artists, he said, were “capable of recognising beauty even in the depths of pain, and of discerning hope in the tragedy of violence and war”.

“Do not be afraid to confront the world’s wounds. Violence, poverty, exile, loneliness, addiction and forgotten wars are issues that need to be acknowledged and narrated,” he said.

“Good cinema does not exploit pain; it recognises and explores it. This is what all the great directors have done.”

Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, held a similar event in June 2024 at the Vatican, inviting more than 100 comedians, including Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg and Jimmy Fallon.

Polish state polling agency finds record support for same-sex partnerships

State research agency CBOS has found its highest-ever level of support in Poland for the introduction of civil partnerships for same-sex couples, with almost two thirds of Poles in favour. 

The findings come as the government finalises a bill intended to grant certain rights to same-sex partners.

In a poll commissioned by the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily, CBOS found that 62.1% of respondents support the introduction of same-sex civil partnerships. That is up from a figure of 52% recorded by CBOS last year. In 2011, when CBOS first asked the question, only 25% were in favour.

The latest poll found that 30.6% of those surveyed believe that same-sex civil partnerships should offer the same rights as marriage. A similar proportion, 31.5%, think that they should have more limited rights.

Support for introducing same-sex civil partnerships was strongest among the youngest cohort, with 78.6% of those aged 18-25 in favour. The lowest support was found among the oldest group, aged 65+. But even there, 49.7% were in favour and 47.7% against.

People with left-wing views (89.9%) were most strongly in favour, followed by centrists (83%). But only a minority of right-wing voters (38.4%) support the introduction of same-sex civil partnerships.

In December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland’s lack of legal recognition and protection for same-sex couples violates their human rights. That same month, a new, more liberal coalition government came to power, with most of its constituent parties in favour of introducing civil partnerships.

A bill to that effect was presented last year, but it has failed to win the support of more conservative elements within the coalition. It would also almost certainly have faced a veto from the president at the time, Andrzej Duda, or his successor and current incumbent, Karol Nawrocki.

Last month, the ruling coalition presented a new bill that would not specifically introduce civil partnerships, but would allow unmarried partners, including same-sex couples, to sign an agreement granting them certain rights.

These would include exemptions from tax on inheritance and gifts between one another, the possibility to jointly file tax returns and the right to mutually access medical information, have joint property ownership and obtain leave from work to care for a partner. It does not include the right to adopt children or share custody.

It is intended as a compromise that will satisfy conservative elements in the coalition while also potentially being acceptable to Nawrocki, who is aligned with the right-wing opposition.

After the plans were unveiled, Nawrocki said that he would not sign any bill that “undermines the unique and constitutionally protected status of marriage” but that he was “open to discussion” about measures to “help people, regardless of their gender, relationships, or age, to manage certain matters”.

Katarzyna Kotula, a secretary of state in the prime minister’s office who is overseeing work on the proposal, told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna that “the government is putting the finishing touches to a bill ” and aims to submit it to parliament by the end of the year.

Milosz Przepiórkowski, a strategic partnership officer at Kampania Przeciw Homofobii (Campaign Against Homophobia), one of Poland’s largest LGBT+ rights organisations, told Notes from Poland that he feels the government’s proposed solutions would help with some practicalities but do not go far enough.

“My husband and I…got married in Berlin, and it was wonderful because we were treated like any other couple. Then we returned to Poland, and we remain strangers to each other,” he says. “That is very sad for us, but it’s also very complicated when it comes to things like taxes or if one of us were hospitalised.”

The proposed bill would offer some “important legal solutions for us”, he says. “But symbolically, it means nothing. We are not regarded as partners, but as people of a lower sort. That may sound harsh, but it’s true.”

New bishop of Austin directs priests to remove kneelers for Communion: ‘Wicked and cruel’

The new bishop of the Diocese of Austin has asked pastors to no longer use kneelers for the reception of Holy Communion.

Bishop Daniel Garcia “asks that the practice of setting out a kneeler for Holy Communion be discontinued,” wrote Vicar General James Misko in a November 12 letter to pastors of the diocese, denounced as a “sinister memorandum” by Damian Thompson, who posted it to X.

Misko cited three reasons as the basis for the decision, including the fact that the “norm” is to receive Holy Communion standing in the U.S., as determined by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The use of kneelers (prie-dieus) during Holy Communion “could confuse the faithful” about this norm, while communicating that kneeling to receive the Eucharist is “more appropriate,” Misko continued.

Setting out a kneeler near the distribution of Holy Communion also allegedly “could put undue pressure on the communicant” to receive kneeling, the directive stated.

Misko had noted that the use of kneelers for the reception of Holy Communion has become more common in the diocese in recent years.

Pastors were instructed to explain to communicants who have difficulty getting up without a rail after kneeling that “they are not offending God by not kneeling” and that the priest recommends that they receive standing.

Misko acknowledged that communicants are permitted to kneel for Holy Communion. 

“At the same time, it is important to catechize the faithful that one can receive Holy Communion with the same reverence standing and that there should not be an emphasis on kneeling for Holy Communion by priests, deacons, and lay liturgical leaders,” the letter claimed.

“It’s wicked and cruel to deprive the faithful of the practical means of reverencing the real presence of Our Lord,” said John Daniel Davidson, author and Senior Editor of The Federalist, in response to the directive. 

“I came into the Catholic Church in this diocese, and from faithful priests and pious fellow parishioners I learned that it is indeed more reverent to kneel when receiving, and I came to know and experience that fact first-hand. I hope Catholics in Austin defy their bishop and call him to repentance for his wickedness and cruelty.”

Lisa Marie decried the pretext for the decision as “dishonest.”

“If one wishes to stand, they can do so in front of the kneeler,” she remarked on X. “But if one wishes to kneel & needs help, they can’t do it without the kneeler. So the proper thing to do is to have at least one kneeler. Explain it to the congregation & there’s no confusion.”

