Thursday, June 12, 2025

Record number of schools seek emergency Govt assistance - CPSMA

The Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA) has said record numbers of schools have been obliged to seek emergency financial assistance from the Department of Education this year, as they struggle to meet dramatically increased running costs with inadequate funding.

As the primary school year draws to a close, the management body has said an urgent increase in State financial support for primary schools is needed so that they can meet basic running costs.

The CPSMA carried out a review of the accounts of 90 schools which showed that between 2019 and 2024 school costs increased by between 60% and 70%. It says insurance costs have increased by up to a third, cleaning is up by around 80% and utilities have risen by 49%.

Meanwhile, the capitation rate for primary schools - at €200 per pupil per year - is the same as that paid in 2008.

School capitation was cut in 2009, and recent annual Government Budgets have focused on restoring it to 2008 levels.

The Department of Education has pointed to the once-off cost-of-living payments that have been made to schools this year.

At primary level they amounted to an additional €36 per pupil according to the CPSMA. The department also points to the fact that capitation for primary schools will increase to €224 next year.

But the body that represents the bulk of the country's primary schools, its Catholic primary schools, is concerned that next year’s increase is nowhere near enough.

"If it hadn’t been for [this year’s once-off payments] schools would be underwater now," CPSMA General Secretary Seamus Mulconry said.

The CPSMA has said the immediate financial pressure that many schools are facing now needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

"We have never received as many queries about school finance as we have this year, and we have never made as many representations. It is unprecedented; record numbers of schools are asking us to request the [Department of Education] for financial assistance," Mr Mulconry said.

"What is emerging is a massive increase in costs between 2019 and 2024. While these 90 schools are not a representative sample, I think they are pretty indicative of what is going on."

'Schools unable to meet their running costs'

Four primary schools in Co Louth spoke about their struggle to make ends meet.

They are among a network of 23 schools across the county who say they are facing serious financial problems.

"Schools are unable to meet their running costs. The only way we can do it is with the support of the wider school community and contributions from parents", said Principal of Scoil Aonghusa in Drogheda, Edel Ní Bhroin.

The principal of this gaelscoil has gathered information across 23 Louth primary schools in her local network. She says all are facing unprecedented financial challenges due to basic costs that have risen.

"Schools are under real financial difficulty. Schools that never before ran a deficit are now going into debt and that is very worrying".

St Joseph’s CBS is next door to Scoil Aonghusa. In this DEIS school, a huge plastic bag filled with empty plastic bottles sits in a corner, waiting to be exchanged for cash via the deposit return scheme.

"This is one of the ways we are funding our school at the moment, one of the many ways," Principal Sarah Bradley said.

"Our amazing children, and their families, are bringing in plastic bottles to help fund their education, and I think this is a really sad state of affairs."

What she finds most frustrating about this financial struggle is that "you can’t plan and you are constantly having to say 'no’ to educational opportunities that three years ago weren’t a consideration; ‘Can we afford to hire that bus? Can we afford to go to that football match? Can we do the things that we used to take for granted".

These four Louth schools all itemise cleaning costs that have "skyrocketed", insurance costs that have risen by up to a third, lighting, heating, bin and water charges, toilet roll, soap.

"The list goes on and on and what annoys me is that there is so little if anything left for learning and teaching, for resources for children with special needs, resources for children in special classes," the principal of Naomh Feighín NS, Bryan Collins, said.

He has been a school principal for 29 years. "We are the canaries in the coalmine, a decade ago we were warning about the prospect of teacher shortages, now we are saying that schools are coming to the end of the line [financially], that schools are going to be in serious trouble and we are trying to highlight this as best we can."

Eileen Pike is the principal of Tullyallen National School, which is an unusually large rural school catering for more than 400 pupils.

"We have probably spent most of our capitation this year on insurance and cleaning," she said.

"This is a very big struggle for us. The cost of cleaning has just skyrocketed, even the cost of cleaning supplies. It is just impossible at the moment."

These four Louth principals represent very different kinds of schools, smaller and large, rural and urban, one DEIS and one gaelscoil.

They and the CPSMA say the problems they are facing are shared by primary schools across the country.

They have called for systemic change to how primary schools are funded; they point to the fact that post-primary school capitation is significantly higher. But they also say schools need immediate financial support to bail them out now.

What will happen if this support does not come? There is talk of primary schools being forced to close their doors. Seamus Mulconry says schools "will do everything in their power not to" have to close.

He said schools will be obliged to turn to parents - that is, the schools that can.

"If there isn’t real and substantial investment by Government we are going to see parents on the hook for all of these costs and charges," Mr Mulconry said.

Leo names underground bishop as auxiliary, Beijing agrees

The Holy See announced Wednesday the appointment of formerly underground Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary of the mainland Archdiocese of Fuzhou.

The appointment, the first involving a mainland bishop under Leo, marks a departure from the previous pattern of episcopal nominations under the terms of the Vatican-China deal: The pope made the appointment and the Chinese state subsequently agreed to accept it, instead of the other way around.

The Vatican’s announcement stated that Pope Leo XIV had made the appointment on June 5 and that it was being announced June 11 to coincide with its recognition by the Chinese government.

Beijing has in recent months and years made a point of announcing publicly the unilateral appointment and installation of bishops without Vatican acknowledgement and often seemingly without papal approval.

Most recently, Chinese state authorities announced the installation of a diocesan bishop on the mainland during the sede vacante period following the death of Pope Francis — to date the Vatican has not formally acknowledged that appointment.

Senior clerics on the mainland told The Pillar that the appointment had originated in Rome, with Leo moving to name Lin, rather than the Chinese state, and confirmed that Beijing had accepted the bishop’s new role.

Sources also confirmed to The Pillar that Lin’s appointment as auxiliary of the diocese came at the request of Fuzhou’s Archbishop Joseph Cai Bingrui, who was installed as head of the archdiocese in January.

Acknowledging that the Vatican had made the appointment with civil authorities accepting it afterwards, one senior cleric told The Pillar that Bishop Cai was well regarded by local state officials and, having requested an auxiliary, persuaded state officials to accept Lin.

“It was a case of the cat letting the mouse eat the grain this time,” one senior cleric said.

Leadership of the Fuzhou archdiocese has been previously a point of contention between Rome and Beijing, with several years in which the Vatican and the Chinese state could not agree on the question of who was actually the diocesan bishop.

After the 2018 Vatican-China deal, a sizable portion of Fuzhou’s clergy refused to join the state-sponsored Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, there remains a strong local community of Catholics of the formerly underground Church.

