Archbishop Sarah Mullally faces huge challenges. But this book has missed the biggest one...(Opinion)

The most interesting part of Archbishop Sarah Mullally and Ten Urgent Challenges for the Church of England was the biographical introduction about Sarah Mullally offered by the editor – Tim Wyatt.

Having met Sarah Mullally when she was Bishop of London, I found her to be warm, gentle and easy to talk to. 

I knew she was previously a high-ranking nurse, but I hadn’t grasped the scale of her professional achievements and ambition. 

Learning that she had become Chief Nursing Officer aged 37, when she had two small children and was training for ordination, revealed a drivenness and work-ethic I hadn’t grasped, and which helped me understand how she had broken another ‘stained-glass ceiling’ to become the first female Archbishop.

While largely factual, this introduction offered a helpful sense of her leadership approach – for instance, mentioning that as successor to Richard Chartres she “swiftly ditched his chauffeur-driven car and tried to cycle to most of her appointments”. 

Praised for her engagement in the Grenfell tragedy, she was described as: “personally warm and caring, but primarily a serious colleague, deeply professional and utterly committed.”

The book continues with chapters about, what it calls, ‘urgent challenges for the Church of England’ – for instance: racism, ableism, inclusion for LGBT people, climate change and division in the global Anglican communion. 

Each chapter has a different author, who draws on their expertise to offer suggestions as to how Bishop Sarah might address such challenges.

I found Mark Oakley’s chapter: ‘Spirituality and the Church of England’ the most compelling. He writes prophetically, arguing that the “soul of the Church, and the longing to keep it healthy and honest, needs to be Sarah’s immediate and long-term focus.” 

In concentrating firmly on spiritual matters, he names the tragedy of us being a “flat-tyre community, too secular in our preoccupations and conduct, in a spiritually hungry society” and uses the word ‘respair’ (recovery from despair) as our greatest need.

This call to spiritual vision came too in the chapter on racism and nationalism, and I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Eileen Harrop’s analysis that: “the people of England are hungry for the Church’s spiritual leadership…and there is a deep hope that the Church would show moral courage in proclaiming the good news of Christ”.

Apart from the odd sentence like this, the gaping omission from this book was the lack of engagement with the urgent tasks of mission and evangelism. 

If the Church’s primary calling is to “go and make disciples”, it felt a glaring absence not to have chapters exploring the need for the Church to grow in confidence and effectiveness in proclaiming the Gospel. 

A rare reference was found in Bishop Amatu Christian-Iwuagwu’s contribution, where he writes that: “unity requires that we re-centre mission and discipleship as our common ground. 

The early Church did not survive because it solved every doctrinal dispute, it survived because it preached Christ and formed disciples.” Yes and Amen!

The book needed more of this – and the absence of chapters about the urgent challenge to articulate the Gospel of Christ afresh, for this and future generations felt a missed opportunity. 

For evangelical readers, lack of engagement with this topic will feel problematic. Similarly, it felt a significant oversight not to engage with the urgent challenge the Church of England faces in engaging young people – particularly as the most recent Statistics for Mission cite the average number of under-18s in a Church of England parish as being less than 7.

With these omissions in mind, many of the issues-based chapters were a challenge to read. The entries on same-sex marriage and trans and non-binary people offered only a progressive perspective, when of course the root of the challenge facing the Church of England is that there are a variety of perspectives we need to listen to.

Andrew Graystone’s chapter on abuse and safeguarding was helpful and his call to repentance felt appropriate. He is right that the Church needs to spend more time in confession than in committees: “many well-meaning initiatives in safeguarding polity are flawed because they stem from the same excess of self-importance that leads to abuse in the first place…the Church needs to attend scrupulously to the wounds of victims for a long time until it is convinced of its own helplessness.” 

The prayers at the end of each chapter were also useful for confessional reflection, and reminded me repeatedly that the most important call on every Anglican is to pray for our new Archbishop.

Overall, this title offered some helpful context and analysis to Archbishop Sarah’s leadership. Having said this, the ‘10 leading Anglican writers’ chosen to contribute largely represented one ‘stable’ of the Church of England and some broader perspectives, and priorities, would have more accurately reflected the breadth of the church Sarah Mullally has been called to lead.

Archbishop Sarah Mullally: And Ten Urgent Challenges for the Church of England (Darton Longman & Todd) by Tim Wyatt is out now

The Lost Children of Tuam to open in cinemas next month

The Lost Children of Tuam, the new feature film about local historian Catherine Corless and her research into the former mother-and-baby home in Tuam, Co Galway, will open in Irish cinemas next month and in the UK in October.

Research by Catherine Corless found that there were no burial records for almost 800 babies and infants who died at the home over a 36-year period.

Excavation of the site began last summer.

To date, the remains of 99 individuals have been recovered.

Winner of Best Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh in July, The Lost Children of Tuam will open in Ireland on 25 September via Ireland's Volta Pictures Distribution.

A UK release will follow in October via Picturehouse Entertainment.

The film is directed by Frank Berry (Aisha, Michael Inside) and stars BAFTA and Olivier Award winner Monica Dolan (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Appropriate Adult) as Catherine Corless.

It co-stars Andrew Bennett (God's Creatures) and Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones).

Liam Neeson is among the producers of the film, which is presented by BBC Film and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland in association with Coimisiún na Meán, RTÉ, Ireland's Port Pictures, and the Dublin-based Element Pictures, among others.

The award-winning playwright and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Hot Milk, Her Naked Skin) has written the script for The Lost Children of Tuam.

It is based on the 2017 New York Times article of the same name by Dan Barry, which was optioned for the screen by Liam Neeson.

Andrew Lowe, Co-CEO and Founder of Element Pictures, said: "We are thrilled Volta and Picturehouse are joining forces again for this film that we are deeply passionate about; Catherine Corless' work has affected so many around the globe, either personally connected to the Mother & Baby Homes or inspired by her activism, and we believe The Lost Children of Tuam will have deep resonance with Irish and UK audiences and beyond."

Sara Frain, Managing Director of Picturehouse Entertainment, said: "We were completely blown away by The Lost Children of Tuam.

"It is a powerful and deeply moving story, with a truly remarkable central performance from Monica Dolan.

"We are looking forward to collaborating with Volta and the Element team once again to bring this important film to audiences across the UK and Ireland."

Mayo woman to lead commemorative 220km walk between Tuam and Bessborough mother and baby homes

A Mayo woman who climbed Knockma 796 times is leading a three-day commemorative walk from Tuam to Bessborough in honour of the babies who died at mother and baby homes.

A total of 923 children are said to have died in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, while 796 are reportedly buried in Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

Anne Fahey Ronayne, a native of Hollymount now living in Irishtown, climbed Knockma in County Galway 796 times between January 2023 and July 2025 for each of the Tuam babies.

Extensive excavation works have begun at the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home to identify the remains of the children buried there.

Ms Fahey Ronayne will begin the 220-kilometre “From Tuam to Bessborough with Love” walk from Tuam, County Galway, to Bessborough, County Cork on Friday, August 21.

The walk seeks to raise awareness that many babies who died at the Tuam and Bessborough institutions remain buried in unmarked graves.

Throughout this walk, participants will carry a “Little Light of Love” lantern, which organisers say represents the “hope, love and the enduring belief that every baby and child deserves to be remembered with dignity”.

The lanterns were used during commemorative relay walks from Islandeady to Tuam between 2020 and 2024. 

The events were organised by Valerie Jennings, founder of a “Little Light of Love”, which commemorates the children who died in Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

The walkers will speak aloud the name of every baby, together with their age and the date on which they died.

Ms Fahey Ronayne said the upcoming walk is “a promise that these children will not be forgotten”.

“Every step we take is for the babies whose lives were so tragically cut short,” she said.

“We want every child to be acknowledged, remembered and honoured. This journey is about connecting two places through remembrance, compassion and love, while giving each child the dignity of hearing their name spoken once again.”

After walking approximately 73 kilometres per day, Ms Fahey Ronayne will arrive at Bessborough Mother and Baby Home with the other walkers on Sunday, August 23.

Bessborough Mother and Baby Home has been mired in controversy over plans for a large apartment complex near the disused facility.

In May, the High Court quashed An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision to overturn an earlier planning refusal by Cork City Council.

The court ruled that the planning board failed to properly evaluate the potential presence of unrecorded infant burial grounds and the findings of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation.

Valerie Jennings, founder of A Little Light of Love, said the walk was in remembrance of the babies, their mothers and the survivors of mother and baby homes and has “nothing to do with politics or religion”.

“Our lantern carries a message of hope and compassion for children and families whose stories deserve to be told. We are honoured to join Anne on this journey from Tuam to Bessborough,” she said.

Members of the public are invited to support the walkers along the route or to join them for sections of the journey.

Communities are encouraged to welcome the walkers as they pass through towns and villages.

