APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS LEO XIV TO THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO - HOLY MASS

HOMILY OF POPE LEO XIV

Louis II Stadium
Saturday, 28 March 2026

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Dear brothers and sisters,

The Gospel we have heard (cf. Jn 11:45–57) recounts the cruel sentence issued against Jesus; it tells us of the day when the members of the Sanhedrin “planned to put him to death” (v. 53).  Why does this happen to him?  It is because he raised Lazarus from the dead, restoring life to his friend, at whose tomb he had wept, sharing in the grief of Martha and Mary.  Jesus, who came into the world to free us from the condemnation of death, is himself condemned to death.  This is not a matter of fate, but a deliberate and carefully considered decision.

The verdict of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin stemmed from a political calculation based on fear: if Jesus continued to inspire hope and turn the people’s sorrow into joy, “the Romans would come” and devastate the nation (v. 48).  Rather than recognizing the Nazarene as the Messiah — the long-awaited Christ — the religious leaders saw him as a threat.  As teachers of the Law, their vision was so distorted that they violated the precepts of the Law themselves.  Forgetting God’s promise to his people, they sought to kill the innocent, and behind their fear lay a desire to keep hold of power.  Although they had forgotten the Law, which commands, “Thou shalt not kill,” God did not forget the promise that would prepare the world for salvation.  His providence turned that murderous verdict into the means of revealing an act of supreme love: however wicked Caiaphas may have been, he “prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation” (v. 51).

We are thus witnesses to two opposing forces: on the one hand, the revelation of God, who presents himself as the almighty Lord and Savior; and on the other, the hidden schemes of powerful authorities who are eager to kill without scruples.  Does this not also happen today?  Where these forces converge, there lies the sign of Jesus: the giving of one’s life.  This sign is foreshadowed in the resurrection of Lazarus, which is the closest prophecy of the events that would later unfold in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.  At Passover, the Son would fulfil the Father’s work through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Just as God brought life into being from nothing at the beginning of time, so in the fullness of time he redeems every life from death, the source of destruction in creation.

The joy and the strength of our witness come from redemption, in every place and at every time.  Indeed, our own stories are encompassed within Jesus’ story, beginning with the lives of the vulnerable and oppressed.  Even today, how many plots are devised around the world to kill the innocent!  How many excuses are made to justify their elimination!  Yet, despite the persistence of evil, God’s eternal justice always rescues us from our graves, as it did with Lazarus, and gives us new life.  The Lord frees us from pain by instilling hope.  He converts our hardened hearts by transforming power into service, revealing the true name of his omnipotence: mercy.  It is mercy that saves the world.  It nurtures every human life in all its frailty, from the moment it grows in the womb until it withers away.  As Pope Francis taught us, the culture of mercy rejects the throwaway culture.

As we have heard, the voices of the prophets testify to how God carries out his plan of salvation.  In the first reading, Ezekiel proclaims that God’s work begins with liberation (Ez 37:23) and is realized through the sanctification of the people (cf. v. 28), who are on a journey of conversion, much like our own Lenten journey.  This is an invitation to become involved, rather than remaining at a private or individual level, so that our relationships with God and with our neighbors can be transformed.

First, liberation takes the form of a purification from the “idols” that defiled the people (v. 23).  But what are idols?  The prophet uses this term to refer to all those things that enslave our hearts, deceiving and corrupting them.  The word “idol” means “small idea,” that is, a diminished vision, which undermines not only the glory of the Almighty by transforming him into an object, but also the human mind. Idolaters are thus narrow-minded people who look at what captivates their gaze, ultimately darkening it.  And so, the great and wonderful things of this earth become idols and bring about forms of slavery — not for those who lack these things, but those who gorge themselves on them, leaving their neighbor in misery and sorrow.  Liberation from idols is thus deliverance from power understood as dominion, from wealth turned into greed, from vanity masquerading as beauty.

God does not abandon us when these temptations come, but reaches out to those who are weak and sorrowful, to those who believe that the idols of the world can save them.  As Saint Augustine taught, “man is liberated from their dominion when he believes in him who has given an example of humility” (De Civitate Dei, VII, 33).  This example is the very life of Jesus, God made man for our salvation. Rather than punishing us, he destroyed evil through his love, thus fulfilling the solemn promise: “I will purify them; they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ez 37:23). The Lord changed the course of history by calling us from idolatry to true faith, from death to life.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, in the face of the many injustices that afflict peoples and the wars that tear nations apart, the words of the prophet Jeremiah, proclaimed today as a psalm, resound with strength: “I will turn their mourning into joy, I will gladden them, I will comfort them after their sorrow” (Jer 31:13).  Idolatry makes people slaves of each other, but purification from idolatry sanctifies them.  It is a gift of grace that makes people children of God, and brothers and sisters to one another.  This gift sheds light on our present, for the wars that stain it with blood are the fruit of the idolatry of power and money.  Every life cut short wounds the body of Christ.  Let us not grow accustomed to the clamor of weapons and images of war!  Peace is not merely a balance of power; it is the work of purified hearts, of those who see others as brothers and sisters to be protected, not enemies to be defeated.

The Church in Monaco is called to bear witness to living in peace and with God’s blessing.  Therefore, dear friends, bring happiness to others through your faith, by manifesting authentic joy, which is not won through a wager, but shared through charity.  God’s love is the source of this joy: love for new and vulnerable life, which should always be welcomed and cared for; love for the young and the elderly, who should receive encouragement through life’s challenges; love for the healthy and the sick, who are sometimes alone, and are always in need of attentive accompaniment.  May the Virgin Mary, your Patroness, help you provide a welcoming and dignified space for the little ones and the poor, and to promote integral and inclusive development.

In the world’s prolonged Lent, when evil rages and idolatry makes hearts indifferent, the Lord prepares his Easter.  Human beings are the sign of this event: Lazarus, for he was called from the tomb; we, who are forgiven sinners; the Risen Crucified One, who is the author of salvation.  He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), sustaining our pilgrimage and the Church’s mission in the world, which is to give God’s life.  This task is sublime and seemingly impossible, unless we give our lives to our neighbor.  It is an exciting and fruitful task, and the Gospel shines a light for our steps.

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS LEO XIV TO THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO - CELEBRATION OF MIDDAY PRAYER WITH THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

HOMILY OF POPE LEO XIV 

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Saturday, 28 March 2026

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Dear brothers and sisters,

We have an advocate before God: Jesus Christ, the righteous one (cf. 1 Jn 2:1-2).  With these words, the Apostle John helps us to understand the mystery of salvation.  In our weakness, weighed down by the burden of sin that marks our human condition, incapable by our own efforts of embracing the fullness of life and happiness, God himself approaches us through his Son Jesus Christ.  The Apostle tells us that Jesus, as a sacrificial victim, took upon himself the evil found in humanity and in the world, that he carried it with us and for us, and that he has overcome this evil, transforming it and freeing us forever.

Christ is the living center, the heart of our faith, and it is with this in mind that I address you.  I cordially greet His Highness Prince Albert, His Excellency Archbishop Dominique-Marie David, and the priests and religious present.  To each of you, I say that it is a joy for me to be here and to share in your ecclesial journey.

Regarding the reading we have just heard, I would like to offer you some reflections on Jesus as our “advocate.”

The first point concerns the gift of communion.  Christ, the righteous one, interceding for humanity before the Father, reconciles us with the Father and with one another.  Jesus did not come to pronounce a judgment that condemns, but to offer to everyone his mercy that purifies, heals, transforms and makes us part of the one family of God.  His compassion and mercy make him an “advocate” in defense of the poor and sinners, not in order to pander to evil, but to free them from oppression and slavery, and to make them children of God and brothers and sisters to each other.  It is not the case that Jesus’ actions are limited only to physical or spiritual healing.  For they also include an important social and political dimension, for healed persons are reintegrated, with all their dignity, into the human and religious community from which – often because of illness or sin – they were excluded.

