CWI : OPERATION CALAOIS (1)

In the last few days, we have been contacted by a parish priest who has been trying to help a few elderly and not so elderly parishioners in relation to a company which in effect is a fraud.

The sole purpose in publishing all of which will be published over the next while is to go public and save others from being scammed as it seems An Garda Síochána is not willing to do anything and more than happy to try and pass this off as a 'civil matter' when in fact there is a strong criminal element to what we are going to present here.

So, to start, let us be very very clear here that the organisation we are referring to goes by the name of  My Attic Conversion Specialists - not to be confused with the actual professional and registered company by the name of My Attic Conversion.

My Attic Conversion Specialists, according to Companies Registration Office is NOT a registered company, uses the address of 42 HOLLYSTOWN PARK, HOLLYSTOWN, DUBLIN 15, and under the name of Michael Udvari.

It should be noted that an uncle of Mr Udvari, who goes by the first name of Bogdan, is the person front and centre of this fraudulent company and who is, in effect, the enforcer when it comes to threatening and intimidating people so as to elicit money from them (NOTE TO AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA : contrary to Section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994).

This organisation of unqualified workers claims to be able to convert your attic into a living space with the accompanying insulation, and other associated works - all for cash in hand (NOTE TO : REVENUE COMMISSIONERS) and at cheaper rates....but there is a catch and we will expound further in coming posts.

We also have photographs of the workers and bosses, some of whom we know are claiming the dole but yet getting cash in hand for 'work' which has caused many issues of concern when it comes to safety re electricity and water, and also structural damage left behind (NOTE TO : SOCIAL WELFARE).

This cabal of fraudsters operate in the Wicklow / Kildare / Dublin / Louth / Meath area and we have the number plates of their vehicles if required by whatever organisation wishes to investigate these gangsters.

We look forward to publishing more in relation to these fraudsters in due course. 

Pope Leo appoints Archbishop Pawlowski as new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland

Today, the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has appointed His Excellency Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawlowski, Titular Archbishop of Sejny, until now Apostolic Nuncio in Greece, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland. 

In response the appointment, the President of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, said, “I very much welcome today’s news that Pope Leo has appointed Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawlowski as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland.  I pray God’s blessings on Archbishop Pawlowski and look forward to meeting with him when he takes up his appointment in Ireland in the near future.”

Pope Leo to visit Assisi 40 years after historic prayer meeting

40 years ago, on October 27, 1986, Pope St John Paul II took part in the historic World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, central Italy. 

For the first time in history, representatives of all world religions were invited by the Pope to pray together for peace.

Among those inspired by that meeting was the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay organisation, which since then has continued to promote what is known as the ‘Spirit of Assisi’ every year across Europe and beyond.

This year’s event be attended by Pope Leo XIV. “We are truly delighted by the Holy Father’s return to Assisi,” said the local bishop, Monsignor Felice Accrocca. “We firmly believe that the Pope’s presence, together with all the other religious leaders, can reinforce the shared journey against every form of violence.”

The peacemaking role of religion

The 2026 edition, which will take place in Assisi from October 25 to 27 and marks the 40th anniversary of the original gathering, was presented today at the headquarters of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication.

The event was presented by Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio. “In Assisi,” he explained, “a new and creative perspective for interreligious dialogue was born. Over the past 40 years, that spirit has become a necessity in a globalized world.”

Today, Impagliazzo said, the world is “very frightened, fearful and torn apart, prey to nationalism and racism—a world that needs to be reunited once again.”

“But”, he continued, “if there is no spiritual unification of the world—and this is the message of Assisi and of all religions—it will be difficult for men and women to unite and to think of themselves as ‘brothers and sisters to all,’ as Pope Francis would say.”

A disarmed and disarming peace

The title of Assisi 2026—“Disarmed and Disarming Peace”—comes from Pope Leo’s own words. 

The gathering will reaffirm that peace is possible, just as it was 40 years ago with Pope John Paul II and as it was at the 30th anniversary in 2016 with Pope Francis.

A total of 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries will take part in the event. 

There will be 155 speakers participating in 24 thematic forums, addressing subjects including peace, prayer, the economy, conflicts, children and young people, the media, migration, disarmament, humanity, Christian unity, dialogue across the Mediterranean, the poor, and contemporary martyrs.

The Pope will be in Assisi on the final day of the event, October 27. He will pray for peace together with the Christian community in the Lower Basilica, during a special prayer for peace in which both he and Patriarch Bartholomew will offer a meditation.

Afterward, Impagliazzo concluded, in the piazza outside the Basilica of Saint Francis, Pope Leo XIV “will give the world his message of peace, which is increasingly necessary.”

German bishop to share gay couples’ ‘experiences’ at Leo’s Amoris Laetitia summit

The president of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) promised to bring the “experiences” of homosexual couples with him to Rome for the Vatican’s upcoming conference on Amoris Laetitia.

Bishop Heiner Wilmer, the DBK president, said that he prepared for the Vatican summit by meeting with a wide variety of couples – including same-sex couples and those living in a second civil marriage after a divorce – according to the German language news outlet katholisch.de.  

Bishop Wilmer’s stated intention to bring those experiences with him to the Vatican meeting signals a continued movement toward normalizing homosexuality within the Catholic Church.

Both Pope Francis and his successor, Pope Leo XIV, have welcomed LGBT proponents Father James Martin, S.J. and New Ways Ministry in private audiences.      

The Vatican’s upcoming conference will be held from October 7 to 14, exposing a tightly controlled structure designed to examine Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia by how the document has been “lived.”

Earlier this year, Pope Leo XIV praised Amoris Laetitia as a guiding text for the Church and signaled his intention to honor Pope Francis’ highly controversial apostolic exhortation, elements of which many consider to be heretical.  

In March, Pope Leo issued a message marking the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia in which he described Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation as a “luminous message of hope” and confirmed its central role in contemporary teaching on marriage and the family.

