Priest is stabbed to death in an attack before Mass at an abbey in Poland

A priest has died and four other people have been injured this Thursday, September 24, after a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen broke into the grounds of the Benedictine Abbey of Jarosław armed with a knife, in southeastern Poland. 

The suspect was immediately detained and the Police are still investigating the circumstances and motive of the attack.

According to official information released by the Podkarpackie Police, the attack took place shortly before 9:30 a.m. at the religious complex located on Benedyktyńska Street. 

The attacker injured five people: four men and one woman. Three of the men initially suffered injuries classified as serious.

Attack began before Mass

The superior of the Benedictines of Jarosław, Sister Barbara Dendor, explained to the Catholic agency KAI that the events occurred shortly before a Mass that was to be celebrated in the rectory church of St. Nicholas and St. Stanislaus Bishop, located next to the Center for Christian Formation and Culture within the abbey grounds.

According to her account, the attacker entered armed with a large knife and began a confrontation with one of the priests, whom he wounded. He then attacked other people who were present at the scene.

Radio FARA, a media outlet of the Archdiocese of Przemyśl, specifies that among the five victims there are three priests and two faithful who tried to provide assistance. 

One of the priests died as a result of his injuries and two other people were in serious condition.

Sister Barbara explained that the nuns were not inside the church when the attack began. “We are, however, within the abbey grounds, we are neighbors. It is also a blow for us,” she stated. 

The children at the kindergarten run by the Benedictines are safe.

Priest tried to stop the attacker

Testimonies collected during the first hours allow a partial reconstruction of what happened. According to the superior of the Benedictines, one of the priests reacted to the attack and tried to stop the armed man.

Father Marek Pieńkowski came out of the confessional to try to intervene and was also stabbed. 

He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and underwent surgery.

Other testimonies collected by Polish media indicate that the attack may have begun in the cafeteria area of the Center for Christian Formation and Culture before continuing toward the church, where faithful and priests were preparing for the celebration of Mass.

Father Stanisław Zbojnowicz dies

One of the injured priests, Father Stanisław Zbojnowicz, later died in the hospital as a result of the injuries he sustained. 

The information has been confirmed by local church sources.

In the hours following the attack, there was considerable confusion about the number of fatalities. 

Rzeszów Cathedral had also announced the death of Father Marek Pieńkowski, but later publicly corrected that information.

“An enormous amount of misinformation has arisen around today’s tragic event. Unfortunately, amid this confusion, we also transmitted erroneous information about Father Marek Pieńkowski,” the community later explained.

The priest remained in surgery and specific prayers were requested for his recovery. 

Therefore, at this time the authorities and church sources confirm one fatality, not two.

Detainee is a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen

The Police have officially confirmed that the suspect is a 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen. 

He was detained by officers at the scene and remains in custody while investigators reconstruct what happened.

The Police are working with the Prosecutor’s Office and forensic specialists at the abbey grounds, where evidence is being collected and witnesses are being interviewed.

Some local media have reported that the man had previously arrived in Poland from Germany and had attempted to enter Ukraine before the attack, but this is information that has not been officially confirmed at this time.

The motive is still unknown

Polish authorities have not publicly established the motive for the attack.

The mayor of Jarosław, Marcin Nazarewicz, spoke in the early hours of a “probable terrorist attack” and called for increased precautions in public buildings in the city. 

However, neither the Police nor the Prosecutor’s Office have confirmed that classification so far.

Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński confirmed the detention of the Ukrainian citizen and stated that the services are investigating “the motives and circumstances of the incident.”

Therefore, with the information available at this time, it cannot be stated that the attacker chose the grounds for religious reasons or that it was an attack specifically directed against the Catholic Church.

The investigation must now determine why the man went to the Benedictine complex, whether he previously knew any of the victims, and what motivated an attack that left one priest dead and four people injured.

Blessed Fulton Sheen a model for evangelising through modern media – Dublin Bishop

The beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen is a reminder that the Church must embrace modern media without allowing personality or popularity to eclipse the Gospel, Bishop Paul Dempsey has said.

The celebrated Irish-American preacher and broadcaster was beatified today at a Mass in St Louis, Missouri, presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle on behalf of Pope Leo XIV. 

Blessed Fulton Sheen became one of the best-known Catholic voices in American broadcasting through his radio work and television programme Life Is Worth Living.

Bishop Dempsey, who presented a weekly religious and social affairs programme on Kildare FM before becoming a bishop, said that Sheen’s approach remains “remarkably contemporary”.

“For him, the medium mattered, but the mission mattered more,” he said, adding that Sheen’s gift was his ability to break down complex theological ideas and show people how they applied to their lives.

The bishop said today’s proliferation of YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and podcasts offers the Church opportunities “that were unimaginable just a couple of decades ago”. 

However, he warned that “the boundary between personality and evangelisation can become blurred” when communicators become preoccupied with popularity and views.

Radio Maria Ireland broadcaster Fr Eamonn McCarthy, who first encountered Sheen through recordings and writings in the 1970s, said priests today “would do well to emulate his use of technology with the same courage and zeal”.

He said Sheen combined a mastery of presentation with “sound philosophical, doctrinal and theological acumen”, pastoral concern and a deep life of prayer.

Fr Brendan Kilcoyne, speaking on his YouTube channel, The Brendan Option, said there has “never been a greater need” for “passionate and skilled preachers of the words of the Lord Jesus”, predicting Sheen would become “a very significant saint in the 21st-century Church”.

Prof. Martin Shaw, who promoted Sheen’s cause across Ireland from 2002 to 2009, recalled older Catholics who remembered Sheen visiting Ireland, while some priests told him they had attended retreats preached by the American archbishop. 

Prof. Shaw said Sheen also preached at Dublin’s Whitefriar Street Church during his visits to Ireland.

Reflecting on the long-awaited beatification, he said Blessed Sheen’s enduring lesson was simple: “It’s less important to be successful and more important to be faithful.”

Bishop McGuckian urges Belfast City hall to reconsider illumination in support of abortion

Bishop of Down and Connor Alan McGuckian has appealed to Belfast City Hall to remain a civic space that should “unite rather than divide” in a letter to all 60 members of Belfast City Council. 

The letter, written personally by Bishop McGuckian, comes ahead of the decision by the City Council to illuminate City Hall in support for safe abortions on September 28. 

In the letter Bishop McGuckian urged City Councillors to consider the impact the gesture on September 28 will have on those who are pro-life. 

“For them, the use of a cherished civic building to promote support for abortion is not a neutral gesture. It is deeply divisive and upsetting,” the letter reads. 

“Our shared civic building should unite rather than divide, reassure rather than distress, and affirm rather than diminish the dignity and rights of every person.”

The bishop cited his responsibility as a pastoral and spiritual leader to “speak up for those whom powerful and popular ideologies often chose to reject, especially when those rejected are among the most vulnerable.” 

Ending his letter, Bishop McGuckian welcomed the City Councillors to respond to his concerns. 

