Ricardo Yesquén, one of the priests from Chiclayo accused of abuse before Prevost, dies without having been investigated

The priest Ricardo Yesquén Paiva, aged 59, one of the two clerics of the Diocese of Chiclayo accused of abusing minors in the case involving Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, since his time as bishop of that diocese, has died in Ferreñafe, Peru. 

Yesquén dies without any canonical or civil investigation having been opened against him in the six years since the first complaint was filed with Prevost himself in 2020.

The news of his death was reported this Tuesday by local media in Ferreñafe, the town where diocesan records listed him as parochial vicar of the parish of Santa Lucía. 

The Diocese of Chiclayo has not issued an official statement so far.

A complaint that was never investigated

According to case documentation accessed by InfoVaticana, the incidents attributed to Yesquén date back to 2006, when the priest, then 39 years old, allegedly imposed libidinous kisses on a 10-year-old girl at the parish house in La Victoria (Chiclayo), in episodes that reportedly repeated for at least a year. 

The complainant is Ana María Quispe, who years later made her story public after realizing that her complaints to the Church produced no effect.

In that same parish house, priest Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzales, known as “Padre Lute,” lived with Yesquén; he was accused by the same victims of extremely serious acts: the testimonies describe the transfer of 9 and 11-year-old girls, under the pretext of supposed missionary activities, to an isolated dwelling in the mountains of Ferreñafe, six hours from their homes, where the priest spent the night alone with them in a single bed and performed sexual rubbing. 

As former apostolic administrator Guillermo Cornejo publicly acknowledged, Vásquez admitted the facts.

The first notitia criminis regarding Yesquén reached then-bishop of Chiclayo Robert Prevost in March 2020, via a telephone call from the victim. Canon 1717 of the Code of Canon Law obliges the Ordinary to open an official preliminary investigation upon any plausible report of a crime. 

The response the complainant says she received was an instruction to pursue the civil route, which in Peru had already been time-barred for years. 

In the canonical forum, however, the offense had not prescribed: the period is twenty years counted from the victim’s majority, and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith may additionally dispense it. No investigation was opened.

In April 2022, the three complainants were received by Prevost at the bishop’s office. Regarding Yesquén, according to their testimony, the bishop told them that the priest was “depressed” and removed from his duties, so no action was warranted. 

Public records paint a different picture: in June 2020, five months after the first complaint, Yesquén carried the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament in a public procession through Chiclayo; official diocesan publications listed him as parochial vicar of Santa Lucía de Ferreñafe at least until January 2023; and his presence at the 2023 Chrism Mass is documented, as a diocesan priest acknowledged in a recorded conversation.

No precautionary measure was ever imposed on Yesquén. 

Against Vásquez, Prevost’s April 2022 decree did impose measures, but its content, read in full by the case instructor before the victims and revealed by this outlet, was limited to two restrictions: removal from his office as pastor of Ciudad Eten and prohibition from hearing confessions. 

He was not suspended from public ministry, and it is graphically documented that he continued to celebrate Mass, even concelebrating with the bishop in the cathedral.

There are also photographs circulated on social media, dated January 12, 2023, showing then-bishop Prevost at a birthday celebration alongside Yesquén, dressed in clerical attire, and other diocesan priests: almost three years after the first complaint and nine months after the second.

An alleged incapacity never proven

When the case reached the Peruvian media at the end of 2023, the diocese explained that Yesquén was “in delicate health,” in a rest home, and that no charges would be brought against him. In September 2024, an official communiqué specified that the priest suffered from a “serious degenerative illness” that prevented him from defending himself, “so no case can be opened against him,” and added that “for years he has not exercised priestly ministry,” a claim that contrasts with the 2023 diocesan records cited above.

That incapacity was never proven to the victims through an independent medical expert report, as provided for in canons 1574 and 1577. 

In October 2025, the complainants formally requested the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to add Yesquén’s clinical documentation to the file: a 2020 medical report proving the alleged incapacity and an updated one determining his current condition. 

The request has received no response.

The victims do not accept the false closure of the case

Yesquén’s death extinguishes the possibility of proceedings against him personally, but it does not settle the case. 

The victims maintain that neither this outcome nor the handling of Vásquez’s file — closed in 2025 without trial or judgment on the merits through the dispensation from the clerical state requested by the priest himself and signed by Leo XIV, despite the complainants’ express request that the cause reach its conclusion — constitute closures in accordance with the law, and that the responsibility remains intact for the way both files were managed: the failure to fulfill the duty to investigate imposed on the Ordinary by canon 1717, the insufficiency of the precautionary measures, the repeated referral to a time-barred civil route, and the denial of access to documentation maintained since 2022. 

Current pontifical norms — from Vos estis lux mundi to Come una madre amorevole — contemplate the negligence of ecclesiastical authorities in handling abuse complaints as conduct that is itself sanctionable.

It is not only the complainants’ assessment. 

The case’s own delegate instructor, Giampiero Gambaro, described the preliminary investigation conducted under Prevost before the victims as “a mockery”, “very poorly done,” with “many errors” and “much superficiality.”

To date, the victims continue constant legal actions, both canonical and civil, to ensure the case proceeds and justice is done: requests for access to the file, petitions for investigative steps never taken, and submissions to various instances of the Holy See. 

The response, for months now, has been a sepulchral silence from the various institutions addressed.

The “conspiracy” thesis that does not hold

Since the case gained international relevance with the election of Leo XIV, it has been portrayed as the result of an operation by the Sodalitium of Christian Life or “ultraconservative” sectors against the Pope. 

This is the thesis contained in the authorized biography of the Pontiff signed by Elise Ann Allen and replicated by outlets such as El País or Religión Digital, which have preferred to focus on the supposed interests of those reporting the case rather than on the documented facts of the file.

That version does not withstand comparison with what has been proven: the 2020 and 2022 complaints predate any conclave context; the facts and omissions are documented in official records, diocesan communiqués, and recordings of the ecclesiastical officials themselves handling the case; and the negligence of the investigation has been acknowledged by the instructor appointed by the current diocese. 

The victims, who already presented their situation by letter to Pope Francis in October 2024, are not part of any conspiracy: through the Church’s own legal channels, they demand what they have been asking for since day one — truth, a real investigation, and access to their own file — and the case should advance along that path.

Last March, Vásquez reappeared publicly at a parish celebration in Chiclayo accompanied by priest Edward Tocto, the canonist who served as his defense counsel in the process, current associate judicial vicar of the diocese, and a person of known personal closeness to Robert Prevost since his years in Chiclayo.

With Yesquén’s death, neither of the two accused priests will ever have appeared before any tribunal, canonical or civil. 

The questions the victims keep open before the Holy See remain, all of them, pending response.

Vatican's anti-money laundering body tightens cooperation with the Bundesbank following the reform by Leo XIV

The Financial Supervision and Information Authority (ASIF), the Holy See’s anti-money laundering body, continues to strengthen its international projection following the deep reform approved by Leo XIV just a few weeks ago. 

On 17 July, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, to enhance technical cooperation between the two institutions in financial supervision.

The agreement marks the first significant international move since the new ASIF Statute came into force. 

The reform, enacted by a Papal Chirograph and effective since the end of June, abolished the Presidency and the Board of Directors established in 2020, concentrated the agency’s governance in a single director appointed by the Pope, and transferred its accountability to the Council for the Economy. 

The new structure raised questions about the effective independence of the Vatican’s financial supervisor, a key element for its credibility with international bodies.