“On 19 March 2016, Pope Francis offered the universal Church a luminous message of hope regarding conjugal love and family life,” Pope Leo wrote. “On this tenth anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reflection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage to persevere on this path.”

In the Pope’s message, he explicitly placed Amoris Laetitia alongside Familiaris Consortio issued by John Paul II. “Since the Council, the two Apostolic Exhortations, Familiaris Consortio – issued by Saint John Paul II in 1981 – and Amoris Laetitia, have both strengthened the Church’s doctrinal and pastoral commitment to the service of young people, married couples and families.”

Contradicting John Paul II and many others, Amoris Laetitia states that “it can no longer simply be said that all those in any irregular situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule.”

In a searing analysis penned for LifeSiteNews in 2018, a priest who required anonymity maintained that Amoris Laetitia’s infamous Chapter 8 that allows individual conscience to trump objective moral law would effectively eliminate the notion of intrinsic moral evil.

“The real issue is not Holy Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried. After all, Pope Francis had already streamlined the annulment process, to allow declarations of nullity which were generally easy to attain, to be even easier,” he wrote.  

“The real issue is all about sodomy, and normalizing – even blessing – this behavior called by the Catechism ‘intrinsically disordered’” he explained.

Belgian bishop: No married priests would be ‘fatal blow’ to synodal process

Belgian Bishop Johan Bonny has said that if the Vatican does not allow married priests, it would be “a fatal blow to the credibility and implementation of the entire synodal process.”

Bonny announced in March this year that he plans to start ordaining so-called “viri probati,” proven married men, to the priesthood by 2028. 

The bishop of Antwerp confirmed last month that he is currently training married men to become priests.

In a new interview published in the October issue of German Catholic magazine Herder Korrespondenz, Bonny said that he is “confident that by the end of the synodal process in the fall of 2028, an appropriate solution” regarding the ordination of married men to the priesthood will be found.

“It would be a fatal blow to the credibility and implementation of the entire synodal process if no solution were reached by then,” he stated.

“My confidence is based on Pope Leo XIV and the way he exercised the office of bridge-builder. Like a good father, he knows what his children need, and that is not the same everywhere or for everyone.”

“I do not want to launch a public campaign, but as a bishop I must be able to provide a response to the acute shortage of priests in our diocese,” Bonny told Herder Korrespondez.

“In June, I traveled to Rome on my own initiative to present my predicament to the Dicastery for the Clergy and the General Secretariat of the Synod. I was warmly received and given ample time to explain the situation in my diocese,” Bonny relayed, adding that “discussions are also continuing within our Belgian Conference of Bishops.”

“At the same time, I am holding personal conversations with several potential candidates regarding their further formation. In doing so, I feel encouraged by the many positive responses I have received to my pastoral letter,” the Belgian bishop said.

While the French-speaking parts of Belgium are doing fine in terms of the number of priests, “all Flemish dioceses are suffering from a severe shortage of priests,” he lamented.

“The number of domestic vocations is insufficient both in the seminaries and in religious orders. We are barely above zero. Before my visit to both dicasteries in Rome, the president of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference presented me with a letter in which the Bishops’ Conference supports my request and asks Rome to take seriously the possible ordination of ‘viri probati’ seriously.”

Bonny showed that he would not stop at breaking with Church discipline, tradition, and canon law by ordaining married men, but that he would also like to ordain women, in violation of Catholic doctrine.

He described a report from the Synod on Synodality on female ordination, which ultimately rejected the female diaconate, as “painful.” The Belgian prelate stated that “the arguments used are theologically weak and anthropologically outdated. They have lost their persuasive power. They seem contrary to what the Spirit is saying to the churches today.”

Bonny is known for his opposition to Traditional Catholic teaching, having been a longstanding supporter of same-sex “blessings” and LGBT advocacy within the Church. In 2023, he also contradicted Church teaching on assisted suicide, claiming that euthanasia could be morally acceptable under certain conditions.

Regarding married priests, it was understood from the earliest days of the Church that men were to become celibate upon their ordination to the priesthood if they were already married. In the early Church, married men were permitted to be ordained priests only on the condition that they became “eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 19:12)

St. Paul expressed concerns about the difficulties faced by a married cleric: “The married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided.” (1 Cor 7:32)

Early Church outlines the law of continence

Pope Leo the Great penned in his letter to the bishop of Narbonne:

The law of continence is the same for the ministers of the altar, for the bishops and for the priests; when they were (still) lay people or lectors, they could freely take a wife and beget children. But once they have reached the ranks mentioned above, what had been permitted is no longer so. (Epist. ad Rusticum Narbonensem episcopum, Inquis, III., Resp. PL 54, 1 204a.)

The Council of Elvira (c A.D 305) pronounced very clearly upon the practice of marital relations after ordination, stipulating it is “entirely forbidden to have conjugal relations with their wives and to beget children.” The Council of Aries (A.D. 314) went further by stating that the reason for this continence was due to the fact that “they are serving the ministry every day.”

These decrees were not new revelations, but rather “a reaction to the prevalent nonobservance of a traditional obligation that was well known,” as Cardinal Alfons Stickler notes in his text The Case for Clerical Celibacy.

St. John Chrysostom wrote, “The priest must be so pure that, if he were to be lifted up and placed in the heavens themselves, he might take a place in the midst of the Angels.”

Leo XIV Appointment Signals Change to Old Guard

The appointment of Cardinal Mauro Gambetti as archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Italy, represents the first real personnel change of Leo XIV’s pontificate.

Cardinal Gambetti became archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica in 2021 and has completed his five-year term. 

He could have been reappointed. 

He could have been assigned to another position in the Vatican, but he hasn’t.

He is being sent to lead the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto, a minor diocese that has been led by Archbishop Bruno Forte since 2004.