Famed radio and TV priest Fulton Sheen to be beatified in St. Louis, a step away from sainthood

Decades after he was a fixture on American TV screens, the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen is back in a familiar place: the media spotlight.

Tens of thousands of Catholic devotees are converging on St. Louis for a formal ceremony of beatification on Thursday, in which the prelate will be designated Blessed Fulton Sheen — one step away from sainthood.

The afternoon ceremony is taking place at the Dome at America's Center after years of delays. The stadium was chosen for the site because there wasn't a venue large enough in his home Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, to accommodate the anticipated number of attendees.

About 48,000 tickets were distributed as of Tuesday, according to organizers with the diocese and the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, which advocates for his sainthood.

The event honors a prelate who was once a regular presence in the living rooms of millions of Americans — including that of the future Pope Leo XIV, who says he watched the broadcasts of his fellow Illinois native while growing up in Chicago.

Sheen was a pioneering radio priest who quickly adopted the new medium of television in the 1950s, when he began hosting the program, “Life is Worth Living.” Dressed in a cassock, cape and skullcap, he stood at a chalkboard and delivered moral and religious lessons without a narrow Catholic focus.

The show competed favorably against entertainers Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra on other networks. In an Emmy acceptance speech, Sheen thanked his writers — Gospel scribes Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He’s been called America’s first televangelist.

“Archbishop Sheen was a beacon of faith, hope, and love who shone through radio and television for decades,” Pope Leo said in a June speech to directors of The Pontifical Mission Societies, which Sheen headed in the U.S. for 16 years. “I myself witnessed his evangelization efforts as I was growing up.”

Sheen was born in 1895 in the small town of El Paso, Illinois, and raised in Peoria. After becoming a priest and earning a doctorate in philosophy, he had a short pastorate in Peoria before becoming a professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

He became known both for his academic lectures and his plainspoken addresses from the pulpit and the studio, first on radio and then on TV. He often signed off with the benediction, “God love you.”

Sheen appeared in a Time magazine cover article. He guided celebrities and others converting to Catholicism.

He met with popes and spoke at the reformist Second Vatican Council. He railed against communism, though he opposed the Vietnam War.

Sheen raised funds and traveled the world on behalf of Catholic missions. He served as a bishop in New York state, retiring as an archbishop. After his death at 84, he was buried at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York until his niece won a court battle in 2019 to move his body to Peoria’s Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.

It's there, where Sheen had been a young altar server and was later ordained a priest, that pilgrims now place crucifixes and other items on his marble tomb, giving them status as relics.

To qualify for beatification, the Vatican normally requires one miracle attributable to the faithful seeking the candidate's heavenly prayers.

The late Pope Francis approved the beatification, attributing to Sheen the resuscitation of an infant born in 2010 without a pulse and revived only after lengthy efforts by medical workers. The child, the now-teenaged James Fulton Engstrom, is slated to present relics of Sheen at the ceremony, accompanied by his family, who had sought Sheen's intercession for healing.

The beatification was originally scheduled for 2019, but the Vatican delayed the ceremony. The Diocese of Rochester, which Sheen briefly led in the 1960s, requested the delay out of caution, due to legal investigations taking place then into the oversight of priests accused of sexual abuse across New York state.

Church officials later concluded that Sheen’s record gave no cause for further delay, and plans for the ceremony resumed. Pope Leo XIV approved the beatification earlier this year.

“May the example and the intercession of this holy bishop, known for his evangelizing work through the media, inspire many others likewise to find new ways of spreading the gospel message with joyful enthusiasm,” Leo said Wednesday on the eve of the ceremony.

Louisville priest resigns amid sexual assault lawsuit against Catholic church

A Louisville priest has resigned amid sexual abuse allegations against an employee at his Catholic church.

Gladis Garcia, who worked for Our Lady of Lourdes, claims in a lawsuit that she was raped and sexually harassed by her supervisor.

Her attorney, John Spalding, said when Garcia tried to report the abuse to the priest, he dismissed her claims and her employment was threatened.

“She went to the priest at Our Lady of Lourdes, Father David Sanchez, and reported it. And we allege that he didn’t do anything about it, that he did not believe her, that, in fact, he told her not to talk about it. Then he tried to silence her,” Spalding said.

“This case is about getting to the bottom of did they live up to their own standards, and if they did not, why not? and how can we prevent this from happening in the future?”

In light of the lawsuit, Fr. David Sanchez has resigned, according to the parish.

WLKY obtained a copy of a letter from Archbishop Shelton Fabre accepting Sanchez’ resignation and appointing Fr. John Schwartzlose as the temporary administrator for Our Lady of Lourdes.

The St. Matthews Police Department says it is investigating the claims and is working with prosecutors to determine if charges will be filed in the case.

Awake, a national survivor support and advocacy organization, sent a statement to WLKY:

“When a person comes forward with an allegation of abuse in a Catholic setting, they deserve to be heard, taken seriously, and treated with compassion. The allegations reported at Our Lady of Lourdes are deeply troubling, including the claim that someone seeking help was dismissed and faced retaliation for reporting the abuse. We hope the ongoing investigation brings clarity to this situation, and we continue to stand with survivors who have the courage to speak about harm they have experienced in the Church.”

Polish archbishop urges prayer after priest dies following abbey knife attack

Archbishop Adam Szal appealed for prayers Thursday after a priest died following a knife attack at a Benedictine abbey complex in southeastern Poland that left four others wounded.

The Archbishop of Przemyśl asked Sept. 24 for prayers for the deceased priest and the four injured people — two priests and two lay people, including one woman — as well as for the attacker’s conversion.

“May this event be an opportunity for reflection, for solidarity, and for praying together for those who are affected by events that are often very brutal and incomprehensible,” Szal said.

“May these events not give rise to hatred or animosity, but may they somehow strengthen our mutual solidarity and our spiritual bond.”

Police arrested a 31-year-old Ukrainian man on suspicion of carrying out the attack, which took place before a scheduled Mass at the abbey’s Church of St. Nicholas and St. Stanislaus the Bishop in the town of Jarosław. The church is attached to a formation and culture center on the grounds of the historic abbey.

Police were called to the abbey complex at around 9:30 a.m. local time. The attacker’s motive has not been established.

Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki expressed “great sadness” at the death of the priest, who died in hospital, according to Polish media.

“Today’s attack has shaken us all and demands a firm response from the state. I expect the relevant authorities to quickly and thoroughly investigate all the circumstances of this tragedy. It is the state’s duty to ensure the safety of its citizens,” Nawrocki wrote on his social media account.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said an investigation into the incident was ongoing.

“The perpetrator is a Ukrainian citizen. He will be punished to the full extent of Polish law. My heart goes out to the loved ones of the victims of this brutal attack,” he commented on social media.

Patriarch says Vatican prefect, Syriac bishop coordinated ‘rebellion’

The patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church told The Pillar Tuesday that a Vatican cardinal is behind a recent papal law allowing Eastern Catholic Church leaders to be deposed, and behind the efforts in his own Church to see him dismissed from his position.