Cooperation with the German central bank

The memorandum was signed at the Vatican’s Palazzo San Carlo by ASIF Director Federico Antellini Russo and Burkhard Balz, a member of the Deutsche Bundesbank’s Executive Board.

According to the Holy See, the agreement aims to consolidate cooperation between the two institutions through training programmes, the exchange of experiences and best practices in financial supervision. 

The goal is to strengthen transparency, integrity and sustainability in the international financial system, as well as to deepen collaboration between the Vatican’s supervisory authority and the central bank of the European Union’s largest economy.

During the ceremony, Balz stated that the signing of the memorandum reaffirms “the shared commitment to the principles of integrity, transparency and international cooperation” and provides “a framework for continuous exchange and mutual support,” with the aim of contributing to the common good through “a stable and fair financial system.”

The new ASIF’s first international initiative

In his remarks, ASIF Director Federico Antellini Russo placed the agreement within the new phase opened by Leo XIV’s reform.

“The signing of this memorandum of understanding takes place in the fifteenth anniversary year of the Authority’s creation and just weeks after the entry into force of the new Statute of the Financial Supervision and Information Authority, promulgated by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,” he noted.

Antellini Russo emphasised that these milestones offer an opportunity to take stock of the path travelled, but above all “to look to the future with confidence,” and expressed his hope that cooperation with the Bundesbank will continue to grow stronger and closer.

International credibility remains at the centre of debate

In the communiqué issued by the Vatican, the ASIF maintains that the agreement has been made possible by the Holy See’s commitment to strengthening its financial architecture in line with international standards. 

The agency asserts that the reforms undertaken in recent years have reinforced transparency, accountability and the professionalisation of its structures, thereby increasing its credibility within the international financial community.

It was precisely this credibility that became a focal point of the debate sparked by the new ASIF Statute. 

Although the text expressly proclaims the Authority’s autonomy and independence, the abolition of the President and the Board of Directors, together with the concentration of governance in a single director and the assignment of budgetary oversight and accountability functions to the Council for the Economy, raised questions about the institutional architecture of the financial supervisor.

Cooperation with the Bundesbank therefore comes at a particularly significant moment for the ASIF. 

While the Vatican seeks to consolidate the confidence of international bodies tasked with evaluating its supervision and anti-money laundering mechanisms, the practical implementation of the reform driven by Leo XIV will be closely watched both inside and outside the Holy See.

Also present at the signing of the memorandum were Monsignor Mihăiţă Blaj, Under-Secretary of the Section for Relations with States and International Organisations of the Secretariat of State, and Christoph Braner, Minister Plenipotentiary at the German Embassy to the Holy See.

Archdiocese of Barcelona intervenes in three diocesan foundations after detecting alleged fraudulent sales

The Archdiocese of Barcelona has intervened in the diocesan foundations Valldejuli, Sant Josep Oriol and Mare de Déu dels Desemparats and has appointed two new joint administrators to ensure their proper administration, after an external audit detected alleged fraudulent sales at below-market prices of foundational assets, as well as other irregularities in the management of the Valldejuli Foundation.

As a result of the investigation, the director and the administrator of the Valldejuli Foundation have submitted their resignations; they also held positions of responsibility in the other two affected entities.

Director and administrator of the Valldejuli Foundation resign

Although the statement from the Archdiocese does not identify the officials who have resigned, the composition of the governing bodies of the Valldejuli Foundation makes it clear that the director of the entity was the priest Saturnino «Nino» Rodríguez, archpriest of the Archdiocese of Barcelona, while the administrator was the permanent deacon Rubén García.

Both also held management positions in the Sant Josep Oriol and Mare de Déu dels Desemparats foundations, where they have likewise submitted their resignations.

An external audit uncovered the alleged irregularities

According to the Archdiocese of Barcelona, the intervention in the Valldejuli Foundation follows the detection of alleged fraudulent sales at below-market prices of foundational assets, as well as other irregularities in the management of the entity. 

These facts came to light as a result of an investigation commissioned by the Archdiocese itself from an external auditor.

The investigations carried out so far also suggest that the Sant Josep Oriol and Mare de Déu dels Desemparats foundations may have been subject to alleged irregular administration, which is why extraordinary measures have also been adopted to ensure their proper management.

Three foundations with important social work

The three entities carry out significant social work in the Archdiocese of Barcelona. 

The Valldejuli Foundation and the Mare de Déu dels Desemparats Foundation manage residences for the elderly, while the Sant Josep Oriol Foundation administers the Sant Josep Oriol priestly residence, where retired priests from the dioceses of Barcelona, Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Terrassa reside.

With the appointment of new joint administrators, the Archdiocese aims to preserve the assets of the foundations and ensure the continuity of the care they provide to their residents.

The investigation remains open

The Archdiocese of Barcelona has stated that the investigations continue with the aim of fully clarifying the facts and determining the scope of the alleged irregularities detected.

The Archdiocese assures that it will continue to analyze all actions related to these foundations in order to have complete information on what happened and to adopt the necessary measures.

Holy See issues a statement on the Rupnik case: "There is no court decision"

The Holy See Press Office has officially denied reports suggesting a supposed acquittal of the former Slovenian Jesuit Marko Ivan Rupnik. 

In a statement sent to accredited journalists and shared by Vatican correspondent Michael Haynes, the Vatican asserts that the news about a decision adopted by the tribunal “lacks any foundation whatsoever” and emphasizes that the canonical process “remains ongoing.”

The Holy See explains that the panel of judges continues to examine the documentation provided by the dioceses involved, the Society of Jesus, the interested parties, and even materials published by the press. 

It further adds that, while the proceedings remain open, no information about the investigation can be made public, both out of respect for the judicial process and to avoid causing harm to all those involved. 

It also clarifies that, should the tribunal deem it necessary to gather new information, it will do so on its own initiative.

The statement responds to reports that have appeared in recent days regarding the status of the canonical proceedings against Rupnik and officially clarifies that the examination of the case continues and that no decision has been made by the tribunal.

The Press Office also recalls that this is a canonical criminal process of a judicial nature, not subject to prescription, which must determine Rupnik’s guilt or innocence in accordance with Canon Law. 

At the same time, it emphasizes that the former Jesuit remains subject to the legislation of the countries where the alleged acts were committed, whose statutes of limitations are independent of ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

The case against Rupnik is currently in the hands of a tribunal composed of five independent judges, external both to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and to the Roman Curia. 

The opening of the proceedings was announced by Leo XIV last November, when he called for patience, noting that “processes to deliver justice require time.” 

Since then, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has maintained strict silence regarding the progress of the case, until this statement officially denying that any resolution by the tribunal already exists.

Priest charged with 116 sex offences

A priest has been returned for trial to Londonderry Crown Court charged with 116 sex offences.

59-year-old Edward Gallagher, whose address is Maghaberry Prison, appeared at a preliminary enquiry at Londonderry Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The charges are said to have occurred on dates between 22 June 2023 and 18 April 2025.

They include among others sexual communication with children, attempted sexual communication with children, possessing indecent images of children and inciting children under 16 to engage in sexual activity .

Defence solicitor Derwin Harvey told the court he had gone through the charges with Gallagher and there was no need for all 116 to be read out in court.

It was accepted there was a case to answer and there were no contrary submissions.

Gallagher said he did not want to call any witnesses or make any statement at this stage.

He was returned for trial to Londonderry Crown Court on a date to be fixed and remains in custody.

Gallagher has been suspended from his duties as a priest.