It’s ironic to think that Archbishop Forte seemed, at the beginning of Pope Francis’ pontificate, a rising star, special secretary of the Synod on the Family and author, among other things, of a controversial text during the 2014 synod session that opened the door to welcoming homosexuals.

Archbishop Forte represented the synod according to Pope Francis, and 12 years ago, a brilliant career was envisioned, with a cardinalate just around the corner. 

Archbishop Forte, however, was also reckless enough to reveal behind-the-scenes details of the synod that, among other things, highlighted a certain cunning on the part of Pope Francis. So he remained in Chieti-Vasto, no longer holding any leading roles, at the age of 77.

Taking his place is one of the cardinals who, more than any other, has embodied Pope Francis’ modus gubernandi (“mode of governance”). 

Cardinal Gambetti was created a cardinal in the 2020 consistory, but held no office until February 2021, when he became archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, replacing Cardinal Angelo Comastri.

Under Cardinal Gambetti, St. Peter’s Basilica stopped hosting multiple Masses. Instead, concelebration of communal Masses was encouraged. 

Access to the basilica was divided between pilgrims and tourists. In addition to those employed by the Vatican, various consultants were also hired, including those from the Fabbrica di San Pietro — the Fabric of St. Peter.

After five years as archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, and six as a cardinal, it was fairly obvious that Cardinal Gambetti would be appointed to a new post, though it was anything but given that he would go to lead a peripheral diocese in central Italy, one without much influence even within the Italian Episcopal Conference.

It is an assignment that does not feel like a promotion, even if it doesn’t look exactly like a punishment.

Cardinal Gambetti’s appointment to Chieti-Vasto was announced on Oct. 3, but on the morning of Oct. 2, he made the announcement to the Chapter of St. Peter’s — those responsible for the liturgical and sacramental activities of the basilica. 

This was an unusual gesture, demonstrating that very little of Cardinal Gambetti’s tenure was truly ordinary.

Leo XIV also called a meeting of the Chapter of St. Peter’s and members of the Fabric of St. Peter on Nov. 30. This too is unusual and perhaps heralds new appointments or a new structure for St. Peter’s Basilica and the Fabric of St. Peter, with all its patrimony. 

It is however striking that the Pope did not immediately appoint Cardinal Gambetti’s successor as head of St. Peter’s Basilica.

It seems that, before naming a successor, the Pope wants the finances of the basilica, the chapter and the Fabric of St. Peter to undergo a review.

As for the basilica’s new archpriest and vicar of the Pope for the Vatican City State, Bishop Corrado Sanguineti of Pavia is rumored as a possible pick, along with former master of ceremonies Bishop Guido Marini, now leading the Diocese of Tortona. However, the appointment will take time.

It seems Leo is reforming one of the most controversial administrations of the final years of Francis’ pontificate. Cardinal Gambetti’s successor could mark the beginning of a new chapter and, likely, a turning point in the Leonine pontificate.

A Changing of the Guard?

The Pope must consider replacing several heads of dicasteries who are over 75 and approaching retirement age, including those — like Cardinal Gambetti — who had been granted some authority under Francis when it came to the liturgy.

One of the key dicasteries is the Dicastery for Divine Worship, led by Cardinal Arthur Roche, now 76. As secretary and then prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Roche strengthened and supported Pope Francis’ “battle” against the traditionalist world. Leo’s choice to replace him will therefore carry ideological weight. 

Cardinal Roche’s deputy is Archbishop Vittorio Viola, another prelate considered an enemy of liturgical tradition, although in the Diocese of Tortona, where he came from, he distinguished himself with particular attention to the liturgy.

Both Cardinal Roche and Archbishop Viola are rumored to be leaving.

Cardinal Roche could be replaced by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, currently master of papal ceremonies, but this candidacy appears to have failed to warm hearts. Archbishop Ravelli, however, is invariably among those earmarked for a new post, as Leo may want another master of ceremonies alongside him.

Perhaps Archbishop Ravelli is more likely to be appointed secretary of the dicastery, while Archbishop Viola seems destined for promotion to cardinalate, namely, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The current prefect, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, is 78 and will soon retire.

It’s unclear who the new prefect of liturgy will be, and Leo XIV has been very good at shuffling the deck so far. 

The prefects Leo has chosen so far are of two types: The clergy are generally hardworking, modest and not necessarily charismatic, but recognized as honest; the laypeople have so far been all women, from Sister Alessandra Smerilli to EWTN News President and COO Maria Montserrat Alvarado, who will begin her post as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication in November.

Will the new prefect finally usher in liturgical peace?

This is the hope, given that the rift between the traditionalist world and the Holy See is now more open than ever, following the schism of the Lefebvrians, who consecrated new bishops without papal mandate.

In any case, there is no talk, however, of a change at the top of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, where Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández still has two years left in his mandate. 

Leo XIV does not appear to want to implement a radical spoils system, but rather to act when the terms of the appointments of the previous pontificate expire.

One exception to this reasoning concerns the Secretariat of State.

Rumors suggest that Cardinal Pietro Parolin is ready to step down to become grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre. 

Cardinal Parolin will turn 72 next January, with three years left until his retirement, but he has served as secretary of state for more than two five-year terms. These are, however, just rumors. 

For now, Cardinal Parolin seems firmly in place.

Personal Papal Stamp

Cardinal Gambetti’s departure, however, marks the moment when Leo XIV begins to assemble his team and put his own personal stamp on the pontificate. 

Pope Francis left many issues unresolved, and for now, Leo XIV has focused primarily on ecclesiastical matters. On the economic front, he has favored continuity, both in appointing Cardinal Reinhard Marx to a third term as president of the Council for the Economy and in appointing François Pauly as president of the Board of Superintendence of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), often referred to as the Vatican bank, after Jean-Baptiste Douville de Franssu. 

In terms of Leo’s picks, for ecclesiastical ministries, he has maintained low-profile selections, seeking normality. For the more operational ministries, such as communications, he has sought more operational and managerial profiles.