This communion is the sign par excellence of the Church, called to be a reflection in this world of the love of God which shows no favoritism (cf. Acts 10:34).  In this regard, I would like to say that your Church, here in the Principality of Monaco, possesses a great richness.  For it is truly a place where all find welcome and hospitality, marked by a social and cultural mix that is characteristic of your society.  Indeed, although the Principality of Monaco is a small State, it is inhabited by people from Monaco, France, Italy and people of many other nationalities.  It is a small cosmopolitan State, in which the diversity of origins are also complemented by socio-economic differences.  In the Church, such variety should never become the occasion of division into social classes.  On the contrary, everyone is welcomed as persons and children of God.  Moreover, all are recipients of a gift of grace that fosters communion, fraternity and love of neighbor.  This is the gift that comes from Christ, our advocate before the Father.  For we have all been baptized in him and, thus, as Saint Paul states, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male nor female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).

At the same time, it seems necessary to emphasize a second point: the proclamation of the Gospel in defense of the human person.  Jesus desires that everyone welcomes the good news of the Father’s love.  Moreover, as an “advocate,” he speaks up especially in defense of those who were considered abandoned by God and were forgotten and marginalized.  He thereby made himself the voice and face of the merciful God who “works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed” (Ps 103:6).

I think thus of a Church called to make herself an “advocate,” namely a defender of the human person, of every man and woman.  This involves a crucial and prophetic path of discernment aimed at promoting “the ‘integral development’ of humanity, which respects its dignity and authentic identity, as well as its ultimate goal, which refers to a mystery of full communion with the Triune God and among ourselves” (International Theological Commission, Quo vadis, humanitas?, 22).

The first service that the proclamation of the Gospel must render is to shine a light on the human person and society so that, illuminated by Christ and his word, they may discover their own identity, the meaning of human life, the value of relationships and social solidarity, the ultimate purpose of our existence and our final destiny.

In this regard, I would like to encourage you to give passionate and generous service to the work of evangelization.  Proclaim the Gospel of life, hope and love.  Bring the light of the Gospel to everyone so that the life of every man and woman may be defended and promoted from conception until natural death.  Offer new pathways capable of stemming the tide of secularism, which risks reducing humanity to individualism and basing social life on the production of wealth.

How important it is that the proclamation of the Gospel and the practice of the faith, which are embedded in your identity and society, guard themselves from the risk of being reduced to mere habit, even if it is good.  A living faith is always prophetic, capable of responding to questions and being thought provoking.  Are we truly defending human beings?  Are we safeguarding the dignity of the person by protecting life in all its stages?  Is the current economic and social model truly just and marked by solidarity?  Does it possess an ethic of responsibility, which assists and goes beyond the “mere logic of the exchange of equivalents, of profit as an end in itself” (Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 38) so as to build a more equitable society?

Dear friends, by keeping your gaze fixed upon Jesus Christ, our advocate with the Father, you will develop a faith rooted in a personal relationship with him, a faith that bears witness, and is capable of transforming life and renewing society.  This faith needs to be proclaimed through a fresh language and by new tools, including those that are digital.  Everyone must be introduced to this faith and continuously formed in it using creative means.  This is especially the case for those who are learning how to encounter God, and I urge you to give particular attention to catechumens and those rediscovering their faith.

May your holy patron Saint Devota, virgin and martyr, inspire you by her example, and may the Immaculate Virgin, Mary Most Holy, intercede for you and guide you always.

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS LEO XIV TO THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO - COURTESY VISIT TO H.S.H, THE PRINCIPE OF MONACO

GREETING OF THE HOLY FATHER 
TO THE PEOPLE

Prince’s Palace
Saturday, 28 March 2026

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Your Serene Highness,
Dear brothers and sisters,

I am very pleased to spend this day among you and thus to be the first of the Successors of the Apostle Peter in modern times to visit the Principality of Monaco, a City-State marked by the deep bond that unites it to the Church of Rome and to the Catholic faith.

Overlooking the Mediterranean and situated among the founding nations of European unity, your land finds in its very independence a vocation to promote encounter and to foster social friendship. Today, these values are threatened by a widespread climate of isolation and self-sufficiency. The gift of smallness and a living spiritual heritage invite you to put your prosperity at the service of law and justice, especially at a historical moment when the display of power and the logic of oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace. As you know, in the Bible it is the little ones who make history! Indeed, authentic spiritualities keep this awareness alive. Even when a sense of powerlessness or inadequacy prevails, we need to trust in God’s providence, for we believe that the Kingdom of God is like a tiny seed that grows into a great tree (cf. Mt 13:31–32). Such faith, however, changes the world only if we do not fail in our historic responsibilities.

The pluralistic makeup of your community makes this country a microcosm, where a vibrant minority of local people and a majority of citizens from other nations around the world contribute to its wellbeing. Within your community, many people hold positions of considerable influence in the economic and financial spheres; many are engaged in various kind of service; and there are numerous visitors and tourists. To dwell here is a privilege for some, and a particular call for everyone to reflect on their place in the world.

In God’s eyes, nothing is received in vain! As Jesus suggests in the parable of the talents, what has been entrusted to us must not be buried in the ground, but placed at the service of others and multiplied within the perspective of the Kingdom of God. What is more, this perspective is not limited to the private sphere, still less to a utopian vision of the world. On the contrary, the Kingdom of God, to which Jesus dedicated his life, is close, for it comes among us and shakes up the unjust configurations of power – those structures of sin that create chasms between the poor and the rich, between the privileged and the discarded, between friends and enemies. Every talent, every opportunity and every good placed in our hands has a universal destination; it bears an intrinsic need not to be held back, but to be shared, so that everyone’s life may be better. This is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt 6:11). At the same time he says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Mt 6:33). This logic of freedom and sharing lies at the heart of the parable of the Last Judgment, which places the poor at its center: Christ the Judge, seated on the throne, identifies with each one of them (cf. Mt 25:31–46).

You are among the few countries in the world to have the Catholic faith as a state religion. This faith places us before the sovereignty of Jesus, who calls Christians to become in the world a kingdom of brothers and sisters – a presence that does not cast down but raises up, that does not separate but connects, always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity. This is the perspective of integral ecology, which I know is very close to your hearts. By virtue of the profound bond that unites you to the Church of Rome, I entrust the Principality of Monaco with the very special task of deepening its commitment to the Social Doctrine of the Church and to develop local and international best practices that manifest its transformative power. Even in cultures that are not very religious and are highly secularized, the approach to problems characteristic of this Social Doctrine can reveal the great light that the Gospel brings to our time – a time in which many find it difficult to hope.

Thanks to this ancient faith, you will thus become experts in “new things”; not so much by chasing after fleeting goods, which often fade after a season, but by being prepared to face unprecedented challenges, which can only be met with free hearts and enlightened minds. As Saint Paul VI said on the 75 ^th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, “You understand very well that to walk, one needs light; to promote social progress, one needs a doctrine […]; it is thought that guides life; and if thought reflects the truth – the truth about man, the world, history, and all things – then the journey can proceed freely and swiftly; if not, the journey becomes either slow, uncertain, difficult or misguided.” [1] How relevant these words are today! For this reason, let us invoke Mary, Seat of Wisdom and Cause of our Joy, that through our minds, hearts and choices, she may always lead us to Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Pax vobis! Que la paix soit avec vous!