High Court to consider publishing names of 340 former Christian Brothers

The High Court will decide next week whether it will allow the media to publish the names of about 340 former Christian Brothers in the hope they come forward over their time in the order in the 1970s and 1980s, as part of a case taken by an abuse survivor.

The case came before Judge Mary Rose Gearty on Wednesday from a plaintiff who was abused by Brother Liam Coughlan (90) while attending school in Co Kilkenny in the 1970s.

In 2023, Coughlan, of Pine Grove, Tramore, Co Waterford, received two jail terms, of three years and two months and four-and-a-half years, for 49 counts of indecent assault.

The High Court has previously criticised the now head of the Christian Brothers, David Gibson, for an allegedly “obstructive” approach towards lawsuits alleging abuse.

As an unincorporated association, the Christian Brothers cannot be sued if it does not provide a 'nominee'.

Brother Gibson has refused to act as a 'nominee' for the congregation, leaving litigants needing to bring legal action against individual members or former members of the order.

The case has been taken by the male survivor of abuse, who cannot be named, against Coughlan as the first named defendant and against Brother Gibson, who is the second named defendant.

The plaintiff is seeking an order compelling the release of information that would assist his lawyers to locate former brothers as part of his civil claims for damages.

The court heard today that Brother Gibson had provided names and contact information for current brothers but no addresses are available for those who have left the order.

Brother Gibson has submitted, through lawyers, that he does not have addresses or contact details for those who have left the congregation. He did provide their names.

Andrew Nugent, for the victim, instructed by solicitor Philip Treacy of Coleman Legal, said Brother Gibson was in the best position to locate the former members or furnish their contact details.

"The difficulty is that without Brother Gibson's assistance we have no way of locating these persons," said Mr Nugent.

Isabelle Aylmer, for Brother Gibson, said there was no database held by the Christian Brothers regarding those who left the congregation in the 1970s and 1980s. She added that if the court made a formal order, they would make "every endeavour" to comply.

Nugent said Brother Gibson "may have some other means to communicate with these people - and we couldn't possibly know what records are held".

Judge Gearty made an order for Brother Gibson to use his powers of procurement to gather email addresses, phone numbers and addresses regarding the former Christian Brothers members and adjourned the matter to next week for a sub-service application for newspaper advertisements calling for people to come forward.

Taxpayers could pay millions to abuse survivors if Christian Brothers goes bankrupt, court documents reveal

Australian taxpayers could be forced to cover up to $65m in payouts to hundreds of abuse victims when a failing arm of the Catholic church disappears, new court documents reveal.

Last month, the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order with a shocking record of child abuse, informed a court it was going broke and would not be able to afford to pay out survivors.

The move has affected hundreds of cases brought either through the civil courts or through the governmentrun national redress scheme, which allows survivors to seek capped amounts of compensation without going to court.

An actuarial report detailing the state of the Christian Brothers finances was released to the media on Monday, alongside other court documents.

The report reveals there are currently 340 redress claims involving the Christian Brothers, which will cost the religious order an estimated $25m.

But the report also predicts the Christian Brothers will be subject to another 590 redress claims, worth $40m, in future years.

In total, it is on the hook for 930 redress claims worth $65m.

The rules of the redress scheme make the federal government a “funder of last resort”.

That means that where an institution no longer exists or is unable to pay, the federal government is forced to step in and cover the costs.

The situation has prompted a withering response from the social services minister, Tanya Plibersek.

“Victim survivors deserve to have those responsible for their abuse held accountable,” she said. “Christian Brothers should take responsibility for the harm members of their order have caused.

“Funder of last resort arrangements which call on taxpayer funds should be just that - the absolute last resort.”

The Christian Brothers is currently proposing a scheme that would sell off its remaining 36 properties and divide up the proceeds between a range of creditors, including survivors and the government. But the proceeds from those property sales will be nowhere near enough to cover survivors’ claims, and are likely to provide a fraction of what survivors are owed.

Survivors and plaintiff law firms are angry that the Christian Brothers has spent the past decade transferring vast and lucrative holdings of property to a separate entity, known as the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia, for nominal amounts of $1. That entity is resisting any attempt to sell off those properties to help pay survivors.

Plibersek said the government would take a “forensic approach” to the matter.

“I want to assure victimsurvivors that the Albanese Labor government will ensure the integrity of the National Redress Scheme is upheld, and applications naming Christian Brothers can continue to be lodged and will be determined in the usual way,” she said.

“The commonwealth, through the Department of Social Services, is participating in the current supreme court of New South Wales proceedings concerning the Christian Brothers’ proposed creditors’ scheme and is acting to ensure the interests of victim survivors and taxpayers are protected. We will be adopting a forensic approach to the Christian Brothers’ proposed financial restructure.”

The Guardian also revealed the Christian Brothers has used its dwindling finances to support nine convicted child abusers who remain in the order, and used two remaining properties to house brothers with horrific histories of abuse, including one who preyed on orphans and another who was kept in teaching positions for almost three decades after senior officials became aware of his offending.

The newly released court documents also reveal there is more property still that is owned by an entity known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools of Ireland, which is currently out of the reach of survivors and other creditors.

The court documents show the entity held net assets of $57m as at 31 December 2025. That has reduced rapidly to $47m in net assets by May this year.

The Christian Brothers is attempting to fold those assets into its proposed sell-off scheme, which could boost the funds available to survivors and other creditors.

Earlier this month, Plibersek expressed serious concern about the approach of the Christian Brothers. Speaking in parliament after revelations about the transfer of property to the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia, she said: “Growing up, I was taught that there was one church and one God, not multiple corporate entities that transfer assets for purposes that are yet to be made clear.

“The feeling that no one may be held to account for this abuse - that is perhaps even worse than the financial impacts … The idea that no one will be held to account for child sexual abuse, when it is identifiable where it happened and who was responsible, I think is devastating for victims and survivors.”

• In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. 

In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. 

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

Bishop expands TLM provision ahead of illicit consecration

A Scottish bishop has expanded the availability of Traditional Latin Masses in his diocese, ahead of an illicit episcopal consecration by a local traditionalist group.

Bishop Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B., of Aberdeen, Scotland, approved the offering of Traditional Latin Masses every Sunday at the Church of Our Lady of the Garioch and St. John the Evangelist in Fetternear, a hamlet in Aberdeenshire.

The Masses had been offered at the non-parochial church by members of the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (Transalpine Redemptorists), a traditionalist community based on Papa Stronsay, a remote island that falls within the Aberdeen diocese’s boundaries.

But when the community’s leadership began to issue statements repudiating recent papal documents and suggesting that popes since Vatican Council II were illegitimate — a position known as sedevacantism — Gilbert asked a diocesan priest, Fr. Bruno Murphy, to offer the Masses instead.

The Traditional Latin Masses were previously offered once a month, but under the new arrangement they will be available every Sunday. The new celebrants will be Fr. Yousef Marie, F.SS.R., and Fr. Peter Mary, F.SS.R., who were members of the Papa Stronsay community but have dissociated themselves from its present direction.

Fr. Michael Mary, F.SS.R., the 72-year-old superior general and founder of the Transalpine Redemptorists, is expected to be consecrated illicitly as a bishop July 25. The Canadian sedevacantist Bishop Pierre Roy is scheduled to serve as principal consecrator at the ceremony on Papa Stronsay, which is located in the Orkney Islands, an archipelago off Scotland’s northeastern coast.