These trends don’t fully reflect the character of the pontificate but only reveal a Pope who is trying to make prudent decisions.

He’s not Francis 2.0 or a second Francis. This is a Pope with his own characteristics, who has nothing against the previous pontificate, but who is, nevertheless, seeking his own dimension in governing the Church. 

He can’t be defined as progressive or conservative. 

He is, simply, Leo. 

It’s a personal synthesis that will include actions such as removing the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, or inaction in other situations.

It’s not surprising. It’s just a slow transition.

Colombia: SSPX Pilgrims Left at the Gates of the Chiquinquirá Basilica

Having come on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, patron saint of Colombia, the faithful of the Society of Saint Pius X were not allowed this year to enter the basilica to renew the consecration of the Autonomous House of Central America and the Caribbean.

The Society of Saint Pius X's annual pilgrimage to Chiquinquirá took place on September 26, 27, and 28, 2026. 

Two days before their arrival at the shrine, the Society was informed that permission to renew the consecration inside the basilica had been denied. 

On Sunday, September 28, after Mass and the procession, the pilgrims gathered on the steps of the building, where Father Ezequiel Rubio, Superior of the Autonomous House, renewed the consecration.

This ban marks a break with previous years. 

In July 2023, with the agreement of local ecclesiastical authorities, the SSPX had been authorized to celebrate a solemn mass at the main altar of the basilica, before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá. 

Approximately 700 faithful attended. 

Masses of the Society were still celebrated in the basilica in 2024 and 2025. 

The refusal thus comes this year, after the episcopal consecrations of July 1, 2026 , which became necessary to ensure the continuation of the ministry of the Society, and the sanctions unjustly pronounced following them.

---

Address by Fr. Ezequiel Rubio

Dear pilgrims,

We have arrived at the house of our Mother. We have arrived at the Basilica of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá to renew the consecration of the Autonomous House of Central America and the Caribbean to the maternal Heart of our Mother, Mary.

But this year, we will not perform this consecration indoors, but outdoors. This year, we will do it here, on these steps. Not out of preference, not out of a desire to innovate, not because we would like to change anything. We will do it here outside because we are not allowed inside.

Despite our best efforts, the local authority refused us permission to even approach the feet of our Mother to renew this consecration.

We only received this refusal two days ago. We therefore took the opportunity to respond to the Bishop and the local priest, to express our surprise, our sadness, and the reasons why we do not agree with this decision.

Today, when you all know as well as I do the openness that the hierarchy likes to claim; today, when we hear that we are in an open Church, that we are in a Church that listens, that we are in a Church willing to accompany and not to condemn; today, when we are in a Church that now calls itself "synodal", this same discourse seems to be for everyone, except for the SSPX.

And why? What is the motive? What is our fault? What is the reason?

To fully adhere, to adhere entirely to our holy Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Faith.

Today, when we hear with such sorrow the proliferation of errors and so many heresies; today, when doctrine becomes more human than divine, when morality becomes relative, filled with subjective and human principles; today, when the liturgy is desacralized, when the liturgy innovates, when the liturgy becomes uncultured; today, when the very structure of the Church appears so disjointed; we who want to defend our holy Mother the Church, we who want to maintain this faith, this morality, this two-thousand-year-old liturgy and this discipline of the Church, we are rejected, discredited, condemned, labeled, as we said to His Excellency in the letter we recently sent him.

The doors of the Chiquinquirá basilica, closed to us, differ greatly from the Immaculate and maternal Heart of Mary.

The doors will be closed, but the Immaculate Heart remains open to its children.

We who are children of the Virgin, we who are children of the Church, find ourselves outside today.

But this should serve us, not to nurture resentment, but to grow: to grow in this love of the Church, to grow in this spirit which consists of continuing on the path traced for us by our beloved founder, Bishop Lefebvre.

This should not discourage us, quite the contrary. We must offer this sacrifice, we must offer this persecution, we must offer this rejection for the Church, for the Church, for the salvation of souls.

Tertullian said, speaking of the martyrs, that they were a seed of Christians. Well then! These physical martyrs, those who shed their own blood… we, who must suffer this moral martyrdom by receiving unjust censures, let us offer it up so that our Mother in Heaven may bless us, bless our families, bless our children, multiply vocations, multiply Christian families.

And so, why not, next year, be even more numerous than we are this year?

May the memory of this mass celebrated here, under this large tent, and of the procession we have just completed, maintain in us this fervor, this desire to persevere.

And why not? And why not, for all those who were able to follow these blessed episcopal consecrations, keep here, on this land of Chiquinquirá, a very close memory of what this event was?

We will now kneel to renew the consecration to the Most Holy Virgin before the image of our Blessed Mother.

Act of Consecration of the SSPX to Our Lady of Chiquinquirá

O Virgin of Chiquinquirá, here we are today, prostrate with confidence before your holy image.

While the devil is attacking the Church and society to destroy Christianity, we believe and profess that we will find in you consolation in our sorrows and strength in the terrible battles we must face every day against him, against ourselves, and against the world.

Prostrate at your feet, we come to consecrate to you the apostolate of the Autonomous House of Central America and the Caribbean of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, particularly in these Colombian lands, so that it may be entirely yours.

Make it a bastion against the errors spreading in the world, an inexhaustible source of grace and blessings, and a home of holiness.

Receive under your protection its Superior, the priests who carry out their apostolate there, and their faithful.

May unity in charity and truth reign everywhere.

We also entrust to you all our spiritual and temporal concerns.

We want to entrust ourselves and dedicate ourselves to you, we who are the spiritual sons and heirs of our venerated and heroic founder, Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, and the members of his work, aware of being only a very small, tiny portion of the Holy Catholic Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, but aware at the same time of carrying the torch of faith and the beacon of Tradition, sources of true restoration.