Bishop Garcia’s suggestion that kneeling is not a more reverent posture to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion defies Scripture, which highlights bending of the knee as a gesture of reverence proper to God.

“That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,” St. Paul wrote in a letter to the Philippians. (Philippians 2:10)

As God Himself, the Eucharist deserves nothing less than a posture of profound reverence. Whereas the posture of kneeling is proper to worship of God Himself, standing is a posture one uses when interacting with an equal. 

Accordingly, the tradition of the Catholic Church for many centuries, unbroken until after the Second Vatican Council, is that the lay faithful receive the Blessed Sacrament, administered by a priest (his hands having been consecrated for the handling of the sacred Eucharist) on the tongue while kneeling. 

Furthermore, a recent study confirmed that traditional liturgical practices surrounding the Eucharist, including the manner in which He is received, increase belief in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist.

In fact, Dr. Natalie Lindemann, the author of the study, suggested reinstalling altar rails and offering kneelers during Holy Communion at churches to increase belief in the Real Presence.

Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte has similarly recently requested that altar rails no longer be used for the reception of Holy Communion. He previously received heated backlash for the leaked draft of a letter in which he condemned traditional practices such as the use of Latin, priests praying before and after Mass, and the use of any traditional acts of reverence by priests in cleansing the sacred vessels.

US Nuncio declares path of Francis, Vatican II the way forward for the Church

Cardinal Christophe Pierre gave what was likely his last address to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week.

Pierre, 79, turns 80 at the end of January and will be forced to tender his resignation as nuncio to the United States. It is doubtful he will return next spring when the bishops convene again.

Like any good disciple, Pierre, who was appointed in 2016, used his platform to promote the legacy of the the man who gave him his job.

“Francis called the Church to speak with a single evangelical voice,” Pierre claimed. “His pontificate was marked not by innovation for its own sake but that it might more fully reflect the vision of the Council.”

“Even if some are inclined to pursue a path that diverges from the pastoral vision of Francis,” he continued, “we know that the way forward is one that does not diverge but advances on the path of Francis is the way of moving forward in the Church.”

It is easy to understand why Pierre would want to praise the man he served for so many years. But it is the height of hubris to say that those who pursue a path that “diverges” from Francis’ vision are wrong to do so and that the only “path forward” for the Church is the path that was laid down by Francis.

The only path “forward” for the Church must and only can be the path laid down by Jesus Christ, who remains the head of the Church while popes come and go. To suggest that the Church after a pope has died must continue to “follow” them as opposed to discerning the way forward with help from the Holy Spirit is downright blasphemous.

Pierre also took the opportunity to remind his audience of the importance of Vatican II.

“The documents of the Second Vatican Council gifted the Church with a map for the journey ahead,” he said. “Yet the territory that this map outlined was in many ways uncharted. The vision of the Council was a vision for the future, the prophetic orientation to a world that was only beginning to take shape.”

Question: Was the Catholic Church founded in 1962? Can a single Ecumenical Council take on more weight than then Nicene Creed or the Dogmas of the Catholic faith? Pierre’s remarks scandalously suggest it does, at least for him.

Pierre then attempted to link Pope Leo to the “vision” that Francis and the Council have put forth.

“In his new apostolic letter on education, Pope Leo … urges educational communities to raise their eyes and know how to ask yourselves, ‘Where we are going and why?’” Pierre said. “The Synod on Synodality invites us to a different way … that makes communion concrete allows dialogue to become servant and catholicity to become shared mission.”

“Polarization too often allows Catholics even within the same parish or family to identify more with tribes and ideologies than with the Body of Christ,” he continued.

So are we to forget all about the monarchical structure of the Church that was bequeathed to us by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Isn’t the duty of all Catholics, especially bishops, to stay faithful to Tradition and the perennial magisterium of the Church? Pierre seems think not. He seems to believe that synodality and dialogue are what will direct the Church in the future. Talk about showing your bias toward the Church as it existed up until 1962.

A Substack blog titled Radical Fidelity captured the real intention of Pierre’s remarks in a post Wednesday. The person who runs the blog wishes to remain anonymous, but their words encapsulate how all Catholics should think about Pierre’s comments:

Which path shall I follow? The path of Francis, or the path of Christ? Shall I navigate by the “map” of Vatican II, or work out my salvation with fear and trembling by the compass of the Gospel?

Shall I kneel before the diabolical altar of dialogue, or before the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world?

…

Cardinal Pierre’s speech was not a call to unity, but a call to further suicidal conformity with a revolution that is reaching its crescendo — one that has already replaced our faith, emptied our sanctuaries, and silenced reverence.

The bishops of America — and everywhere else — would do well to remember that their mandate is not to follow “the path of Francis,” but the path of the Crucified. Not to guard “the vision of the Council,” but the deposit of faith handed down from the Apostles.

For the Bride of Christ does not march to the drums of the age. She kneels before her Lord in fear and trembling — and follows only Him.

Pope returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada as part of reckoning with colonial past

The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada as part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture in the Americas.

Pope Leo XIV gave the artifacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, and supporting documentation to a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops during an audience. 

According to a joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church, the pieces were a gift and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity.”

The items were part of the Vatican Museum’s ethnographic collection, known as the Anima Mundi museum. The collection has been a source of controversy for the Vatican amid the broader museum debate over the restitution of cultural goods taken from Indigenous peoples during colonial periods.

Most of the items in the Vatican collection were sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibition in the Vatican gardens that was a highlight of that year’s Holy Year.

The Vatican insists the items were “gifts” to Pope Pius XI, who wanted to celebrate the church’s global reach, its missionaries and the lives of the Indigenous peoples they evangelized.

But historians, Indigenous groups and experts have long questioned whether the items could really have been offered freely, given the power imbalances at play in Catholic missions at the time. In those years, Catholic religious orders were helping to enforce the Canadian government’s forced assimilation policy of eliminating Indigenous traditions, which Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called “cultural genocide.”