On the last weekend before the scheduled episcopal consecration, Gilbert asked priests across the Aberdeen diocese to celebrate Masses using prayers for the Unity of the Church, an option in the Roman Missal’s section for “Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions.”

In a pastoral letter read out in churches July 18-19, Gilbert lamented the impact of the Transalpine Redemptorist episcopal consecration on Church unity.

He wrote: “Recently, the Society of St. Pius X chose to ordain four new bishops without the permission (or mandate) of the pope. This constitutes an act of schism. Next Saturday, July 25, something similar is scheduled to occur in Orkney when the Superior of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer intends to be ordained bishop by three unauthorized bishops from the Americas. This likewise constitutes an act of schism and will place those engaged in it outside the Catholic Church.”

Alluding to the presence of an SSPX Mass center in Aberdeen, Gilbert commented: “Both of these actions, and especially the latter, touch our own diocese of Aberdeen, and not in a good way. Objectively, we are dealing with a break from the unity of the Church.”

The pastoral letter reflected on the pope’s role in sustaining the unity of the Catholic Church, beginning with St. Peter the Apostle.

Gilbert wrote: “Some of this can seem remote from our daily preoccupations. But at another level, this gift of Christ — the Petrine ministry alive in the pope — is vital to our faith. It is not by chance that every Catholic Mass throughout the world names the current pope. It is a sign that every diocese, parish or community is not just a gathering of ‘chums,’ but part of something wider and greater.”

“The papacy saves us from a Christianity in our own image, a Christianity merely reflecting our own pet ideas or the current cultural ‘take’ on things. The papacy connects our ‘here’ to everywhere the Gospel has taken root and will, and our ‘now’ with the lasting will of Christ for his Church.”

He added: “With the papacy we are spared the fate of becoming a merely national Church or a sect, or followers of some self-appointed authority. We are kept open to the fulness of the faith and the full breadth of the call to charity. With Peter the mission flourishes, without him it withers. And to refuse communion with him is spiritual suicide.”

The Pillar asked the Transalpine Redemptorists for a response to Gilbert’s pastoral letter, but they had not responded by press time.

The Transalpine Redemptorists — who are distinct from the Redemptorists, the worldwide congregation established by St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1732 — emerged in 1988 from the SSPX’s orbit. Members combined a devotion to the Traditional Latin Mass with the spirituality of St. Alphonsus.

After Pope Benedict XVI expanded access to the Traditional Latin Mass, the Transalpine Redemptorists were reconciled with the Holy See in 2008. Gilbert erected the community as a clerical religious institute of diocesan right in 2012.

But in October 2025, the group issued an open letter declaring that it rejected several major documents issued under Pope Francis.

“We repudiate the Synodal Church as distinct from the Divinely constituted Catholic Church,” said the letter, which had 27 signatories, giving an indication of the community’s size.

On May 26, the community issued a declaration describing post-conciliar popes as “papal pretenders.”

The text expressed regret at the 2008 reconciliation, saying the Transalpine Redemptorists had still found themselves “forced by faith to resist the Conciliar authorities, although in a different manner.”

In response to the declaration, Gilbert said: “This ordination would be celebrated without a papal mandate, by a group of bishops who deny that Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV is actually the pope.”

“Since this consecration is due to take place within the geographical boundaries of the Diocese of Aberdeen, I am obliged to make clear to the faithful of the diocese that any such episcopal ordination would be unlawful and a grave act of disobedience, separating those taking part from communion with the Catholic Church.”

Laicized Right Before the Conclave: The Priest Who Accused Leo XIV of Covering Up Abuse

A monsignor with decades of service in canon law, including work in Peru and the Diocese of Colorado Springs, was laicized just days before the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV. He claims it was not justice. 

It was retaliation.

The monsignor alleges that false accusations, manipulated evidence, and irregular canonical procedures were used to destroy his reputation after he defended alleged abuse victims and publicly criticized influential Church leaders. 

He says he was never shown a formal decree of dismissal. He says due process was never afforded. 

He says the Church authorities who destroyed him relied on power, not law.

At the center of his accusations: Pope Leo XIV, then Cardinal Robert Prevost, whom the monsignor accuses of covering up abuse and orchestrating his removal. 

He also names Bishop Michael Sheridan, Bishop James Golka, and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò in his account of a system that punishes those who speak truth.

Croatian Catholic community in Australia recovers the ancient Glagolitic liturgy

The Croatian Catholic community in Australia celebrated a solemn Mass according to the Croatian Glagolitic rite on July 1 at St. Michael’s parish in Belfield (Sydney). 

The celebration brought together hundreds of faithful from across the country and revived one of the most distinctive liturgical traditions of the Latin Church.

The liturgy, held on the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ, was presided over by Father Mateusz Markiewicz of the Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP), assisted by Dominican prior Laurie Foote from Adelaide and Carmelite brother Jerome Voštan of the Order of Carmel, who traveled from Perth.

An ancient variant of the Roman rite in a Slavic language

The Glagolitic liturgy is one of the most distinctive traditions of the Latin Church. Its origins date back to the evangelization of the Slavic peoples by Saints Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century. 

Although Latin was the proper liturgical language of the West, the popes granted Croatian Catholics the privilege of celebrating the Roman rite in Old Church Slavonic using the Glagolitic alphabet, developed for the evangelization of the Slavic peoples.

Thanks to this privilege, Croatian faithful preserved the Roman liturgy in their own sacred language for centuries, passing the tradition from generation to generation while remaining fully part of the Latin Church.

For this celebration, the so-called Misal Vajs was used—the last printed edition of the Glagolitic missal, published in 1927. The copy was brought from the Croatian Catholic chaplaincy in Clifton Hill, Melbourne, along with the altar cards prepared for the occasion.

“It is not a relic of the past”

One of the organizers, Ante Cutuk, explained that the goal was to show that this liturgical tradition remains a living reality and not merely a museum piece.

“The Glagolitic Mass is one of the most distinctive treasures of Croatian Catholic heritage,” he stated.

He explained that this liturgy reminds Croatian Catholics that their ancestors preserved the faith “through their own sacred language, their chant, and their customs,” while always remaining in full communion with the Catholic Church.

“Bringing it to Sydney has shown that this ancient liturgy is neither dead nor a mere object of nostalgia; it continues to move people and strengthen their faith,” he added.

Cutuk also emphasized that Croatian identity cannot be understood solely through culture or nationality, but also through the Catholic faith, which has shaped the history of the Croatian people for centuries.

International-scale preparation

The celebration gathered hundreds of Croatian Catholics from various Australian states and even from abroad. Preparation required several weeks of work to coordinate the choir, altar servers, and the rubrics specific to this liturgical tradition.

For this purpose, Branko Lovrinov and Danijel Uremović traveled from Zagreb to assist with the organization and lead the weekly rehearsals leading up to the celebration.

Cutuk highlighted the atmosphere during the ceremony, which included priests, young people, families, choir members, and numerous faithful from different generations.

“It was beautiful to see Croatian Catholics of all ages united for the same purpose. Seeing the church full, hearing Old Church Slavonic and traditional chant, and knowing that people had come from other states and even from abroad made the celebration truly historic,” he noted.

The organizer concluded by expressing his hope that the revival of this tradition will continue and help keep alive one of the most distinctive liturgical heritages preserved by the Latin Church.

Four vacant dioceses and six bishops over 75: the pending appointments of Leo XIV in Spain

Pope Leo XIV faces a major renewal of the Spanish episcopate. 