Lin, 73, was consecrated to the episcopate in 2017, but until his appointment this month, he had not previously been acknowledged as a bishop by the Chinese state and did not have a formal, public office acknowledged by the Vatican.

Lin attended seminary in the Fuzhou diocese, and spent several years as its apostolic administrator during periods when the diocese did not have a bishop, from 2003-2007 and 2013-2016. The Vatican’s published resumé for Lin does not list an appointment for him from 2016 until now.

Lin’s appointment and confirmation by the civil authorities is notable both for the canonically recognizable manner in which it was made — with the pope acting independent of the state — and for the significance of his involvement in the underground Church.

When Cai was announced as archbishop in January, he succeeded Archbishop Peter Lin Jiashan, a prominent bishop of the underground Church who died in 2023, having been accepted by the government as leader of Fuzhou in 2020 — 10 years after his appointment to the see by Pope Benedict XVI.

Archbishop Lin — not related to the new auxiliary — had previously spent several years in a forced labor camp during the 1980s as a priest of the underground Church.

Beijing’s decision to agree to Bishop Lin’s appointment as auxiliary marks a change from previous episcopal appointments under the Vatican-China deal, in which the state has frequently named and installed bishops without any apparent input from Rome or prior papal approval.

On April 29, the mainland Diocese of Xinxiang announced the “election” of a local priest to become its new bishop, despite the see of Rome being vacant and there being no pope to appoint a bishop.

Local priest Fr. Li Janlin was “elected” as the sole candidate for the office of diocesan bishop in a move coordinated by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

Li’s “election” was carried out by an invited assembly of local clerics, and is seen as valid and final by the CPCA and Chinese government under laws which assert complete and independent authority by the national bodies over religious practice in China.

Following the conclave which elected Pope Leo, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State and chief architect of the Vatican-China deal, suggested in interviews that Li’s installation had been previously agreed by Pope Francis before his death. 

However, no official Vatican statement to this effect — or acknowledgement of Li as Bishop of Xinxiang — has yet been made.

While Rome has in the past moved to accept state-sponsored episcopal appointments after the fact, the matter is complicated in Li’s case because there is already a Bishop of Xinxiang appointed and recognized by Rome.

Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu was appointed by Pope St. John Paul II in 1991 and has led the diocese for decades as an “underground bishop,” unrecognized by the government.

The Vatican-China deal was last renewed in October 2024 for a period of three years.

Cork city councillor calls for renaming of Bishop Lucey Park as 'Páirc na mBan'

Cork city councillors have called for Bishop Lucey Park to be renamed to Páirc na mBan Chorcaí.

At Monday’s council meeting, Workers Party councillor Ted Tynan proposed that Bishop Lucey Park be renamed.

He explained that it was "under Bishop Cornelius Lucey’s watch and term of office and administrator, both as serving priest and bishop of the Diocese of Cork and Ross, much of the abuse, documented, proven or alleged, be it sexual or physical or psychological, occurred”.

He proposed that in view of the Ryan Report, the McAleese Report and the most recent Report of The Scoping Enquiry into Sexual Abuse in schools run by Religious Orders, Cork City Council should remove his name from the public park on Grand Parade.

He suggested that the park be renamed “Páirc na mBan Chorcaí” to “honour to the women and girls who were victims of the institutional abuse that occurred under his reign both as priest and bishop and also to do honour to the women of Cork who participated valiantly in our War of Independence, such as Muriel McSweeney and Mary McSweeney among others”.

He also added that the name would “celebrate the lives of Cork women who have distinguished themselves in Poetry, Literature, Theatre, Music, Art and Academia and those who have voluntarily contributed to the causes of Social Justice through various forms of community work and campaigning for betterment of social conditions throughout the city.”.

He was advised at the Community Culture and Placemaking Strategic Policy Committee: “There are currently no plans as part of the redevelopment of the park to rename Bishop Lucey Park. 

"Should council request that this matter be progressed a process will be undertaken to explore same.” 

The park has been closed since December 2023 for revamping works, and is set to reopen at the end of this year. Green party councillor Oliver Moran said that this refurbishment was the perfect time to rename the park, and supported Mr Tynan’s name suggestion, pointing out that it would be the first Irish language park name in the city.

Updated Confirmation Pledge aims to encourage healthier life choices

An online module is to be made available to pupils in Catholic schools who wish to avail of an updated Confirmation Pledge next year.

The aim is to help young people abstain from alcohol, smoking and vaping up to 18 years old.

The initiative, which was discussed at the Catholic Bishops' Summer Conference in Maynooth, also seeks to encourage healthier lifestyle choices during formative years.

The Irish Bishops’ Drugs and Alcohol Initiative, in partnership with the Catholic Primary School Management Association, will produce the online module to complement the Grow in Love resource series that is used by pupils preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Statement on rioting in Ballymena

Statement on rioting in Ballymena

The following statement has been issued by the Bishop of Connor, the Rt Revd George Davison, and the Rector of Ballymena, the Revd Canon Mark McConnell:

Like many others who love the town of Ballymena, we have been distressed to see the scenes of violence on the streets over the past two evenings. The destruction and fear that we have witnessed does nothing to create a better society for us all.

The real indignation felt by us all as we heard the news of an alleged assault on a young woman in the town was legitimate and righteous. Violence against women is a scourge in our society that must be addressed with urgency. Voices of protest should and must be raised when we encounter such wickedness. 

It must be said though, that since the alleged perpetrators have been identified as belonging to an ethnic minority, a number of individuals have turned from legitimate protest about the assault to violence actions focussed on migrant communities and the PSNI as they seek to protect all who live and work in Ballymena.

Violence against women knows no racial boundaries. The majority of such crimes in Northern Ireland are committed by people who are not from ethnic minorities. The racism and violence that we have witnessed on our streets cannot be excused or explained in this way. 

The vast majority of those who have made their home in this country make a valuable contribution to our communities and seek to live peacefully with their families and neighbours.

We call for calm at this time and ask all people of goodwill not to participate in any activity which would lead to further violence and fear on our streets.

Issued by the Church of Ireland Press Office

Bishop issues apology after priest convicted

THE Bishop of Clogher has apologised to the victims of a former St Michael’s College priest convicted of abusing young boys at the school where he taught.

Canon Patrick McEntee (70), from Esker Road, Dromore, had denied sexual offences against five boys at St Michael’s College in Enniskillen over various dates between 1978 and 1989.

However, he was today found guilty by a jury after a two-week trial at Dungannon Crown Court.

In a statement issued after the decision, Bishop Larry Duffy, Bishop of Clogher, offered support to the victims.