Patriarch Ignatius Youssef III Younan is the first leader of an Eastern Catholic Church to face the prospect of dismissal from office under new norms promulgated by Pope Leo. 

But the patriarch told The Pillar that both a Syriac Catholic bishop and the prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Catholic Churches have “mobilized” to challenge his position, even while Youssef claims widespread global support among Syriac Catholics.

“I know my Church,” Youssef told The Pillar. “I have visited all the [Syriac Catholic] dioceses, either in the Middle East or in the diaspora, the Church of the extension. And I know that most of the people love their patriarch and respect him and want him to stay ministering and serving his Church.”

 The Pillar was among the first to report earlier this month that bishops of the Lebanon-based Syriac Catholic Church had moved to call for a meeting at which bishops would vote on removing Patriarch Youssef from office, making use of the recently promulgated Mutua concordia, which allows Eastern Catholic bishops to remove their patriarch by majority vote, with subsequent papal confirmation.

Youssef said the call among Syriac bishops to remove him stems from a dispute with Bishop Flaviano Rami Al-Kabalan, who had served as the Syriac Catholic Church’s procurator in Rome and remains resident in the city. The patriarch told The Pillar that a dispute simmering over several years stemmed from his efforts to call Al-Kabalan back to episcopal ministry in the Middle East, and the bishop’s insistence on remaining in residence in Rome.

“I wanted him to return to Lebanon to find a place for his ministry. He didn’t accept and he mobilized his friends in the Roman curia,” the patriarch told The Pillar.

Despite a call to return to Beirut, the bishop — Youssef said — is “still staying in Rome, presenting himself as the procurator,” and insisting that Youssef would require the consent of the Church’s governing synod of bishops to return Al-Kabalan back to Lebanon.

Youssef said he has asked for Vatican assistance on the subject in recent years, explaining in Rome “that this bishop is rebellious. How come that nobody interferes to correct the situation?”

But with the dispute escalating, Youssef said that Al-Kabalan has instigated among bishops the recent move to see the patriarch ousted.

“He is making promises to his brothers the bishops, or even threatening them,” the patriarch charged. “He knows people in the Curia, and if they have problems in their dioceses, he has promised to help them, or to defend their cause — or he threatens them. It’s very sad.”

Al-Kabalan did not respond to requests from The Pillar for comment.

But the patriarch also said that Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti — prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Eastern Catholic Churches — had been instrumental in pushing for his ouster, and has pushed for changes the patriarch regards as theologically problematic.

Youssef told The Pillar that the heads of several Eastern Catholic Churches have written a formal letter to Pope Leo raising complaints about Cardinal Gugerotti’s leadership.

“Most of the patriarchs are not so happy with the prefect’s behavior,” Youssef said. “He has spread the news for the past two years that he is trying to get several patriarchs dismissed, and he says that openly.”

The patriarch suggested that Gugerotti has adopted an authoritarian stance — and remained aloof from the heads of Eastern Catholic Churches — rather than find ways to work with them for the welfare of Eastern Catholic Churches.

And Youssef charged that Gugerotti developed the August papal motu proprio Mutua concordia — which allows an Eastern Catholic synod of bishops to remove a patriarch for serious reasons, with papal approval — and that the cardinal was involved directly in urging Syriac Catholic bishops to move for his own removal.

Gugerotti, he alleged, has prevented patriarchs and other Eastern Catholic leaders from bringing clear and accurate information to both Pope Leo and to Pope Francis, and used his position to shape Eastern Catholic Churches according to his own preferences.

The cardinal, Youssef said, “is trying to encourage, to instigate, bishops to just have their patriarch get out. And it is not the way in the east, especially for a patriarch.”

Youssef added that, in his view, Mutua concordia does not adequately respect both the theological and historical role of an Eastern Catholic patriarch; the cardinal urged that the motu proprio be reconsidered.

Youssef told The Pillar he hoped Pope Leo would “remember that the patriarch of an Eastern Church is a father and a head of his Church. We can’t ask him or oblige him to resign. This is not acceptable — neither with the Catholics or Orthodox. The patriarch is a father and the bishops — like the children of the father — can’t say, just, ‘we don’t have any trust in our father.’ This is not the way.“

In both a telephone conversation and emails to The Pillar, Youssef pushed back on the reasons apparently given for his dismissal proceedings.

While some Syriac bishops have said their Church lacks “fraternal harmony” under Youssef’s leadership, the patriarch said that his office requires him to make hard decisions, and that the Vatican should support that, rather than “encouraging the bishops to be divided against their patriarch.”

“In this misunderstanding,” he said, “the role of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches is to intervene, to find some kind of mutual reconciliation and to find the truth. But this didn’t happen, and it hasn’t happened.”

Further, he insisted, claims that he had refused to call for a governing synod in recent years are “entirely untrue.”

Youssef said that after a 2023 synod meeting, holding one the next year was impossible because of war in Lebanon. But the patriarch said he called Syriac bishops to consult on moving the synod, and was advised to hold the meeting in June 2025.

“It was then that [Gugerotti] began pressing Pope Francis to summon the bishops to Rome and threatening the patriarch in the name of the ‘Supreme Authority,’ even though the patriarch had repeatedly informed him that a synod had already been convened for Lebanon in June 2025, in accordance with the bishops’ wishes,” the patriarch said.

Amid disagreement in the Syriac Church, Pope Leo called for a July 2025 meeting of the Syriac bishops in Rome — with Youssef alleging that Gugerotti urged the pope to convene the session.

Gugerotti insisted on presiding over the assembly, Youssef said, even while the patriarch said he had both the canonical and customary right to do so.

At that meeting, he said, with “rebellion” already present among some bishops, Gugerotti “asked the bishops to say their accusations against their patriarch.”

Those accusations amounted to a “lack of harmony” among the bishops, he said — a charge which in his view should not warrant removal under the terms of Mutua concordia.

But Gugerotti did not, he said, “rebuild reconciliation and harmony in our synod,” he lamented. Instead, Youssef claimed that Gugerotti urged the bishops to make a vote of no confidence in the patriarch’s leadership, “and he took the result of the votes all the way to the pope.”

“Even those bishops who were hesitating, they did [in their votes] a lie, because they thought that the Holy Father, because of this prefect, had made already the decision to dismiss their patriarch.”

But Youssef called the July 2025 meeting a “farcical-synod, a sort of tribunal condemning the patriarch in the absence of any ‘grave reason,’ [which] was orchestrated by the bishops with the complicity of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches.”

“The patriarch did not refuse to hold a synod during these years,” Youssef emphasized.

The patriarch said that while it is possible he could be dismissed by the voting members of his synod, he hopes bishops will consider seriously the “rebellion” against his leadership.

“It is truly distressing to see that this entire distortion of the truth is the work of the patriarch’s former procurator … his representative to the Holy See,” Youssef said by email.

“Yet, he persists in his rebellion, backed by his friends in the Roman Curia!.”

Gugerotti could not be reached for comment.