Part of that policy included confiscating items used in Indigenous spiritual and traditional rituals, such as the 1885 potlatch ban that prohibited the integral First Nations ceremony. Those confiscated items ended up in museums in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, as well as private collections.

Negotiations accelerate on returning items

Negotiations on returning the Vatican items accelerated after Pope Francis in 2022 met with Indigenous leaders who had traveled to the Vatican to receive his apology for the church’s role in running Canada’s disastrous residential schools. During their visit, they were shown some objects in the collection, including an Inuit kayak, wampum belts, war clubs and masks, and asked for them to be returned.

Francis later said he was in favor of returning the items and others in the Vatican collection on a case-by-case basis, saying: “In the case where you can return things, where it’s necessary to make a gesture, better to do it.”

The Vatican said Saturday the items were given back during the Holy Year, exactly 100 years after the 1925 exhibition where they were first exhibited in Rome.

“This is an act of ecclesial sharing, with which the Successor of Peter entrusts to the Church in Canada these artifacts, which bear witness to the history of the encounter between faith and the cultures of the Indigenous peoples,” said the joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church.

It added that the Canadian Catholic hierarchy committed to ensuring that the artifacts are “properly safeguarded, respected and preserved.” Officials had previously said the Canadian bishops would receive the artifacts with the explicit understanding that the ultimate keepers will be the Indigenous communities themselves.

The items are expected to be taken first to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. There, experts and Indigenous groups will try to identify where the items originated, down to the specific community, and what should be done with them, officials said previously.

A process of reckoning with abuses

As part of its broader reckoning with the Catholic Church’s colonial past, the Vatican in 2023 formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery,” the theories backed by 15th-century “papal bulls” that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands that form the basis of some property laws today.

The statement marked a historic recognition of the Vatican’s own complicity in colonial-era abuses committed by European powers, even though it didn’t address Indigenous demands that the Vatican formally rescind the papal bulls themselves.

The Vatican on Saturday cited the 2023 repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery in its statement, saying Leo’s return of the artifacts concludes the “journey” initiated by Francis.

Leo poised to grant ‘generous’ exemptions to Traditionis custodes, UK bishops told

Sources close to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales told The Pillar that Pope Leo appears poised to grant widespread exemptions to Traditionis custodes, without revoking the motu proprio itself.

Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, gave a recent address to the plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, informing the bishops that the Vatican would “be generous” when asked to dispense from the restrictions to the traditional liturgy, a senior cleric told The Pillar.

According to one source present for the address, the nuncio explained that while Pope Leo is “not minded to change [Traditionis custodes], but as there are many different rites in the Church, there’s no reason to exclude the TLM.”

“The details were a bit blurry,” said one source. But the nuncio did convey that while pastors of parishes would still need the approval of their bishops to offer the extraordinary form in parish churches, and diocesan bishops still need to apply to the Dicastery for Divine Worship for permission, “Leo will ask Cardinal Arthur [Roche, prefect of the dicastery] to be generous.”

Earlier this week, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales met with the apostolic nuncio, as part of the conference’s plenary assembly. After the meeting, reports began to surface that the nuncio had conveyed Pope Leo XIV’s intention to permit more broadly pre-Vatican II liturgical celebration.

According to one cleric present for the nuncio’s address, although Pope Leo was not inclined to repeal the Francis-era motu proprio, “the impression [the nuncio gave] was that the pope wants the door to be left open and not narrowed or closed.”

“It was only one point among several” the nuncio made, The Pillar was told, and not the central theme of the nuncio’s address.

Since the election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this year, there has been speculation about whether he might decide to roll back the requirements of Traditionis custodes, a 2021 motu proprio issued by Pope Francis which heavily restricted the celebration of the old form of the liturgy.

Among the new restrictions put in place by the document, bishops may designate locations for continued celebration of the pre-Vatican II liturgy, but not in parochial churches or by the creation of new personal parishes.

Exceptions to this rule require direct authorization from the Dicastery for Divine Worship. Exemptions must be renewed every two years.

The restrictions caused a furor, with outcry from both attendees of the Traditional Latin Mass and critics who opposed the ecclesiology behind the new rules and the dicastery’s interpretation of them.

Responses to Traditionis custodes among the bishops have varied widely, leaving a patchwork of policies. In some dioceses, the Traditional Latin Mass continues to be celebrated much as it did before the motu proprio was released, while in others, it has been essentially banned.

Some dioceses were granted initial dispensations from the norms of Traditionis custodes for a two-year transition period, but under Pope Francis it was widely understood that no further extensions would be granted.

However, since Leo became pope in May, the Dicastery for Divine Worship has begun extending such dispensations and entertaining new ones, prompting speculation that the new pope may be open to easing or reversing the requirements created by his predecessor.

One source close to the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said it appears from the nuncio’s comments that the pope wants the door to the celebration of the old liturgy to be left open.

The pope’s general approach seems to be “Todos, todos, todos - including devotees of the TLM,” the source said.

A lawnmower for Pope Leo XIV

Anyone who has the opportunity to take a stroll through the Vatican Gardens in the near future may come across a papal gift: a specially made lawnmower for Leo XIV, presented by representatives of the Czech company Swardman.

The white lawnmower is adorned with the coat of arms of the Holy See. 

In future, the employees of the Vatican Gardens will take care of its operation and maintenance. 

These cover around 20 of the 44 hectares of the Vatican State, are located behind St Peter's Basilica and cover the Vatican Hill. 

The grounds include administrative buildings, chapels, a railway station and a helipad.

Robert Prevost, Leo XIV since 8 May, has been the recipient of many gifts in recent months. 

In October, he received a thoroughbred Arabian horse named Proton, and in September a motorbike. 

This has now been auctioned off for 130,000 euros. The proceeds are intended for aid projects in Madagascar.