“I am deeply saddened that innocent young people had to endure such abuse while attending school and especially at the hands of a priest who was in a position of sacred trust. This goes against everything that the Gospel proclaims,” said Bishop Duffy.

“No words of mine can make up for the suffering caused to these men and their families over the years.

“I want to sincerely apologise to each of them and assure them of our support and prayers.

“I know that this news will also come as a shock to the parishioners of Dromore, Co Tyrone, and to the community of St Michael’s College, Enniskillen.

“I want to assure everyone that our Safeguarding Policies and Procedures are robust and are always being reviewed to ensure the highest possible standards and practice in respect of children and vulnerable adults in our diocese.”

Bishop Duffy added: “If anyone else has a concern or complaint, either now or from the past, I encourage them to come forward and contact both the diocese and the statutory authorities.”

Judge Richard Green today adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports and ordered Canon McEntee to sign the Sex Offenders Register.

Defence counsel requested a remand on continuing bail but Judge Green said, “There is an inevitable outcome and I see now reason now to commit to custody.”

The priest will be sentenced on September 4.

Historian Catherine Corless speaks of both ‘relief’ and ‘regret’ with excavation at Tuam mother and baby home site set to begin

Tuam historian and campaigner Catherine Corless has said there is both “relief” and “regret” following the announcement of pre-excavation work beginning on the site of the former mother and baby home in the Co Galway town.

The full excavation of the site will begin after the initial works, which will begin on Monday, June 16, are completed.

In 2014, work carried out by Ms Corless revealed that up to 796 babies were likely buried in a makeshift crypt at the site.

Daniel MacSweeney, who leads the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT), said families with relatives who were in the Co Galway institution have already been informed of the timeline of work.

He said they will have an opportunity to view the site works as part of a family and survivors’ day in the coming weeks.

The excavation is part of efforts to try to identify the remains of infants who died at the home between 1925 and 1961.

ODAIT has been encouraging survivors and family members to visit the site before excavation starts on Monday, as the site will be under forensic control and cannot be open to the public once work begins.

Mr MacSweeney said: “From the start of works on June 16, the entire site, including the memorial garden, will be accessible only to staff carrying out the works and 24-hour security monitoring will be in place.

“The initial four weeks will involve setting up the site, including the installation of 2.4-metre hoarding around the perimeter.

“These measures are necessary to ensure the site’s forensic integrity and to enable us to carry out the works to the highest international standards that govern the excavation and recovery programme.

“This is a unique and incredibly complex excavation.”

It is expected the work will take approximately two years to complete.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Ms Corless said there is a sense of “relief” following the announcement of the excavation’s start date.

“It is a relief for me,” she said. “It’s two years now since they actually said the excavation was going to happen and Daniel MacSweeney came on board. I knew it was in safe hands and that it has come to this is a huge relief.”

Ms Corless said Mr MacSweeney had been proactive in keeping her, the families, survivors and residents informed and up-to-date since the work of the ODAIT began in May 2023.

“I didn’t realise it was going to take him two years to set it all up, but I can understand now all he had to do and everything that was involved. So, it is a huge relief for me.”

But Ms Corless said there is still some “regret” over the process not getting underway sooner.

The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was established by the Government in 2015 and its final report was published six years later in 2021.

“I do regret – a good bit – that it wasn’t done back in 2017 when they found that there were the home babies. The moral issue never came up that 796 babies and children were missing, and I expected at the time for the church to come on board, but what happened was pure silence,” Ms Corless said.

“I regret that it took from 2017 up to now to get the act together and do the proper thing.”

She credited the former Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman for taking the concerns of those involved on board.

“He was really, really helpful to us. He came to Tuam twice and he met families and survivors. I spoke to him a lot, he always kept in touch. So, no doubt, he did have a good hand in bringing it to this.”

With the excavation process getting underway on June 16 expected to take up to two years, Ms Corless said it will be “awkward” for local residents but credited Mr MacSweeney and the ODAIT for engaging with them.

“The residents went in there not knowing about this burial place at all and not knowing who they were. I’m sure it was a shock for them. And of course, many of them didn’t like the idea of buried children out in their own backyards.

“Most of them are cooperative and most of them understand. Daniel had a very good way with them, because he communicated with them constantly. He listened to them, and I think that meant a lot to them.

“He isn’t just floating in there to just go ahead with things. He brought them into absolutely everything that he was doing.”

Ms Corless expressed her thanks to members of the public who helped in the campaign for justice.

“I do want to thank the decent people of Ireland who came to the site and had vigils. They did so much over the years to highlight the cause by just coming and having candlelit vigils.

“People came in with different ideas of how to get the story out there and we are very, very grateful for that.”

Canon Patrick McEntee found guilty of sex abuse of school pupils

Canon Patrick McEntee has been found guilty of historic sexual abuse charges against pupils of an Enniskillen school.

The 70-year-old, from Esker Road, Dromore, denied sexual offences against five boys at St Michael’s College over various dates between 1978 and 1989.

In a trial lasting just over two weeks, Dungannon Crown Court heard there were similarities in Canon McEntee taking the victims to his private quarters.

The youngest victim described how Canon McEntee called him into a room and chastised him over his behaviour in class.

He then touched the boy’s genitals, undid his belt, pulled his trousers down and sexually assaulted him.

Canon McEntee sent him off with a warning not to get into trouble again.

About three weeks later Conon McEntee took him into a study where a similar incident occurred.

On a third occasion McEntee grabbed him by the arm and said, “You’re coming with me”, but this time the victim pushed him away.

As this was an action against a member of staff the victim expected repercussions but nothing happened.

A second victim recalled being sent to Canon McEntee and was sexually assaulted while alone with him

The third victim ”wasn’t much of a student” and often found himself in detention which was usually in the college library, but not when Canon McEntee was on duty.

Instead he took him to his private quarters where he put on classical music and had the boy sit on his knee.

The fourth victim said his unwillingness to do homework landed him in detention which he attempted to avoid, resulting in him being sent to Canon McEntee.

He too described classical music playing, and Canon McEntee sat him on his knee “for a chat” then allegedly touched him under his shirt.

The final victim said Canon McEntee, “had a habit of taking him to his private quarters” when he was about 13 or 14.

He would have the boy sit on his knee and ask if he’d been a good or bad, then smack his bottom.

The boy said his behaviour changed because of what happened and he felt intimidated.

McEntee denied the allegations, insisting “none of it happened”, pointing to his duration as a priest without any previous concerns.