There are some 160,000 members of the Syriac Catholic Church, with the majority living in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. Roughly 16,000 Syriac Catholics live in the United States, worshipping in the 11 parishes of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance.

Youssef, 81, was elected patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church in January 2009. He was ordained a priest in 1971, and spent much of his career as a priest and bishop in North America, overseeing Syriac Catholics in the United States and Canada.

According to Mutua concordia, a synodal meeting to remove an Eastern Catholic patriarch should be called by the senior bishop of the synod who is in favor of removal. A two-thirds majority of the voting members of the synod, usually the diocesan bishops of the Eastern Catholic Church, is required to effect the removal, and the pope must confirm a removal decision.

While the law does not define legal criteria for defining or establishing the alleged irreparable damage to internal communion, it does require that the patriarch be allowed to defend himself before the synod.

In the case of the Syriac Catholic Church, Youssef said the apparently irreparable harm in question has been cited as a lack of “fraternal harmony.” But the patriarch said that in his view, that does not constitute a sufficiently “grave cause” to warrant his removal.

The Syriac bishops, he said, “didn’t have any serious reason, any grave cause, to ask [for] the patriarch to resign, just saying that we don’t have fraternal harmony.”

For his part, Youssef said he is trying to entrust his situation to Providence.

“Of course, I am praying. I am asking the Lord’s grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And of course, it’s not so easy,” the patriarch told The Pillar.

“We pray to the Lord Jesus. And remember what Jesus said in the gospel: ‘No prophet is honored in his hometown or country.’ It’s very sad.”

PM vows ‘full severity of Polish law’ after priest killed and four injured in abbey knife rampage

A Ukrainian man who went on a knife rampage at a Benedictine abbey in southeastern Poland, leaving a priest dead and four other people injured, has been detained by police.  

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday that the 31-year-old suspect was in police custody and would face “the full severity of Polish law.”  

Officers were called to the Benedictine Sisters’ Abbey in the southeastern Polish town of Jarosław at around 9:30 a.m. after receiving a report of an assault. Police said the suspect had stabbed four men and a woman. All five were taken to hospital, where one of the injured priests later died. 

A prosecutor said two of the injured people were in serious condition. Regional governor Teresa Kubas-Hul had earlier put the number at one.  

“The killer from Jarosław is in the hands of the Polish police. Investigative steps are underway,” Tusk wrote on X. “The perpetrator is a Ukrainian citizen. He will be punished with the full severity of Polish law. My thoughts are with the loved ones of the victims of this brutal attack.” 

President Karol Nawrocki called for the circumstances of the attack to be established “quickly and thoroughly.” He offered condolences to the victim’s family and the abbey community, and wished those injured a swift recovery.  

“In the face of such acts, the state must be strong, act quickly and enforce the law without hesitation,” he wrote on X. “I expect the relevant authorities to establish all the circumstances of this tragedy quickly and thoroughly.” 

‘He looked like a madman’

The attack took place at a retreat center within the 17th-century abbey complex. A nun told RMF FM that the attacker entered while the gate was open following a visit by a group of young people.   

Another nun told Polish news website Wirtualna Polska: “The man who barged in with a knife simply started killing.  

“It was a random man. We don’t know him. He looked like a madman, in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, even though it was cold today,” she added.  

Prosecutors are investigating the attack, and authorities have not established a motive.  

Jarosław has declared a period of mourning until the end of the week. 

'Cult' priest denies sexually assaulting women

A priest has denied sexually assaulting women in a "cult" within the Church of England, telling a court there was "nothing wrong" with members of his congregation giving him massages in his bedroom.

Chris Brain, 69, accepted he had sexual contact with some members of the Nine O'Clock Service (NOS), a group which he led in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s, but insisted this was always consensual.

The former musician has already been convicted of sexual offences against "numerous" women, a jury at Inner London Crown Court has been told.

Brain, of Wilmslow in Cheshire, is being retried on a charge of rape and four counts of indecent assault after jurors last year were unable to reach verdicts.

He led NOS - described in court as a "groundbreaking" church service incorporating live music, "stunning" visuals and progressive theology - between 1986 and 1995.

The group began at St Thomas Church in Crookes and swelled in popularity to attract hundreds of people to its services, eventually moving to a new base at Ponds Forge before imploding amid allegations about Brain's conduct.

Prosecutors have accused Brain of "purposely creating a cult" in which he abused young women who had become emotionally dependent on his approval.

Some of Brain's alleged victims had been assigned to a "homebase team" which looked after the priest, his wife and their young daughter and would be called to give him massages in his home, the court has heard.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Brain said the women had been "close friends" who "would want to give me a massage" when he arrived home late and this had become sexual only "very, very rarely".

"It helped me with back tension and it was a way to meet people," he told the court. "There's nothing wrong with that."

'Hypocrite'

Brain told the court he had consensual sexual contact with two of his accusers, including the alleged rape victim, and no sexual contact at all with the other two women.

He continues to deny his guilt in relation to the crimes of which he was convicted last year.

Asked by his barrister Iain Simkin KC whether "as a priest you should have been sexually touching people," Brain replied: "It depends on what context. It depends on what kind of priest you are, what's happening in your life."

Brain, who was ordained as a priest by the Church of England in 1991, acknowledged he could be seen as a "hypocrite" for having sex with women in his congregation.

Tim Clark KC, prosecuting, said young women who were drawn into NOS had endured a process of "isolation, disorientation and unhealthy dependence, all designed by you to feed your ego and allow you to abuse young women".

He described Brain's leadership of NOS as a "dictatorship".

Brain said this was "nonsense", adding: "I was never playing the cult game, making people dependent and then pushing them away."

He accepted he would criticise young female members of NOS for their attitudes towards sexuality, but claimed this had been a "post-modern" approach to encourage them to be more assertive.

"This kind of thinking had a profound effect on the development of the third wave of feminism and I regret none of it," Brain said.

The trial continues.

Former bus driver begins new journey as priest in Omagh

A FORMER Translink bus driver and inspector who was ordained as a priest earlier this year has been appointed to help serve the parishes of Drumragh and Cappagh.

Fr Stephen Baxter, who spent 19 years working for Translink before entering the seminary, has taken up his first appointment as curate in the two Omagh-based parishes.

He will work alongside Parish Priest and administrator of Drumragh, Fr Kevin McElhennon, and Fr Malachy Gallagher, helping minister to one of the largest urban populations in the Derry Diocese.

Fr Baxter was ordained in June in St Columb’s Church in the Waterside, after studying for the priesthood by attending the Scots College seminary in Salamanca.

He had previously studied philosophy for two years in Maynooth and then Theology for four years in Rome.

“Before entering seminary, I attended St Columb’s College in Derry, working for six years in Stewarts and Tesco supermarkets. Then I worked for 19 years as a bus driver and inspector for Translink.

“Since ordination, I have been based in the Waterside helping out as required and I am now delighted to have received my first appointment to Omagh.

“I am looking forward to my time in your parishes and I thank Fr Kevin and Fr Malachy for the welcome that they have given me to the parishes.”