In these times when the world, and particularly the Church, are suffering from an unprecedented crisis and disorientation, we entrust to you all those who once benefited from our apostolate but who, unfortunately, have drifted away from it, asking that they remain in the grace of God.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, we also want to consecrate our families to you, so that they may remain faithful to the principles of the Catholic Church, our homelands and our traditions.

Bless the fathers and mothers, the husbands and wives in their work.

We entrust to you adolescents and young people, so that at every stage of their lives they may know how to turn to your protection to preserve virtue and faith.

We entrust the children to you, so that they may always retain their innocence and docility.

We entrust the sick to you, so that they may find in you, if not a cure, at least relief and the grace of a profound conversion.

We entrust the elderly to you, so that in the evening of their lives they will not lack the support of your strength.

Finally, we beseech you for all those who have gone before us and who have closed their eyes to time to open them to eternity, so that they may enjoy rest, light and peace as soon as possible.

Finally, we raise our prayers for our homelands, that you may preserve them from the unjust laws that provoke divine wrath.

May a generation rise up in our families, jealous of its Catholic faith, so that our lands may become Christian again.

Our self-sufficient house is now, O Queen of Colombia, your property.

Keep it in unity and holiness.

May it be a living and fruitful branch of the Holy Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church.

Lift us up if we fall, revive our charity if it grows cold, and preserve our will to serve your Son and the Church.

And, strengthened by our title of apostles of Jesus and Mary, O Mother Co-Redemptrix, we promise to work until our last breath for the restoration of all things in Christ and for the glorious triumph of your sorrowful and immaculate Heart.

Receive, O our Mother, this consecration, so that one day, in paradise, we may, with the whole family of Tradition and the angels, sing your praises.

Long live the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Long live the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Long live Christ the King!

St. Louis Archdiocese sues over limits on sacraments for ICE detainees

The Archdiocese of St. Louis is challenging an immigration detention center’s visitation policies it says prevent Catholic detainees from receiving the sacraments, after a jail official suggested “clergy pass communion in a plastic bag to a prison guard who could then deliver it to the detainee.”

The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 5 by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and Father Christopher Schroeder of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, claims that Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center’s no-contact policy bars clergy from ministering to detainees while making exceptions to the rule for nonreligious visitors.

The archdiocese said in an Oct. 5 press release and in the filing that it had asked the facility to accommodate clergy seeking to provide sacraments to detainees but that facility officials refused to do so. “That refusal is troubling, given that other individuals—including lawyers and consular officials—are permitted to visit detained individuals under much more permissive circumstances,” the archdiocese said in the release.

Ste. Genevieve Detention Center houses about 150 immigration detainees and has held about 3,000 detainees, including one who died in the facility, since it began contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in mid-2025, according to the filing. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the federal Cabinet department that oversees ICE, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

“The first and only time any jail official has proposed any accommodation for religious exercise was in response to a reporter,” the archdiocese said, which culminated in a suggestion from Maj. Jason Schott, who oversees the day-to-day operation of the jail, that clergy deliver Communion to detainees in a plastic bag by prison guards.

“This is no accommodation at all,” the filing states. “Because the celebration of communion is a central piece of the Catholic faith, and because the transubstantiation that occurs in this sacrament involves the real presence of Christ, the Catholic faith imposes strict rules on how communion may be administered. Communion may only be administered by a minister specifically appointed for the purpose.”

A person must be authorized to distribute Communion according to the norms of the diocese and the parish, ordinarily after suitable formation and commissioning by the pastor or bishop. While the Eucharist belongs to the whole Church, its distribution is carried out according to the Churchʼs sacramental and hierarchical order.

The archdiocese said the facility’s “scant defense” for its policies cited concerns for “safety and security risks” and that “priests might smuggle ‘contraband’ to the detainee.’”

“Schott does not explain how the host, which as consecrated is the body of Christ—the very thing priests want to ‘pass to detainees’—could be contraband,” the filing states.

The archdiocese also claimed priests have been barred from accessing the facility during the traditional four-hour window for visitation on Sundays and that “the jail allows clergy to visit only for a 4-hour window on Mondays.”

“The Catholic Church does not seek special treatment,” the archdiocese said in the release. “But only requests the same access as these other groups which, if provided, would allow clergy to offer the Catholic sacraments detainees desperately want.” 

‘How long, O Lord?’: Pope Leo XIV laments new attacks on Gaza victims

Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to those affected in Gaza by the Israel-Palestine conflict amid new attacks.

The pontiff sent a message to Holy Family Church in Gaza, near the Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City, where Israeli airstrikes killed five civilians and wounded many others on Oct. 3. 

Among the victims, now buried, were two Orthodox women: Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud and her daughter, Mary Hafez Michel Najjar.

According to Vatican News, Leo addressed the message to Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Holy Family Church. 

Pope Francis also regularly wrote letters and made phone calls to Romanelli, expressing closeness to the parish and to Gaza victims until his death in 2025.

In his letter, Leo lamented the casualties among those affected by new airstrikes amid the continuation of the war.

“How long, O Lord?” Leo wrote in his letter.

“Since learning the painful news of the deaths of Maysa and Mary, I have been praying to God for them, for their families, and for the entire community of Gaza,” he added. “Thank you for accompanying the parish and so many people who wish to live in peace.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, also expressed his closeness to those affected by the recent attacks and his hope that hostilities will eventually end.

A profound relationship with Pope Francis

For approximately 19 months before his death, Francis maintained regular contact with Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip.

Romanelli recalled to EWTN News that on April 19, two days before dying on April 21, Francis made a phone call to Romanelli.

“He told us he was praying for us, blessed us, and thanked us for our prayers on his behalf,” Romanelli said to EWTN News.

“We hope that his appeals won’t be ignored: that the bombing will stop, that this war will end, that the hostages will be released, and that humanitarian aid will reach those who are suffering.”

Colm Holmes, We Are Church International: No Support for Women Priests at National Assembly

No support for Women Priests at National Assembly - Bishops control Irish Synodal Pathway

Patriarchy has dominated the Catholic Church for several centuries, summarised as “Pay, Pray and Obey”. 