Asked if the reference to being a priest was to portray himself as not the sort of person who would do this, he replied, “No - the fact I’m a priest is irrelevant. I would hope I have a reasonably positive profile.”

He stated the allegations were, “Downright lies. I can’t say I was universally liked, especially when you assume the job of principal … All I can tell you is they aren’t telling the truth.”

When asked why the victims would perjure themselves, Canon McEntee replied, “It’s not for me to speculate as to their motives … Thousands of boys went through the school, and I’ve been in the same parish for the last 24 years.”

The jury didn’t agree, taking around four hours before delivering unanimous guilty verdicts on all but one charge on Wednesday morning.

He was cleared of sexually assaulting one of the boys.

Judge Richard Green adjourned for pre-sentence reports and ordered Canon McEntee to sign the Sex-Offender Register.

Defence counsel requested a remand on continuing bail but Judge Green said, “There is an inevitable outcome and I see now reason now to commit to custody.”

Sentencing will take place on September 4.

BREAKING : Priest guilty of eight counts of historical indecent assaults

A priest has been found guilty of eight counts of historical indecent assault against five young men.

Canon Patrick McEntee, 71, from Esker Road in Dromore, County Tyrone faced a total of nine counts of indecent assault dating back to the late 1970s.

McEntee, who was a teacher at St Michael's College in Enniskillen, had denied all the charges.

He was found not guilty on one charge of indecent assault.

Canon McEntee was charged with four counts of indecent assault on one male between 1988 and 1989.

There was also a single count of indecently assaulting a second male between 1980 and 1981.

There were a further four counts of indecent assault against three males that occurred between 1978 and 1987.

The prosecution told the court that during the late 1970s into the 1980s Canon McEntee abused young boys who were pupils at St Michael's.

The priest took the boys, who were aged between 11 and 17, into his private quarters where some of the boys were made to sit on his knee or touched inappropriately.

The jury was told it would have to decide if the priest's action "was pastoral care or sexual deviance".

Victims speak of priest's abuse

During a police interview, Canon McEntee denied ever having touched boys in the way described saying the allegation was "outrageous".

During his second police interview Canon McEntee provided a written statement saying he "categorically denied the allegations" and then refused to answer police questions.

During the trial at Dungannon Court, the jury heard from the five men who accused Canon McEntee of inappropriate behaviour.

One told how he was abused "weekly" by the priest.

Another outlined how he'd been made to sit on the priests' knee as he sang the "horsey horsey" nursery rhyme and was touched on his bottom.

A third complaint outlined how Canon McEntee had brought a young boy into his personal quarters after he had been "messing about" in class, and how the priest took his trousers down and assaulted him.

Accounts 'chillingly similar'

The prosecution said that the accounts from the five witnesses were "chillingly similar".

Mr McHugh KC asked the jury "why has lightning struck not once but five times".

Canon McEntee told the trial that he was "bewildered" by the allegations.

The trial heard that Canon McEntee was a man of "good character" with no prior convictions.

His defence team pointed out inconsistencies in some of the accusations, using pictures to dispute recollections of the priests' private quarters, what the floor covering was and where windows were located.

The defence also questioned why some of the accusations were only made after newspaper reports about allegations against Canon McEntee had been published.

During the trial, two past pupils told the court that Canon McEntee was an "complete gentleman" who "embodied Christian values" and was well-respected among the pupils and teachers at St. Michaels.

'Significant' sentence

Originally from County Monaghan, Canon McEntee taught religious studies at St Michael's and was college president from 1994 until 2000.

He has been a priest for more than 45 years and has been the parish priest of St Davog's in Dromore since 2001.

In March 2023, the Diocese of Clogher announced he had been granted a leave of absence while an alleged safeguarding issue was investigated.

Canon McEntee was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing in September.

Judge Richard Greene told McEntee that he would face "a significant custodial sentence".

Bishop warns of ‘silent suffering’ caused by alcohol abuse

An Irish bishop has warned of an “epidemic of silent suffering” caused by the large number of people affected by alcohol abuse.

Bishop Michael Router, an auxiliary in the Archdiocese of Armagh, was delivering the homily for the closing Mass of the Venerable Matt Talbot centenary weekend in Dublin’s Sean McDermott Street parish.

He highlighted problems caused by the increased threat of drugs and said that what once was a problem in cities and large towns has now become an issue in rural areas as well. 

Bishop Router, liaison bishop to the Irish bishops’ drugs initiative, spoke about the fact that 278,000 family members are directly affected by addiction to drugs in Ireland.

Bishop Router said an important part of healing and recovery for Irish society is “the recognition by all that addiction is a healthcare issue, not simply a moral failing or criminal matter”.

He prayed for Matt Talbot’s beatification and progress towards sainthood. The Mass commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the death of Venerable Matt Talbot, who was born into poverty in Dublin’s inner city and became an alcoholic at just 12 but at 28 managed to quit drinking following a return to his faith.

The Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell, speaking at a separate Matt Talbot centenary event, said Irish society needs to scrutinise its use of recreational drugs and ask itself how this is financing criminal networks and violence,

“Too easily, we ignore the misery inflicted in our country on parents, spouses and children of parents who drink too much to numb the pain of life they find impossible to bear,” he said.

He emphasised that behind every addiction there are concrete experiences, stories of suffering, loneliness, inequality, exclusion, lack of integration, and loss of dignity. Addiction is a disease that occurs in every part and level of society, and in every professional field, including among the clergy and religious, he said.

It requires timely intervention and the provision of help to give those at risk, or already suffering from addiction, a realistic chance of remaining part of their families, of their social and professional environments, or returning to them.

Leader of Czech Jesuits announces investigation into Aletti Center community

The new head of the Jesuits in the Czech Republic has announced an investigation into a community connected to the country’s Aletti Center, a religious and cultural center linked to the Roman center directed by disgraced artist Fr. Marko Rupnik.

Fr. Pavel Bačo SJ, provincial of the Czech Province of the Society of Jesus, who took office in late May, has dismissed the director of the Olomouc Aletti Center and launched an investigation into the publishing house affiliated with it, according to a June 10 statement from the province.

The statement pointed to “doctrinally dubious texts” based on an alleged mystic, as well as reports of spiritual manipulation and discord stemming from the community. It offered an apology to those who had been harmed by the “false mysticism” surrounding the community.

The Olomouc Aletti Center aims to promote dialogue between faith and culture, according to its website. Its initiatives include inter-religious dialogue events, maintenance of a large library, and spiritual formation, as well as a film studio and the Refugium publishing house.

The Czech center lists “its affiliation with the centre in Rome” as being one of its sources of inspiration.