Tuam's complex picture is finally emerging (Opinion)

Some time back an article in The Tablet by Michael Duggan, a freelance writer living in Surrey, England, brought a new perspective to bear on what came to be known as the Tuam Babies controversy. 

Readers will remember that in 2014, the former Children’s Home in Tuam, County Galway, and its short but appalling history was very much in the news. 

The home was owned by Galway County Council, run by sisters of the Bon Secours Order, and was operating between 1925 and 1961.

What suddenly bounced it into the national and international news was the shocking revelation – and it might be said an almost immediate consensus – that almost 800 babies who died in the home were buried in the remains of a septic tank. 

The Washington Post reported that ‘Bodies of 800 babies, long dead, were found in a septic tank at former Irish home for unwed mothers’; the Belfast Telegraph, that ‘a mass grave of 796 babies were found in in a septic tank at a Catholic orphanage in Tuam’; and ABC News, Australia, that ‘almost 800 forgotten Irish children were dumped into a septic tank mass grave at a Catholic home’.

Duggan’s article questioned that consensus. But already the outrage at the news on the back of other scandalous histories of homes for unmarried mothers had overwhelmed the response of the Bon Secour Sisters. 

The accusation was that the Bon Secours congregation had effectively ditched nearly 800 babies into a sewage tank in Galway. 

In 2014, when news broke that there were no burial records even though death certificates existed, it instigated an ongoing process of investigation that produced a government's Commission of Investigation, a sustained and sometimes savage attack on the Bon Secours Sisters who had responsibility for the home and at present an ongoing excavation of the site to establish the facts. 

The Commission Report spread responsibility for the limitations of the Mother and Baby Home between the Bon Secour Sisters, the Irish State, Galway County Council and the families of the mothers and babies, including the fathers of the children. 

The report was subjected to severe criticism with much of the criticism being directed by the public and the media at the Bon Secours Sisters and by association the Catholic Church.

It led to what Michael Duggan writing in The Tablet, described as ‘an avalanche of stories of children being starved to death and of dead babies being dumped in their hundreds into septic tanks’. 

It was, he said, ‘perhaps the single most notorious example of the institutionalised cruelties and depravities of Catholic Ireland’ with the Bon Secours Sisters being subjected to relentless accusation and criticism. 

Duggan, in that same article, introduced a new voice that credibly suggests that the Tuam story might need serious revision.

Now recently (August 3, 2026) in another Tablet article, Duggan has continued his critique of the Tuam Babies controversy and offered a more complex evaluation of it. 

Listing a series of recent comments, he illustrated how reputable news outlets were years later still repeating the same mantra: ‘Only last year, The (London) Times told readers of 796 babies and infants dumped by the nuns in a disused sewage system’; the BBC reported on 796 children believed ‘to be buried in what former Taoiseach Enda Kenny dubbed ‘a chamber of horrors’; and recent comments from ‘Irish artists’ have compounded the Tuam shibboleth – as with the novelist, John Banville, telling Guardian readers of nearly 800 babies buried ‘in an unmarked grave that was once used as a septic tank’.

The picture conveyed, Duggan wrote, ‘was clear, emphatic, horrifying’. 

It was also brutal in its often unexamined conclusion that effectively ‘nuns of the Bon Secours order had spent three-and-a-half decades dumping the dead bodies of nearly 800 babies and infants into sewage tanks in County Galway’ - stories compounded by other stories of the same children and their mothers mistreated in life as with Enda Kenny, in his ‘chamber of horrors’ speech that children had been starved ‘to the point of their disappearance from life itself’. 

Tuam, Duggan wrote, ‘has repeatedly been portrayed as Ireland’s holocaust – a holocaust perpetrated by Irish women, by Irish nuns’.

Meanwhile, a new statutory agency, the Office of Authorised Intervention Tuam (ODAIT) commenced investigation at the Tuam site and its senior forensic archaeologist, Dr Niamh McCullagh, has reported that to date, the skeletal remains of 99 infants and children have been recovered. 

All were buried in timber coffins in the earth ‘made in the traditional style’. And, pointedly, the remains were discovered in a burial area ‘entirely separate from the old sewage system’. 

This upsets significantly some of core criticisms of the Bon Secours’ role and care and made Duggan wonder why uncontested evidence, for example, about the provision of coffins found in huge numbers (and other lines of evidence) didn’t seem to interest the Commission.

Duggan suggests that there are as yet entirely unexcavated structures that contain ‘a large number of remains of children that bear no obvious resemblance of a septic tank – including a pit close to an area in which bodies had been found – that was the work of a mechanical digger in the late 1970s. 

And there is another much larger masonry sewage tank whose purpose has as yet not been identified.

A much more complex picture is emerging, albeit painfully slowly as such investigations necessarily proceed step by careful step. 

The plus side is that ODAIT, in Duggan’s view, ‘appears to be going about its work transparently and meticulously, and with great sensitivity’. Nothing less is acceptable, as once the investigation – which means so much to so many – is completed we will know as much as we will ever know about what happened to the Tuam babies. 

I suspect that when the full story of the role of the Bon Secours congregation in Tuam is told – rather than the simplistic edit favoured by the media – the Sisters will receive a much fairer wind than heretofore when they were pilloried simplistically and relentlessly as convenient scapegoats. 

It will provide some consolation but sadly not for those who may not have lived to witness their redemption.

Pope sends support to fire-damaged church in letter

The Pope has sent his support to a church in Leicester, which was severely damaged by fire, in a letter from the Vatican.

St Andrew's Church, in Jarrom Street, was badly damaged on 28 July in a fire thought to have been started accidentally.

In the letter, Pope Leo said he was saddened to hear about the blaze and sent "the assurance of his spiritual solidarity to all those affected".

The Reverend Johannes Arens, vicar of the Church of England church, said the letter was "a huge boost" for the parish community during difficult times.

The letter also said the Pope hoped "the response to this disastrous event will strengthen the community and bring about a renewal in the life of the parish".

It was dated 7 August and signed by Vatican official Paolo Rudelli, substitute for general affairs of the secretariat of state.

Arens said: "It was really quite significant because we are not a Roman Catholic church.

"It was quite lovely. It is a huge boost not just for the church but for its community.

"It shows that we have friends who are with us."

A Victorian altar cloth from St Andrew's Church is being kept in a specialist freezer by Leicestershire Museums collection service until it can be restored

Arens said the church had also received "heartening messages of support" from different faith communities across the city, who were "standing in solidarity with us".

He added it was also expecting a visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, as she visits the Diocese of Leicester in September.

The church has said the cost of repairing the damage caused by the fire has not been calculated yet, but it hopes insurance will cover some of the bill.

Worshippers have started an online fundraiser to help with repairs and with the drop in church income as a result of disruption.

Arens said it was thought repairs would take about four or five years.

Services are currently being held in the community centre next to the church building.

Rare artefacts, include notices and posters, dating back to the 1880s are being catalogued and restored after being rescued from the fire.

A Victorian embroidered altar cloth, known as a frontal, has been handed to Leicestershire Museums collection service, which is keeping it in a specialist freezer until it can be restored.

Young people from an FSSP parish in Seattle will have to go to other parishes to receive confirmation

Seattle Archbishop Paul D. Etienne reportedly informed a parish served by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) that it will not be permitted to prepare its young people to receive the sacrament of Confirmation or to administer it according to the traditional rite. 

According to information published by LifeSiteNews, candidates will have to register at another parish in the archdiocese where the reformed liturgy is celebrated and complete their sacramental preparation program there.

The information comes from a message by a father of a family in the Archdiocese of Seattle, shared on X by Father Martin Navarro, Ob.S.A. LifeSiteNews subsequently contacted both the parish and the FSSP to try to confirm what happened. 

The pastor, Father John Shannon, referred the questions to the Fraternity’s superiors, while the North American Province of the FSSP stated that it would not comment.

Two years of catechesis in another parish

According to the message, the archbishop reportedly informed the FSSP community that its students will not be able to receive Confirmation there. 

The young people would have to register at a parish where the Novus Ordo is celebrated and complete a two-year catechetical program before receiving the sacrament.

The father of the family who described the situation also raised doubts about the formation the young people would receive and asked whether it might be possible for the parents themselves to handle their children’s catechetical preparation.

The affected community would be North American Martyrs, located in Edmonds, in the state of Washington, in the northwestern United States. 

It is a parish belonging to the Archdiocese of Seattle and served by FSSP priests. 

The parish itself notes that it was founded in 2008 and that its liturgical life follows the traditional books of the Roman rite.

Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle since 2019, also maintains an institutional relationship of several years with this apostolate. 

In November of that same year, he personally blessed the new church of North American Martyrs after the community acquired its permanent location in Edmonds.