There have been just two priests serving the parishes of Drumragh and Cappagh since the late Parish Priest of Drumragh, Fr Eugene Hasson, became ill. He died in January this year.

While there were once as many as nine priests serving Omagh town, Killyclogher and the surrounding rural areas, Fr McElhennon and Fr Gallagher have been the only two in active ministry for just over a year.

The shortage has resulted in a reduction in the number of weekday and weekend Masses celebrated across the parishes.

One dead, four injured in Polish abbey knife attack

A knife attack on the grounds of a Benedictine abbey in southern Poland left one person dead and at least four injured, local media reported on Thursday.

A 31-year-old Ukrainian citizen was detained after the attack at the Benedictine Abbey in Jaroslaw, police said in a statement. 

The motives behind the attack were not immediately clear.

The attack happened at a Benedictine Sisters monastery on the grounds of the abbey, local media said.

“We are aware that Father Stanisław has passed away and Father Marek is in serious condition; there are other casualties, but we do not have further details,” Sister Barbara Dendor told state broadcaster TVP Info.

“When I arrived, there was total panic; young people who had come out of the center witnessed it — they were saying, ‘Some madman, some madman!’” she said.

Police said they were on the scene investigating the incident.

Müller recalls that "true masculinity" demands sacrifice, responsibility, and fidelity

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller has claimed in Poland the «true masculinity» in the face of contemporary attempts to redefine it, and has summarized it in three traits: building on solid foundations, being willing to suffer for higher values, and personally assuming the responsibility to protect what has been entrusted to man.

The prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith developed this reflection during the men’s pilgrimage held on September 12 at the Shrine of the First Martyrs of Poland, in Międzyrzecz, diocese of Zielona Góra-Gorzów. The full homily has been published by Kath.net.

«The world today tries to redefine masculinity», Müller warned. «We are often led to believe that strength means domination and that success is solely a matter of the bank account balance».

Against that model, the cardinal proposed a Christian conception of masculinity founded on fidelity, sacrifice, responsibility, and the protection of what deserves to be defended.

Mieszko, the martyrs, and Jagellon

Müller built his reflection on three episodes from Poland’s Christian history.

The first was the conversion of Mieszko I, whose decision to embrace Christianity he presented as a choice that did not respond to «a passing impulse», but became the foundation on which he built the State.

The second was the martyrdom of Benedict, John, Matthew, Isaac, and Christian, the five religious men killed at the beginning of the 11th century and venerated as the first martyrs of Poland. For Müller, they showed that «faith does not consist only of beautiful words, but in the willingness to give one’s life for Christ».

The third example was King Vladislaus Jagellon. Müller recalled that in 1426 the monarch personally traveled to Międzyrzecz to inspect the fortifications on the western border of his kingdom.

«The great king, victor of Grunwald, did not rule the country from the safety of distant Wawel», he noted. Jagellon went where the security of the people entrusted to him was at stake.

From the three examples, Müller drew his definition:

«If we unite these three threads—the decision of Mieszko, the blood of the martyrs, and the responsibility of King Jagellon—a single and powerful image of true masculinity emerges. A true man is one who builds on solid foundations, knows how to suffer for higher values, and personally watches over the borders of his kingdom».

«The true triumph of a man is often born in silence»

The homily then transferred these great historical examples to ordinary life.

The martyrs of Międzyrzecz, Müller recalled, «were not legendary heroes», but flesh-and-blood men who left everything to build something meant to last.

«The true triumph of a man is often born in silence, in the daily and persevering assumption of responsibility for those whom God has entrusted to our care», he affirmed.

The cardinal then used the pilgrimage itself as an image of masculine life. Walking means leaving comfort behind and accepting «fatigue, sweat, and pain», because «good requires effort».

The application to family life was direct: «A strong character, a happy marriage, or a deep faith cannot be built without self-denial».

Müller therefore asked for the grace of a «man’s heart»: a heart «that does not fear difficulties», capable of «a demanding and sacrificial love» and that, when the test comes, can respond: «I am here, I watch, I will not fail».

The primacy of conscience

Müller’s reflection also included an extensive reference to Saint John Paul II and the value of conscience over material advantages.

The cardinal recalled the words spoken by the Polish Pope during his pilgrimage to Gorzów in 1997: «Is not the dignity of conscience more important than any external advantage?».

John Paul II then pointed to the martyrs as witnesses «of the primacy of conscience and its indestructible dignity, of the primacy of the spirit over the body, of the primacy of eternity over the temporal».

Müller considered those words especially relevant today and linked them to the fidelity of the martyrs and to the responsibility that, in his view, must characterize the Christian man.

His proposal of masculinity is thus far from identifying virility with power or domination. The model presented by the cardinal requires precisely the opposite of comfort: to remain when it would be easier to leave, to take responsibility for others, to accept sacrifice, and to guard what has been placed under one’s care.

«Be courageous, be faithful, be witnesses of Christ», he concluded before the pilgrims.

"Whatever you decide, everything will be fine": Health turns abortion into absolution

The Ministry of Health has presented an institutional campaign on abortion that condenses in two words an entire conception of “freedom” and the “good”: “it will be fine.” 

It does not matter whether a woman decides to continue the pregnancy or deliberately end the life of her conceived child; the government announcement offers the same approval in advance for both decisions: “Maybe you decide to have it. Or maybe not. Maybe you decide to have an abortion. And it will be fine.”

It is not the message of an abortion-rights association. It is a campaign of the Government of Spain, presented by the Minister of Health, Mónica García, in a country that recorded 106,172 abortions in 2024, the last year with complete national statistics.

The campaign was also presented at the same event in which García announced that the Ministry of Health has turned to the State Attorney’s Office to demand that the Community of Madrid effectively implement the register of healthcare professionals who are conscientious objectors.

The contrast sums up the day well: to the woman considering an abortion, the State assures her that “it will be fine” and demands that she be able to do so in a public hospital; to the doctor who considers it morally unacceptable to participate in the deliberate death of an innocent person, it requires that he or she declare the objection in advance and in writing and be entered in a register.

“Whatever you decide, everything will be fine”

The video begins at the moment a woman discovers she is pregnant: “You will hear two words that will change everything. You are pregnant.”

From there it lists possibilities. Nerves, excitement, conversations with the partner, friends or family, doubts and certainties. “Maybe they will try to make you feel guilty and make it difficult for you. Or maybe they will support you on the path and accompany you on it.”

Then comes abortion.

“Maybe you decide to have it. Or maybe not. Maybe you decide to have an abortion. And it will be fine.”

And finally the complete thesis: “Think what you think, feel what you feel and decide what you decide, everything will be fine. Because you have the right to have an abortion and to do it in the public system.”

The Ministry of Health thus guarantees an “absolution,” a “cleansing of conscience” with a campaign that aims to combat “the stigma and guilt surrounding abortion.” García maintained during her presentation that “there is not a single way to live and to tell the story of abortion” and that no woman has to “prove suffering” for her decision to be respected.