The original Centro Aletti, in Rome, was founded in 1991 and run by the Jesuits. It has been steeped in controversy in recent years in connection with Marko Rupnik, the disgraced priest and former Jesuit who lived at the center and served as its director.

Rupnik, a well-known mosaic artist, has been accused of serial spiritual and sexual abuse, including through overtly sacrilegious sexual acts connected to the creation of his art.

In September 2023, the Vicariate of the Diocese of Rome announced that a formal visitation of the Roman center found “a healthy community life without any particular critical issues.”

That announcement was met with widespread criticism, especially for praising the center’s members for “maintaining silence” about the scores of accusations that Rupnik spiritually and sexually abused women.

The June 10 statement from the Czech Jesuits warned that “disturbing facts have come to light regarding the Olomouc Aletti Center and, in particular, the community of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SJVS), which was closely linked to them.”

The SJVS community is known for its prayer groups throughout the Czech Republic, with members numbering in the thousands. Prayer for priests is a main focus of the community. However, it has also become closely aligned with the alleged private revelations of one of the center’s female members, prompting allegations of cult-like behavior and spiritual abuse.

“The Refugium publishing house has published several publications that raise many questions and are doctrinally dubious. Their source is the alleged private revelations of Kateřina Klosová, which some Czech Jesuits have also begun to accept,” the statement continued.

The statement also distanced the Jesuit order from the SJVS community, saying, “The work of the SJVS is not and has never been the work of the Jesuit order.”

In addition to the controversial texts, the statement charged that some members of the SJVS community have committed acts of spiritual manipulation, and that the community “manifests itself in a sectarian manner and causes division and discord in local churches.”

“Therefore, it can hardly be perceived as the work of the Holy Spirit,” it said.

The leadership of the Czech Jesuits further rejected what they described as the defense of Rupnik, trivialization of his misconduct, and belittling of his alleged victims in books published by the Refugium publishing house, calling the defense of Rupnik “completely unacceptable.”

A source with knowledge of the community told The Pillar that Fr. Michal Altrichter, SJ, deputy director of the Aletti Center, is known for his repeated, public defenses of Rupnik as innocent and disparaging his alleged victims.

Bačo has ordered an investigation into the Refugium publishing house, the statement said. During the investigation, “the questionable publications will be removed from distribution.”

The statement added that a canonical investigation of the SJVS community will be forthcoming.

“As Czech Jesuits, we sincerely apologize to all those to whom members of our order have caused spiritual harm in connection with the false mysticism of the SJVS and the Aletti Center,” it concluded. “We will be grateful for testimonies that will help illuminate the context of the whole matter. At the same time, we ask for prayer and patience.”

Vatican welcomes further appointment of bishops in China

The Vatican has announced a state-recognised appointment of a bishop in the People's Republic of China - and considered the process a success. 

As the Vatican press office explained (Wednesday), Joseph Lin Yuntuan (73) was able to take up his office as auxiliary bishop in the diocese of Fuzhou (Fujian province) on the same day, with recognition by the state authorities.

Vatican press spokesman Matteo Bruni commented on the matter in writing. 

It states that the Vatican is pleased with the recognition of the new auxiliary bishop. 

This is a further result of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities and "a relevant step on the path of the diocese as a community".

The secret agreement with the People's Republic of China negotiated under Pope Francis is controversial within the Church. 

Conservative circles in particular have accused the Pope and his diplomatic apparatus of having gone too far in accommodating the communist rulers in Beijing. 

The exact content of the agreement is not known; it regulates the appointment of bishops in China by the Pope and the rights of state authorities to officially recognise them.

Vatican Bank with significant profit growth

The Vatican Bank IOR reports a seven per cent jump in profits for the past year. 

As the bank announced on Wednesday, net profit at the end of the year totalled 32.8 million euros. 

In the previous year, it totalled 30.6 million euros, and 29.6 million euros the year before that. 

The assets of church institutions and individuals managed by the bank also grew: from 5.4 to 5.7 billion euros.

The bank, which has been managed by French financial expert Jean-Baptiste Douville de Franssu since 2014, paid a dividend of 13.8 million euros (previous year: 13.6 million euros) to the Pope. 

The press release also states that the IOOC is now one of the most solid financial institutions in the world in terms of liquidity and equity. 

It follows the ethical guidelines of the Catholic Church when making financial investments.

According to the press release, the IOOC's financial report was approved by the bank's Supervisory Board on 29 April 2025 and forwarded to the responsible Cardinal's Commission. 

This commission is chaired by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn (80) from Vienna. The bank, which does not grant loans, manages the assets of around 12,000 clients. 

Most of them are clergy, religious orders, dioceses and other ecclesiastical institutions as well as diplomats accredited to the Holy See. 

The annual dividend from the bank's profits is an important source of income for the Holy See.

Gardaí may investigate if Tuam baby exhumation reveals evidence of unlawful deaths

Gardaí will launch an investigation if forensic specialists excavating the burial site of the Tuam babies uncover evidence that any of the infants died unlawfully.

The long-awaited exhumation at the site of the former Bons Secours-run mother and baby home will begin on June 16.

Hoarding will be erected around the entire site, situated in the middle of the Dublin Road housing estate, and it will be closed to the public from Monday. 

The actual dig will start on July 14.

The Director of the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (ODAIT), who is overseeing the excavation, said that if any of the children died unnaturally, or if any remains found do not belong to children who lived at the home, Gardaí will be notified.

Cork native Daniel MacSweeney said “From Monday the area will be under forensic control, we basically have to treat it like a garda investigation.

“If we find evidence that a child died violently, we will be able to call the gardaí through the coroner Val Costello.

“We also have forensic archaeologists and anthropologists like Dr Niamh McCullough on site so they will know if there is an unnatural death.

“Dr Niamh McCullough works with the gardaí all the time and she will be able to say 'Yes that looks violent' and we will notify the coroner who then notifies the gardaí.” 

The country’s first mass exhumation of a children's burial site follows a long-running campaign by families of the children and local historian Catherine Corless.

In 2014, Ms Corless’s research uncovered the names of the 796 children who died at the home between 1925 and 1961.

The remains found during the exhumation will be stored on-site in specially designed, humidity- and temperature-controlled areas.

The HSE is due to provide a larger storage facility to the team next year if required.

“We have a storage area on-site and a commitment from the HSE to provide a storage area in January or February,” said Mr MacSweeney. 

“We have also a temporary off-site in Headford, if we don’t find very much in the first few months, we do have an onsite place."

The Director explained that the exhumation will take place across five designated areas.