As of July 2026, four dioceses remain without a titular bishop and another six continue to be governed by prelates who have already passed the age of 75 and have submitted the resignation required by Canon Law.

In total, the Holy See will have to address at least ten significant decisions. 

Four involve filling sees that are already vacant; the other six will depend on the acceptance of the submitted resignations and the subsequent appointment of successors.

The accumulation of vacancies and pending resignations makes the upcoming appointments one of the important tests of Leo XIV’s pontificate in relation to the Church in Spain.

Four dioceses remain without a titular bishop

The currently vacant dioceses are Astorga, Teruel and Albarracín, Osma-Soria, and Cádiz and Ceuta. The first three became vacant due to the transfer of their respective bishops to other sees. The fourth has been vacant since Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Rafael Zornoza Boy.

Astorga, the oldest vacancy

Astorga is the Spanish diocese that has been waiting the longest for a new bishop.

The Holy See announced on 27 March 2025 the transfer of Jesús Fernández González to Córdoba, where he succeeded Demetrio Fernández after the latter’s resignation was accepted. 

Fernández González took possession of the diocese of Córdoba on 24 May 2025.

Since the following day, Astorga has been governed by Francisco Javier Gay Alcain, elected diocesan administrator by the College of Consultors.

The see has therefore been vacant for more than a year without the name of its new titular having been announced.

Teruel and Albarracín, vacant since September 2025

The diocese of Teruel and Albarracín became vacant after Leo XIV appointed José Antonio Satué Huerto bishop of Málaga on 27 June 2025.

Satué took possession of the diocese of Málaga on 13 September of that year. After his departure, the College of Consultors elected Alfonso Belenguer Celma as diocesan administrator.

Although the appointment was announced in June, the effective vacancy began when Satué took possession of Málaga.

Osma-Soria, without a bishop since the transfer of Abilio Martínez Varea

On 9 July 2025, Leo XIV appointed Abilio Martínez Varea bishop of Ciudad Real, after accepting the resignation of Gerardo Melgar Viciosa.

Martínez Varea took possession of his new diocese on 27 September, leaving Osma-Soria vacant. The College of Consultors then elected Gabriel-Ángel Rodríguez Millán as diocesan administrator.

The diocese of Soria is thus approaching a year without a residential bishop.

Cádiz and Ceuta, the only vacancy caused by a resignation

The case of Cádiz and Ceuta is different. The see did not become vacant due to the transfer of its bishop, but because of the acceptance of his resignation.

Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Rafael Zornoza Boy on 22 November 2025 and appointed Ramón Darío Valdivia Giménez, auxiliary bishop of Seville, as apostolic administrator.

Unlike what happened in Astorga, Osma-Soria and Teruel and Albarracín, the provisional government of Cádiz and Ceuta was not entrusted to a diocesan administrator elected by the College of Consultors, but to an apostolic administrator appointed directly by the Pope.

Zornoza is already listed as bishop emeritus, but the diocese continues to await the appointment of a new titular.

Six resignations pending acceptance

To the four vacant sees are added six dioceses whose bishops have passed the age of 75 and continue in office while awaiting Rome’s decision.

Canon 401 §1 of the Code of Canon Law establishes that diocesan bishops must submit their resignation upon reaching that age. The submission, however, does not automatically produce the vacancy of the diocese. The prelate retains all his faculties until the Pope expressly accepts the resignation.

Omella, more than five years after submitting his resignation

The longest-standing case is that of Cardinal Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona.

Omella was born on 21 April 1946 and turned 80 in April 2026. He submitted his resignation to Pope Francis at the beginning of April 2021, a few days before reaching the age of 75.

More than five years later, he continues to lead one of Spain’s most important archdioceses.

The extension of his mandate cannot be separated from the influence he held within the Spanish Church during the previous pontificate. Omella presided over the Spanish Episcopal Conference from 2020 to 2024 and was one of the Spanish cardinals closest to Francis.

His replacement will be one of Leo XIV’s most important appointments in Spain, not only because of the historical and pastoral relevance of Barcelona, but also because of the consequences it will have for the internal balance of the episcopate.

Yanguas, waiting since 2022

José María Yanguas Sanz, bishop of Cuenca, was born on 26 October 1947 and submitted his resignation on the same day he turned 75, in October 2022.

In 2026 he will turn 79 and is approaching four years of waiting since he placed his office at the Pope’s disposal.

His continuity is one of the longest after Omella’s.

Taltavull and a continuity that is prolonged

Sebastià Taltavull Anglada, bishop of Mallorca, was born on 28 January 1948 and submitted his resignation in January 2023.

He turned 78 in January 2026 and has been leading the diocese for more than three years after reaching canonical age.

Reports published in Mallorca during this period pointed to the continuity granted by Rome, but the Holy See has not yet announced the acceptance of his resignation or the appointment of a successor.

Lorca Planes, pending since October 2024

José Manuel Lorca Planes, bishop of Cartagena, was born on 18 October 1949 and submitted his resignation upon turning 75, in October 2024.

As of July 2026, he has been waiting for the papal decision for nearly a year and nine months.

Cartagena is one of Spain’s largest dioceses, so its eventual replacement will also carry significant weight within the episcopal map.

Cristau and López Llorente, the most recent resignations

Salvador Cristau Coll, bishop of Terrassa, submitted his resignation on 15 April 2025, the day he turned 75. In April 2026 he reached 76.

Casimiro López Llorente, bishop of Segorbe-Castellón, did the same on 10 November 2025. He is the last of the six prelates to join the list of pending resignations.

Although their waits are more recent, both are already part of the agenda of replacements that Leo XIV will have to address in Spain.

Ten decisions that do not have to occur at the same time

The existence of four vacant sees and six pending resignations does not mean that the Holy See will announce ten appointments immediately.

The Pope may accept resignations in a staggered manner, temporarily keep some bishops in their posts, or transfer prelates from other dioceses, thereby creating new vacancies.

That is precisely what happened during 2025. The appointments of Jesús Fernández to Córdoba, José Antonio Satué to Málaga and Abilio Martínez Varea to Ciudad Real resolved the successions in three dioceses, but left Astorga, Teruel and Albarracín, and Osma-Soria vacant.

The policy of transfers can accelerate certain replacements, but it also shifts the problem from one diocese to another when the appointment is not accompanied by the simultaneous coverage of the diocese of origin.

The name of Jordi Bertomeu among the rumours

Among the names circulating in ecclesiastical circles is that of priest Jordi Bertomeu Farnós, an official of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. For now, it is only a rumour and there is no confirmation that he is destined for a specific see.

His possible promotion cannot be ruled out due to the support he retains in certain circles linked to Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Cardinal Pedro Barreto. However, his name is not well regarded in broad sectors of the Curia and he carries a burden of blunders, recklessness, indiscretions and arbitrariness that is hardly compatible with a peaceful mitre.

InfoVaticana has reported on episodes that include the use of an FBI investigation as a means of pressure to request money, attempts to promote sanctions and threats of excommunication against inconvenient laypeople, the breach of the confidentiality of testimonies and statements in which he placed the institutional good of the Church above the victims.

Bertomeu is also one of the main defenders in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of the thesis that the dispensation from the clerical state allows investigations into abuse by a priest to be closed. Several high-ranking Vatican judicial authorities have denied this interpretation to InfoVaticana, considering it legally false.

Making the principal “plumber” of the Vatican disciplinary apparatus a bishop would be a sign of weakness. Nevertheless, if Leo XIV continues to seek balances and appease centres of power rather than imprint his own line, his appointment cannot be ruled out.