For objectors, a register

While the Government spreads that message for those who decide to kill their children, García announced at the same event that the Ministry of Health has asked the State Attorney’s Office to study the necessary measures to require Madrid to effectively implement the register of conscientious objectors.

According to the Ministry, on September 1 it verified that the Community “has not advanced beyond beginning the initial procedures for creating the register.”

“The sectarianism of a regional government can never become an obstacle to exercising a right recognized by law,” García stated.

The 2023 reform of abortion legislation establishes that directly involved professionals who wish to exercise their right to conscientious objection must declare it in advance and in writing. 

The Government maintains that the mechanism is necessary to organize the service within the public system.

Already in 2022, the president of Madrid rejected the creation of what she described as a “blacklist of doctors who do not want to perform abortions”, although she then defended a “legal and safe” abortion.

The pressure on Madrid also has a declared objective: to increase the number of abortions performed directly in public healthcare. 

Of the 106,172 abortions carried out in Spain during 2024, 83,609 —78.75%— took place in private centers and 22,563 —21.25%— in public centers. 

In Madrid, more than 99% were performed in private centers.

The paradox is complete.

A woman exercises her autonomy by ending the life of her child and the State tells her: “it will be fine.” 

A doctor exercises his or her conscience by refusing to participate in that death and the State demands that he or she declare it in writing and be listed in a register.

Tabernacle of a church in Lugo and the consecrated hosts scattered across the square

Unknown individuals desecrated the tabernacle of the parish church of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Guitiriz, Lugo last Saturday, scattering the consecrated hosts across the town square after stealing the silver ciborium that contained them. 

The Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol has condemned the incident as a “grave act” and a “direct affront to the Eucharist, the center of the Church’s faith and life”.

According to the diocese’s official statement released on Monday, the events took place on Saturday the 19th at midday. 

The perpetrators tore the tabernacle from its place, forced the lock, and opened it to remove the ciborium. 

The consecrated hosts were then scattered in the town square and the silver vessel was stolen. 

The diocesan statement can be read in full here.

The diocese denounces a “grave offense to the Lord in the Sacrament”

The Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol has expressed its “strongest condemnation” of a desecration that, it says, “deeply wounds the religious sentiments of Catholics and the entire parish community of Guitiriz”.

The diocese also stressed that the incident violates the right to religious freedom and recalled the specific gravity the act holds for the Catholic faith.

“According to Catholic doctrine, this act constitutes a grave offense to the Lord in the Sacrament, truly present in the Eucharist, and affects the faith of the people of God,” the statement reads.

For the Catholic Church, the consecrated Eucharistic species are not merely a religious symbol. 

According to the doctrine of the real presence, after consecration Christ is truly, really, and substantially present under the species of bread and wine. Hence the deliberate desecration of the consecrated hosts carries a singular gravity.

The Civil Guard is investigating the incident

The desecration and theft were reported to the authorities, and an investigation has been opened to identify those responsible. As of Wednesday, September 23, no public identification of the perpetrators has been released.

The Civil Guard is investigating the incident and attempting to locate those who entered the church and stole the ciborium, according to local press reports.

The bishop will preside over a Mass of reparation

In response to the desecration, the bishop of Mondoñedo-Ferrol, Fernando García Cadiñanos, has called on the faithful to attend a Eucharistic Mass of reparation.

The celebration will take place next Tuesday, September 29 at 8:00 p.m. in the church of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Guitiriz and will be presided over by the bishop himself. The invitation calls on the faithful to accompany “Jesus in the Sacrament in reparation for the outrage” and includes Christ’s words from the cross: “Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.”

The diocese has invited both the Christian community of Guitiriz and anyone who wishes to join in prayer and acts of reparation.

Church reopens the only Christian school in Gaza: more than 1,000 students return to the classrooms

The Latin Patriarchate School of Jerusalem in Gaza has reopened its doors for the 2026-2027 academic year after nearly three years of educational interruption.

A total of 1,005 students, from early childhood education through the final year of secondary school, have returned to the classrooms of what is currently, according to the Patriarchate, the only operational Christian educational institution in Gaza.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced the reopening on September 22, which allows the full recovery of the educational mission of facilities that during the most difficult moments of the war also served to care for displaced children. For the new academic year, 77 teachers have returned to their positions.

The first day left an image that the parish priest of the Holy Family in Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli, summarized as follows: “Today we saw tears of joy in the eyes of the children and parents, seeing their children at school after three years.”

From wartime shelter to school once again

Education has been one of the priorities maintained by the Latin Patriarchate and by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, during the years of war.

Even during the most difficult moments, the Holy Family parish continued providing education to displaced children who remained sheltered in its facilities. The situation began to change during the spring of 2026, when some families were able to return to their homes or find other accommodation.

“As some returned to their homes or found other accommodations in the spring of 2026, we were able to welcome more students,” explained Romanelli.

Now, facilities that during the war were focused on emergency response are recovering one of their ordinary functions. “This place, which welcomed displaced people during the war, today returns to its educational mission. We hope this space will be a place where love, healing, and mutual respect can grow among community members,” the priest noted.

The reopening has also included the construction of a new building for the kindergarten, a project made possible thanks to the support of donors and collaborators of the Patriarchate.

The only functioning Christian educational institution in Gaza

The return to the classrooms holds particular significance for the continuity of the Christian presence in Gaza. The Patriarchate considers schools a fundamental part of its pastoral mission and, despite the consequences of the war, has worked to restore educational activity in the Strip.

The school operates under the supervision of Father Romanelli and thanks to the joint work of the local Patriarchate team in Gaza and the supervisory team based in Jerusalem. The center serves children and young people from the entire local community, not only Christian families.

Material difficulties, however, continue. The school faces shortages of furniture, stationery, and other basic educational resources.

These shortages are compounded by the consequences that the years of war have left on students and teachers. Therefore, alongside regular subjects, the center is preparing extracurricular activities aimed at psychological support for those returning after years of interruption.

For this academic year, 77 teachers have been able to return to their positions across the different educational stages.

Pizzaballa: “Without offering education to children, how can there be hope?”

Cardinal Pizzaballa has repeatedly defended the need to restore education during his pastoral visits to Gaza.

“Without offering education to children, how can there be hope?” the Patriarch has insisted.

The reopening responds precisely to that concern. For the Patriarchate, reconstruction does not consist solely of recovering buildings and infrastructure, but also of returning to children the possibility of studying and maintaining the works through which the Church serves the population.

The school represents one of those works. More than a thousand children and young people have regained a stable educational space while the community attempts to rebuild its life after nearly three years of war.

The Christian presence remains in Gaza

The reopening also constitutes a new step in the Church’s permanence in a territory where the Christian community has gone through particularly difficult years.

During the war, the Holy Family parish maintained its pastoral and assistance activities while its facilities sheltered displaced people. At the same time, within its possibilities, it continued educating the children who remained sheltered there.

Now, part of that effort is beginning to move from emergency response to reconstruction. The place that during the war welcomed displaced families is once again filling with students and teachers.