Restrictions following Traditionis custodes

The question of confirmations according to the traditional rite was particularly affected by the restrictions introduced during Pope Francis’s pontificate after the publication of Traditionis custodes in July 2021.

The Responsa ad dubia issued by the then Congregation for Divine Worship in December of that year established that diocesan bishops could authorize, in certain canonically erected personal parishes, the use of the 1952 Rituale Romanum. 

However, they expressly excluded the use of the pre-reform Pontificale Romanum, the book that contains, among other rites, that of Confirmation.

Despite these provisions, there have subsequently been cases in which bishops have conferred Confirmation according to the traditional rite.

InfoVaticana reported in 2022, for example, that Laurent Ulrich conferred this sacrament on 55 young people at the church of Saint-Étienne in Lille, assisted by priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

Read also: The new Archbishop of Paris confirms a group of young people with the Traditional rite

The FSSP does not comment on the decision

Liturgist Peter Kwasniewski argued that institutes such as the FSSP possess a canonical right to these sacraments derived from their recognition and their constitutions, and questioned whether the Responsa have sufficient authority to modify that legal framework.

For the time being, however, there is no public statement from the FSSP confirming the exact terms of the measure attributed to Etienne.

The parish’s own website continues to present North American Martyrs as a parish of the Archdiocese of Seattle served by the FSSP and dedicated to the celebration of Mass and the sacraments according to the usus antiquior.

Pope Leo XIV: The Assumption of Mary reveals where true beauty is found

Pope Leo XIV presided this Saturday, August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the Pontifical Parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo. 

In his homily, the Pope recalled that the glorification of Mary in body and soul shows that the true beauty of man does not consist in hiding the traces of the passage of time, but in bearing imprinted “the signs of love that has no end.”

The Pontiff contrasted this Christian conception of beauty with the canons “of a predominantly hedonistic and consumerist character” imposed by the world, which can lead man to waste his energies “on what really does not matter and does not last forever.” 

Leo XIV invited us to discover divine beauty in all ages and circumstances of life, from the face of a child to the wrinkles of an elderly person, and pointed to the Virgin as “Mother, guide, traveling companion, and protector on the journey toward Heaven.”

Below, we reproduce in full the homily of Leo XIV:

Dear brothers and sisters:

With great joy, I also celebrate with you this year the Solemnity of the Assumption.

The Magisterium of the Church teaches us that “Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Pius XII, Apost. Const. Munificentissimus Deus, November 1, 1950) and points us, in this Mystery, to the fulfillment of the fullness of grace that God has given her in her Immaculate Conception (cf. ibid.).

For this reason, many works of art depict her, at the end of her earthly life, as a beautiful young woman who rises physically from earth to heaven. They are inspired by the scene described in the passage from the Book of Revelation that we heard in the first reading: “A Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet” (Rev 12:1), to signify that in Mary’s heart heaven and earth, time and eternity meet.

This image apparently contrasts with the experience of what the passage of years produces in us. With age, in fact, our body does not become more agile, but heavier; the skin does not become fresher, but shows the signs of old age; the hair does not take on color or shine, but turns gray and then white. So, what do we have in common with the wonderful young woman we find painted in our altarpieces?

To understand this, we must keep together the two signs we have mentioned: the incorrupt body of the Mother of God and her immaculate heart. It is the purity of the soul, in fact, that in Mary—as in us—by God’s grace illuminates and transfigures the whole person, leading her to the glory of Heaven.

The glorification of Mary in soul and body teaches us that our true beauty does not consist in hiding the signs of time that passes, but in showing also in our flesh the signs of love that has no end (cf. 1 Cor 13:8).

It invites us, in this way, to review many of the aesthetic canons, predominantly of a hedonistic and consumerist type, that the world imposes on us, and that run the risk of imprisoning us in heavy conditionings, making us waste valuable energies on what is not really important nor lasts forever. In common experience, one can find people whose faces are marked by years and sufferings, but who are capable of radiating serenity, benevolence, and peace around them; just as one can observe others, perhaps outwardly attractive, but hard and cold within. And it is easy to understand where true beauty lies and where, instead, there is still need for conversion, forgiveness, and healing.

If we truly wish to discover and cultivate the divine beauty that surrounds us and for which we were created, as well as to spread it around us, we must learn to read it both in the tender face of a child and in the wrinkles of an elderly person, in the liveliness of a young person and in the composure of an adult, in the ornaments of celebration and in the clothing and tools of work. We must listen to the unique love stories that each of these realities tells us, recognizing them as small flashes in the sky.

Love is the most beautiful ornament of man: the love that transfigures, transforms, ennobles, and lifts up; that makes us light, free, close to God, even through the ups and downs of life.

Saint Paul VI, meditating on the mystery of the Assumption of the Virgin, said that to understand its meaning “we must turn into superlatives and absolutes the terms we use in earthly language […], to imagine, on a small scale, the eternal” (Homily, August 15, 1969). And regarding this encounter, in the Mother of God, between the infinite and the finite, Pope Francis wrote: “Mary is the one who knows how to transform a cave of animals into the house of Jesus, with a few poor swaddling clothes and a mountain of tenderness” (Apost. Exhort. Evangelii gaudium, 286).

The miracle that Mary, the maiden of Nazareth, experienced in her innocent heart, and that led her to the glory of Heaven, is the meeting of extremes, as she herself bears witness in the inspired words of the Magnificat, which we heard in the Gospel (cf. Lk 1:46-55). In this canticle, through the humble expressions of her faith, the Mother of Heaven speaks to us in a simple way of great mysteries: God who in her becomes man to save men, the Eternal who in her manifests himself in time to open also to us the path of eternity, showing us at the same time, in her condition as “humble handmaid,” the “small dimension” in which we too can find the Lord, as Saint Paul VI said.

The sublimity of the Mystery we celebrate, then, must not be sought far away. We can find it wherever there is true charity: in the eyes of a father and a mother who return home after a day of work, tired but happy to be with their children; in the faces of grandfathers and grandmothers who, despite the difficulties of age, are re-energized with unexpected strength when caring for their grandchildren; or even in the commitment of young people who strive to grow clean and honest, ready also to go against the current with respect to “what everyone does”; finally, in the work of so many men and women who daily, with faith and dedication, contribute to bringing a little of Heaven upon earth and earth toward Heaven.

Dear brothers, the most beautiful face of the Assumption is unique, surpasses every possible representation and, yet, at the same time is known to us: it is that of the people who are beside us, even at this moment, of the brothers and sisters with whom we share, in faith, the daily offering of our life. Therefore, in the woman of the Apocalypse the community of believers sees itself, and the Second Vatican Council describes Mary as “image and beginning of the Church, […] a sign of sure hope and consolation” (Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 68). In her holy humanity, by God’s grace, ours is also found; we are called to live her same fullness of life and to share her same glory.

Saint Augustine, speaking of the resurrection of Christ, invited the Christians of his time to make it the compass and point of reference of their existence. He said: “Christ is risen, and will die no more […]. Change your mind, follow your light; rise with the one who rose” (Commentary on the Psalms 126, 7).

Let us make his invitation our own. Let us follow the light of the Risen One, changing course if necessary. Let us do so, particularly today, looking to Mary, whom God crowned with glory in soul and body, and whom He has given us as Mother, guide, traveling companion, and protector on the journey to Heaven.

Umberto Longo: a Freemason appointed to the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Italian historian Umberto Longo, director of the Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo and full professor of Medieval History at La Sapienza University of Rome, as a member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. 

The appointment was officially announced by the Holy See on August 13, together with those of Francesco Cesareo and Anna Barańska, and reported by Vatican News.

The relevant fact is that Longo’s membership in Freemasonry does not simply follow from his attendance at conferences organized by lodges.

There are documents published by Italian Masonic institutions themselves that present him as a “Fratello,” attribute to him specific degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and place him in internal positions. 

The documentation is considerably stronger than what a mere proximity to Masonic circles might suggest.

The first evidence appears in Logos, the publication of the Regional Inspectorate of Lazio of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, corresponding to 2013. 

On the page dedicated to the “Cariche per il 2013” of the Loggia di Perfezione Maestri Segreti «Giano», Oriente di Roma, it expressly lists “Fr. Oratore Umberto Longo 4°”. 

The magazine itself immediately clarifies that the degrees indicated are those held by each “Fratello” at the time of assuming office.

We are not, therefore, dealing with the name of an external guest. “Fr.” means Fratello, brother; “Oratore” is the position Longo held within that Lodge of Perfection, and “4°” indicates his degree in the Scottish Rite. 

The same issue of Logos also publishes various works under the heading “Le Tavole del Fr. Oratore Umberto Longo 4°” —nine ritual tables engraved for the Lodge’s work during 2013— and a study on the history of the Rite again signed “Fr. Umberto Longo 4°”. 