Also mentioned are the archbishop of Pamplona, Florencio Roselló, whose private audience with the Pope in February reactivated speculation despite having expressed his reservations; the bishop of Solsona, Francesc Conesa, the name most frequently cited in Catalan ecclesiastical circles; and that of Tortosa, Sergi Gordo, former auxiliary of Barcelona. Some also point to possible surprises, from Cardinal Bustillo to the abbot of Montserrat, in a decision that will set the course of the Spanish episcopate under the new pontificate.

In Madrid, meanwhile, rumours point to an upcoming expansion of Cardinal José Cobo’s team. According to sources close to the archdiocese, the Holy See is said to have approved the request to appoint three new auxiliary bishops, bringing the archdiocese to a total of five.

The name considered most certain is that of the vicar for the clergy, Juan Carlos Merino, while Antonio Secilla, Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias, Santos Urías, José Luis Díaz Lorenzo and González Alemany also appear in the betting. Cobo’s intention, according to reports, would be to form a team of auxiliaries with diverse sensibilities to satisfy the different families of the Madrid clergy.

A test for the pontificate of Leo XIV

Episcopal appointments are not simple administrative decisions. They determine the pastoral, doctrinal and disciplinary governance of a local Church for years and, in many cases, for decades.

So far, Leo XIV’s appointments have not shown a clear break with the networks and balances inherited from the previous pontificate. Rather, there has been a tendency to combine sensibilities and avoid open confrontations with the main centres of ecclesiastical power.

Spain offers the new Pope the opportunity to begin defining his own line. The replacement in Barcelona will be especially revealing, but so will the appointments to smaller dioceses, where Rome may choose to promote priests from the local clergy, currently serving auxiliary bishops or officials of the Curia.

Leo XIV has before him the opportunity to correct inertia, reward solid profiles and restore credibility to selection processes too conditioned by personal relationships, quotas and networks of influence.

He may also limit himself to managing the inherited map and preserving the balances built during the pontificate of Francis.

The four vacant dioceses and the six pending replacements will provide a first response. Spain has become, due to the number and importance of the open decisions, one of the scenarios where the independence and strength of the new Pontiff can be most clearly measured.

Gambetti could leave San Pedro this summer after a tenure marked by desecrations and internal conflicts

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti could leave St. Peter’s Basilica this summer and be sent to the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto, a far less prominent post than that of archpriest of the main church of Christendom. 

The move, still not officially confirmed, would be seen in Rome as a step down after a tenure marked by repeated profanations, clashes with the canons, and controversial administrative decisions.

According to an investigation by AdVaticanum based on Vatican sources, Gambetti would leave his post in the coming months to succeed Archbishop Bruno Forte, who has already exceeded the usual retirement age. 

Although Chieti is a metropolitan see, it has not traditionally been a cardinalatial one and carries far less institutional weight than St. Peter’s.

People close to the cardinal say he is exhausted after five years at the head of the basilica and that leaving Rome could be beneficial for him. “He doesn’t like being in the spotlight,” one source noted.

When Leo XIV provisionally confirmed several heads of the Curia and Vatican institutions, Gambetti reportedly received an extension of only six months, a detail that fueled speculation about his future.

Three profanations at the Altar of the Confession

Gambetti’s time at St. Peter’s has been marked by several attacks on the Altar of the Confession, located beneath Bernini’s baldachin and above the tomb of the Apostle.

In June 2023, a man stripped on the altar and displayed a message on his back about the war in Ukraine. Two years later, in February 2025, another individual knocked over six candlesticks and removed part of the altar cloth before being subdued by security.

The most serious incident occurred in October of that same year, when a man climbed onto the altar in front of hundreds of visitors, stripped, and attempted to urinate on it.

Some of these acts required penitential rites of reparation presided over by Gambetti himself. However, their repetition caused growing unease over the lack of security at the heart of the Vatican basilica.

These cases were reportedly accompanied by other Eucharistic profanations, irreverent behavior during Masses, and security lapses that called into question the management of the basilica’s staff.

The controversial hospitality project on the terraces

One of the issues that most damaged Gambetti’s position was the plan to expand the small refreshment point on the basilica’s terraces.

The initiative sparked a campaign of opposition and several petitions addressed to the Secretariat of State, signed by thousands of people, denouncing the commercialization of one of the most important sacred spaces in the Catholic world.

The Vatican sought to downplay the controversy by stating that no actual restaurant would be installed, but rather a space to offer prepared food and improve services for pilgrims and tourists. The project also included an exhibition area dedicated to the history of the basilica.

The explanations did not prevent Gambetti from being associated with a proposal that many considered inappropriate for St. Peter’s and indicative of a management style too focused on commercial criteria.

A reform against the canons

External criticism was compounded by conflict with the Chapter of St. Peter’s, which for centuries has been responsible for the basilica’s liturgical and pastoral life.

Gambetti pushed through a centralizing reform that transferred much of the Chapter’s economic and administrative responsibilities to the Fabric of St. Peter’s. These included the Treasury Museum, the sale of religious objects, and staff under the canons’ authority.

The reforms were presented as a way to reduce costs, avoid duplication, and increase transparency. The canons, however, saw them as a hollowing out of their functions, a loss of autonomy, and an attack on centuries-old traditions.

One source summarized the discontent by saying that Gambetti had prioritized “liberal efficiency” over tradition. Another described him as “more of an engineer than a politician,” unable to manage the internal resistance of a Chapter accustomed to the Vatican’s complex dynamics.

Some defenders of the cardinal acknowledge that the canons exaggerated certain criticisms, but admit that Gambetti’s lack of political skill ultimately worsened the conflict.

The plastic chairs of St. Peter’s

Even minor decisions ended up becoming symbols of the clash between the cardinal’s management and the basilica’s traditional identity.

Several canons formally protested the replacement of the old metal chairs with transparent plastic seats. They argued that the new furniture clashed with the dignity and historic character of the church.

Gambetti defended the decision, claiming that the old chairs damaged the marble floor and forced the Fabric of St. Peter’s to spend more than a million dollars a year replacing deteriorated slabs. The new seats reportedly cost around 200,000 dollars.

For his critics, however, the issue was not merely economic. The replacement reflected a way of governing St. Peter’s that sacrificed tradition and beauty in the name of functionality.

The burden of Enzo Fortunato

Gambetti’s position was also reportedly weakened by the trust he placed in Franciscan Enzo Fortunato, a collaborator from his time at the Sacred Convent of Assisi.

Fortunato gained a prominent role in the administration of St. Peter’s and in organizing the World Day of Children, an initiative promoted during the pontificate of Francis. His management drew internal criticism over financial issues, lack of transparency, and the use of non-Vatican entities to channel funds.

According to the sources consulted, a significant amount of money was reportedly wasted during the organization of the event. Part of the income and sponsorships passed through Italian associations outside Vatican financial structures, raising doubts about the traceability of the funds.

On one occasion, Fortunato responded to questions about the accounts by referring them to the financial officers: “That, ask accounting. I’m not good at that.”

He was also criticized for frequently filming inside Vatican City, broadcasting images of Francis during his illness, and treating some employees disrespectfully.

The rejection of Fortunato ultimately harmed Gambetti directly, as many saw him as Fortunato’s main protector. According to the sources, the Franciscan reportedly later tried to distance himself from the cardinal and even maneuver against him when his position began to weaken.