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[1] SAINT PAUL VI, Homily on the LXXV Anniversary of “Rerum Novarum” (22 maggio 1966).

Pope Leo in Monaco: Christ calls the Church to communion

In the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, at the heart of the Principality, Pope Leo XIV gathered with the Catholic community of Monaco on Saturday morning for the celebration of Midday Prayer, and offered a reflection centred on Christ as “our advocate before the Father.”

Addressing the faithful, the Pope began with the words of the Apostle John: “We have an advocate before God: Jesus Christ, the righteous one,” and he invited all present to contemplate the mystery of salvation as God’s initiative of mercy toward a humanity marked by weakness and sin.

Christ, he said, “took upon himself the evil found in humanity and in the world (…)  and has overcome this evil, transforming it and freeing us forever.”

Greeting Prince Albert II of Monaco, Archbishop Dominique-Marie David, and the clergy and faithful, the Pope expressed his joy at sharing in the life of a local Church distinguished by its diversity and openness.

The gift of communion

Reflecting on Jesus as our advocate, Pope Leo XIV first highlighted the gift of communion. Christ, he said, “reconciles us with the Father and with one another,” not through condemnation, but through mercy that “purifies, heals, transforms and makes us part of the one family of God.”

This communion, he noted, is also social in its implications. Jesus’ mission restores not only spiritual well-being but also human dignity, reintegrating individuals into the community. In this light, the Church is called to be “a reflection in this world of the love of God which shows no favouritism.”

Turning to the local context, the Pope observed that Monaco’s social and cultural diversity is a richness, not a division. “In the Church,” he said, “such variety should never become the occasion of division into social classes,” but rather a sign that all are welcomed as “persons and children of God.”

A Church that defends the human person

The Pope then highlighted a second dimension of Christ’s advocacy: the proclamation of the Gospel in defence of every human being. Jesus, he said, gives voice to those “forgotten and marginalised,” revealing a merciful God who “works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.”

In this perspective, the Church herself is called to be an “advocate,” committed to the integral development of the human person. The Gospel, he explained, must illuminate human identity, relationships, and the ultimate meaning of life.

Encouraging renewed missionary zeal, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to “proclaim the Gospel of life, hope and love,” defending human dignity “from conception until natural death.” He also warned against the pressures of secularism, which risk reducing human life to individualism and economic productivity.

A living and prophetic faith

The Pope cautioned against allowing faith to become routine. “A living faith is always prophetic,” he said, capable of raising questions about justice, solidarity, and the ethical foundations of society.

Questioning whether the current economic and social models truly promote the dignity of all, or whether they remain confined to “the logic of profit as an end in itself,” the Pope concluded, inviting the faithful to fix their gaze on Christ, which he said, leads to a faith that transforms both personal life and society.

Such faith, he exhorted, must be communicated “through a fresh language and by new tools, including those that are digital,” with particular attention to those rediscovering their faith.

Finnish MP convicted of ‘insult’ over 22-year-old Church doc

A Finnish politician has been found guilty of hate speech by the country’s Supreme Court in a narrow 3-2 decision, on a charge relating to the expression of her beliefs on sexual ethics and marriage contained in a 22-year-old pamphlet she produced with her Church.

Paivi Rasanen MP was criminally convicted today alongside Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola for publishing the 2004 pamphlet, ‘Male and Female He Created Them’, in which were contained passages the court deemed to be “insulting” to a group of people on the basis of its sexual orientation.

The court also ruled today to acquit Ms Rasanen on a separate charge, related to a 2019 tweet in which she cited a passage from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans as justification for her views on human sexuality.

She was previously unanimously acquitted on all charges by two lower courts. 

However, following multiple appeals from the State prosecution, the case eventually made its way before Finland’s Supreme Court, which today delivered its split verdict.

The conviction is for “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group” and comes under a section of the Finnish criminal code titled ‘War crimes and crimes against humanity’. The relevant section states:

“A person who makes available to the public or otherwise spreads among the public or keeps available for the public information, an expression of opinion or another message where a certain group is threatened, defamed or insulted on the basis of its race, skin colour, birth status, national or ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation or disability or a comparable basis, shall be sentenced for ethnic agitation to a fine or to imprisonment for at most two years.”

Despite the court’s acknowledgement that “the writing on which the charge is based did not contain incitement to violence or comparable threatening incitement of hatred” and that the conduct is “not particularly serious in its type of crime”, it nevertheless ruled that the statements contained in Ms Rasanen’s and Bishop Pohjola’s writing “have otherwise insulted homosexuals as a group on the basis of sexual orientation”.

The Supreme Court imposed criminal fines of several thousands of euros, and ruled that the condemned document is to be “removed from public access and destroyed”.

Commenting after the judgement, Ms Rasanen said that she was “shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognise my basic human right to freedom of expression”. 

“I stand by the teachings of my Christian faith, and will continue to defend my and every person’s right to share their convictions in the public square,” she said.

She added that she is currently taking legal advice on a possible appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

“This is not about my free speech alone, but that of every person in Finland. A positive ruling would help to prevent other innocent people from experiencing the same ordeal for simply sharing their beliefs,” Ms Rasanen said.

Ms Rasanen previously faced trial in 2022 at the District Court of Helsinki and in 2023 at the Finnish Court of Appeal. On both occasions, she was unanimously acquitted of all charges related to the 2004 pamphlet, the 2019 tweet and for comments made during a 2019 radio debate on the same topic.

Despite the previous acquittals, the State prosecutor appealed the case to the Supreme Court, dropping the charge regarding the radio debate.

Ms Rasanen’s defence was coordinated by legal-advocacy organisation ADF International, whose Executive Director Paul Coleman said “it is right that the Court has acquitted Päivi Räsänen for her 2019 Bible verse tweet”. 

“However, the conviction for a simple church pamphlet published decades ago – before the law under which she has been convicted was even passed – is an outrageous example of state censorship. 

“This decision will create a severe chilling effect for everyone’s right to speak freely,” he said.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Finnish government ministers from Rasanen’s party and the nationalist Finns Party have ​called for freedom of ​speech and legislative ⁠changes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision.

“The law on incitement against a group should be amended,” Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio of the ​Finns Party is reported as saying.

IOR president stepping down after 12 years

The Institute for Works of Religion’s board has elected a new president, marking a turnover in leadership at the top of the Vatican bank for the first time in more than a decade.

The IOR announced March 25 that the long-serving president of the bank’s Board of Superintendence, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, will step down on April 28 after a final meeting to approve the bank’s financial statements from the previous year. 

De Franssu presided over a period of significant regulatory reform at the bank.

De Franssu will be succeeded by François Pauly, a current board member, in what the bank described in a press notice as a “carefully managed succession process” aimed at “ensuring continuity in the governance of the Institute.”

Pauly, a Luxembourgian national, has served as a member of the Board of Superintendence since 2024. He is currently Chairman of La Luxembourgeoise Group, and sits on the finance council of the Archdiocese of Luxembourg.

According to the IOR statement, he was elected by the bank’s board in December last year, receiving the approval of the IOR’s Commission of Cardinals at the end of January.

He previously served as CEO and Chairman of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, and until 2021 was a member of the Vatican Pension Fund.

In a statement to press, de Franssu said it was “a profound honor” to serve as president of the Board of Superintendence and that during his time the IOR had been “through a profound structural transformation” after “a long period characterized by management difficulties.”

“This process has enabled the Institute to achieve strong international credibility and to deliver solid financial results, which will be announced shortly for 2025,” he said. “The wide-ranging reforms implemented in close and constructive collaboration with the director general and IOR employees have established a robust governance framework, a culture of transparency, a strong client-service orientation, and well-developed control functions.”