In the introduction, the Regional Inspector for Lazio expressly presents the fascicle as the collection of the tables engraved “a cura dell’Oratore Fr. Umberto Longo 4°”.

To this documentation is added a second official source, this time from the Grande Oriente d’Italia. Its magazine Erasmo, issue 7-8 of 2013, reports on a “Tornata di I° Grado” held on March 25 at the Casa Massonica Romana in Piazzale degli Archivi. 

The chronicle explains that numerous brothers and Worshipful Masters participated and expressly lists among the latter Umberto Longo. 

It was not an open academic congress, but ritual Masonic work of the first degree.

But probably the most significant documentary evidence appears when crossing two different sources from 2014. 

On July 8, 2014, the official website of the Grande Oriente d’Italia announced that Umberto Longo would deliver the following day, within the so-called “Luglio Scozzese” organized by the Regional Inspectorate of Lazio, a lecture entitled “La via dinamica di perfezionamento dei Cavalieri Scozzesi. Tradizione e ritualità, rigenerazione e universalità”.

That same work, with exactly the same title, appears published in the 2014 issue of Logos, the magazine of the Scottish Rite. And there the author is unequivocally identified as “Fr. U. Longo 9°”. 

The Grande Oriente publicly attributes the lecture to Umberto Longo; the Scottish Rite publication reproduces that same intervention and attributes it to “Brother U. Longo,” ninth degree. 

The same issue also includes the “Tavola d’Agape 2013 del Fr. Oratore U. Longo 9°”: the annual ritual agape of the “Giano” Lodge, whose prayer was once again delivered by the same Orator whom the magazine had identified the previous year with full name and surname.

The content of the text is equally revealing. Longo does not write from the perspective of an external researcher describing the rituals as a historical object. 

He speaks of the “privilege of participating in an initiation rite”, of using the instruments that “Freemasonry makes available”, and of the aspirations of Masons and the duties of Scottish Knights.

The documentation does not end in 2014. In Logos of 2015 appears another intervention entitled “La piramide rituale scozzese”, signed “Fr. U. Longo 9°”. 

The text is again written unequivocally from within the Rite. Longo uses expressions such as “nel rituale di IV Grado ci sono stati fatti compiere” and, even more explicitly, “Come massoni e scozzesi abbiamo quindi…”: “As Masons and Scots, therefore, we have…”. 

It is difficult to conceive of a more direct formulation regarding the condition from which the author writes.

The identification admits no doubt

LifeSiteNews, which reported on the case on August 14, introduced some formal caution regarding the identification between the “Fr. Umberto Longo” of the ritual publications and the professor at La Sapienza. The cross-referencing of the primary sources makes that caution untenable.

In 2019, the Grande Oriente d’Italia again included Umberto Longo as a speaker —presented as a historian, alongside Carlo Ricotti— at the congress organized in Rome by the “Dio e Popolo” lodge no. 786 and the Collegio Circoscrizionale dei Maestri Venerabili del Lazio on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the Roman Republic.

And in December 2022 the identification is sealed by the very organization of the event. 

Longo participated in Venice in a conference dedicated to Hugo Pratt and the initiatory universe of Corto Maltese, and the organizing entity expressly identified the speaker as “prof. Umberto Longo, professore ordinario di Storia Medievale a La Sapienza Università di Roma”. 

The event was sponsored by the Fondazione Scozzese Triveneta; the closing greetings were delivered by Gian-Paolo Barbi, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; and the honorary president of the organizing association was Luigi Milazzi, exactly the same Sovereign Grand Commander who heads the organizational chart of the Supreme Council in the issues of Logos from 2013, 2014, and 2015 in which “Fr. Umberto Longo” signs. 

The professor at La Sapienza who speaks on esotericism under Scottish sponsorship in 2022, before the leadership of the Rite, is the same person whom the Rite had been publishing as a brother of the fourth and ninth degrees.

The sequence established by the open sources is, therefore, unequivocal: in 2013 Longo appears in internal documentation as “Fr. Oratore Umberto Longo 4°” and the Grande Oriente includes him among the Worshipful Masters present at a ritual meeting; in 2014 the Scottish Rite publishes as “Fr. U. Longo 9°” exactly the same lecture that the Grande Oriente publicly attributes to Umberto Longo; in 2015 he again signs as ninth degree a text in which he speaks in the first person as a member of the “Masons and Scots”; in 2019 the Grande Oriente presents him as a speaker at one of its lodges; and in 2022 he speaks, identified by name, surname, and chair, at an event sponsored by a Scottish foundation and closed by the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Rite.

There is, therefore, more than sufficient primary documentation to establish that Umberto Longo belongs to Freemasonry, held positions in a Lodge of Perfection, and attained at least the ninth degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. 

No public source records any act of abandonment, resignation, or rupture with the institution; on the contrary, his connection with the circles of the Rite is documented continuously at least until December 2022, barely three and a half years before his pontifical appointment. 

If Longo had ceased to be a Mason, it is up to him—or to the Holy See, which appointed him—to prove it. 

The documents published by the Masonic organizations themselves say what they say.

What the Church teaches about Freemasonry

The appointment takes on special relevance in light of the Church’s position on Freemasonry. 

The Declaration on Freemasonry of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of 1983, signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and approved by John Paul II, establishes that the Church’s negative judgment remains unchanged because the principles of Masonic associations are incompatible with Catholic doctrine. 

Membership remains prohibited, and the faithful enrolled in them are, the document states, in a state of grave sin and cannot receive Holy Communion.

The Holy See reiterated that position in November 2023, when the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recalled, with the approval of Pope Francis, that the active membership of a faithful in Freemasonry is prohibited by the “irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry.”

It is not recorded that Umberto Longo is Catholic, so it would not be correct to automatically transfer to him the canonical consequences that those documents establish for the faithful. 

Nor is that the question: the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences is an academic body that has included non-Catholic members. 

The question raised by his appointment is another, and more serious: Leo XIV has incorporated into a pontifical body—precisely the one in charge of historical sciences, a field where historiography inspired by Freemasonry has its own well-known agenda regarding the Risorgimento, the Papal States, or the historical processes of the Church—a Mason of the ninth degree of the Scottish Rite, brother, Worshipful Master, and officer of a Lodge of Perfection according to the official publications of the Rite and the Grande Oriente d’Italia themselves.

The evidence does not come from anonymous lists, leaks, or accusations by third parties. It has been published for years on the official pages of Italian Freemasonry. 

The question that remains in the air is who prepared the proposal for the appointment and what filter was applied—if any was applied—before placing it on the Pope’s desk. 

This medium has requested comments from the interested party and from the Holy See Press Office.

German bishop admits that laypeople cannot preach at Mass, but assures that he will not sanction those who do so

The Bishop of Mainz, Peter Kohlgraf, has assured that he will not adopt disciplinary measures against the parishes in his diocese where laypeople continue to preach during the celebration of Mass, despite expressly acknowledging that Canon Law does not permit this practice and that he lacks the authority to authorize it. 

«If I find out, I will not intervene disciplinarily nor sanction it according to ecclesiastical law», he stated in an interview published on August 11 by the German Church portal Katholisch.de.

The statements come less than two months after the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments rejected the request of the German Episcopal Conference to obtain an indult that would allow duly authorized laypeople to deliver the homily during the Eucharistic celebration under certain circumstances. 

Rome then recalled that reserving the homily to the priest or deacon «is not a mere disciplinary norm», but derives from the very nature of the liturgy.

«I cannot allow it», but neither will he sanction it

Kohlgraf, who also chairs the Pastoral Commission of the German Episcopal Conference, acknowledges in the interview that the response received from Rome does not introduce a new norm and that it affects all dioceses, not only the German ones.

When directly asked whether a pastoral agent with preaching training could do so during a Eucharistic celebration in his diocese, his response was negative: «No, according to the Roman provisions they cannot do so. Nor can I grant that permission. Canon Law does not allow it and that remains our basis».

However, immediately afterward he explained that in some communities in Mainz the preaching of laypeople during Mass has already become a habitual practice and made it clear that he has no intention of intervening to prevent it.

«If I find out, I will not intervene disciplinarily nor sanction it according to ecclesiastical law. I do not promote it either and I cannot authorize it. I simply take note that in some parishes this established practice exists», he pointed out.

The bishop’s position thus establishes a distinction between the norm he recognizes as in force and the action he intends to maintain in the face of its non-compliance. 

According to Kohlgraf, the recent Vatican response will not entail «any change» in the concrete pastoral practice of the Diocese of Mainz.

Kohlgraf questions part of Rome’s argumentation

The bishop also expressed reservations about the arguments used by the Dicastery for Divine Worship. 

«The Vatican’s argumentation regarding the prohibition of lay preaching, in some points, does not seem entirely coherent to me», he stated.

Kohlgraf refers specifically to the relationship between the one who presides over the Eucharist and the one who delivers the homily. 