“We have to open the ground with a digger and take the soil off in very small layers and that is done with an archaeologist beside the construction team.

“So as soon as they see something of interest, they will begin the recovery, and they have to do that for the entire site".

The forensic team will remain on-site for at least 24 months. The dig will start at the playground and finish at the area known as the children’s grave, or the green area.

“We don’t want to track any vehicles across the site because there could be remains anywhere on that site and if we go to the memorial garden first, we run the risk of damaging any remains that are somewhere else.

“If there is only one area that has remains – and that is the memorial garden it could be quicker than we anticipated.” 

Any remains recovered will have to be dated, he explained, because “there could be famine-related remains.”

“We will have to deal with the national museum the coroner and the gardaí we have a scenario and plan for all.” 

DNA is currently being collected to help identify the children and match them with living relatives.

So far, 50 people with a connection to the site — including some from America and Canada — have come forward.

To date, 15 people have provided DNA samples, but more are expected once the exhumation begins and a wider campaign is launched.

Mr MacSweeney confirmed that only one mother who was incarcerated in the Tuam home has so far provided DNA.

The site measures between 4,500 and 5,000 square metres, and each area must be forensically examined.

“We have to be extremely careful and sensitive to maximise the chances of recovering the remains”.

Families of the children are expected to visit the site with the Director of Intervention on July 8, with media permitted to attend two days later.

“Nobody will have access to the site during the exhumation,” said Mr MacSweeney.

“What is unique about this is it’s a mass grave with infants and it’s the age of the children that is different” he explained.

“They are so young and then there is the co-mingling, they are no longer in some cases, individuals, so it is hugely complex.

“We should be able to tell if a deceased child’s entire body was placed in a grave and then if the body decomposed in situ versus the bones being moved. We should be able to know how they ended up in the tank when this is finished with the scientific results."

Jesuits crack down on organisations in the Rupnik environment

The Czech Jesuits are cracking down on organisations associated with the former Jesuit Marko Rupnik, who has been accused of abuse. 

Provincial Pavel Bačo relieved the head of the Aletti Centre and the superior of the Jesuit community in Olomouc of their posts at the end of May, the Province of the Order on Tuesday announced. 

Bačo has only been at the head of the province since mid-May. 

The new provincial also launched an investigation into the publishing house "Refugium", which is affiliated with the centre and publishes "religiously dubious writings" from the environment of the spiritual community "Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" (Služebníci Ježíšova Velekněžského Srdce, SJVS). 

These are allegedly private revelations to the mystic Katerina Klosová.

The order has announced that it will initiate a canonical investigation into the SJVS and is asking the public for witness statements, but has also admitted its own misconduct: "As Czech Jesuits, we apologise from the bottom of our hearts to all those who have been spiritually harmed by members of our order in connection with the false mysticism of the SJVS and the Aletti Centre." 

The statement clearly distances itself from the spiritual community. 

"Although the SJVS community gives the impression that it comes from the environment of Czech Jesuits and their co-workers, the Czech Province of the Society of Jesus categorically distances itself from this community and the texts based on the alleged revelations to Katerina Klosová and does not wish to be associated with them in any way," the statement reads. 

The work of the SJVS is not and never has been an area of work of the Jesuit Order. 

The Jesuit Province sees sectarian behaviour in the community that creates division and discord: "It can therefore hardly be regarded as a work of the Holy Spirit".

Distancing itself from Rupnik's support

In particular, the province distances itself from the community's support of Rupnik: "We consider the defence of the former Jesuit Marko Rupnik, who is accused of inappropriate behaviour towards thirty people, to be completely unacceptable. We do not agree with the trivialisation of his misconduct and reject the vilification of those who have claimed to be Rupnik's victims, as has been repeatedly done in the incriminated books published by 'Refugium'."

According to the Olomouc Aletti Centre, its aim is to promote dialogue between faith and culture. 

It refers to the Aletti Centre in Rome, where Rupnik ran his mosaic workshop. Following accusations, the Jesuits severed their ties with the Roman "Centro Aletti". 

Rupnik has been accused of various forms of abuse for years. For example, he is said to have pressurised a woman from the Loyola community he founded into sexual intercourse and later absolved her of the violation of the vow of chastity in confession. 

Rupnik's excommunication for this reason was cancelled shortly afterwards by the Dicastery of the Faith. 

In mid-June 2023 he was expelled from the Jesuit order, after which Rupnik was was accepted into the Slovenian diocese of Koper where he comes from. 

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has been conducting proceedings against Rupnik.

First mass exhumation of children’s graves to begin in Tuam on June 16

The country’s first-ever mass exhumation of a children’s grave will begin on Monday, June 16, 2025.

Work at the site where 796 children are believed to be buried in Tuam, Co Galway, is set to begin following a decade-long campaign by the families of the children who died there.

The names of the children who lived in the home from 1925 to 1961 were revealed in 2014 by local historian Catherine Corless.

In a statement the Director of the Exhumation Daniel MacSweeney said, “From the start of works on 16th June, the entire site, including the Memorial Garden, will be accessible only to staff carrying out the works and 24-hour security monitoring will be in place”.

“The initial four weeks will involve setting up the site, including the installation of 2.4-metre hoarding around the perimeter. These measures are necessary to ensure the site’s forensic integrity and to enable us to carry out the works to the highest international standards that govern the excavation and recovery programme.

He described the operation as a “unique and incredibly complex excavation” and said it is expected to take around 24 months.

“The final timetable will depend on many variables, some of which may only become fully clear as the work progresses” he continued.

“As the site will be under forensic control at all times during the excavation, we have encouraged families and survivors to visit the site, if they wished to do so, in recent weeks. In addition, we are putting in a place plans to facilitate a day for family members and survivors to include a visit to the perimeter of the forensically controlled site to view the works being undertaken. This will take place in the coming weeks.” 

Mr MacSweeney is also encouraging families of the children to contact his team at info@dait.ie.

The Tuam grave site will be closed off while the work is underway, and strict controls on media and photographer access will be in place once the excavation begins.

The office of the intervention said “This is necessary to respect the sensitive nature of the excavation and recovery programme, respect survivors and family members, protect the integrity of the forensic examination, and respect the privacy and professionalism of staff and allow them to fully focus on carrying out the works.

“Therefore, from 16th June and for the entire duration of the works, media and photographers must refrain from visiting the site, taking videos or photographs, and seeking to engage with staff.”

For more information about the excavation and recovery programme, please see www.odait.ie.