The Latin Patriarchate has indicated that it will continue working to ensure that the Church remains alongside the community, offering “not only spiritual witness, but also practical care, education, and service.”

After nearly three years of educational interruption, that presence has from this week a very concrete expression: 1,005 students have returned to their classrooms and 77 teachers have returned to teaching. 

For Romanelli, the tears of joy from the children and their parents on the first day showed what it means to recover something as ordinary—and for years impossible—as going back to school.

Between attacks and blockade attempts: more than 6,000 people marched in Berlin and Cologne in defense of life

More than 6,000 people took to the streets of Berlin and Cologne on Saturday, September 19, to defend human life from conception until natural death. 

The two Marches for Life brought together families, priests, religious sisters, Christians from various denominations, and six Catholic bishops in an event also marked by paint attacks, smoke, and attempts to block the rallies by opposing groups.

According to the Bundesverband Lebensrecht (BVL), the marches’ organizer, 4,200 people participated in Berlin and 2,100 in Cologne. The capital’s figure differs from the police estimate, which placed attendance at around 2,200 people. In Cologne, the police did not provide a final figure.

Days before the marches, several German bishops had publicly confirmed their support for the events. Also, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Heiner Wilmer, expressed his support and recalled that “a society is humane when it makes room for unborn life.”

Six bishops alongside the demonstrators

Five Bavarian bishops attended the Berlin rally: the Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, accompanied by his auxiliary Josef Graf; the Bishop of Passau, Stefan Oster; the auxiliary of Augsburg, Florian Wörner; and the Bishop Emeritus of Eichstätt, Gregor Maria Hanke. Priests, religious sisters, and Christians from various denominations walked alongside them.

In Cologne, auxiliary bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp was present. In addition to Wilmer, written messages of support were sent by the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, and the auxiliary bishop of Münster, Stefan Zekorn, among other Catholic and Protestant representatives.

The Berlin demonstration began at 1:00 p.m. at Washingtonplatz, in front of the central station, and proceeded through the city center before returning to the starting point. At the same time, the Cologne rally began at Neumarkt.

“We are not demonstrating against anyone. We are demonstrating for life”

Voderholzer, who for years has reserved the third Saturday of September to participate in the Berlin march, emphasized one of the fundamental principles of defending life: lending one’s own voice to those who cannot defend themselves.

The bishop explained that the rally is one of the few occasions when the Church, together with citizens from different sectors of society, takes to the streets on a socio-political issue to speak for those who “do not yet have a voice” and for those who “no longer have a voice.” He considered solidarity with the weakest a necessary condition for a healthy democracy and stated that participating in the march is for him both a civic duty and, even more so, a Christian duty.

“God is a friend of life. Every life deserves protection, including and especially unborn life and, of course, also life already born,” Voderholzer affirmed.

The prelate also recalled that the defense of the unborn child is not a recent addition to Christian thought, but has accompanied the Church since its earliest centuries. Already during the Roman Empire, he noted, Christians distinguished themselves by rejecting both abortion and the abandonment of newborns.

“We are not demonstrating against anyone. We are demonstrating for life, which is a gift from God,” he summarized.

Paint, smoke, and attempts to block the march in Cologne

The Cologne march took place under a principle that summarized the reason for the rally: “The right to life is a human right”. In the face of the thousands of participants who came out to defend that right, groups opposed to the mobilization carried out several incidents.

Two counter-demonstrators managed to obtain green vests similar to those used during the march and approached the stand of the pro-life foundation Stiftung Ja zum Leben, against which they threw paint. During the day, purple smoke bombs were also set off.

Several opponents also managed to position themselves near the front with a banner. One of them sprayed paint on another banner and faces a complaint for property damage.

The police had received a forecast of 3,000 participants for both the March for Life and the counter-demonstration. Officers used drones to monitor the route and had to deal with two sit-in blockades. Despite attempts to obstruct it, the march was able to continue and ended without major incidents.

From abortion to surrogacy and assisted suicide

Defending the unborn child against abortion is not the only front on which the German pro-life movement is currently working. The protection of life against assisted suicide, the consequences of prenatal diagnosis, and opposition to surrogacy were also among the concerns raised during the rallies.

In Cologne, Ludwig Brühl, a member of the federal leadership of Aktion Lebensrecht für Alle (ALfA), summarized the reason for his presence with a simple phrase: “We are here today because there are people who need our help.”

Brühl particularly denounced the existence of services related to surrogacy in the center of Cologne. According to him, pro-life activists conducted undercover investigations and confirmed that there are people who profit economically from this practice and know ways to circumvent German legislation.

The federal president of ALfA, Cornelia Kaminski, also addressed surrogacy during the Berlin rally. For her part, the president of the BVL, Alexandra Maria Linder, had called for its prohibition, arguing the need to protect women from exploitation and to prevent children from being turned into instruments to satisfy the desires of third parties.

The BVL has also focused part of its activity this year on counseling for women with crisis pregnancies, non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), and assisted suicide. These are different scenarios that raise the same underlying question: the protection due to human life when its fragility makes it especially dependent on others.

25 years defending human life

The 2026 marches coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Bundesverband Lebensrecht, founded in 2001. A year later, the organization held the first demonstration in Berlin under the name “1,000 crosses for life”. After new rallies in 2004 and 2006, the march began to be held annually from 2008 onward.

This year’s edition was the 22nd in Berlin. Cologne joined as a second venue in 2023 and held its fourth simultaneous rally this Saturday.

The BVL brings together organizations such as Aktion Lebensrecht für Alle, Ärzte für das Leben, and Christdemokraten für das Leben. Since its founding, it has maintained as its principle the defense of all human life from conception until natural death, precisely in the stages when a human being may be most defenseless and in need of protection.

On the occasion of the organization’s 25th anniversary, Voderholzer expressed a wish that went beyond the continuity of the demonstrations themselves: that the time would come when the March for Life would no longer be necessary “because the whole of society would be a march for life.”

The Berlin day ended once again at Washingtonplatz with an ecumenical prayer led by Bishop Emeritus Gregor Maria Hanke and Protestant pastor Albrecht Weißbach, who finally imparted the blessing to the participants.

Complainants against Rupnik write to Leo XIV: "We need truth, Your Holiness"

Five women who accuse Slovenian priest Marko Ivan Rupnik of abuse have sent an open letter to Leo XIV denouncing the silence surrounding the canonical process against the former Jesuit and demanding clarity, transparency, speed, and judicial independence. 

The letter, dated September 23 in Rome and released by lawyer Laura Sgrò, has been published in full by La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana.

The signatories are Gloria Branciani, Mirjam Kovač, Sister Samuelle, Vida Bernard, and a fifth woman who uses the pseudonym Pia for fear of possible retaliation. 

They state that they only learned through the media that proceedings against Rupnik had begun and that Sgrò, despite repeatedly contacting the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to request information, “has never received a response.”

“A new and painful violence of silence”

The five women describe this situation as an extension of the harm they say they have suffered.