In his opinion, if the argument were based exclusively on the fact that the priest celebrating Mass must preach, «consequently» neither should a concelebrating priest or a deacon do so.

Rome’s response, however, had based the reservation of the homily on the ordained ministry. 

The Dicastery pointed out that this constitutes an exercise of the munus docendi sacramentally entrusted to ordained ministers and emphasized the unity between the proclamation of the Word and the Sacrament within the Eucharistic celebration.

Kohlgraf also recalled that Germany had an indult in the 1970s that allowed, under certain circumstances, the preaching of laypeople with theological training, for example in school Masses, and showed himself favorable to studying a similar exception again.

«If there were an indult, it would seem fine to me and I would be grateful», he stated, although he again acknowledged that it does not correspond to a diocesan bishop to make that decision on his own.

He is concerned that Rome’s decision will encourage «denunciations»

More than the continuity of a practice contrary to the liturgical norm, Kohlgraf assured that he is concerned about another consequence of the Roman intervention: that complaints from the faithful about liturgical abuses will increase.

«I am more concerned that Rome’s prohibition on lay preaching will now encourage denunciation», he declared.

The bishop explained that he receives communications from people who inform him of liturgical infractions and demand that he intervene. Some, he added, even turn to the apostolic nuncio or directly to Rome.

Kohlgraf assures that he responds to these complaints «with kindness and serenity». 

He takes note of them and usually refers them to the parish priest or the pastoral leader of the corresponding community.

The discussion on lay preaching has continued in Germany since the Vatican refusal in June. 

Organizations linked to the Synodal Way immediately demanded that the bishops renegotiate the issue with Rome, while other voices have defended that the dioceses maintain the practices already in place.

«The faithful have a right to good homilies»

The interview also addresses the quality of preaching, an issue that Kohlgraf considers related to the debate. 

The bishop maintains that limiting oneself to retelling the Gospel during the homily «is too little» and that it is also not appropriate to use the Gospel text solely as a starting point for moral teaching disconnected from its content.

«Those attending Mass have a right to good homilies», he states.

For Kohlgraf, good preaching must serve «the praise of God», strengthen the faithful, offer guidance for life and lead them to personally reflect on the Gospel.

Regarding laypeople with theological training, the bishop considers them «a richness for the Church» and acknowledges understanding the disappointment of those who would like to preach during the Eucharist. 

At the same time, he states that he will continue to formally adhere to the possibilities provided by Canon Law.

Institute of the Good Shepherd opens a new apostolate in a Canadian diocese

The Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP) will have a new apostolate in the Archdiocese of Moncton, in eastern Canada, where Father Juan-Pablo Donoso will carry out his ministry among the faithful attached to the traditional liturgy. 

The metropolitan archbishop, Guy Desrochers, C.Ss.R., has publicly welcomed the priest and imparted his apostolic blessing, expressing his full pastoral support for the new chapter beginning in the diocese.

In a message dated July 19 and published by the Moncton Traditional Latin Mass Society, Desrochers expressly placed the Catholics who follow the traditional Roman rite within the flock entrusted to his pastoral care. 

The arrival of Father Donoso will make it possible to offer stable attention to these faithful of the Canadian archdiocese.

The Archbishop Welcomes the New Apostolate

“As bishop of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Moncton, I consider that all Catholics, whether practicing or not, whether they follow the ancient Latin rite of the Mass or the rite reformed since Vatican II, form part of the one flock that Jesus entrusts to me,” Desrochers stated.

The archbishop explained that his mission, exercised together with priests and deacons, consists in “governing, sanctifying, and teaching” the faithful in order to lead them toward the Kingdom of God.

Desrochers also expressly imparted his blessing to the new priest: “I give my apostolic blessing to Father Donoso and pray that, in his ministry, he may be for you a living witness of the love and mercy of God.”

The prelate asked that the priest be “a beacon of divine light and spiritual consolation” for the faithful entrusted to his pastoral care. 

At the end of his message he addressed him directly once more: “Welcome to our diocese, Father Donoso! May he bear many spiritual fruits in his priestly ministry.”

A Chilean Priest of the Institute of the Good Shepherd

Juan-Pablo Donoso was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1986 and earned a law degree from the University of Chile. In 2013 he began his priestly formation at the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Seminary in France, belonging to the Institute of the Good Shepherd.

He was later assigned to Colombia and completed his studies in Canon Law in Madrid. He speaks Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English.

The Institute of the Good Shepherd is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right erected in 2006, during the pontificate of Benedict XVI. The institute’s distinctive identity includes the use of the traditional liturgical books of the Roman rite.

Desrochers Calls for Unity Among the Faithful

In his message on the occasion of the arrival of the IBP priest, Desrochers also devoted a significant portion to the unity of the Catholics of the archdiocese, both those who attend the traditional liturgy and those who participate in the reformed rite.

The archbishop asked that all remain “united as one family” through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “living in divine charity and mutual respect at all times.”

To support his exhortation, he cited the words of Christ recorded in the Gospel of Saint John: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13, 34-35).

The welcome of the new apostolate in Moncton thus allows the Institute of the Good Shepherd to expand its pastoral presence in North America and to offer stable priestly care to the faithful of the archdiocese attached to the traditional liturgy.

Europe’s tallest statue of the Virgin Mary inaugurated in small Polish village

An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe’s tallest was inaugurated on Saturday in a small Polish village, financed by one of Poland’s richest businesspeople.

The monument towers 55.6 metres over Konotopie in central Poland, home to fewer than 150 people. Its height includes a crown-shaped 15-metre pedestal.

It is taller — if less dramatically located — than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which measures some 38 metres including its pedestal.

It also surpasses another recent large-scale religious monument in Poland, the Christ the King statue in the western town of Swiebodzin, which was unveiled in 2010 and — complete with the mound it stands on — rises some 52 metres above the ground.

There is a taller statue of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines, which measures some 98 metres. But the new one in Poland is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe.

The vast majority of Poles identify as Catholic, and the Catholic church played a powerful role in public life after the fall of communism in 1989, benefiting from the prestige it earned through its support for the anti-communist opposition.

The country is the homeland of St John Paul II, who reigned as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005.

A huge statue of him — but much smaller than the one of Mary — was unveiled over a decade ago in the city of Czestochowa.

The influence of religion in public life has gradually declined in recent years, particularly among younger people and in urban areas.

However, the Catholic church remains influential, especially in rural communities and among older generations.

The statue was commissioned by local millionaires Roman and Grażyna Karkosik. The couple live in a small palace a few miles from Konotopie.

Roman Karkosik, an entrepreneur whose ventures included plastic-bottle manufacturing in the 1990s, amassed a fortune through investments on the Warsaw Stock Exchange to became one of Poland’s wealthiest individuals.

The couple have said the monument is an expression of their gratitude to God. Its construction follows an illness that Roman Karkosik suffered.

Local authorities hope the monument will become both a major pilgrimage site and a tourist destination.

The statue features a viewing platform built inside its pedestal.

Palm Beach Diocese rolls out sweeping new safeguards following clergy controversy

The Diocese of Palm Beach is putting sweeping new rules in place governing clergy conduct, sexual abuse allegations, whistleblowers and the monitoring of priests, nearly two months after a Boynton Beach pastor was placed on administrative leave amid what church officials called “serious allegations.”

Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez announced the new diocesan policies Thursday as part of a broad overhaul aimed at protecting children, vulnerable adults and others who come into contact with Catholic clergy, employees and volunteers.

At the center of the changes is a new body of diocesan law titled Protecting and Safeguarding the People of God, dated Aug. 7. The rules took effect Aug. 8 and are being implemented on an experimental basis for two years, according to the bishop’s decree.

The extensive policy package creates separate codes of conduct for clergy, employees and volunteers, procedures for handling allegations of sexual abuse and other serious misconduct, a whistleblower policy, a formal clergy-monitoring system and multiple advisory boards tasked with reviewing safeguarding concerns.

The reforms come as the diocese continues to deal with allegations involving the Rev. Alex J. Vargas, who had served as pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Boynton Beach.

The diocese placed Vargas on administrative leave June 18, withdrew his authority to exercise ministry and prohibited him from contacting parishioners, employees, volunteers or diocesan organizations without permission. Church officials have not publicly disclosed the nature of the allegations and have emphasized that Vargas is presumed innocent.

Days later, the diocese told CBS12 News it had hired Renaissance Associates, a private investigative firm, to conduct an independent investigation. The diocese said the allegations had also been reported to the Florida Department of Children and Families, local law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office.

The new policies, however, appear to be part of a broader initiative that was underway before the Vargas matter became public. On June 12, Rodríguez announced that the diocese was preparing “major reforms” to its safe-environment program, saying the changes would create a stronger structure for safeguarding young people and vulnerable individuals. ([Diocese of Palm Beach][1])

New rules for clergy

Under the new Code of Pastoral Conduct, priests and deacons face detailed restrictions governing their interactions with minors.