Pope Leo to share Jubilee lunch with transgender activist

Pope Leo XIV will reportedly share a meal on Sunday with five transgender individuals, including a prominent transgender activist, during a Vatican celebration marking the Jubilee of the Poor, which is dedicated to highlighting the dignity and rights of the impoverished and marginalised.

The lunch will take place in the Paul VI Hall following Mass for the World Day of the Poor, when hundreds of homeless and marginalised people are due to dine with the Holy Father.

Alessia Nobile, a prominent transgender activist who is Catholic and a biological male who identifies as a "transgender woman"  – and thereby uses female pronouns – is set to attend the lunch, according to Italian media. 

Nobile reportedly asked to meet the new Pope out of concern that the Church might “turn back on LGBTQ rights” after the death of Pope Francis, whom Nobile considered a friend.

Nobile, 46, told Italian media that she hopes the gathering will allow her to speak with Pope Leo directly. “I hope this [lunch] will be an opportunity to speak to him and ask him not to backtrack on rights,” Nobile said.

Reflecting on a long friendship with Pope Francis, Nobile recalled how the late Pope would offer his greetings to her during Wednesday audiences even when visibly unwell. “Pope Francis immediately became a light in my journey as a believer,” Nobile said. “The Holy Father always wanted the front row for us transgender women.”

Nobile’s apparent invitation marks the first time a transgender advocate has taken part in such a papal meal, a gesture that many view as a pastoral outreach. When asked what she hopes to say to the new Pope, Nobile replied, “[That] I’m Francis’ friend, do you want to be the father of all of us transgender women?”

Nobile says she interprets Pope Leo's lack of public comment on transgender matters as encouraging rather than discouraging. “They say ‘silence is consent’,” Nobile said. “I’m sure that Pope Leo shares Francis’s work and is just waiting for the right moment to embrace our reality.”

The Catholic Church teaches that every person, including those who identify as transgender, possesses inherent dignity as a child of God and must be treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity.

At the same time, Catholic teaching holds that human identity includes a God-given sexual nature that is not self-determined; the Church does not accept the idea that gender can be separated from biological sex, and it questions medical or social transitions that seek to redefine that reality.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith explicitly states in Dignitas Infinita that “any sex‐change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception”.

Priest found dead in Mexico; 2 suspects arrested

The Catholic Church has confirmed the discovery of the body of Father Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis, a priest of the Diocese of Cuautitlán in Mexico who had been missing for more than two weeks.

In a message, Bishop Efraín Mendoza Cruz of the Diocese of Cuautitlán expressed his gratitude “for the life and ministry of Father Ernesto, for his generous dedication to the Gospel, and for his pastoral service, which is a fruitful seed that will continue to bear fruit in the Church.”

He also urged the authorities to conduct investigations “that lead to the clarification of the facts of the case and to the justice that every human life deserves.”

The diocese also joined “the outcry of so many families suffering from violence and disappearances in our country, and we ask that this painful reality, which afflicts the lives of our communities, be brought to an end.”

Finally, the bishop called on the community to offer prayers for the priest’s family, that they might find consolation, and he entrusted “to Christ, victor over death, the soul of Father Ernesto and the souls of all the faithful departed.”

Suspected perpetrators arrested

In a statement released Nov. 13, the attorney general’s office of Mexico state reported the arrest of a man and a woman for their possible involvement in the murder of Hernández. An arrest warrant has been issued for another woman, and her eventual arrest is expected.

According to the attorney general’s office, the priest was attacked “with a sharp object,” inflicting “wounds that led to his death.”

The three alleged perpetrators identified by authorities “reportedly tried to obstruct the investigation by hiding the body in bags,” which they tied to a piece of furniture and abandoned in a sewage canal.

The authorities stated that one of the suspects has a criminal record in Mexico state, where he served an 18-year prison sentence for robbery with the use of violence. 

Court reprimands Google for blocking traditionalist blog

In the dispute between the traditionalist website "blog.messainlatino.it" and Google, the court in Imperia in northern Italy has declared the case closed. 

The blog published the court judgement on Thursday, in which the judges found that the technology company had seriously violated European regulations on free access to digital services. 

The justifications for the temporary blocking were contradictory. 

Google has to pay around 7,000 euros in court costs.

During the hearing, Google stated that it had already reactivated the blog on 23 July 2025 - and therefore before the court summons was served. 

The operator confirmed this. 

As the original point of contention in the ongoing proceedings thus no longer applied, both sides applied for the proceedings to be discontinued. 

The court therefore determined that there was no longer any interest in legal protection and declared the case closed.

Allegation of hate speech and contempt

At the end of July, Google blocked the page blocked the page without giving any further reasons. 

The blog itself contained a link to the Google guidelines, which included provisions on "hate speech". 

Google later informed the operator that the site had been re-evaluated on the basis of the community rules and then restored. 

The editor-in-chief of the blog, Luigi Casalini, announced legal action at the time and referred to Article 21 of the Italian constitution, which protects freedom of thought and expression.

The court also dealt with the accusation that an interview with US Bishop JStrickland had promoted hatred or contempt towards women. 

In it, he had spoken out against the admission of women to the diaconate. Google had argued that the article reduced women to the role of motherhood. 

The judge rejected this: the text contained neither derogatory wording nor statements that ascribed a lower dignity to women, but was part of a debate within the church about the diaconate for women. 

The court saw no evidence of hate speech.

Since 2007, "Messainlatino" has been campaigning for the unrestricted authorisation of the pre-conciliar form of mass and regularly criticises openings in the church's moral teaching, for example on same-sex relationships or communion for remarried divorcees. 

According to the operators, the site recorded more than one million hits in June alone.

Nuncio in Britain says pope won't overturn restrictions on old Latin Mass

Pope Leo XIV does not intend to overturn Pope Francis' limits on celebrating the traditional Latin Mass but will grant two-year dispensations to bishops who ask, a nuncio said.

Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, told bishops Nov. 13 that Pope Leo told him he would not abrogate "Traditionis Custodes," Pope Francis' 2021 letter greatly restricting the celebration of Masses according to the 1962 Roman Missal, the Latin liturgy in use before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The Vatican press office did not respond to a request for comment.

But the archbishop made headlines by telling members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales that the pope would grant bishops who request it a two-year, renewable exemption.

The exemptions are nothing new, a Vatican official told Catholic News Service Nov. 14.

"This is no more than a restatement of the practice of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since the motu proprio ('Traditionis Custodes') came into force," said Msgr. Enda Murphy, an official at the dicastery. 

"What the nuncio is clearly referring to is the necessity for a diocesan bishop to request a derogation from art. 3 § 2 of 'Traditionis Custodes' in order that Mass according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 can be celebrated in a parish church," he said.

The subsection referred to by Msgr. Murphy says that a bishop can designate one or more locations where the faithful who had been celebrating the older Mass could continue to do so, "not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes."

In late October, various Catholic news outlets reported that the Diocese of Cleveland, led by Bishop Edward C. Malesic, had received permission for the older Latin Mass to continue at two parish churches in his diocese. 

In July, Bishop Michael Sis of San Angelo, Texas, confirmed that he had made a similar request, which was granted.

Pope Leo also personally granted permission for U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, a former Vatican official, to celebrate the older form of the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in late October.

When Pope Francis issued the restrictions, he declared the liturgical books promulgated after the Second Vatican Council to be "the unique expression of the 'lex orandi' (law of worship) of the Roman Rite," restored the obligation of priests to have their bishops' permission to celebrate according to the "extraordinary" or pre-Vatican II Mass and ordered bishops not to establish any new groups or parishes in their dioceses devoted to the old liturgy.

At the time, Pope Francis said his decision was meant "to promote the concord and unity of the church."

Pope inaugurates second Vatican medical clinic for the poor

Pope Leo XIV kicked off the celebration of the Jubilee of the Poor by blessing the St. Martin Clinic, an addition to the free clinic the Vatican operates to provide medical care to people without homes or resources or the legal documents needed to access Italian health care.

The new clinic is located under the colonnade surrounding St. Peter’s Square not far from the Mother of Mercy Clinic, which Pope Francis had inaugurated before opening the Year of Mercy in 2015. Showers and a barber shop serving the same clientele are nearby.

Like the older facility, the St. Martin Clinic is operated by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity in collaboration with the Vatican health service. Pope Leo inaugurated it Nov. 14 with Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, dicastery prefect.

The new clinic has two new examination rooms “fitted with state-of-the-art instruments, as well as a new radiology service,” the dicastery said. The “latest-generation X-ray machine will make it possible to diagnose quickly and accurately pneumonia, bone fractures, tumors, degenerative diseases, gallstones and intestinal obstructions — conditions often overlooked in those living in poverty.”

“The early diagnosis of these pathologies will make it possible to begin appropriate treatments in a timely manner, helping to improve the quality of life of those who have nothing,” it said.

The Mother of Mercy clinic already offers flu shots and other vaccines, blood tests and visits with general practitioners, internal medicine specialists and dentists. It also offers a wide range of medications at no cost, dentures, eyeglasses and hearing aids.

Each month, Cardinal Krajewski’s office said, there are more than 2,000 patient visits thanks to 120 volunteer physicians, nurses and medical technicians. 

In the past 10 years, there have been more than 102,000 visits by patients coming from 139 different countries.

Slovak bishops to ask for forgiveness on Day of Repentance

Slovakia’s Catholic bishops will lead an unprecedented Day of Repentance on Sunday, asking forgiveness for the Church’s historical failures in a public act of contrition as the country marks the 36th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that ended communist rule.

The Day of Repentance on Nov. 16 will acknowledge failures “in relation to God, each other, and society at large,” the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia (KBS) announced as the Church marks the Jubilee Year of Hope.

“We hope to renew respect, solidarity, and peace in our society, which we so desperately need,” Archbishop Bernard Bober, president of the KBS, said. Other Christian denominations are joining in, which may “bring reconciliation and strengthen unity among Christians,” he added.

“We need to release accumulated frustrations and disappointments — perhaps from politics, previous regimes, or family and regional wounds,” Bishop František Trstenský of Spiš underlined.

The bishop said this form of public apology is not an erasure of memory but a healing gesture that represents “a shift in mindset from I have a right to I want to serve,” which he called “a real revolution.”

The Day of Repentance is “neither a political gesture nor a public appeal, but a spiritual act,” Trstenský explained.

Among the failures of members of the Church, the bishops’ conference included divisions among churches, silence in moments when it was necessary to speak up, and offenses against minorities such as Jews or Roma. 

Moreover, the episcopate’s mea culpa includes “collaboration with unjust regimes and ideologies, the lack of love and pastoral care for those who have not found acceptance in the Church.”

Some observers warn of rising polarization, a lack of social cohesion, and declining trust in institutions in Slovakia.

Ivan Eľko, general bishop of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, admitted that “more than moralizing others out there, it is needed to carry out a sincere act of repentance, reconciliation, and mutual blessing” within churches and religious communities.

The date of the event is highly symbolic. It is the eve of the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy. 

On Nov. 17, 1989, mass protests in Czechoslovakia led to the fall of communism — remembered as the Velvet Revolution. While it used to be a public holiday in Slovakia, the current government has reclassified it as a working day.

More than 200 guests have accepted the invitation to the Day of Repentance, including representatives of state institutions, churches, academia, and several prominent figures from the social and cultural spheres, the KBS press office confirmed to CNA.

The week leading up to the event is marked by spiritual preparation with minor days of repentance, culminating on Sunday. 

The jubilee gathering will take place in a former parliamentary building in Bratislava, the nation’s capital. Public service television and Catholic media outlets will livestream the event.

Pope asked to remove Belgian archbishop in abuse victims' letter

Belgian survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have formally asked Pope Leo XIV to remove Archbishop Luc Terlinden from his position, Flemish broadcaster VRT News reported on Friday.