Noting that the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering watchdog MONEYVAL had awarded the bank its highest rating, de Franssu said the IOR was in a solid position to serve the pope, the Holy See, and its 12,000 clients. “I now humbly pass this important responsibility to my successor,” he said.

The change in leadership follows more than a decade of reform at the once scandal-plagued bank, the Vatican’s only commercial financial institution.

De Franssu, who has led the IOR since 2014, served more than two full five year terms — the maximum allowed under the bank’s governing regulations — after being asked to remain in post by Pope Francis.

Under his leadership, the bank became both profitable and financially transparent, coming under the oversight of international regulations and inspections, posting a series of year-on-year increases in profits despite broader Vatican financial headwinds.

According to the bank’s 2024 annual report, released June 11, the IOR recorded a net profit of 32.8 million euros (almost $38 million), an increase from 30.6 million euros ($35 million) in 2023.

The result enabled the Vatican’s only commercial bank to issue a dividend of 13.8 million euros ($15.8 million), all of which Pope Francis directed to charitable projects.

The bank also reports annually on its Tier 1 capital ratio, an international standard measuring liquidity and institutional risk exposure for financial institutions. 

The minimum international banking requirement is a ratio of 6%. The ratio for larger U.S. banks is usually somewhere between 13% and 17%.

In 2024, the IOR had a Tier 1 ratio of 69.4%, up from 59.8% in 2023.

Earlier this year, the bank launched two ethical investment indices “designed to serve as a reference for Catholic investments,” composed of 50 companies each in which the IOR said investment would be fully consistent with Catholic ethical principles.

In 2021, the IOR’s former president became the first person to be handed a jail sentence by a Vatican City court for financial crimes, after defrauding the bank of millions by using his position to sell parts of the IOR’s property portfolio to himself and co-conspirators.

Following that result, De Franssu hailed the recovery of more than 17 million euros by the bank “which had been stolen from the [IOR] before 2014” as “amongst the important achievements” of 2022.

De Franssu and the IOR’s director, Gianfranco Mammí, also became the locus of a battle for wider Vatican financial reform in the Secretariat of State’s London property scandal, after they rebuffed a request for a 150 million euro loan from the secretariat to refinance the building after its acquisition in 2018.

Under pressure from senior Vatican officials to approve it, despite their regulatory concerns, the two bankers flagged the loan request to prosecutors, triggering the investigation that ultimately led to the financial crimes trial, currently being heard on appeal, which convicted former sostituto Cardinal Angelo Becciu and eight others.

While De Franssu and Mammí faced retaliatory action from the Secretariat of State for those events, Pope Francis broadened the influence and importance of the IOR in response, ordering that all curial assets and investments be handled by the bank.

That reform was rolled back by Pope Leo XIV last year, who authorized Vatican dicasteries and institutions to effectively choose their own investment vehicles and managers.

In Écône and with great fanfare: The FSSPX announces the schedule of the consecrations while Leo XIV insists on ignoring them

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X has taken a decisive operational step in the process of new episcopal consecrations. 

While the date, July 1, 2026, was already known until now, the relevant novelty is the official confirmation of the location, the Seminary of Écône, and the full publication of the liturgical program. 

With this, the summons ceases to be a forecast and becomes a fully structured act, with defined logistics and execution underway.

Écône inevitably refers to the 1988 consecrations performed by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a precedent that marked one of the most tense episodes in relations between Rome and the Fraternity. 

The choice of the same location reinforces the symbolic weight of the act and underscores the continuity of the FSSPX’s criteria at a time when, far from diminishing, ecclesial tension seems to be consolidating.

The official program sets for Wednesday, July 1, at 9:00 a.m., the pontifical Mass of episcopal consecrations, the core of the event. 

At 2:00 p.m., a meal will be held, and at 5:00 p.m., the second pontifical vespers of the Precious Blood will take place, followed by adoration with the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

The following day, Thursday, July 2, at 9:00 a.m., one of the new bishops will celebrate his first pontifical Mass.

The organization also provides for basic infrastructure to accommodate attendees, with food stalls available after the main ceremony, although it has expressly warned of the prohibition on camping in the vicinity of the seminary, a significant restriction given the volume of faithful expected to attend this summons.

The decision to advance on this calendar continues without signs of institutional dialogue with a Rome that has opted for snubs and silence, a dynamic that has characterized the first year of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. 

Problems? What problems! 

Between embracing babies and calling for the prohibition of aerial bombings (we don’t know if land and naval ones are more legitimate), the Pope shows a special tendency to turn his back on what is contingent, perhaps in the naive hope that everything will resolve itself. 

There is no record, for now, of any approach or formal reception on the part of Pope Leo XIV, while recent contacts have been limited to second-level interlocutions that, far from reducing tension, have introduced new elements of friction. 

The public accusation of schism directed against the Fraternity by Prefect Víctor Manuel Fernández has not been accompanied by concrete canonical development, leaving the qualification on a more rhetorical plane with little legal basis from the author of the infamous document Mater Populi Fidelis.

In this scenario, the FSSPX consolidates a de facto position: its own structure, sustained growth, and ability to generate high-impact ecclesial acts without operational dependence on administrative Rome. 

The confirmation of Écône, along with the precision of the program, eliminates any margin of ambiguity about the will to carry out the consecrations. 

The question is no longer whether they will occur, but under what institutional consequences and with what response - or absence thereof- from the Holy See.

Rupnik's victims denounce months without information about the canonical trial

The victims in the Rupnik case report that they have been months without receiving information about the canonical process announced by the Vatican, which has generated indignation and new criticisms for the lack of transparency in the management of one of the most serious scandals in recent decades.

“We know nothing”: the victims’ complaint

Through their lawyer, Laura Sgrò, several of the women who reported sexual and psychological abuses by the former Jesuit Marko Rupnik have expressed their frustration at the silence of the Vatican authorities. This was reported by the Italian media Il Messaggero.

According to their explanation, despite repeated requests directed to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, they have received no information about the status of the process, not even basic data such as the composition of the tribunal or the calendar of proceedings.

“The victims are completely unaware of what is happening,” warns the lawyer, emphasizing that this situation violates elementary principles of justice and exacerbates the suffering accumulated over years.

A process announced, but without visible progress

Pope Leo XIV announced on November 7, 2025, that the new canonical trial against Rupnik had begun and that the judges in charge of the case had already been appointed.

However, months later, no additional information has been made public. Neither the number nor the names of the tribunal members have been officially communicated, which has fueled the sense of opacity.

Years of waiting and growing unease

The case affects nearly three dozen women who allegedly suffered abuses over decades, since the 1980s. 

For the victims, the lack of progress is not only “intolerable,” but it prolongs the harm suffered.

Their defense insists that it is necessary to guarantee both the right to a fair trial and respect for reasonable timelines in the process, something that, in their view, is not being fulfilled.

A case marked by controversy

The management of the Rupnik case has been surrounded by controversy from the beginning. 

The priest, a renowned artist and influential figure in ecclesiastical circles, allegedly had support within the hierarchy for years.

Among the most controversial episodes is the lifting of his excommunication in 2020, which has raised questions about the actions of the Vatican authorities.

Open debate about his works

While the victims continue without answers, the debate within the Church about the fate of Rupnik’s artistic works, present in shrines and temples around the world, continues.

Some bishops have chosen to remove or cover them, as in Lourdes, where it was considered that their presence increased the victims’ suffering. In other places, however, no decisions have been made, reflecting the existing division.

A silence that aggravates the crisis of trust

The lack of information about the canonical process once again places the issue of transparency in the Church at the center of the debate.