Clergy are instructed to maintain open and trustworthy relationships with minors, avoid being alone with them when possible and refrain from taking minors on trips without parental consent or other adults present. 

The policy also prohibits clergy from providing minors with alcohol or drugs and from having minors as overnight guests in private living quarters except under narrow circumstances.

The code addresses digital conduct as well.

Clergy may not use dating applications, and the policy says priests and deacons may not possess or distribute pornography or use diocesan devices or systems to access it. Electronic communications with minors must be transparent and professional.

The Diocese of Palm Beach has adopted sweeping new rules on clergy conduct, abuse allegations, reporting, whistleblowers and priest monitoring.

The law also spells out a duty to report misconduct. 

Clergy are required to report their own ethical or professional misconduct as well as misconduct by others, according to the code.

Similar codes apply to diocesan employees and volunteers.

Employees have an affirmative obligation to report suspected abuse, exploitation, serious misconduct or financial wrongdoing. 

The rules also say an internal report to the diocese does not replace a report to civil authorities when one is required by law.

Separate board for allegations involving adults

One significant structural change is the creation of an Adult Allegation Board, designed to review allegations of serious misconduct involving adults and vulnerable adults.

The board may consider allegations including sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, spiritual abuse, coercion, exploitation, grooming, workplace harassment and financial exploitation, according to its governing statutes.

That board is separate from the existing Diocesan Review Board, whose primary responsibility is assessing allegations involving the sexual abuse of minors.

The new rules require a majority of the Adult Allegation Board's voting members to be laypeople and allow members with professional backgrounds in areas such as criminal investigations, law, psychology, psychiatry, social work, safeguarding and medicine.

The diocese also created a broader Safeguarding Advisory Board, which is charged with examining not just individual misconduct allegations but systemic risks across the diocese.

Its responsibilities include reviewing safeguarding policies, risks to minors and vulnerable adults, financial controls, fraud prevention, institutional accountability, crisis preparedness and reporting mechanisms.

The policy requires the board to conduct a general safeguarding review at least once a year.

Formal monitoring of priests

Another major component establishes an Official Clergy Monitoring Policy for priests and deacons who face allegations, restrictions or other safeguarding concerns.

A priest can be placed under monitoring while an allegation remains under investigation, after restrictions have been imposed or when the bishop determines supervision is necessary to protect others or the broader church community. Monitoring itself does not constitute a finding of guilt, the policy states.

A monitored priest may be assigned a clergy monitor and an individualized written plan covering his residence, travel, employment, communications, ministry and contact with minors or vulnerable adults.

Possible restrictions include celebrating sacraments, preaching, hearing confessions, providing spiritual direction, entering diocesan properties, wearing clerical attire or contacting minors, vulnerable adults, alleged victims, witnesses or complainants.

Whistleblower protections and outside reporting

The reforms also establish a formal whistleblower policy prohibiting retaliation against people who make good-faith reports or cooperate with investigations.

Reports may be made through a confidential, third-party diocesan reporting line, which the policy lists as 1-833-710-0909. 

The rules specifically state that nothing prevents a person from reporting directly to law enforcement or another government agency.

The diocese says allegations that may violate civil or criminal law must be referred to the appropriate authorities and that internal church proceedings cannot replace or delay legally required reporting.

Rodríguez has made safeguarding a prominent issue since taking leadership of the Palm Beach Diocese. 

In June, he wrote that allegations must be investigated promptly and handled transparently while also protecting the rights of everyone involved.

The Diocese of Palm Beach serves Catholics across Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties.

The downfall of sexual predator Bishop Christopher Saunders

It's an all too familiar trajectory, but no less shocking for its appalling frequency.

Catholic priest sexually abuses teenage boys.

The sort of headline you've seen countless times before.

But this time, the priest in question was one of the highest-ranking Catholics in Western Australia, and his victims were young, trusting Aboriginal boys and men he plied with alcohol.

On Thursday, Bishop Christopher Saunders, once in charge of the vast Kimberley diocese of Broome, which spans thousands of square kilometres across Western Australia's remote north, was found guilty of multiple counts of sexually abusing two young men, including one count of rape.

Still a bishop

Saunders, who is still listed on official church websites as "Bishop Emeritus of Broome" and as the "most Rev Christopher Saunders", having never been stripped of his titles, protested his innocence throughout.

The jury, however, thought otherwise, and convicted him of 13 charges.

He originally stood trial on 26 charges, but was acquitted on six of them relating to another complainant.

A further seven charges relating to a fourth, much younger alleged victim — including rape of a child aged under 13 — were discontinued on the first day of the trial.

Saunders is now the highest-ranking clergyman in Australia to be convicted of sexual assault, following the High Court's 2020 decision to overturn the convictions of Cardinal George Pell.

The bombshell report

Allegations against the bishop first surfaced in 2018, when a 27-year-old man told a priest he had been abused by Saunders as a teenager about a decade earlier.

The deeply disturbing allegations would later include that he raped a young boy who was not yet a teenager and plied other teenagers with alcohol and cigarettes before sexually abusing them.

Police launched an investigation at the time, but subsequently closed the file on him, claiming a lack of evidence.

It was a bombshell report produced by the Vatican in 2023 that helped change their minds.

That damning 200-page probe, based on interviews with dozens of witnesses including clergy and complainants across Australia, concluded Saunders was a serial sexual predator who had sexually assaulted four Aboriginal men and groomed many more, identifying up to 67 possible victims.

The flying bishop

As bishop, Saunders ministered to his flock across the Kimberley, travelling to parishes throughout the area including remote Aboriginal communities and larger towns such as Kununurra and Derby.

Many of the remote communities were former Catholic church missions, their residents still deeply affected by the missionary years, and some with a deep fear of the church.

As the most senior Catholic leader in the region, Saunders' esteemed position gave him access to a plane leased by the diocese, which he flew himself, church properties across the region, and vast sums of church money.

The Vatican's report, according to Channel Seven and The Australian, found he took full advantage of the accoutrements of the job in his offending.

Flying into dry Aboriginal communities in WA's remote north, Saunders would bring with him hessian sacks stuffed with slabs of Jim Beam and Coke to distribute among teenagers and young men, they reported.

The 'shirts-off' parties

"Bunga bunga" parties were part of his modus operandi, according to the reports, some of the details of which were outlined at the trial.

Saunders lured his victims with alcohol-fuelled gatherings, sometimes at church properties, and would box and wrestle with them to facilitate his sexual offending.

The dress code at his infamous parties was typically "shirts-off" as the bishop plied his young guests, many clad only in boxer shorts, with church-funded booze and food.

He used his feet to touch his guests sexually, grabbed their "privates" and in one instance, engaged in oral sex without consent.

The sabbatical

Police had begun their probe into him in 2018, but despite the explosive allegations against him, Saunders continued his role unimpeded as the head of the Catholic church in the Kimberley.

He went on a six-month sabbatical in 2020, but it was not until 2021 that he eventually relinquished his role as bishop, three years after that initial complaint against him, telling parishioners he had resigned because of his declining "health and well-being", and that he had the "help of medical professionals".

But despite the Vatican ordering him to leave the diocese, the defiant bishop continued to live in church housing in Broome and was often seen out and about in the community driving church vehicles.

The well-known figure

Saunders was a larger-than-life figure in the Broome community, with ABC reporter Erin Parke, whose extensive reporting helped bring his crimes to light, describing him as "an imposing figure: a big man, highly intelligent with a deep baritone voice".

"He was a familiar face around town, known for enthusiastic socialising, advocating for social justice and escorting young men on fishing and camping trips," she wrote in a 2023 article, which revealed he had even had a beer named after him at a local brewery.

As Bishop of Broome, he appeared on local radio, especially in the lead-up to Christmas and Easter, giving addresses to the community to mark the most important days on the Christian calendar.

Church officials continued to speak highly of Saunders despite the multiple investigations into his offending, with Bishop Michael Morrissey, who filled Saunders' role in Broome in the immediate aftermath of his resignation, describing him as "committed totally to the Broome diocese".

"His commitment and his love for the Kimberley has always been there, so I am hopeful that is not forgotten, as it is remembered and cherished by many people," he told the ABC at the time.

The apology

Today, the Catholic church is singing from a different hymn book.

In a statement issued to parishioners immediately following Thursday's verdict, new Broome Bishop Tim Norton acknowledged "the courage of victims, survivors and other witnesses who came forward to express their truth".

"We are deeply sorry for the hurt they have experienced. We are sorry for the shame they have endured," he wrote.

"We are sorry that it has taken so long for their voices to be heard and for their pain to be acknowledged."

Without going into specifics, he pledged to "do all we can to create an environment of trust and openness".