Pope Francis sought to change this by introducing “Synodality” where we all walk together, share together and decide together.

In Ireland there was an enthusiastic take up of Synodality with all 26 dioceses submitting syntheses and a further 29 submissions were received from other groups to be included in the National Synthesis in 2022:

· across the various submissions and syntheses many issues emerge consistently, including a strong desire for women’s involvement in leadership and ministries – ordained and non-ordained (Page 24, National Synthesis 2022)

· There were calls from both young and older participants for optional celibacy, married priests, female priests, and the return of those who had left the priesthood to marry. (Page 8, National Synthesis 2022)

But in the Working Document for the Irish National Synod on 17 October 2026 there is

· no mention of women priests;

· no mention of optional celibacy

· no mention of married priest

Why have these 3 important issues disappeared completely since 2022? When in general opinion polls over the past decade the ordination of women priests and married priests have shown a two-thirds majority in favour of both these issues?

To me the answer is simple: Patriarchy is deeply engrained in Ireland. And our bishops exercise their patriarchal control over the Synodal process. They do this by approving all the delegates for the Kilkenny meeting and for the National Assembly in October 2026. 

Some reform minded groups (like We Are Church Ireland and the Association of Catholics in Ireland) were invited to send a small number of delegates. 

But the largest majority by far of delegates were selected by our bishops from the 15% of Catholics actively involved in their church. Those on the margins received token representation.

Yet those on the margins represent the large majority of those who identify as Roman Catholic: While 69% of the population of Ireland identify as Romen Catholic in the census, only some 15% are actively involved in their church.

So while Women Priests were mentioned in the 2022 National Synthesis, they receive no mention in the 2026 Working Document. The Women’s Working Group states: “In respect of diaconal ordination there was a lack of consensus in the group.” 

So the feeble proposal offered is to “advocate for on-going exploration of women’s ministry, including the diaconate.”

The issue of Women Priests remains a key criteria in the patriarchy. Remember in 2021 when Ger Nash was selected to be the new Bishop of Ferns? He gave an interview in which he said he was in favour of women priests. 

But within a week he then confirmed to the Irish Catholic that he “absolutely” agrees with rulings by Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis that the Church has no authority to introduce ordination for women.

Leo XIV writes prologue for new YouCat on love and marriage

Pope Leo XIV has written the foreword to a new edition of YouCat: Love Forever, a catechism aimed at young people preparing for marriage, due for release in November. 

The text offers the Pope's most extended public reflection to date on human love, marriage, and the vocation to which the Church calls young people.

The first edition of YouCat: Love Forever was published in May 2025, one week after the death of Pope Francis. This new edition features testimonies from young people in over 30 countries.

Augustine and the coat of arms

Leo opens with a disclosure that is also a self-portrait of sorts. Addressing young readers directly, he points to the burning heart pierced by an arrow on his papal coat of arms — the symbol of Saint Augustine — and the sentence it encodes: "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God" (Confessions 1:1). This restlessness, Leo writes, is what lies beneath the longing for love: "Your heart longs for love. A love that is deep, self-sacrificing and enduring. This longing is no accident. It is a sign that you are made for love." 

He frames the desire not as a cultural construct or a psychological need but as evidence of a human nature oriented beyond itself — toward God, and toward another person as a path to God.

Love as decision

On the nature of love itself, the Pope draws a clear distinction between feeling and commitment. Love between a man and a woman "may strike the heart like an arrow — intensely and swiftly," he acknowledges — but it cannot remain there. "True love does not stop there. It is not merely a fleeting, briefly inflamed emotion. It is more. It is a deep commitment to the other, a decision, a journey and a covenant for life." 

He describes solid relationships as built on "mutual trust, on that 'forever' that is the beating heart of every vocation" — and characterized by a love that "asks first: 'How can I love as Christ loved?' and puts the question 'What do I get out of it?' last."

Marriage as sacramental sign

The Pope also reflects on the sacramental dimension of marriage, drawing on Augustine's Commentary on Psalm 127: "When a man and a woman give themselves wholly to one another in love, then God comes alive in their midst." He cites Augustine directly: "In him, who is one, we are one." Their fidelity, their forgiveness, their daily striving for what is good are, he writes, "a reflection of Christ's love for his Church." 

This love "is not perfect, but it grows in the light of faith" — and unlike human love clouded by selfish desires, it "is selfless, long-suffering, patient and possesses all the wonderful qualities that Paul lists in his Letter to the Corinthians" (cf. 1 Cor 13).

The cross as the image of love

The most striking passage is the one Leo devotes to the cross. "We behold the most beautiful image of true love when we look at the cross of Jesus Christ" — confirmation that "he loves us so much that he was willing to die for us. This is the DNA of Christianity, the commandment of Christ."

He closes by encouraging young people not to fear the depth of the love to which they are called: it is "strong enough to overcome difficulties and great enough to sustain you throughout your entire life." The new edition of YouCat: Love Forever is, he says, an invitation to open one's heart "to a plan greater than any human dream."

YouCat — Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church — was first published in 2011 with a foreword by Pope Benedict XVI and has since been translated into dozens of languages. 

Various follow-up volumes have focused on particular elements of the faith. YouCat: Love Forever focuses specifically on the vocation to marriage and family life.

Pope Leo XIV Urges Vatican Police to Guard Their Hearts As They Protect Others

Pope Leo XIV urged members of the Vatican Gendarmerie on Oct. 3 to nurture their faith as they protect others, telling them that their service requires hearts guarded by the Lord.

The pope celebrated Mass at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens in honor of the force’s patron, St. Michael the Archangel.

He described the gendarmes’ work as “a way of being laborers in the Lord’s vineyard,” stressing that their responsibilities extend beyond safeguarding buildings, grounds, and entrances to caring for people.