"The current administration under Archbishop Terlinden has continuously inflicted harm on victims, the faithful and the Church itself,” read their letter to the pope, according to VRT. “His handling of the abuse crisis is marked by a lack of empathy, a lack of decisiveness and a leadership style focused on protecting the institution rather than addressing the harm done.”

The letter was made public after a 2.5-hour meeting last weekend between 15 survivors and Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, during which they discussed financial compensation and measures to protect victims in the future.

Terlinden currently serves as Belgium's main point of contact for abuse victims and assists them in communication with Catholic Church authorities.

But his position in this role, according to the letter, "actively hinders the sincere and compassionate work of well-meaning individuals at the grassroots level of the Church who strive to support those who suffer."

This is not the first time Terlinden's role has been questioned by abuse survivors. 

Earlier this year, after a meeting with a Vatican delegation, they said the archbishop did not fully grasp their experiences.

Church of England charity must rapidly accelerate safeguarding reforms

The Charity Commission has set an expectation that the Archbishops’ Council should implement independent safeguarding structures as endorsed by the Church’s General Synod in February 2025 within 18 months from now – a year sooner than current plans indicate – and in the meantime, put robust interim measures in place to keep people safe.

The expectation is part of a Regulatory Action Plan issued to the Archbishops’ Council, a registered charity whose objects are to co-ordinate, promote, aid and further the work and mission of the Church of England. It follows the Commission engaging with the charity over whether its trustees are taking sufficient steps to address the safeguarding concerns and implement recommended changes raised in a number of safeguarding reviews.

Background

The Commission’s engagement with the Archbishops’ Council began towards the end of 2024, following the publication of an ‘Independent Learning Lessons Review’ into the case of John Smyth (the “Makin Review”). This followed other independent reviews in recent years, including the report by Sarah Wilkinson into the Church’s Independent Safeguarding Board, and the ‘Future of Church Safeguarding’ report by Professor Alexis Jay.

Public debate about the Church’s approach to safeguarding following publication of the Makin Review – and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation over the issue – exacerbated regulatory concerns that progress towards safeguarding improvements identified in the various independent reports was not happening with sufficient pace.

The regulatory compliance case was informed by information provided by bishops and Diocesan Boards of Finance, as well as the Archbishops’ Council, at the Commission’s request.

While the Commission does not investigate individual allegations of abuse, it does have a responsibility to assess concerns about the extent to which trustees are taking necessary action and ensuring their charity has appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place. The Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team is a department of the Archbishops’ Council and develops proposals for safeguarding guidance, processes and procedures for consideration by the General Synod which the trustees of other Church charities are required to follow.

Findings

In summary, the Commission has found that:

there is insufficient urgency and pace in implementing responses to past safeguarding reviews, and the current approach to doing so is fragmented and overly complex. For example, the Council’s current timescale of 2028 to pass the necessary legislation to implement independent safeguarding is too slow, representing a four year gap since the publication of the Jay Review

currently the Church does not treat allegations of abuse from an adult not assessed to be “vulnerable” as a safeguarding allegation. The Commission’s guidance is clear that trustees must take reasonable steps to protect from harm all people who come into contact with their charity

Conclusions

The Commission found no evidence of mismanagement or misconduct by the trustees of the Archbishops’ Council, and recognises that the charity has made progress and delivered some improvements to the Church’s safeguarding in recent years. However, the Commission has made it clear that it expects the Archbishops’ Council to take all steps within its powers to implement outstanding safeguarding reforms at a much faster pace.

Where legislative changes will not address safeguarding risks quickly, the charity’s trustees should facilitate interim arrangements sufficient to address identified safeguarding risks until the legislative changes are in place. These should reflect the Commission’s guidance to trustees as well as Church policy and procedure.

Next steps

The Commission has issued a Regulatory Action Plan setting out steps the trustees need to take to address the Commission’s concerns. These include closing the gap on how allegations made by a non-vulnerable adult should be handled in different circumstances, and quicker delivery of the new structures for independent safeguarding which the General Synod “endorsed as the way forward in the short term” in February 2025.

The Commission notes the recent appointment of Dame Christine Ryan as executive chair of the Church’s Safeguarding Structures Programme Board to lead work on the structural changes agreed by the Synod.

The Commission now expects the Archbishops’ Council to identify any safeguarding risks that may require interim non-legislative measures to keep people safe and to put suitable measures in place. Reflecting this approach, the Archbishops’ Council has told the Commission it plans to establish an interim independent scrutiny body for Church safeguarding ahead of legislation.

The Commission understands the risks associated with acting in undue haste, and notes that the Archbishops’ Council’s trustees need to consider how to plan for future engagement with victims and survivors in a meaningful, sensitive and structured way so that it supports the timely delivery of change needed to keep people safe in the future.

The regulator is monitoring the Archbishops’ Council’s progress against the Regulatory Action Plan. Should it receive evidence that raises new regulatory concerns, it will assess this in line with its usual process.

Charity Commission Chief Executive, David Holdsworth, said:

It’s time for the Archbishops’ Council and the Church of England to move from review to reform, and from debate to delivery.

Everyone recognises that improving safeguarding is an ongoing journey, but in the Archbishops’ Council’s case the progress on that journey must be made in bigger, bolder steps, informed by the experience of victims and survivors.

The Commission will monitor the charity’s progress against our Regulatory Action Plan, and reserve all regulatory options for the future if sufficient progress is not made at pace.

Presbyterian Church has ‘work to do’ to regain trust after safeguarding failures

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has a “lot of work to do” to regain trust after admitting failures around safeguarding, the chairwoman of the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland has said.

Bernie McNally also said the Church may need external support to set up a governance system that members can have confidence in.

The Church announced this week that moderator Rev Trevor Gribben is to stand down after a review found “serious and significant failings” in central safeguarding functions from the period 2009 to 2022.