For the victims, the problem is not only the past, but the present: months after the official announcement of the trial, they still do not know what is happening. 

A situation that, far from closing wounds, threatens to deepen distrust toward the institutions responsible for administering justice.

Gozo diocese considering action over priest’s role in rape case settlement

The Gozo Diocese is analysing information to determine possible action after a priest was found to have brokered a €7,000 deal for a 14-year-old girl to withdraw a rape allegation.

In its first public reaction to the case, the diocese said it “understands that such cases raise legitimate questions among the public” and has begun reviewing the court judgment and seeking professional advice.

The case came to light after a judgment revealed that Gozitan priest Fr Michael Said acted as an intermediary in a 2008 agreement with a Nadur family. 

The payment was made in exchange for dropping allegations that several men, including relatives of Nationalist MP Chris Said, had raped the girl.

The diocese said it is assessing “the possibility of further steps” but has not yet indicated what action may be taken.

In a separate statement, the diocesan safeguarding commission said it had never received any report related to the case. It added that it is monitoring developments and remains committed to ensuring safeguarding standards are upheld.

“The recent media report… was never reported to the Commission,” it said, insisting it has consistently referred cases to civil authorities since its establishment in 2022.

The case has also drawn attention to safeguarding procedures within the Church. While structures to handle abuse allegations date back to 1999, the Gozo diocese set up its own safeguarding commission in 2022, operating under policies shared with Maltese Church authorities and last updated in 2024.

Church guidelines state that any personnel aware of a minor at risk of harm must report the matter to police or child protection authorities.

Catholic priest from Oakville charged after Halton police say volunteer sexually assaulted at church

A Catholic priest from Oakville has been charged after Halton police say he sexually assaulted a woman volunteering at a church.

The investigation began in early February when officers started looking into an allegation that a woman had been sexually assaulted while volunteering, say police.

Exorcists urge pope to appoint trained practitioners in every diocese

An exorcist group said growing occult practices and spiritual harm highlight the need for trained priests and better formation.

Representatives of the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) have asked Pope Leo XIV to ensure that every Catholic diocese worldwide has “one or more” trained exorcists, citing what they describe as a rise in cases linked to occult practices and spiritual distress.

The request was made during a private audience March 13 at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, where the pope met with Bishop Karel Orlita and Father Francesco Bamonte, president and vice president of the association. The meeting focused on what the group described as “unprecedented challenges” facing the ministry of exorcism.

During the half-hour meeting, the AIE presented the pope with a detailed report warning of a “painful and increasingly widespread situation of people seriously affected by the extraordinary action of the devil as a result of their involvement in occult sects,” according to a statement released after the meeting.

The group’s primary proposal was structural and educational. Given the “great suffering caused by the extraordinary action of the devil,” it emphasized “the need for each diocese in the world to have one or more priest exorcists” who are properly trained.

To that end, the AIE called for expanded formation at multiple levels of Church life: instruction in seminaries on the “real existence and nature of the demonic world” in light of the Gospel; a brief course in exorcism ministry for newly appointed bishops so they can oversee it in their dioceses; and mandatory prior training for priests designated as exorcists, in line with the Church’s official ritual.

In comments to ACI Prensa, Bamonte warned that ignoring the extraordinary action of the devil risks “leaving the faithful without defense against serious spiritual attacks,” potentially prolonging suffering or leading people to seek inappropriate solutions.

“The spread of occultism in its various forms, and of Satanism, unfortunately opens doors and windows to the extraordinary action of the devil in today’s world,” he said. “This can cause grave suffering in those who imprudently turn to these practices, through possible cases of possession, vexation, obsession, or diabolical infestation.”

Bamonte said it is “reasonable” to believe such cases are increasing, pointing to the rise of esoteric and magical practices in recent decades.

According to the group, this trend is also linked to a broader “turning away from God, the increase of sin, and the spread of esotericism and occultism.”

The presence of authorized exorcists, Bamonte said, allows the Church to “continue Christ’s mandate to cast out demons” and to assist those suffering from what it describes as extraordinary demonic influence.

“The Church, as the family of God, has the task of caring for its members in all their needs, even the most extreme at the spiritual level; the priest exorcist is a pastor who offers this help,” he said.

He added that the absence of exorcists in a diocese constitutes “a harm” to the faithful, depriving them of specific sacramental assistance and weakening the Church’s ability to function as a true “family of God.”

For that reason, he stressed the importance of preparing clergy to address such cases. “The future priest must be prepared to face the real pastoral situations he will encounter in his ministry, including the growing number of faithful who request the intervention of exorcists,” he said.

This formation, he added, should include criteria to discern when the intervention of an exorcist is necessary and should begin during seminary training.

One of the AIE’s recent initiatives has been the publication of “Guidelines for the Ministry of Exorcism,” a document reviewed by several Vatican dicasteries that offers doctrinal and practical guidance. The text was presented to the pope during the audience, along with an image of St. Michael the Archangel from the sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo.

During the meeting, Pope Leo XIV also told those present that he had known and appreciated Father Gabriele Amorth, the priest who founded the International Association of Exorcists in 1994.

Dear Pope Leo: After a senior priest harassed me, I learned that justice is elusive

March 25, 2026

Most Holy Father,

I write to you not as an adversary of the church, nor as one who has abandoned faith, but as a son who entrusted his life entirely to her structures and now bears the cost of that trust. I offer this letter as a personal witness, in the hope that it may contribute to the church's ongoing discernment about accountability, justice and the lived reality of those who seek help from within her hierarchy.

My experience raises a painful but unavoidable question: whether it is realistically possible to pursue justice from within ecclesial structures without first leaving them.

Having dedicated six years of my life in preparation for priestly service in the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, I looked forward to my ordination in 2014. Yet on the night before that ordination, I encountered a glimpse of how the church can fail to act justly, an experience that would ultimately derail my vocation.

On the night before my ordination, I was sexually harassed by a senior priest who held significant authority and influence within my diocese, following a period of escalating boundary violations. Several months later, I disclosed this verbally to my bishop, believing — based on my formation and understanding at the time — that bringing the matter directly to him was both sufficient and faithful. I was not aware of any other reporting body or review process, and I understood this disclosure as notice to the church.

As long as I remained in active priestly ministry, dependent and under obedience, I did not have standing to confront power without risking reprisal, marginalization or removal.

As far as I know, no investigation followed. No record was kept. No protective or corrective action was taken. Instead, I was advised to distance myself quietly, and the burden of managing the situation was placed upon me.

At the time, I interpreted this response as prudence or discretion. Only later did I understand that it had functioned as strategic inaction.

For years, I remained in ministry, carrying unresolved injury while continuing to serve the church in good faith. During that time, I lived with confusion, strain and growing psychological distress that I could not yet name. I understood, incorrectly it turned out, that my disclosure had been handled appropriately, even though no outcome or process was ever shared with me.

During those years, I did what the church teaches her priests to do: I remained obedient, discreet and loyal to the institution. I did not seek public recourse. I did not pursue civil remedies. I did not frame myself as a victim. I believed that the church was just and would therefore respond justly.

Sadly, the absence of any response from authority, together with the explicit framing of the incident as a "boundary issue," suppressed my ability to grasp the full extent of what had occurred. It produced a dissonance that mounted and worsened without clear explanation, as my formation inclined me to trust the church's judgment over my own experience. In that context, my capacity to name the harm clearly or to press for accountability was not simply diminished, but constrained by the very structure to which I belonged.

What I did not understand then is that remaining within the structure made justice functionally impossible. What this meant in practice is difficult to overstate.