Fortunato could also soon leave his current post as head of special projects linked to the basilica.

A step down

Gambetti’s possible departure would thus combine several factors: personal exhaustion, loss of confidence, repeated profanations, clashes with the canons, and poor decisions in the choice of collaborators.

If his transfer to Chieti-Vasto is confirmed, the cardinal would leave St. Peter’s after five years in which the basilica has become associated with security failures, internal tensions, and a management style more focused on administrative reorganization than on preserving the sacred and traditional character of the church.

The departure would not formally constitute a sanction, but it could hardly be interpreted as a promotion.

Canadian priest acts as master of ceremonies at his brother's "gay wedding"

A Catholic priest from Ontario took part in his brother’s homosexual “wedding,” publicly described it as “epic” and “amazing,” and served as master of ceremonies during the reception.

He is Father Rico Passero, parish priest of St. Joseph’s Church in Grimsby, belonging to the Canadian diocese of St. Catharines. 

In a post made on Facebook on July 5, the priest described the union between his brother Anthony Passero and Aldair Martínez García as an “epic” celebration.

“What an EPIC wedding weekend last week,” Passero wrote while sharing several photographs of the event, apparently held in the Niagara Falls area.

The priest stated that it had been “one of the most special and amazing celebrations” he had attended and thanked, on behalf of his family, those who came to support the couple.

Passero also explained that he had served as master of ceremonies during the reception.

“I’m still euphoric from the weekend,” he said, before expressing his wish to receive new photographs, videos, and aerial images of the celebration.

A public act contrary to Catholic doctrine

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered,” “contrary to the natural law,” and that “under no circumstances can they be approved.”

At the same time, the Church asks that persons with homosexual tendencies be welcomed “with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” and reminds them that they are called, like all Christians according to their state of life, to chastity.

The priest’s actions were not limited to a discreet family presence. 

Passero publicly praised the ceremony, thanked those who attended to support it, and took on a prominent role during the reception, thereby offering public support to a union that the Church does not recognize as marriage and that contradicts its teaching on sexuality and the family.

Only in Ireland – Kerry Airport passengers treated to mass before take-off

Forget last-minute duty-free shopping, passengers flying out of Kerry Airport on a Sunday are being given the chance to attend Mass before take-off.

One traveller was left pleasantly surprised after spotting Sunday Mass being broadcast live on a television screen in the airport’s departure lounge as passengers waited to board their flights.

The unusual sight quickly caught attention online, with many saying it was the most Irish thing they’d ever seen.

Instead of rolling news or sports highlights, the screen showed the religious service, allowing those travelling to follow the Mass without leaving the terminal.

For Catholic passengers, it offered an opportunity to keep up a long-standing Sunday tradition before jetting off on holiday or heading overseas on business.

The heartwarming touch sparked plenty of praise on social media, with many describing it as a thoughtful gesture that reflects Kerry’s strong sense of community and heritage.

Others joked that passengers could now receive a blessing before take-off, while some quipped that the airport was making sure travellers had ‘divine protection’ before boarding.

While airport departure lounges are more commonly filled with flight updates and travel programmes, Kerry Airport’s Sunday broadcast proved that sometimes it’s the little things that leave the biggest impression.

Pope Leo XIV to U.S. religious superiors: Prioritize community life

Pope Leo XIV this week urged U.S. religious superiors to prioritize community life, describing it as a place of “witness and strength.”

The Vatican published the letter on July 22 addressed to the Conference of Major Superiors of Men in the United States, to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, from July 20-23. The letter also marks the 70th anniversary of the conference.

The pontiff himself was a former religious superior, serving as the prior general of the Augustinians from 2001 to 2013.

In his letter, Leo congratulated the participants on their milestone and offered reflections on fostering community life, the theme of this year’s conference. Citing an address he delivered to religious institutes in 2025, he encouraged them to view their communities as places of sanctification.

“In reflecting on the theme for this year’s gathering, ‘One in Christ: Communal Life Today,’ I would encourage you to consider community life ‘as a place of sanctification and a source of inspiration, witness and strength in your apostolate,’” the pope wrote.

Leo also praised their efforts to promote religious life in the United States and reminded them that a healthy community life makes their Christian witness more credible.

“Indeed, it is precisely through sharing everything in common, including material goods, spiritual experiences, apostolic ideals and charitable service that the hidden presence of the risen Lord is made manifest among you,” Leo wrote.

Pope Leo XIV urges peace and nuclear disarmament in new book foreword

Pope Leo XIV has written a foreword to a new book, calling for peace and the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Originally published by Vatican News, the pontiff’s text is part of the new book “Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,” published by the Vatican Publishing House (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) in Italian on July 21. 

Edited by Alessandro Banfi, the book is a collection of Leo XIV’s addresses and reflections on peace since his election to the papacy in 2025.

The pope also invoked in his foreword American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan as well as Servants of God Dorothy Day, Floribert Bwana Chui, and Giorgio La Pira.

War is an adventure with no return

Leo began the foreword with what had been his first words as pontiff, proclaimed from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Peace be with you.” He explained the theological significance of those words, spoken by Christ after his resurrection, and decried the modern tendency for war.

“This was also the first gift the risen Christ offered to his friends and to the whole world: peace,” Leo wrote. “That gift, however, did not come ‘cheap.’”

“Today, a good 103 states are involved in some way in a war on Earth. Weapons boom and kill in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in Sudan, in Myanmar, in Yemen, in Congo, and in many other situations.”

He also referred to his predecessors Pope Francis and Sts. Paul VI and John Paul II, who also called for peace and nuclear disarmament:

“Especially after the terrible consequences of the events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the recourse to war is ever more an ‘adventure with no return,’ as St. John Paul II stressed.”

Invoking Bob Dylan: ‘Man-owned an’ man-handled’

In his foreword, the pope referenced American singer Bob Dylan, who criticized the manufacture of nuclear bombs during the Cold War in his 1963 song “Go Away You Bomb.”

“As singer-songwriter and poet Bob Dylan wrote, figuratively addressing the atomic bomb, in one of his poetic compositions: ‘I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned an’ man-handled,‘” Leo said.

The pope also explained that the threat of nuclear catastrophe looms large unless action is taken.

“History has already seen us come close to nuclear catastrophe.”

“A world in which machines, albeit sophisticated and faster than us, are the ones to decide to bomb defenseless people would be truly frightening,” Leo wrote.

Criticism of the U.S.-Iran war

Leo’s new foreword is emblematic of his stance on peace and nuclear disarmament, including with regard to the U.S.-Iran war.

Pope Leo and other Church officials have criticized the U.S. government under President Donald Trump for attacking Iran. In response, Trump claimed on May 4 that the pope “would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

Leo denied Trump’s accusation that he supported nuclear weapons, stating to journalists at Castel Gandolfo on May 6 that “the Church has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons.”

An English edition of the book “Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift” will be published in the coming months.

Questions of next Lima bishop cast shadow over pope’s Peruvian trip

Pope Leo XIV is set to visit Peru, the country in which he developed most of his pastoral and episcopal ministry, in November.

The trip will likely prove to be a memorable moment in his pontificate. 

But it will also be tense, due to the seemingly never-ending political crisis in Peru, as well as several episcopal scandals in the country.

In addition, questions of episcopal succession in the country’s capital are hovering over trip, and influencing the itinerary, according to local sources.

 With less than four months to go, there is still no confirmed date for the Peruvian trip, and uncertainty remains over which cities Pope Leo XIV will visit beyond Lima and Chiclayo.