Trans people are welcomed unconditionally, Scottish Episcopal Church Synod affirms

SCOTTISH Episcopalians affirmed that transgender, non-binary, and intersex people are “made in the image of God” after a debate at the Scottish Episcopal Church’s (SEC’s) General Synod on Saturday.

Half an hour had been scheduled for the debate on the final morning of the Synod, but, in the end, the item stretched to almost three times that length.

The motion under debate, which was eventually passed, said that the Synod “affirms that transgender, non binary, gender non-conforming and intersex people: are made in the image of God; are loved by God; should be accorded the same dignity, respect and rights as cisgender people; and can and should participate fully in the life, worship, mission and ministry of the Scottish Episcopal Church”.

The Revd Amy Jo Philip (Edinburgh), who is transgender, moved the motion. “Are we welcome in the SEC?” she asked. “I know I am, but do my trans siblings?”

Transgender people were marginalised in society, she said, and “the body of Christ has always been most what it is called to be when it cares for those on the margins.” The public debate had become polarised, and the Church had an opportunity to be “prophetic” and to show a better way, she said.

The Revd Dr Jenny Holden, the Adviser for Christian Life in Aberdeen & Orkney diocese, seconded the motion. SEC churches all have a sign saying that everyone is welcome, she said, but it was important for people to feel “called by name”.

In the debate, the Revd Roger Dyer, also of Aberdeen & Orkney diocese, said that accepting the motion was a chance for the SEC to “grow in our holiness”.

Deborah Munday, a lay representative from the diocese of Moray, Ross & Caithness, recounted the times that, as a police officer, she had sat with the families of trans people who had taken their own lives. “Let us be known as that Church that is safe for absolutely everybody to come to,” she said.

The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, the Rt Revd Ian Paton, said that “calm heads and kind hearts are needed on all sides”, but that the current “highly politicised culture wars” were putting trans people under huge pressure. Inclusion was central to the identity of the SEC, he said, and to reject the motion would be “devastating” for trans people.

Some members expressed reservations, however, about the timeframe of the debate and some of the language in the motion.

The Revd Ollie Cleggs said that he came from an Evangelical church: he is the Rector of St Mungo’s, Balerno, and Currie, in Edinburgh diocese. He asked that the Synod be given “a bit more time on this”. Discussion was a “key thing”, he said, and this motion felt “rushed through”.

Elizabeth Roads, from the diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, said that the motion was “exclusive not inclusive”, and that it singled out a particular group as “more worth of God’s love”.

One member also referred to the use of the term “cisgender” and suggested that it “leaves us more binary than before”. Cisgender refers to people whose sense of identity correlates with their biological sex.

Dr Jaap Jacob, of Brechin diocese, proposed an amended version of the motion which changed the third clause from “should be accorded the same dignity, respect and rights as cisgender people” to “should be accorded dignity and respect”, removing the term “rights”. He said that this was to avoid the perception of disagreeing with the recent Supreme Court ruling.

The Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, the Very Revd Kelvin Holdsworth, spoke against this, saying that the Supreme Court had been clear that transgender people had rights, and the motion could be heard as saying that they did not.

The amendment would also remove the reference to cisgender people, which Bishop Paton spoke against: it was an unfamiliar word to many, but it should not be considered in any way offensive, he said.

The amendment was defeated: 29 votes in favour, 73 against, with 11 recorded abstentions.

Time-keeping was not helped by the first ten minutes of the allotted time being spent debating whether an amendment which had been tabled should be treated as a counter-motion.

The amendment, proposed by the Revd Amanda Fairclough (Argyll & The Isles), would have replaced the text of the motion with an affirmation that “all people are made and loved by God”, followed by a request that discussions about the issue be held in dioceses, bringing a “comprehensive summary of views” to next year’s meeting of the Synod.

Debate on the issues was important, but “that debate must be deep, wide-ranging, and open,” Ms Fairclough said. “It requires time; it requires a space which feels safe to everybody; it requires not having the camera lens or the pen of the Church Times listening in to what we’re doing.”

The Revd Andy Elliott (Aberdeen & Orkney) said that the original motion was the “absolute bare minimum”, and asked members to reject the amendment. Several other members did similarly, and said that there was not time to delay.

Ms Philip said that further discussions were necessary, but an “explicit welcome” was an urgent need and was not contained in the amendment.

The amendment was defeated: 21 votes in favour, 87 against, with three recorded abstentions.

The original motion was put to the vote and passed: 92 votes in favour, 12 against, with five recorded abstentions. In line with the Primus’s request, after the result there was a moment of silence rather than applause.

Pope Leo sets the tone while maintaining Francis’s mission to reform Curia

As Pope Leo XIV settles into his new role on the Throne of Peter, early indications suggest that he will respect and maintain the direction of his predecessor’s reforms for the Roman Curia, but will do so with a much softer tone.

Over the past week, the Pope has met with two different groupings of the most significant curial and diplomatic bodies of the Holy See: papal diplomatic representatives and employees and officials of the Secretariat of State, and he has also celebrated a broader Jubilee of the Holy See.

While Pope Francis, a populist at heart who preferred to work around his system rather than with or through it, often chided and corrected his governing apparatus, using his first Christmas address to the Roman Curia in 2013 to outline 15 “diseases” he believed the organisation had, Leo has adopted a tone of gratitude.

Speaking to officials and employees of the Secretariat of State in a June 5 audience, Pope Leo said in rare off-the-cuff remarks – as the new Pope usually sticks to prepared speeches far more than his predecessor – that “in these few weeks … it is evident to me that the Pope cannot work alone”.

“There is great necessity to rely on the assistance of many people in the Holy See, and in a special way on all of you in the Secretariat of State. I offer my heartfelt thanks!” he said, adding that he feels “comforted” by their sharing in his responsibility.

Similarly, in a June 10 audience with apostolic nuncios, the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, for the Jubilee for Papal Representatives, Leo again began with a word of thanks, saying, “your role, your ministry, is irreplaceable”.

“The Church would be unable to give many things if it were not for the sacrifice, the work and everything that you do in order to enable such an important dimension of the great mission of the Church to proceed, and precisely in … the selection of candidates to the episcopate. Thank you from the heart for what you do!”

Leo XIV’s greetings to his nuncios and to the Secretariat of State, long seen as one of the most complex curial entities to manage and which Pope Francis went to great lengths to reform, strikes a much different tone than his predecessor often employed.

This shift is natural, in a sense: Francis was elected with a reform mandate, it was clear that in the conclave of 2013, the cardinals wanted someone who could clean house internally, who could fix the Vatican’s financial troubles and renew internal structures that were often characterised by complacency and dysfunction.