Any effort to challenge my bishop's handling of the matter from within the system would have required me to place myself in direct opposition to the very authority upon whom my ministry, assignments, evaluations and livelihood depended. To pursue accountability while remaining obedient would have required a contradiction the system itself does not permit: to submit to the authority of a bishop while simultaneously contesting his exercise of that authority.

Within such a structure, meaningful challenge is not neutral — it is destabilizing, and it carries consequences borne entirely by the subordinate. As long as I remained in active priestly ministry, dependent and under obedience, I did not have standing to confront power without risking reprisal, marginalization or removal.

In practice, this dependence rendered sustained self-advocacy psychologically and institutionally untenable, leaving me effectively voiceless from within, even as the impact of the harm, compounded by the diocese's failure to respond, continued. Eventually, the cost of carrying this unresolved harm became unsustainable, and I took a leave of absence from ministry.

Only after stepping away from active priesthood in October 2022 did that constraint begin to lift, finally granting me clarity and a renewed sense of freedom to emerge in ways I had not anticipated. No longer bound by obedience, evaluation or vocational dependence, I experienced a perspective that had previously been inaccessible to me. What had once felt confusing and indefinable could finally begin to be named for what it was.

That this clarity and freedom became possible only after stepping away from the priesthood troubles me deeply. A system in which clarity, self-respect and recourse become accessible only from the outside warrants careful examination. While I remained in ministry, my ability to pursue justice was constrained not because the harm was unclear, but because the structure itself shaped how it could be understood and addressed.

Only nearly a decade after my original disclosure did I learn as a matter of fact that no record of my disclosure existed and that no action of any kind had ever been taken.

Working in professional environments outside the church taught me that boundaries, documentation and accountability are standard practice, making it clear to me that what I had experienced inside the church was not "discretion," but the absence of process and accountability. That absence, I later concluded, was structural, not accidental.

I later learned that the priest involved had never been contacted or questioned. Even after I filed a formal written complaint to the diocese in April 2024, no diocesan investigation occurred at that time. This was confirmed for me during the Vos Estis Lux Mundi process, when those overseeing the review informed me that, during the priest's Vos Estis interview, he stated that it was the first time he had heard my complaint.

For those who are not familiar, Vos Estis Lux Mundi is a set of universal norms issued by Pope Francis in 2019 establishing procedures for reporting allegations of sexual abuse and for investigating bishops accused either of committing abuse or of failing to respond appropriately to such allegations.

Vos Estis has resulted in justice in some cases, including the resignation of the late Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Still, critics worried even when Vos Estis was being implemented that it did not go far enough to protect victims, a concern that my own story sadly proves to be correct.

A diocesan investigation was opened only later — after the initiation of the Vos Estis process in the summer of 2024 concerning the bishop's handling of my disclosure, and after I raised the matter with the newly installed bishop in July 2025.

Because the Vos Estis review concerned the bishop's actions rather than the underlying allegation of sexual harassment, those overseeing the review advised me to raise the matter with the newly installed bishop. I did so through written correspondence and during a meeting with the new bishop in July 2025. Following that meeting, a diocesan canonical investigation into the original complaint was initiated. Absent that renewed disclosure, it is unclear whether any investigation into the underlying allegation would have occurred. At the time of this writing, that investigation remains ongoing, with no clarity provided to me regarding its scope, process or outcome.

Silence was rewarded with belonging, while truth-telling required separation.

When the norms of Vos Estis were later applied in my case, my testimony was taken and I was informed that it was credible and that diocesan procedures had not been followed. Yet the process remained internal and its outcomes opaque. I was provided no written findings, no record of conclusions, and no explanation of what resulted. When the bishop retired in September 2024, I was told, in effect, that the matter had reached its end, since the Vos Estis process applies to active bishops and he was no longer in office by the time the review concluded.

This sequence troubles me deeply.

In practice, justice became accessible only once one no longer belonged: Silence was rewarded with belonging, while truth-telling required separation.

I recognize that my own diocesan bishop's failure to act represents a grave personal and pastoral lapse, and I do not presume that such failures are universal. Yet my concern extends beyond any single individual.

Even when ecclesial processes are followed in good faith, the current system relies heavily on discretion, internal control and hierarchical dependence in ways that leave those who come forward insufficiently safeguarded. My experience reveals not only a failure of action, but the limits of a structure that lacks clear, independent and durable protections for those seeking justice from within it.

I do not write this to assign blame to individuals, but to name a structural reality that stands in tension with the church's own moral teaching. A system that requires the vulnerable to choose between fidelity and truth places them in an impossible moral bind. It risks confusing obedience with silence, unity with denial and endurance with holiness.

If my experience is not to be repeated, then the conditions that rendered justice inaccessible must be examined with equal honesty. With humility, I offer the following safeguards for continued reform. Each is intended to address structural vulnerabilities that persist even when procedures are followed in good faith:

Clear formation and education for seminarians and newly ordained clergy regarding reporting mechanisms, rights and safeguards, including what constitutes a report, what follow-up can reasonably be expected, and how concerns may be pursued when initial responses are inadequate.

A clearly identifiable and independent reporting pathway for clergy, particularly those newly ordained, through which concerns regarding harassment or misconduct by senior clergy or others exercising authority can be raised without exclusive reliance on episcopal discretion or internal hierarchical channels, especially where a power imbalance is present.

Explicit and enforceable protections against retaliation, ensuring that clergy who come forward can do so without fear of reprisal or informal sanction, and without being forced to choose between truthfulness and continued belonging.

Mandatory documentation and written acknowledgment of all disclosures, ensuring that reports are formally recorded, preserved and communicated, and that silence does not substitute for prudence or accountability.

Transparency regarding process, including confirmation of receipt, explanation of how concerns will be reviewed, and communication when no action is taken, so that uncertainty and psychological burden are not borne solely by the reporting party.

Structural independence in the investigation and review of allegations involving bishops or senior clergy, such that authority, investigation and judgment are not concentrated within the same office — particularly where prior inaction may itself be at issue.

Guaranteed access to independent pastoral, psychological and practical support for clergy who come forward, so that the personal cost of disclosure is not privately absorbed during institutional review, and so that care remains available regardless of process, timing or outcome.

The establishment of a durable and transparent accountability process for episcopal failures, such that findings of credibility or procedural noncompliance are formally documented, preserved and communicated, and do not lapse or effectively terminate due to retirement, reassignment or changes in office, leaving acknowledged institutional failure without resolution or repair.

Most Holy Father, I still love the church. I still believe in her mission and in the Gospel she proclaims. My life today is one of service, healing and accompaniment — values I learned precisely through my priestly formation.

But I can no longer pretend that my experience was an anomaly. It reflects a deeper tension between hierarchical self-protection and the church's call to justice. I offer this witness not in bitterness, but in hope that those who seek justice within the church's walls are not required to leave them in order to find it.

With filial respect and sincere prayer,

Jonathan Ficara

Former priest of the Diocese of Norwich

‘Nothing will be impossible’ Archbishop Mullally says in her installation sermon

THE Church and its people must strive, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, to have the “audacity” to believe and trust in the promises of God, the Most Revd Sarah Mullally said in her first sermon in her cathedral after being installed as the 106th — and first female — Archbishop of Canterbury.

Addressing, from the chair of St Augustine in which she had just been installed, the 2000-strong congregation on Wednesday afternoon, she began by quoting Luke 1.37: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Trusting in this was the central theme of her sermon, which drew on the example of Mary — both in her acceptance of the incarnation and her grief at the foot of the cross, which turned to joy after the resurrection.

“For Mary . . . following God’s invitation to trust in his promises meant trusting in a future she couldn’t yet see — a future she could never have imagined,” Archbishop Mullally said.