“One quality that stands out when we meet you is precisely this care: It is beautiful to see how you regard others not as problems to be solved but as people to be respected and protected,” he said.

Reflecting on the parable of the wicked tenants in Matthew 21:33-43, the pope said the gendarmes should understand that “what we receive is a responsibility to be safeguarded with humility and dedication, to be carried out with discretion and a sense of duty.”

“You know well that authority, in the light of the Gospel, is expressed above all in the ability to protect, listen, and accompany, with balance, firmness, and respect,” he added.

Just as the vineyard owner’s son stands at the center of the parable, Leo urged the gendarmes to place Jesus at the center of their lives.

“Before being gendarmes, you are men called to follow him. From him we learn strength that knows how to become gentleness, vigilance born of trust, authority that walks alongside humility, and the courage to intervene with a merciful heart,” he said.

The pope also reflected on the second reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which urges believers to bring their needs to God in prayer rather than give in to anxiety.

The gendarmes’ work, he said, would bring “quiet days and difficult days,” moments requiring quick decisions, and situations that cause fatigue and worry.

But prayer offers a way to bear those burdens.

“A gendarme does not carry everything alone: He prays, knows how to entrust himself to God, and knows how to find again in God the peace that allows him to act with clarity and a serene heart,” Leo said.

Those who protect others need hearts and minds “formed in goodness,” he said, because they “must first safeguard within themselves truth, justice, goodness, and respect. Protecting others requires a heart guarded by the Lord.”

“Your work certainly requires you to be vigilant, but today’s word invites you to something even deeper: to watch carefully over yourselves as well,” the pope added.

He urged the gendarmes to guard their hearts against becoming hardened, keeping them “always docile to God and attentive to others.”

He also called on them to safeguard their consciences and their bonds of fraternity. A group becomes a community, he said, when “its members care for one another and learn to walk together, supporting one another with simplicity and love.”

Leo concluded by thanking the gendarmes’ families for the sacrifices that make their service possible.

“This year, too, I conclude with a thought of affection and gratitude for your families. To parents, wives, children, and fiancées: Thank you! You know the sacrifices, the absences, the schedules, the worries, and also the burden of a service that is not always seen,” he said.

Pope: Women’s contributions to Vatican must be increasingly valued

Pope Leo XIV insisted that “the presence of women” in the Vatican “is a valuable asset that must be increasingly recognized and appreciated” in an address to representatives of the Women in the Vatican Association and of the Association of Vatican Lay Workers (Associazione Dipendenti Laici Vaticani, ADLV).

Valuing the role of women

Women, he said, “bring not only a special sensitivity toward people and relationships but also the full range of human, professional, and intellectual talents inherent in the female experience and perspective.

“Their expertise, discernment, creativity, and practical approach,” he continued,  "enrich the life of these institutions and help foster a broader view of reality and the challenges encountered.”

The Holy Father emphasized, once again, the “irreplaceable centrality of the human person and the inalienable dignity of work,” especially given the developments in artificial intelligence. “Work ‘is not merely a tool, it expresses and enhances the dignity of our lives,’” he said, quoting his own encyclical, Magnifica humanitas.

Community and unity at the heart of mission

In the Vatican in particular, he said, it is especially important to highlight “two concepts of fundamental value—community and unity,” which he said “are very close to my heart.”

The Pope said that all “who contribute their work to the Pope’s ministry form an ecclesial community,” sharing in the mission entrusted to Peter and his successors by the Lord. “With equal dignity, everyone contributes… to the same mission.”

Workers’ associations, he continued, “can play a valuable role in fostering this spirit,” though they must not “drift into a stance of confrontation or conflict.”

The way forward: Dialogue

Where problems in the workplace arise, Pope Leo said, “the path of dialogue,” pursued with “confidence and creativity” “remains the primary way forward.”

Indeed, he said, “revitalizing dialogue at all levels is what I sought, in my first encyclical, to propose to the entire Church and to all women and men of good will,” as “an integral part of the Church’s vocation” and “a principle instrument for coexistence among people.”

“As we walk this path together,” the Pope said in conclusion, “we will strive to build a workplace community where people are neither used nor sidelined, where we support one another and acknowledge everyone’s worth and competence, avoiding the seeds of dissatisfaction and resentment.”

The people who won’t let low pay and high stress stop them being vicars

Hannah Wilkinson braces for puzzled looks when peers ask her what she does for work. Academic or lawyer – an occupation she did consider for a while – are perhaps the expected replies from a 30-year-old Cambridge history graduate. Vicar is not.

“I think probably it comes down to your classic image of a Vicar of Dibley-type priest,” she laughs. “I think there’s a bit of, ‘is that what you’re doing?’” She adds: “I always feel a little bit nervous about saying I’m training to be a vicar. I’ve had, ‘Oh, you must be pretty holy?’” And yes, she nods, there is sometimes confusion over whether she will be able to marry and start a family (she confirms she is engaged).

Her peers’ reaction is perhaps unsurprising given Wilkinson is a rarity – not only because she is a relatively young ordinand (a vicar in training) but because she is an ordinand at all. She is one of just seven in her year at the theology college Cranmer Hall, part of St John’s College at Durham University, where she is undertaking a four-year training course to become a parish priest, including a part-time placement in the local parish of St Nicholas church in Durham, popularly known as St Nics church. In the year above, there are just four.

Cranmer trains around half the number it did around six years ago, admits the college’s lead, the Rev Nick Moore. “It has been quite a dramatic drop off, and it has probably affected the majority of colleges,” he adds. Most are in their 30s, whereas when he trained the demographic was 20-somethings. This is partly a reflection of declining congregations, and younger members within them, he believes, but he feels historically the Church went through a period of preferring ordinands with “life experience”, helping to create an age gap. “The church has not always been on top of having a really strategic approach to how it encourages vocations,” he says.