It emerged that failures included situations where the Church did not respond when people who had suffered harm sought help and instances where offenders returned to worship in church but were “inadequately monitored”.

The Presbyterian Church has since faced pressure to release more information about the safeguarding issues involved.

On Thursday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it is engaged in ongoing discussions with the Church to ensure mechanisms are in place to support anyone who wishes to report abuse.

The PSNI said discussions began after concerns were raised by the Church following the conviction of an individual in 2024 for child sexual offences.

Ms McNally is chairwoman of the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, a statutory body responsible for coordinating and improving child protection efforts across Northern Ireland.

She told the BBC that she understood that people were anxious for more information, but said that due process had to be followed.

She said: “They need to set up a system so the voices of victims and potential victims can be heard.

“They need to get some external device on how to deal with child protection or vulnerable adult issues because they clearly need support and help to do that.

“Thirdly, they probably need some external help, like a panel of experts to help them set up a new governance system.

“A system that people can have confidence in, a system victims could have confidence in and their congregations could have confidence in because this is all about trust now.”

She added: “I think people will be very distressed. I would imagine the congregations will be very distressed.

“I think sometimes when there is a vacuum it is filled with misinformation.”

Ms McNally said: “Pastoral care at this stage is going to be vital to reassure those congregations who have put such faith in the Church, they have put their trust in the Church, they have spent their whole lives being loyal to this institution.

“I think the Church has a lot of work to do to regain that trust.”

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has around 180,000 members belonging to more than 500 congregations across 19 regional presbyteries across the island.

Pope Leo designates St Mary’s Pro Cathedral as Dublin’s first Catholic cathedral in centuries

Pope Leo XVI has designated St Mary’s Cathedral as the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of Dublin.

During a mass today said by Archbishop Dermot Farrell, the decree of Pope Leo XVI presented the congregation.

Dublin has not had a Catholic cathedral since the Reformation, with the Pro Cathedral designated as the city’s main catholic church for the past 200 years.

"I am pleased to announce that the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has consented to my request and has approved by decree that Saint Mary’s be designated as the Cathedral Church of our Archdiocese,” said Archbishop Farrell.

The Archbishop said that he recognises that the world and indeed the church, is facing many trials, particularly with regards to the lack of “vibrancy” with which faith is celebrated, but stressed the unchanged importance of the cathedral, as “a place of people, and a place for people, and particularly a place for the Christian community.”

The location of St Mary’s Cathedral means that it is in the heart of a community that are socially isolated and experiencing poverty, and it is to those, Archbishop Farrell said that the Cathedral belongs.

He commented on the commercialisation of the centre centre, which has resulted in the displacement of supports and resources, “while the streets of the city centre bear witness to the extent of homelessness and addiction.”

“My prayer is that this cathedral will continue to be a place that offers sanctuary - somewhere that fosters and shelters personal prayer and reflection, a place of encounter with the person of Jesus makes us who we are, and shapes what we do, how we live."

Archbishop Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin, was the chief celebrant and homilist at this 12.00pm Mass in Saint Mary's Cathedral.

"Two-hundred years ago today, on the Feast of Saint Laurence O’Toole, this church was dedicated. It was dedicated in a time when courage was required to conceive and undertake a project such as this. While we may rightly marvel at the Dublin Catholics of that time, with Catholic Emancipation still a few years away, we would do well not to miss the wood for the trees,” Archbishop Farrell said.

“Today 200 years afterwards, it is with great joy that I am pleased to announce that the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has consented to my request and has approved by decree that Saint Mary’s be designated as the Cathedral Church of our Archdiocese.”

The Mass was concelebrated by clergy from the Metropolitan Province Archdiocese of Dublin, and the congregation included religious and lay people from Dublin.

Police working with Presbyterian Church in Ireland to support victims

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is working with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to support victims wishing to make disclosures and allegations of abuse.

It follows this week’s resignation of the church’s Moderator, Rev Dr Trevor Gribben, who stepped down after “serious and significant” safeguarding failings were found to have occurred in the church between 2009 and 2022.

Dr Gribben has apologised and said he profoundly regrets that people had been placed at risk. He added that the church was aware of several people who had been harmed and that “we believe there may well be others as yet unknown to us".

"We apologise unreservedly for this," he added.

The church initiated an investigation after being informed by the PSNI in May that they were investigating the actions of a member of the church congregation. 

The acting clerk of the General Assembly, Rev Dr David Allen, said there were three Presbyterian congregations "where we are aware of people who have come forward and spoken with us".

The head of the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch, Detective Chief Superintendent Zoe McKee, said: "The PSNI remains committed to working in partnership with all relevant agencies and organisations to ensure that robust safeguarding measures are in place to protect vulnerable individuals."

The General Council convener, Rev David Bruce, said the church is keen to hear from anyone with concerns.

Orthodox Christians fundraise to renovate Carrick-on-Suir's former Friary church

The Indian Orthodox Church community that worships at Carrick-on-Suir's former Franciscan Friary Church is fundraising to help pay for renovations to the 19th century building that needs a new heating system, extra toilet facilities and repairs to its leaky roof.

The managing committee of St Kuriakose Indian Orthodox Church has set up the Connect Campaign Church Development & Renovation GoFundMe page as part of its fundraising effort to upgrade the church at Friary Hill, Carrickbeg.

Fr Ninan P. Kuriakose, the church’s vicar-in-charge, said they set up the GoFundMe page on October 19 to deal with the “financial crisis” facing their community due to the renovation works needed on the church building.

Carrick-on-Suir Development Association sold the church building the Franciscan Order donated to the community group in 2007 to the Malankara (Indian) Orthodox Church last year.

It reopened as the St Kuriakose Indian Orthodox Church on November 22 and 23, 2024 serving as a place of worship for the Indian Orthodox community in south Tipperary and neighbouring regions.

It is also a cultural and community hub for local Indian Orthodox Christians, many of whom live in Clonmel and work in Tipperary University Hospital.