“This resonates with me, as I look back over my life — at the teenage Sarah, who put her faith in God and made a commitment to follow Jesus. I could never have imagined the future that lay ahead, and certainly not the ministry to which I am now called.”

She continued: “Mary put her hope in God’s future. She trusted that he was with her, and, through Mary, God did a new thing.”

This was not an easy road, Archbishop Mullally said, and she drew attention to the plight of Anglicans in parts of the world experiencing conflict, including church leaders in the Middle East and the Gulf who could, therefore, not attend her installation, as others from the Anglican Communion were doing.

She prayed for peace in Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar, besides acknowledging “the hurt that exists much closer to home” — a reference, in particular, to victims and survivors of abuse, for whom, she said, the Church “must remain committed to truth, compassion, justice, and action”.

Archbishop Mullally walked the 87 miles from St Paul’s Cathedral to Canterbury in pilgrimage to prepare for her installation (News, 20 March) — a “personal” journey, which, she said at the start of her sermon, reflected both her move from her position as Bishop of London and her walking “in the footsteps of the past” — referring to her predecessor Thomas Becket, who had made the same journey 850 years before.

The Church was a pilgrim people, she said later, “and, like Mary, we are called to trust that nothing will be impossible with God, even when we see so much in the world that makes hope seem impossible.”

With Mary, as with “the beautiful stories of women like Hannah in the scriptures”, Christians and the Church were called to be hopeful, and to remember that “We walk with God. . . We do not walk alone. There is hope because we are invited to trust that God will do a new thing.”

This was evident in the work of the Church around the world, through “ordinary” lives, she said. “God is at work in the good news of the gospel and in the hearts and lives of ordinary people who — like Mary — have the audacity to believe that with God we can do extraordinary things.

“For me, this trust and hope in God began as I committed my life to Jesus. And God has been with me, each and every step of my pilgrim path, and I trust he walks with me now.”

The Archbishop concluded by inviting the congregation — which included her family and friends, faith leaders, charities, health-care workers (representing Archbishop Mullally’s nursing background), and schoolchildren — to “respond to God’s invitation with words as simple as those of Mary: ‘Here I am.’

“As I begin my ministry today as Archbishop of Canterbury, I say again to God: ‘Here I am.’ May we have the audacity to believe in the promises of God: for with him, nothing will be impossible.”

Academics object to development on Bessborough mother and baby site

Human rights academics have written to An Coimisiún Pleanála expressing their objection to the construction of a large-scale residential development on the site of the Bessborough Mother and Baby institution.

Developer Estuary View Enterprises has been granted permission for the development at Bessborough in Ballinure, Blackrock in Cork.

It will involve the demolition of ten existing agricultural buildings and log cabin structures and the construction of 140 residential apartments across three blocks.

The letter to An Coimisiún Pleanála says that the State "is aware of a situation of mass disappearance" and the probability that some of the disappeared are buried in the grounds of Bessborough.

The authors, who include Dr Maeve O'Rourke, Dr Claire McGettrick and Dr Máiréad Enright of the Clann Project, pointed out that An Bord Pleanála and An Coimisiún Pleanála had refused planning permission for the site numerous times since May 2021 due to the lack of clarity regarding the whereabouts of children and mothers who were confined in Bessborough.

The group notes that the State is obliged under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to investigate the deaths of children and mothers, and to ascertain the whereabouts of the disappeared and return their remains to relatives.

"The State has not complied with its European human rights law obligations in respect of the deaths and disappearances of children and women who were confined in Bessborough Mother and Baby institution," according to the letter.

The Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation (MBHCOI) archive is inaccessible to affected people and the public, including An Coimisiún Pleanála and members of Cork City Council.

The group has pointed out that the MBHCOI did not use "all reasonable means" to search for the disappeared children and women of Bessborough, such as geophysical surveys using ground-penetrating radar, electrical resistivity or magnetometry.

"The State has not established any other investigation into the disappeared children and mothers of Bessborough," according to the letter.

It states that An Coimisiún Pleanála is obliged to uphold the State’s European human rights law obligations, which cannot be displaced or delegated by way of conditions on a grant of planning permission to a private property developer.

Planning for the development was granted by Cork City Council in February subject to 70 conditions.

Since then, a vigil and a protest have been held in Cork and outside Leinster House by the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group against conditional permission being granted by the council for the development.

It is understood that the developer has been instructed to carry out archaeological excavations during the development works. However, survivors are of the view that this instruction is inadequate.

The Special Advocate for Survivors has also called for the immediate halt of any development at Bessborough.

Patricia Carey has sought a programme of works to identify burial grounds of all the children and women buried on the institution's lands.

She described the proposed housing development on the grounds of the former Mother and Baby Home Institution as "an outrage and an afront to the dignity of all those who died there".

Bessborough was opened in 1922 and was a mother and baby institution until 1998.

It was owned and run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

64 graves of the over 923 children who died in Bessborough have been identified and located.

However, over 18,000 women and children spent time in Bessborough and many mothers whose children died at the institution, do not know where their children are buried.

According to the Mother and Baby Homes Commission, inspections carried out by the Department of Local Government and Public Health inspector Alice Litster in the 1940s estimated an infant mortality rate of 82%.

Special Advocate Patricia Carey has pointed out that dignified burial, location of burial grounds and dignified memorialisation is one of the most frequently issues raised with her since she took up the role of Special Advocate.

Among the campaigners is Carmel Cantwell from the Bessborough Mother and Baby Support Group who has campaigned for decades regarding her mother Bridget’s son, Carmel’s only brother William, who died in Bessborough.

Bessborough planning row : Preserve this site - we cannot concrete over Ireland's shameful past (Opinion)

THIS MONTH, PLANNING permission was granted for a 140-bed apartment complex at Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork.

More than 900 babies are thought to have died at this site, with burial records in existence for 64.

This project’s reaching completion would cut off access to answers for those affected by this institution.

A full excavation of human remains has never been conducted. I stand in support of the Bessborough Mother and Baby ‘Home’ Support Group by opposing the building of apartments on this site.

This is a site of conscience that cannot be concreted over.

Ireland’s dark past

It is saddening to see the echoes of Ireland’s conservative past rear its ugly head with this announcement. 

I myself was born to a single mother at the time in the late eighties. 

She experienced a huge amount of stigma as a single mother in rural Ireland. I still feel it myself.

I still think a lot about the injustice that was done to her. I grew up hearing about places like Bessborough and the women who were sent there, through no choice of their own.

At the time, whether a woman decided to keep her baby as a single mother, be sent to a home, or travel to England, she could never make the right choice. It was not accepted by society because of the way we dealt with pregnancy and reproductive rights at the time.

Ireland has a shameful history of allowing institutions tied to the church to control narratives about the women in this country. 

We now owe it to the women and children incarcerated in Bessborough and in the other locations across Ireland to make sure this is never forgotten. 

We must treat these sites in accordance with the atrocities that took place at them and complete any necessary investigation.

Where are victims’ rights?

Those incarcerated and born in this institution have suffered enough without seeing history rewritten in this way. 

I know appeals will be submitted to stand against the development of the land in this way, including by my Labour colleague Cllr Peter Horgan, who has been campaigning on this issue for years.

A powerful protest took place this week outside Leinster House, and a vigil was held at the gates of Bessborough on International Women’s Day. 

These are fitting tributes to the women who lost their lives and those who were subjected to trauma and degradation as a result of these institutions. Displays of teddy bears and candles were displayed at the gates of Bessborough. 

This really hammered home to us the need to preserve this space as a place of remembrance and one that the public can access to learn about its history.

The state-sponsored oppression in these institutions is one of the largest injustices committed in the history of the Irish State. 