This month a report by the campaign group Save the Parish labelled Church of England parish priests an “endangered species”, highlighting the numbers training to become a vicar had dropped from a high of 591 in 2020 to 442 last year (the target is 630). Meanwhile, statistics reveal retired ministers make up the majority of active clergy in the Church. There are 8,368, compared to 6,682 in paid positions and 2,440 in self-supporting roles. Within this, nearly half of paid priests are over 55 and approaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. “There’s a kind of baby boomer demographic time bomb,” says Moore.

Calculations have predicted the mix of ageing clergy and decreasing ordinations could cause the number of full-time priests to fall to 5,400 by 2033, 40 per cent of 2000 figures, leaving some communities without an Anglican presence. “The British vicar is becoming an endangered species, leaving the nation’s poorest communities without regular priestly care,” stated the report.

Moore highlights growing stress placed on vicars as a key catalyst for declining numbers, increasingly the result of vicars being expected to oversee multiple parishes. “There’s clearly quite a significant challenge around clergy stress and wellbeing [and] partly inevitably it gets compounded when you are amalgamating parishes into ever larger benefices,” he says. Deepening this dent has also been the “long tail of Covid” which left many “exhausted”.

There are many reasons for this stretch, he says: falling congregation numbers, especially in rural communities, dioceses facing “significant financial pressures” and actively reducing clergy numbers further to tighten belts – although he sees investment from the national church now returning to entry ministry posts. And of course, fewer new ordinands coming through. (Tightened finances have also affected diocese recruitment drives).

But within this there is also a “vicious circle” where the stress creates a “bad advert”. “When you have overworked and stressed clergy, they’re less able to invest in helping others to grow in their discipleship,” he says. “If you see a stressed vicar, you don’t necessarily think, ‘That’s what I want to be.’” Moore points out that those who choose ordination are often avoiding leading a parish, preferring to be an associate minister or to work in a chaplaincy. “The number of ordained clergy in the country of working age is actually higher than the number who are in parish roles,” he says.

Income can undoubtedly prove another challenge. Few vicars would say they choose their vocation for the money, knowing instead they will receive a set stipend that will not increase but simply allow them to fulfil their calling, alongside benefits including a parish home. However, in recent years, Moore admits clergy poverty and clergy pensioner poverty have become all too real, although he hopes that will now shift with alterations recently brought in. The National Minimum Stipend was £21,370 until this year, when it rose to £33,350. While the pension model for vicars, detrimentally restructured after 2011 so the pension earned for each year of service reduced from two thirds of a stipend to half, has risen again.

Moore recalls a retired clergyman who wrote to him “and quite frankly laid out the challenges they faced”. He has been reading it to his ordinands “as a reality”. He explains: “This is someone who spent their whole career in ordained ministry, but their spouse couldn’t work and one of their children remained dependent into adulthood, and [so] they basically couldn’t afford their rent on their pension, they were having to burn through savings.”

He adds: “We do a session with our ordinands where we have a fairly frank conversation.” He hopes the recent changes, along with the introduction of more regulated maintenance grants for ordinands (previously they varied by diocese) will make “a material difference” to the numbers of people choosing the vocation – and staying in it.

Wilkinson was employed as a youth worker at St Nics before her training. After graduating from her history degree she wrestled for a long time with her calling while continuing to study abroad, this time theology, considering academia and the non-profit sector as well as law as future careers. She was brought up in the Methodist faith rather than Anglican, and even lost her faith briefly during her university years. “I didn’t grow up wanting to be a parish priest,” she explains. She was ultimately propelled to ordination by the “breadth of tradition” in the Anglican Church and pure instinct. She now feels “a deep calling towards preaching the gospel and towards administering the sacrament”, emphasising: “I don’t feel this calling to be a priest or a vicar because I think it provides a lovely career or a nice, secure way to live.”

Currently in year two of four, when she graduates as an ordinand in 2029 she expects to be ordained the following year before starting a three-year curacy in a parish allocated by the Church, although “you are allowed to say no,” she adds. After that she will apply for parish priest roles.

She suggests she has largely had to put aside questions around financial security. Quite simply, “I could have done something else for the money,” she says. She laughs that she sounds “naive”, but admits that she has not even looked into the value of stipends. Yet she is well aware of the “real struggle” clergy can face. “I get that if you’re on your own, or you have dependents to support, that’s a lot.” She is, she admits, very much putting her trust in God.

Likewise, she recognises the stress facing stretched priests, but while she will have to make a vow to “go wherever, and I am open to where God is calling me”, she hopes to serve one large urban parish. She knows rural ministry might not be for her. “The demands of having three to four churches limit you in what you can do because you’re not there all the time. I think that is a real struggle,” she admits. Again, she clings to faith.

But of course even if pay, benefits, cutbacks and workloads were all remedied, the church would still exist within a changing society, not always receptive to its views. Not everyone will feel it offers a place for them. Wilkinson admits “the church is wrestling with a lot”, including issues of sexuality but also “safeguarding failures”. These are a challenge for anyone considering ordination, she believes. “I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t think about that when they’re exploring what it means to train for ministry, that’s across a lot of issues,” she says.

Moore underscores it works both ways. “I think it’s fair to say theological debates within the Church of England, particularly over sexuality although not only, can be putting people off, and they can be putting people off on both sides of the debate,” he says. “Both those who fear the direction of travel, but also those who think it isn’t going fast or far enough.”

But while shrinking congregations might be argued as another contributor to the endangered vicar, both Moore and Wilkinson remain positive that they can be overcome. Moore is “cautiously optimistic”: “Not all congregations are declining, the picture is really mixed because the landscape is mixed.” He holds up the diocese of London, which is thriving because “they’ve intentionally set out to plant churches and to grow churches”. “There are plenty of healthy and flourishing churches alongside the many that are smaller and struggling,” he adds. The Church must inject intention – and finances.

Wilkinson feels similarly. At St Nics she sees only a thriving community. It runs three Sunday services and a Christian Union in schools and colleges. “We’re seeing new people come to faith all the time,” she says.