Fr Kuriakose said their congregation comprises about 34 families living ni south Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny.

He pointed out the initial GoFundMe target is to raise €10,000 to finance the first phase of the church’s renovations that will be the top priority works of replacing the old heating system and carrying out essential roof repairs to stop leaks before the severe winter weather. 

Repair works have already started on a damaged exterior wall of the church.

A total of €4,142 has, so far, been raised through the GoFundMe page. 

Once the managing committee raises the €10,000 for the first phase works, it will move onto to fundraising for a further €65,000 for the remaining refurbishment works.

These works include replacing the church roof, installing toilet facilities for people with disabilities, providing a disabled parking space and a wheelchair accessible ramp.

Fr Kuriakose said their plans to increase the number of religious services at the church have been put on hold because of their current financial crisis and need for renovation works.

In view of the former Friary church's long association with Carrick-on-Suir, he appealed to local people to support the fundraising campaign for its refurbishment.

St Molleran’s Catholic Church is situated opposite St Kuriakose Indian Orthodox Church. Fr Kuriakose said Fr John Fortune, PP of Carrickbeg/Wingap parish is very friendly with their community and kindly included their fundraising appeal in the parish newsletter.

Carrick-on-Suir Development Association sold the former Friary church to the Malankara Orthodox Church as the building had lain vacant for some years.

When the sale of the building was announced COSDA Chairman Niall Walsh said it very important to the association that a new use for the Friary was found to save it from becoming derelict and vandalised.

Part of the sale agreement was that the new owners would maintain the graveyard around the church and keep the grounds open for local people to visit the graves of loved ones.

Carrick's Franciscan Friary Church closed on Easter Saturday 2006 due to falling vocations, ending 680 years of the Frianciscan Order’s presence in the town.

The Malankara Orthodox Church was established by St Thomas in India in the 1st Century AD. Its presence in Ireland began in the 1970s with a small number of families, primarily medical professionals.

The church is named in honour of the early Christian martyrs, St Kuriakose and his mother St. Julitta.

The European Court of Human Rights Examines the Nature of a Monastic Cell

Sister Elisabeth belonged for several years to a religious community under the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. 

Following a conflict, she had to leave the monastery. In the eyes of her former community and her bishop, Sister Elisabeth is no longer a nun and must be regarded under her civil identity, Zhanna K. 

Nevertheless, she is asking that the monastery allow her to continue living in her cell, and the Ukrainian courts ruled in her favour in 2023. 

That cell, they held, was her home, and Zhanna K had the right to return there.

The case is now before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). It is the Grand Chamber, the Court’s most solemn formation, that will have to decide the question: is a monastic cell truly a home? 

The monastery and Zhanna K submitted their written observations a few days ago. 

The Court has also authorized the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), a non-governmental organization specializing in freedom of religion, to intervene in the proceedings.

This case will have repercussions for the recognition of the rights of religious congregations across Europe. 

Behind the question of ‘home’ lies a broader one: what legal regime should apply to such communities? 

Should they be treated as ordinary associations, or should account be taken of their internal functioning, founded on a religious doctrine? 

By equating a monastic cell with a personal home, the Ukrainian courts have taken a secular view - at the risk of misunderstanding the reality of monastic life.

A Monastic Cell Is Not a Private Home

The ECHR protects the right to respect for one’s home and is examining whether this right applies in such a case. 

Yet, even if a cell could be regarded as a ‘home’, it would not be the personal home of a nun but rather the home of the congregation. 

Indeed, the Court has already recognized in the past that the premises of an association can constitute the ‘home’ of that association.

In any case, a monastic cell cannot be separated from the monastery as a whole. 

The organization of a monastery is communal, and nuns choose to take vows that involve, among other things, sharing all their property and renouncing private ownership (the vow of poverty), refraining from founding a family (the vow of chastity), and obeying the superior of the congregation (the vow of obedience).

In this context, cells are regarded as places of retreat and prayer, not as personal dwellings. They are small and uniform. 

A nun is not allowed to change their furniture or invite outsiders into them.

The Respect Due to the Autonomy of Monasteries

This monastic reality has no secular equivalent. For that reason, it must be governed by its own legal framework - that of freedom of religion. 

According to the case law of the ECHR, this freedom grants a monastery the right to respect for its autonomy, so that it may operate peacefully, without arbitrary interference by the State, particularly in determining the conditions for belonging to the community.

Thus, the ECHR Grand Chamber has already held in previous cases that the State must recognize ‘the right of such communities to react, in accordance with their own rules and interests, to any dissident movements emerging within them’. 

It has also stated that ‘in the event of a disagreement over matters of doctrine or organisation between a religious community and one of its members, the individual’s freedom of religion is exercised through his freedom to leave the community.’

Accordingly, if the monastic cell occupied by Zhanna K was never her home, it cannot, a fortiori, be regarded as her home after she has left the monastery and is no longer a nun. 

Forcing the monastery to house Zhanna K would mean reintegrating her into monastic life as Sister Elisabeth or else revising the entire organization of the community to create a special place for her as a layperson. Such an obligation would violate the monastery’s right to respect for its autonomy.

The Ukrainian Courts Exceeded the Limits of Their Jurisdiction

By granting a former nun the right to return and live in her cell against the decision of the monastery, the Ukrainian courts overstepped their competence. 

They should have acknowledged the monastery’s decision to refuse Zhanna K’s reinstatement, but not ruled on its merits. 

The role of the civil courts should be limited to verifying that no abuse has been committed by the religious authorities - that is, ensuring that those authorities have not misused their power for purposes other than religious ones.

Even without adopting such an approach based on freedom of religion, a purely secular analysis would suffice to justify the monastery’s position. 

Accommodation linked to the performance of a function - such as tied accommodation - does not enjoy the same protection as a private home. When a person leaves the position, they must also vacate the premises. 

Within the meaning of the ECHR, the right to respect for one’s home does not confer a right to retain a particular dwelling or to reside in a specific location.