“This deafening and prolonged silence is experienced by us, the victims, as further and ongoing violence,” they state. In the letter they speak of “sexual, physical, psychological, and spiritual” abuse and maintain that “this new and painful violence of silence and abandonment by the judicial system” has now been added.

They also claim to have been publicly discredited, accused of being “prostitutes,” “liars,” of having received money to accuse Rupnik, and of having profited from the case.

According to the signatories, the way the case has been handled may discourage others who are considering reporting abuse to ecclesiastical authorities. 

“The message conveyed by our complaints is precisely this: it is useless to report abuse to ecclesiastical authority, because nothing happens anyway, no one will pay, and victims will never obtain justice,” they write.

Francis ordered the case reopened in 2023

The accusations against Rupnik became public at the end of 2022. Several women, some of them former religious sisters of the Loyola Community, have since accused him of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse.

In October 2023, after the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors informed Francis that there were “serious problems” in the way the case had been handled and a lack of closeness to the victims, the then-Pontiff asked the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to review the file.

Francis also decided to lift the statute of limitations to allow a trial to proceed, as the Holy See officially announced on October 27, 2023.

The procedure took a decisive step in October 2025 with the appointment of the five judges assigned to the case. 

The Dicastery explained at the time that the tribunal was composed of individuals outside the Dicastery itself and without positions in other Roman Curia dicasteries, a choice intended to better ensure “autonomy and independence” of the court.

Rupnik has not been found guilty in these proceedings and retains the presumption of innocence until the tribunal issues a ruling.

The complainants say no one has contacted them

The main objection now raised by the five women concerns precisely how the process is functioning.

According to their letter, they only know of the proceedings through media reports. They state that Sgrò has repeatedly requested information from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith without receiving a response. Reuters also reports that the five women claim they have not been able to give testimony in the current process.

The lack of information became especially significant during the summer, when reports began circulating suggesting a supposed acquittal of Rupnik.

On July 22, Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni denied those reports and stated that any news of a judicial deliberation was “absolutely unfounded.”

Bruni confirmed that the evaluation was still ongoing and that the tribunal was examining documentation from the dioceses involved, from the Jesuits, from the interested parties, and from information published in the media.

The Vatican defends confidentiality

The Holy See then expressly defended the secrecy of the proceedings. According to Bruni, during a judicial process information about ongoing activity cannot be disclosed, both out of respect for the process itself and to avoid harm to the individuals involved.

The spokesperson added that if the tribunal considers additional information necessary, the judicial college itself will request it. 

He also confirmed that this is a penal canonical process of a judicial nature, held despite any statute of limitations that might affect possible offenses, and that it must rule on Rupnik’s guilt or innocence in accordance with Canon Law.

The Holy See’s explanation contrasts with the position now expressed by the complainants. 

For the Vatican, confidentiality protects the integrity of the proceedings; for the five women, the level of silence surrounding it has left them without information about a process in which their complaints occupy a central place.

“A trial conducted in oblivion offers no guarantees to anyone”

The five complainants now question the consequences this confidentiality is having on those who filed the accusations.

“A trial conducted in oblivion offers no guarantees to anyone, neither to the accused nor to the victims,” they write. They maintain that such a situation is incompatible with “the very concepts of law, truth, justice, equity, and mercy.”

The signatories state that they do not intend to “surrender to oblivion” or to give up seeking justice and ask to be considered “a resource, not an obstacle” in clarifying the facts.

Their final request is addressed directly to Leo XIV: they demand that “adversarial proceedings between the parties, clarity, transparency, speed, impartiality, and independence of the judges” be guaranteed, so that both the trial and its outcome, “whatever it may be,” retain no shadows.

Leo XIV spoke about the case in November 2025, shortly after the appointment of the tribunal. The Pontiff then recalled that the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven also applies in the Church and expressed hope that the process could bring “clarity and justice for all involved.”

The five women close their petition with a phrase addressed to the Pontiff: “We need truth, Your Holiness, but just as we do, the Church also needs it very much.”

Letter published in La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana

Below, we offer the full English translation of the letter published by La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana:

Open letter to Pope Leo XIV from five victims of Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik

Rome, September 23, 2026

Your Holiness:

We are five victims of Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik: Gloria Branciani, Mirjam Kovač, Sister Samuelle, Vida Bernard, and Pia; the latter, out of well-founded fear of retaliation, has chosen to use a fictitious name.

We have decided to write to you on the occasion of your trip to France and, in particular, of your visit to Lourdes, where you will meet with victims of abuse like us, in a place where the mosaics by Fr. Rupnik will no longer be visible on the façade of the basilica, following the decision of His Excellency Bishop Jean-Marc Micas, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, to cover them permanently. A very strong and courageous gesture that we have greatly appreciated, also because toward us there has never been an atmosphere of solidarity; on the contrary, we have always encountered much opposition and hostility.

We only know through the media that proceedings against Fr. Rupnik have begun, because our lawyer, Laura Sgrò, despite repeatedly and by all means contacting the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to obtain at least some clarity—in respect and in the interest of all—regarding the procedure in which we are involved as victims, has never received a response.

This deafening and prolonged silence is experienced by us, the victims, as further and ongoing violence, which adds, with the weight of a rock, to the violence we have already suffered. Sexual, physical, psychological, spiritual violence; a violence prolonged in the soul, to which is now added this new and painful violence of silence and abandonment by the judicial system.

We have been accused—rather, defamed—of being prostitutes, liars, of having received money to accuse Fr. Rupnik, of having enriched ourselves with this horrible story. Abused and outraged, we therefore continue to suffer violence amid the sepulchral silence and indifference of those who have been called to decide on our lives. And unfortunately, precisely the violence we still suffer publicly only discourages those who, like us, have suffered the same treatment and might be thinking of reporting it.

We have become, obtorto collo, from a positive example into a negative one. Because the message that has remained from our complaints is precisely this: it is useless to report abuse to ecclesiastical authority, because nothing happens anyway, no one will pay, and victims will never obtain justice. Because we, Your Holiness, have lost all trace of justice and because a trial conducted in oblivion offers no guarantees to anyone, neither to the accused nor to the victims, and is incompatible with the very concepts of law, truth, justice, equity, and mercy that you, Your Holiness, always keep in mind.

We have no intention of surrendering to oblivion or of giving up on justice, until the gravity of the facts that occurred is recognized and the person responsible is punished. And on this tortuous path toward the truth, we would like to be considered a resource, not an obstacle.

We place ourselves in your hands and trust in you, Holy Father, as supreme Shepherd of the Church, to exercise your supreme power of judgment and grace and to hear our request, which is that of every victim of abuse who desires the recognition of truth through a fair trial.

We ask that adversarial proceedings between the parties, clarity, transparency, speed, impartiality, and independence of the judges always be guaranteed, so that the trial and its outcome—whatever it may be—retain no shadows.

We need truth, Your Holiness, but just as we do, the Church also needs it very much.

Gloria Branciani

Mirjam Kovač

Sister Samuelle

Vida Bernard

Pia