Here's hoping that will be enough to stop the sickeningly familiar tale of a perverted Catholic priest exploiting his power to sexually abuse vulnerable young people from happening again.

Details emerge, questions persist after British bishop’s court appearance on child rape charges

Bishop David Oakley of Northampton was in court on Thursday last facing allegations that he raped a 15-year-old girl twice in the early 2000s.

Oakley, who was in his 40s and a priest for the diocese of Birmingham at the time of the allegations, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday via videolink to face the charges from his lawyer’s office. He was released on bail, on condition that he doesn’t contact the alleged victim or her family.

Prosecutor Sarah Madden said Oakley and the girl “started dating… after going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes.”

“She recalls sex with the defendant on at least two occasions,” Madden added. The incidents are alleged to have occurred between 2000 and 2001, when Oakley was in his mid-40s and a priest of the Birmingham archdiocese.

Oakley was not asked to enter a plea as the case has been sent to the Old Bailey by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring. There will be a plea hearing on Sept. 10. 

Oakley was charged in June on two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 16, following an investigation by Staffordshire Police’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team.

Oakley stepped down from public ministry for unspecified “personal reasons” last October, though it recently emerged that police had arrested the prelate for rape of an underage girl in September of last year.

It was announced in June that Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster will take control of Northampton diocese on a temporary basis.

Following the announcement from Staffordshire police that Oakley had been charged, Northampton diocese released a statement.

“The Diocese of Northampton can confirm that Bishop David Oakley has been charged after an investigation into non-recent safeguarding allegations,” the Northampton statement said.

“We understand that this will be very distressing for all concerned,” the statement also said, adding that the diocese “cannot comment further on an active legal process.”

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales also put out a statement following Staffordshire’s announcement.

“We are profoundly aware that the report of this allegation may reawaken painful memories for many people and again offer an unreserved apology to those who have been hurt by abuse in the Catholic Church in England and Wales,” the conference’s statement said.

“In this moment we would like to provide pastoral reassurance on the commitment of the Church to safeguarding,” the statement said.

Questions for the hierarchy

The management of the case by the Catholic Church in England and Wales has raised serious questions regarding Church leaders’ adherence to safeguarding procedure and their commitment to transparent governance.

In addition to Church officials’ failure to disclose Oakley’s arrest, Crux Now has also discovered that Oakley quietly stepped back as director of the St Luke’s Centre, which provides candidate assessments for potential clerics and religious, also in October.

Crux Now reached out to Northampton diocese, Westminster archdiocese, and CBCEW for further information. All three pointed Crux Now to already available public information.

Queries to the Vatican press office, including when the Holy See learned of the allegations against Oakley, when the Holy See first learned of his arrest, and whether the Holy See plans to investigate the case independently, also went unanswered.

Athlone parish priest hits out at council's Lidl store refusal

An Athlone parish priest has taken Roscommon County Council to task over its recent decision to refuse planning permission for Lidl's proposed supermarket in Monksland.

Fr John Deignan, who heads the parish of Saints Peter and Paul, said Monksland and Bealnamulla were "expanding at a remarkable pace" but the areas' needs for "core infrastructure and essential services" were not being sufficiently met.

The council's refusal of plans for the new supermarket across the road from the Athlone Springs Hotel was made last month, and the decision has now been appealed by Lidl Ieland to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Fr Deignan shared his thoughts on planning in Monksland and Bealnamulla in a lengthy post on the 'Ss Peter & Paul's Parish Athlone' Facebook page on Sunday morning.

His comments, which were well-received by parishioners, highlighted the fact that the population of the wider Monksland area now exceeded that of Roscommon town.

He said, however, that there was a "glaring disparity" in the level of services available in these two areas.

"While Roscommon town is well-served by at least five major national supermarkets, alongside smaller outlets, our rapidly growing area relies on just one SuperValu, a mini Tesco, and two filling station shops," Fr Deignan wrote.

"It is no secret that plans for a Lidl store have now been refused twice in Monksland, alongside a previous refusal in Baylough. One must ask: why?

"Planners have cited concerns over traffic issues, but the simple truth is that the consumers are already here," he said.

"Having local stores would actually reduce miles driven and cut down on the congestion caused by residents travelling to the opposite side of Athlone - or as far as Ballinasloe - just to do their weekly shopping.

"Another common argument has been design. Yet, modern supermarket architecture has evolved significantly for the better, and when proposed right beside a utilitarian motor dealership, one is left to question the consistency of such planning refusals.

"Furthermore, the concern that Junction 13 is at or near capacity is not a community or developer issue; it is a council and National Roads Authority (NRA) responsibility that demands immediate attention if Roscommon County Council intends to keep greenlighting new housing estates in the area."

Fr Deignan said that, in highlighting these challenges, he had "no intention" of diminishing "the hard-working local businesses currently providing jobs and vital services to our area".

"Competition is the mother of invention and value, and where there is healthy competition, everyone wins," the parish priest said.

He concluded that there was a clear need in the Monksland area for "proper services and facilities", including a new supermarket.

"To whoever holds the ultimate decision-making power: please look beyond rigid paperwork, consult properly with the community, consider the actual scale of this community, and finally plan well for its future," Fr Deignan stated.

Spanish priest helps over 1,200 people find a spouse using WhatsApp

Spanish priest Father Fernando Cuevas has helped 1,280 single people find a spouse and get married over the past 15 years using WhatsApp and a simple questionnaire.

“There are many people longing for true and everlasting love in Christ,” he told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Now over 70, the priest, who is from the island of Ibiza and is a member of Opus Dei, acknowledges that this providential pastoral work has transformed his ministry: “This has totally changed my life,” he said.

In addition to serving as chaplain for two schools near Valencia and two youth clubs, for the past 15 years he has been receiving dozens of requests from single Catholics — “on a normal day, 60 WhatsApp messages” — at the number +34 609 765 284.

Despite the sheer volume, he said he approaches it with great peace of mind: “I don’t let myself get overwhelmed,” he said.

“The two requirements I set are that they be over 25 and attend Mass on Sundays,” he explained. From there, he asks about their age, their level of church involvement, and where they live, cross-referencing the information whenever possible.

At times, he has to ask those who come to him for patience. “Wait — your turn will come,” he tells those who express a particularly strong desire to find a life partner.

When it comes to exchanging numbers, the first thing he looks at is the city where they live, as this usually makes things easier, though not always. He also tries to ensure the men are taller and two or three years older than the women.

Then there are “people with a strong sense of spirituality” — another factor that really helps ensure that the candidates hit it off.

‘I’m a priest; I completely trust in Providence’

Cuevas sets no limits on divine plans and serves people of all ages, though men are scarce in certain age groups. “I have few men in their 30s. A great many in their 40s. And fewer from age 50 onwards.” Women are less scarce.

Despite his success, the priest approaches this pastoral work with humility: “I have no special gift,” he said.

“I’m a priest; I completely trust in Providence and know that God calls every person, that there is a specific plan from the Lord for them from before they were born. Just as someone might have a vocation to a religious order, a movement, or anything else, God has someone in mind for that person, so that they may attain holiness.”

The priest, dubbed the “Tinder priest” or a matchmaker, is clear that the vocation to marriage is no less significant than others: “It’s a call to total self-giving. Just as a priest or a nun has discovered that deep longing of the human heart.”

It has happened on occasion that phone numbers got mixed up during the exchange. Someone called the wrong person, not the one originally intended. They met up, had a meal, and got to know each other. Obviously, they realized the photos and certain profile details didnʼt match, but they didnʼt mind. “I donʼt know what happened, but itʼs perfect,” one of them wrote to him.

Requests from around the world

At the start of this pastoral work, Cuevas sought to help people in his immediate circle within the Archdiocese of Valencia. However, many people write to him from other countries, particularly from Spanish-speaking America.

To better handle these requests, he relies on the assistance of another priest, Father Vicente Huerta, who is based in Spain and spends many nights speaking with people in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, among other places.

But they have also had candidates from places that might seem unexpected at first glance, such as India.

‘People want to love truly’

In a society like Spain’s, which is experiencing a major crisis regarding marriage and the family, Cuevas said he draws a clear lesson from this apostolate: “People are looking for true love. There is a yearning, an enormous need to love. People are in great need. They want to love truly, to forget themselves, to give of themselves, and to bring Christ into their lives.”

He continued: “The vast majority are looking for someone who places Christ at the center of their lives. There are so many people longing for that. It moves me to see the number of people who say: ‘It doesn’t matter to me if he has blue eyes, is very handsome, or is very smart. If he doesn’t have Christ at the center of his life — forget it.’ That is the hierarchy of values.”

Dublin’s new Catholic cathedral to close for €17m renovation

St Mary’s Cathedral, Marlborough Street, will close temporarily from August 17 to allow essential conservation, accessibility and renewal works as part of the next phase in its development as the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dublin.