The lack of clarity is partly the result of internal tensions among those organizing the visit, further complicated by the presidential transition of power in Peru scheduled for July 28, after which several important decisions on the trip’s logistics can be finalized.

Cardinal Carlos Castillo of Lima pushed for his diocese, as the country’s capital, to be at the center of the trip, according to sources close to the trip’s organization. However, the pope seems more likely to spend more time in Chiclayo, where he served as a bishop for almost a decade.

Part of the reason why, the same sources said, is that Pope Leo wishes to avoid giving too much focus to Castillo during the trip.

Castillo’s tenure in Lima has been controversial due to his alleged mishandling of several abuse and sexual misconduct cases, including in his own diocesan seminary, and alleged financial misconduct at the diocesan humanitarian offices.

Some local priests think Castillo has been detrimental to the general morale of the clergy in Lima, partially because of his controversial and confusing statements on doctrinal and moral issues, and his support for the archdiocese’s pontifical university, called by a diocesan source “the Peruvian’s progressive left think tank.”

Rumors abounded that Castillo, who is 76, would be replaced last year. But the pope has kept him in his position so far.

On one hand, the country’s political situation is already sufficiently fragile, and a change at the country’s primatial see might be interpreted as a political decision, further fueling the crisis. On the other hand, sources close to the Peruvian nunciature and the Archdiocese of Lima told The Pillar that the bishop who was favored to succeed Castillo was diagnosed with cancer, which delayed the process.

The presidential elections in April, the runoff in June and the papal visit in November also may have factored into a papal decision to allow Castillo to stay in his post at least until after the visit.

Moreover, the diplomatic agreement between Peru and the Holy See indicates that the Holy See must inform the Peruvian government of episcopal appointments before they are publicly announced.

While the Church doesn’t need the government’s approval for episcopal appointments, appointing the new archbishop to the country’s primatial see without informing the upcoming government might have been seen as starting off on the wrong foot with a new administration.

Several sources in Lima told The Pillar, however, that Castillo’s succession is already underway and that questionnaires about candidates are being sent out to local bishops and priests.

Most consider that Bishop Lizardo Estrada, OSA, auxiliary bishop of Cusco, is one of the frontrunners to succeed Castillo.

Estrada was then-Father Prevost’s seminary student in the 1990s. Estrada has previously said in interviews that Fr. Prevost was even his spiritual director during his years as an Augustinian novice.

Estrada also has a reputation for being an apt administrator as secretary general of CELAM, the Council of Latin American bishops’ conference, a role in which he has served since 2023. Last year, Pope Leo also appointed Estrada as a member of the Dicastery for Communications and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He is widely thought to be a close collaborator with the pope in Peruvian and Latin American Church affairs.

Bishop Marco Cortez of Tacna y Moquegua is also among the names under consideration. Cortez was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Chiclayo in 1985, and later served as rector of the diocesan seminary between 1995 and 2004. He has been the Bishop of Tacna y Moquegua since 2006 and is a member of the Society of the Holy Cross, a priestly society connected to Opus Dei.

Sources in Peru told The Pillar that Cortez was considered a rising star among the Peruvian episcopate, but his prospects of being appointed to a larger diocese diminished after the election of Pope Francis, as happened with several Peruvian bishops associated with Opus Dei or seen as theologically conservative.

Castillo’s predecessor, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, was considered something of a conservative firebrand during his tenure in Lima. A member of Opus Dei, he was known for provocative public statements, and for disciplining priests who were considered too liberal or too close to liberation theology.

Cipriani was accused in early 2025 of sexually abusing a minor in the 1980s. Following the allegations, it emerged that Pope Francis had privately imposed a penal precept on him in December 2019 limiting his ministry and public appearances.

Cipriani disputed the allegations and alleged that Francis had verbally removed the precept months later and allowed him to resume his pastoral activity. Cipriani was re-appointed to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in 2021, a year and a half after Francis allegedly removed the precept.

While local observers consider Cortez’s pastoral style distinct from Cipriani’s, his ties to Opus Dei could still be enough to draw suspicion from some members of the Lima clergy, even if such concerns may be unfounded.

Given the recent history of Peru’s primatial see, the pope may prefer someone who arrives with a clean slate and can help lower the temperature in the archdiocese. In that regard, Estrada could be a more suitable choice.

However, sources close to the Peruvian nunciature told The Pillar that the pope prefers Estrada to succeed Archbishop Richard Alarcón, who is 74, as Archbishop of Cusco. Estrada is only 52 years old, so the prospect of him leading the Archdiocese of Lima for more than two decades might push the pope away from appointing him to the position.

Another option that has risen as a possibility for Lima is Archbishop Javier del Río of Arequipa. Del Río, affiliated with the Neocathecumenal Way, has served as Archbishop of Arequipa since 2006. Several sources close to the Peruvian bishops’ conference told The Pillar that del Río is one of Pope Leo’s most trusted bishops.

In fact, the pope appointed del Río as adjunct apostolic commissary for the suppression of the Sodalitium Christiane Vitae, a Peruvian-based religious community suppressed in January 2025 by Pope Francis after decades of complaints of abuse within the organization.

Sources close to the Lima nunciature told The Pillar that two other options under consideration, although thought to be less likely possibilities, are Bishop Luis Alberto Barrera, MCCI, Bishop of Callao, and the pope’s successor in Chiclayo, Bishop Edinson Farfán, OSA.

While some in Peru have rumored that Pope Leo could replace Castillo even before the trip, this seems somewhat unlikely.

Several sources close to the trip’s organization told The Pillar that Lima will have an unusually small role during the papal trip because the pope doesn’t want to give Castillo too much protagonism. However, if the pope is planning to replace Castillo before the trip, this wouldn’t be an issue.

The trip is expected to take place between November 10 and November 16 or 17. While the pope is expected to spend three or four full days in Chiclayo, he will only spend the initial and final days of the trip in Lima, sources said.

While the itinerary may include an additional day in Lima, most of his time will actually be spent visiting nearby dioceses rather than the capital itself.

For example, Leo is expected to visit a prison in the neighboring diocese of Chosica and to hold a meeting with the youth in Callao. Both the cities Chosica and Callao are within Lima’s metropolitan area, and are within a one-hour drive of Lima, but fall within different dioceses.

In Lima, the pope is expected to meet the country’s president, Keiko Fujimori, and to be present at two major events: a diocesan-organized event at a football stadium in Lima and a Mass at the Las Palmas airbase, the same place in which Pope Francis celebrated Mass in 2018.

A diocesan source told The Pillar that Cardinal Castillo wanted to hold the Mass in downtown Lima because doing it at the airbase would mean that he would have to share the organization of the Mass and accompanying the pope during the day with the military ordinary, Juan Carlos Vera, MSC.

Along with his time in Chiclayo, Lima, and neighboring cities, the pope will also spend a day in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca empire, and a day in Pucallpa, a city in the Peruvian jungle.

Sources close to the organization of the trip told The Pillar that, during his time in Chiclayo, the pope is expected to travel in a helicopter operated by the Peruvian Air Force’s 8th Air Group for a pastoral visit to majority-Indigenous towns north of Chiclayo.

Several sources told The Pillar that Castillo and Cardinal Pedro Barreto SJ, archbishop emeritus of Huancayo, wanted to include Piura as part of the trip, and interim president José María Balcázar also said the pope would go to Piura, but the idea seems to have been rejected.