Redress is out of the question for many affected by Bessborough who have passed away, but those still here to advocate for themselves and to demand answers deserve the utmost respect.

Designating the site that contained this ‘home’ to a brand-new project that ignores its harrowing history is unacceptable. 

We must see other options brought to the table, such as a garden of remembrance and a historic memorial where generations to come can learn about the past.

Do the right thing

Cork has committed to becoming a trauma-informed city. That means recognising that sites like Bessborough are not just parcels of land; they are places connected to trauma, loss and memory.

Any decisions about their future must be approached with care, dignity and respect for survivors. The trauma felt behind the gates of Bessborough is beyond what many of us can comprehend. This is something that must be kept in mind when any of these decisions are tabled.

In terms of housing, we are blue in the face from making recommendations to the Government to change their approach to dereliction and bring the vacant sites in Cork City back into the hands of its residents. 

We know that within 2km of the City Centre in Cork, there are over 700 vacant and derelict sites. 

This, coupled with a renewed focus on above-the-shop residences, could alleviate the pressure of the housing emergency and bring life back to Cork City Centre.

We are seeing many great developments progress across the City and County, and I welcome this, but it would be a grave mistake to plough ahead with the current plans for the Bessborough site.

Cork City cannot afford a reality in which such a horrific part of its past is paved over for a large development. 

Housing is vital, but this is simply the wrong site. 

We have the opportunity now to treat this site and those impacted by it with the dignity and respect they deserve. 

Vatican opens beatification cause for ‘witness to charity’

The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has approved the opening of the cause of beatification of Fr. Roberto Malgesini, an Italian priest known for his work with the poor in the city of Como, until his murder in 2020.

The Bishop of Como, Cardinal Oscar Cantoni, announced the news on March 21 during the diocesan Lenten retreat for young people, which was attended by Fr. Malgesini’s sister, Caterina.

Malgesini was stabbed to death by a homeless man with mental health issues as he loaded his car with breakfast items to distribute to the poor near the Church of Saint Rocco, where he served.

A statement from the diocese announcing the open cause did not specify if Malgesini is being considered under a 2017 category by which a candidate for beatification can be considered for making an “offer of life,” losing their lives in the service of charity. Shortly after his killing, Pope Francis praised the priest, calling his death a “martyrdom of this witness of charity toward the poorest.”

His killer was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Speaking on Saturday, Cardinal Cantoni called Malgesini “a man of prayer, a man of hope, a man of meekness.”

“He was not merely a philanthropist. He was first and foremost a priest, happy to be a priest, capable of seeing the face of God in everyone he met, from the children in the chapel to the poor of the city.”

Malgesini was born in the province of Sondrio in 1969, and was ordained a priest in 1998. After serving in several towns, he was appointed parish vicar of Saint Rocco in 2008, where he served until his murder.

His sister said in an interview with official Vatican media on Monday that, even though they were raised in a practicing Catholic family, his parents did not respond well to his decision to enter the seminary at the age of 23, and were concerned about his internal clarity about his priestly vocation.

“He was so convinced of his choice, but of course we were worried. He would not tell us everything, partly so as not to make us worry — he was always very discreet and reserved.”

Malgesini quickly became known for his service to the poor, bringing breakfast to all he could every morning with a group of volunteers in his Fiat Panda, which became a staple in the area.

At one point, local media reported that Malgesini was fined for distributing breakfast to the city’s homeless, allegedly breaking a measure imposed by the city council. The fine was later dismissed.

His body was found near the rectory of Saint Rocco’s church in the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, with several stab wounds, including one to the neck.

According to several testimonies, Malgesini had begun his morning distributing breakfast to the poor, and was attacked as he prepared to load more food and drinks on his car by a man who was waiting for him outside the rectory.

The man, later sentenced to 25 years in prison for Malgesini’s murder, was a homeless man from Tunisia called Ridha Mahmoudi, whom Malgesini had helped until very recently, but who suffered from mental health issues.

Days after his murder, Pope Francis said in his weekly general audience that he united himself “to the sorrow and the prayers of his relatives and to the community” of Como.

“I give praise to God for the witness, that is, for the martyrdom of this witness of charity toward the poorest,” he added.

A month after his death, Francis met with his family, calling Malgesini a priest “who does not seek the limelight but lives the Gospel in concrete terms.”

In a homily during Malgesini’s funeral, Cardinal Cantoni said that Malgesini had been “a father to the poor.”

“He gave everything for the poor, even his own blood… He was a happy man and priest because he had discovered that a way to follow Jesus was that of meeting Him in the living flesh of the poor,” he added.

“Fr. Roberto did not flee from the many crosses of his brothers and sisters. He did not make long speeches about his poor, nor did he distinguish between good and bad, between our own and foreigners, between Christians and those of other faiths… He loved to act quietly, almost in secret, in complete discretion,” he said.

Cantoni highlighted Malgesini’s joy.

“I remember Fr. Roberto as a happy priest. Happy to love Jesus by serving him in the poor, refugees, the homeless, prisoners, and prostitutes.”

The Diocese of Como has witnessed the tragic deaths of several priests and religious in recent decades while serving those in need. In 1999, Father Renzo Beretta was killed by a homeless man to whom he had been offering assistance.

The following year, Sister Laura Mainetti was murdered by a group of young women in a satanic ritual after being lured by a false plea for help from one of them, who claimed to be pregnant. Sister Laura was beatified in 2021.

“Saints follow one another,” said Cantoni when announcing the opening of the beatification cause. “I am convinced that Father Roberto was a ‘saint next door,’ for his simplicity, for the loving kindness with which he reached out to everyone, for the esteem he received from so many people, even non-believers and non-Christians.”

Bishop of Limerick appeals to people to acknowledge migrants

BISHOP Brendan Leahy has appealed to Limerick people to acknowledge migrants in their local communities this St Patrick’s Day.

The message comes against the backdrop of deadly attacks in the Middle East.

The Bishop says he hopes the message of peace and love that St Patrick espoused will break through the “awful noise of war and hostility” in the world right now.

The leader of the Catholic Church in the diocese has said the “migrant message” of Ireland’s patron saint is more important than ever.

This ‘migrant message’ refers to St Patrick’s life experience of being taken from his home as a young boy, surviving hardship, and ultimately embracing and serving a foreign community, symbolising resilience, hope, and welcome for those far from home.

“This year’s celebration of St Patrick’s Day is taking place against the background of war in the Middle East following the attacks on Iran and Lebanon by the United States and Israel since last Saturday, February 28,” Bishop Leahy said.

“But the message of the Gospel of peace and reconciliation that the migrant St Patrick wanted to promote in Ireland seems more relevant than ever,” he added.

The Bishop said the will of God for humanity is peace.

“To pray for peace, however, requires we re-commit ourselves to doing the will of God in our own lives, in some way correcting within ourselves along with others, the terrible suffering that is being caused through people not doing the will of God, which is peace,” he said.

Bishop Leahy said that in praying for peace on St. Patrick’s Day, we should stand in solidarity with Muslim communities here who also seek peace, especially this week with the end of Ramadan.

“We pray for them. They too pray for peace. They too believe that bowing down to do the will of God matters. Indeed, the word ’Muslims’ means ‘submitters to God’. Muslims often use the greeting ‘as-salamu alaykum’, which means ‘peace be upon you,” he said.

“Let this year’s celebration of St. Patrick’s Day be a time to remember that Jesus asked us not to wait passively for that consoling future,” Bishop Leahy added.

Last month, Bishop Leahy met with Imam Khaled Ghafour at Limerick Islamic Cultural Centre in Dooradoyle.