For 200 years the Pro-Cathedral, as it was known, has been the centre of Catholic life in Dublin.

It has hosted major religious ceremonies and significant national events, from the funeral of Michael Collins in 1922 to the visit of Pope Francis in 2018.

Last November, on its 200th anniversary, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell announced that the Holy See had designated St Mary’s the Cathedral for Dublin, placing it at the centre of the diocesan mission, looking in faith-filled and creative ways to the future.

Following a competitive procurement process, a “Letter of Intent” has been signed with the main contractor.

The construction budget is 17 million euro (excl. VAT). Planning permission was received from Dublin City Council last October.

Archbishop Dermot Farrell has described St Mary’s as a place of prayer, proclamation and presence; a place of peace, hope and welcome at the heart of the city.

The works beginning this year will help the Cathedral to fulfil that role more effectively in the years ahead.

They will address important conservation and accessibility needs, safeguard the building’s heritage and enhance its capacity to host major liturgical celebrations, as well as providing an enhanced space for personal prayer, catechesis, social outreach, and musical and cultural events.

The Archbishop believes this vision is “both an expression of faith and a sign of hope.

“At a time when Dublin city centre is experiencing significant social, demographic and economic change, the Church is reaffirming its commitment to the people who live, work, study and visit there.”

The proposed works to the Cathedral include external accessibility upgrades and structural maintenance, particularly the roof area; the interior to include a mechanical and electrical upgrade; a new amplification system; and the designation of a new baptismal area.

The works will also see the upgrade of the facilities for the Palestrina Choir and Cathedral Girls’ Choir to include new rehearsal areas, a choral manuscript library and toilet facilities.

Full details can be found on Dublin City Council’s planning website under reference 2684/25.

While the Cathedral’s recent designation gives added significance to the project, the need for substantial works has long been recognised.

This investment will preserve one of Dublin’s most important church buildings while preparing it to serve future generations.

During the closure period, major diocesan liturgies will take place in St Andrew’s Church, Westland Row.

The Palestrina Choir will be based at the College Chapel on the All Hallows Campus of DCU, by kind permission of the University. 

Parish and sacramental life will continue at St Joseph’s Church, Berkeley Road, where the Cathedral Girls’ Choir will also be based.

The temporary closure forms part of a wider vision for the Church’s presence in Dublin city centre. 

Guided by the principles of Building Hope, Archbishop Farrell has adopted a Twin Pillar strategy centred on St Mary’s Cathedral and St Andrew’s, Westland Row, along with the adjoining parishes.

Not merely about buildings, this initiative seeks to strengthen the Church’s mission through prayer, welcome, service, encounter and outreach, maintaining a strong presence on both sides of the River Liffey and creating opportunities to engage with practising Catholics, those who feel disconnected from faith and those newly drawn to the Christian tradition.

Archbishop Farrell said: “Through the renewal of St Mary’s Cathedral and the development of the Twin Pillar strategy, the Archdiocese seeks to strengthen its witness, deepen its service and offer a welcoming presence in the heart of the city for generations to come, all centred on the person of Jesus Christ.”

Both St Mary’s and St Andrew’s have long histories of serving the population of Dublin. Their location, capacity and existing links with civic, cultural and educational institutions provide unique opportunities for a renewed pastoral presence at the heart of the city.  

Alongside the physical renewal of St Mary’s, plans are being developed for new initiatives, events, charitable outreach and programmes across the inner city that will foster encounter, encourage participation and support the Church’s mission in contemporary Dublin. 

These will be announced over the coming months.

Three-quarters of the costs for the project have already been pledged by generous donors and the remaining outlay will be raised through ongoing fundraising efforts. 

The project will be completed without prejudice to other pastoral needs in the Archdiocese.

To engage with this programme of renewal, and for further information on the project, including practical arrangements during the temporary closure, please connect with us at www.dublindiocese.ie/cathedral/

Guilty of 13 sexual offenses: former Australian bishop Christopher Saunders convicted

The emeritus bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders, 76, has been found guilty of 13 sexual offenses against two young Aboriginal men in Western Australia. 

The jury convicted him on twelve counts of sexual assault and one of penetration without consent, while acquitting him of six others. 

Among the victims is a young man who was 16 when the abuse began and who, according to the prosecution during the trial, felt that he “could not say no” to the then-bishop.

The verdict comes after years of accusations against Saunders and a complex path both within the Church and before the Australian justice system. 

An initial police investigation ended without charges in 2021 due to lack of evidence, but the case was reopened after a canonical investigation ordered by the Vatican under the norms of Vos estis lux mundi produced a report that was handed over to the authorities. 

Saunders was finally arrested in February 2024.

One victim was 16 when the abuse began

Most of the charges were related to a victim who was 16 when the sexual contact began and 19 when it ended. 

Although the general age of consent in Western Australia is 16, the law raises that age to 18 when the adult occupies a position of trust, power or authority. 

Under canon law, moreover, all persons who have not reached the age of 18 are considered minors.

The prosecutor argued during the trial that the young man felt “shame” about what had happened, but believed he “could not say no.” 

Saunders was also accused of offenses against a 24-year-old man and another who was in his late teens. 

The jury ultimately acquitted him of the charges related to a third person.

The prosecution presented to the court a pattern of approaching young Aboriginal men that involved alcohol, cigarettes, money and other gifts. 

According to AP, prosecutors argued that Saunders took young men to a Church residence in Broome and provided them with alcohol and tobacco paid for with Church funds.

The defense acknowledged during the proceedings that the bishop organized parties with abundant alcohol at which invited young men could end up partially naked, but denied that his behavior was sexual in nature. 

Attorney Tony Hager admitted that those situations could even be “sordid,” although he maintained that they did not constitute sexual offenses.

The jury, after three weeks of trial, found 13 of the charges proven.

Another Australian bishop testified against Saunders

One of the most significant episodes in the proceedings was the appearance as a prosecution witness of the bishop of Geraldton, Michael Morrissey.

Morrissey was directly familiar with the situation in Broome because he served as apostolic administrator of the diocese after Saunders’ removal and until the appointment of a new bishop in 2024. 

He testified before the court about Saunders’ consumption of alcohol during encounters with young men that were presented as part of his “pastoral” activity.

The accusations surrounding the bishop were not limited to possible sexual offenses. 

When he left the governance of the diocese in 2020, complaints had also emerged about the spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars of Church funds on gifts for vulnerable young men, including cash, mobile phones, alcohol and trips.

Saunders formally resigned as bishop of Broome in 2021, citing health problems.

The Church investigation allowed the case to be reopened

Police had closed an initial investigation against Saunders in 2021 without bringing charges due to lack of evidence. 

Subsequently, the Holy See opened an investigation under Vos estis lux mundi, the ecclesiastical norms for investigating, among other things, certain sexual offenses and cover-up conduct committed by bishops.

The findings of that investigation were handed over to the authorities in Western Australia. 

The documentation led police to revisit the case and resulted in a second investigation and the arrest of the former bishop in February 2024.

Leaked portions of the ecclesiastical report described, according to Australian media, a prolonged pattern of approaching dozens of vulnerable young men through gifts, money, alcohol and other favors.

The Australian Episcopal Conference had initially indicated that the Church investigation had not identified alleged or potential victims under the age of 18. 

The court verdict has now found Saunders guilty of sexual offenses against a young man who was 16 when the events began.

Saunders’ canonical case has been before the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2023, according to previous statements by the Episcopal Conference itself.

Saunders ignored a Vatican order to leave the diocese

After his resignation and the opening of the canonical investigation, the Vatican ordered Saunders to reside outside the diocese of Broome. 

The former bishop disobeyed that order and continued living in a Church property in Broome.

The U.S. outlet also reported that Saunders maintained considerable influence over diocesan affairs after his resignation. 

In December 2023 he was still listed as the person responsible for nine Catholic charitable organizations in his former diocese, several of them related to local parishes.

Broome is a particularly large and sparsely populated diocese, located in the far northwest of Australia. 

It comprises the Kimberley and Pilbara regions and serves around 15,000 Catholics, with a significant presence of Aboriginal population.

The new bishop asks forgiveness from the victims

Timothy Norton, who took office as bishop of Broome in December 2024, published a pastoral letter after the verdict in which he thanked the police and prosecutors for their work in bringing the case before a jury.

Norton especially highlighted the courage of the victims, survivors and witnesses who decided to testify after a prolonged and difficult process.

“We deeply regret the harm they have suffered. We regret the shame they have endured. We regret that it has taken so long for their voices to be heard and their pain to be acknowledged,” he said.

The current bishop also committed to visiting the communities of the diocese over the coming months to carry out a process of listening and accompaniment.

Saunders remains in custody after not requesting the continuation of his bail following the verdict. 

The hearing to determine his sentence is scheduled for September 21.