In fact, much of his papacy was spent mapping out his sweeping restructuring of the Roman Curia and attempting, to mixed success, to reform the Vatican’s economic institutions, and to change the longstanding curial mentality that was, according to Francis, self-referential, out of date, and stubbornly resistant to change.

This mentality would prompt Francis to seek constant workarounds, choosing often to avoid and exclude his Curia, and rather to rely on external confidants and aides, repeatedly calling curial officials to conversion.

Pope Leo, however, was elected on a mandate to foster unity and communion in a polarised and fractured Church in a deeply divided world. He was also elected to continue the reform, but the greater emphasis by far was on preserving unity.

Leo’s initial expressions of warm reception and gratitude, and his reference to the curial and diplomatic roles in sharing his responsibilities and in carrying out the work of the Pope, indicates an intention on his part to work with them, rather than around them.

His words of affection are also likely intended, in part, to heal some of the wounds and potentially hard feelings that Francis’s frequent reproaches might have caused, however unintentional it might have been on his part.

Yet while Leo’s early approach to his curial and diplomatic apparatus might differ from that of his predecessor, his audiences this past week have also indicated that he will maintain the same general vision and reforms that Francis had begun in the Curia.

For example, in his speech to the Secretariat of State, Pope Leo noted that the entity since its establishment in the 15th century “has taken on an increasingly universal character and has grown considerably”.

He noted that nearly half of the employees are lay faithful, and more than 50 are women, lay and religious.

In this sense, “the Secretariat of State itself reflects the face of the Church,” he said, saying its task is to convey the Gospel through a variety of cultures and languages while maintaining “a Catholic, universal outlook that allows us to appreciate different cultures and sensibilities”.

“In this way, we can be a driving force committed to building communion between the Church of Rome and the local Churches, as well as friendly relationships in the international community,” he said.

Leo also said the Secretariat of State must be concretely present in current global realities while maintaining the universality and “the multifaceted unity of the Church”, of the Church, which he said is a dynamic reinforced by the Second Vatican Council.

“It is precisely the Secretariat of State that offers this service of unification and synthesis,” he said, and again voiced his closeness and gratitude for “he skills you place at the service of the Church, for your work – which almost always goes unnoticed – and for the evangelical spirit that inspires it”.

He also made his own version of an appeal from Pope Paul VI in 1963 that the Secretariat of State “not be clouded by ambition or rivalry; instead, let it be a true community of faith and charity, of ‘brothers and sisters, and children of the Pope,’ who give themselves generously for the good of the Church”.

Pope Francis had made it his clear intention to diversify the Curia and make it more reflective of the global Church by appointing to top positions individuals from all over the world, namely, outside of the West.

He also sought to root out careerism, competition and complacency while boosting the role of competent laypeople working within the curia and appointing more women to key positions of leadership and responsibility.

Leo’s support of this vision, a diverse curia composed largely of laypeople and women and capable of translating the Gospel across a variety of languages and cultures, indicates his structural and personnel moves will likely follow this direction.

Similarly, in his audience with papal nuncios he noted that they as a body are “an image of the Catholic Church, since a diplomatic Corps as universal as ours does not exist in any other country in the world”.

“At the same time, I believe that one may equally say that no other country in the world has a diplomatic Corps as united as you are: because your – our – communion is not merely functional, nor an idea; we are united in Christ and we are united in the Church,” he said.

It is the diplomatic corps’ job to foster peace and fraternity, he said, adding that their work on behalf of the Pope is primarily “to create relationships, bridges” with different individuals and nations, and to always “be the eyes of Peter!” and to “be men capable of building relationships where it is hardest to do”.

The first task as papal representatives, Leo said, is to send the message that the Church is “always ready for everything out of love, that she is always on the side of the last, the poor, and that she will always defend the sacrosanct right to believe in God”.

Pope Leo gave each of the nuncios a ring with an engraving reading, sub umbra Petri, meaning, “under the shadow of Peter”, while stressing that, “only in obedience and in effective communion with the Pope may your ministry be effective for the edification of the Church, in communion with the local bishops”.

Nuncios are to be, he added, “tools of communion, unity, serving the dignity of the human person, promoting sincere and constructive relations everywhere with the authorities with whom you are required to cooperate”.

Leo’s insistence on a papal diplomat’s role in fostering fraternity and in building bridges in defence of the poor is also in keeping with his predecessor’s tone and approach to engagement with international leaders and organisations.

It is also in keeping with the goal of a Vatican study group, established as part of Pope Francis’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality, evaluating the role and function of nuncios, and which is aimed at ensuring they become more missionary-minded.

Pope Leo is again demonstrating in these early weeks of his pontificate that while he intends to follow more or less the same general vision laid out by Pope Francis in some of his internal reforms, he is very much his own man, and he will do it in his own way and according to his own style – one that seeks to collaborate and unify, while propelling the Church in the direction he believes it ought to go.

Southern Baptists consider move to overturn same-sex marriage

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) – the largest Protestant denomination in the United States – is convening its annual meeting in Dallas this week and will vote on a series of resolutions addressing contentious moral and social issues. 

Chief among these is a measure urging efforts to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide. 

While the SBC has long opposed same-sex unions, this marks the first time the denomination is formally calling on representatives of its tens of thousands of member churches to work towards ending legally recognised same-sex marriage. 

The SBC’s Resolutions Committee has put forward eight proposed resolutions for the meeting, covering issues from gambling and pornography to gender ideology. 

One resolution calls on the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its Obergefell ruling, reflecting Southern Baptists’ view that marriage should only be defined as between one man and one woman. 

The draft text asserts that lawmakers have a duty to pass laws aligning with “the truth of creation and natural law” regarding marriage, sex, human life and family, and to oppose any legislation that contradicts those principles. 

This resolution – authored by Southern Baptist ethicist Andrew Walker – not only counters same-sex marriage but also denounces the “normalization of transgender ideology” and calls for the complete defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Other proposed resolutions take aim at what Southern Baptist leaders describe as harmful elements in society. One measure on the “predatory nature of sports betting” takes aim at the rapid expansion of legal gambling as a serious spiritual and social concern. 

It urges pastors to educate their congregations about the “deceptive sin” of gambling and to support those struggling with addiction, while also calling on authorities to curb sports betting through legislation. 

Similarly, a resolution to ban pornography labels it a distortion of God’s gift of sexuality and presses state and federal lawmakers to outlaw the creation and distribution of pornographic content across all media. 

The Convention will also reaffirm its uncompromising positions on life and gender issues. Delegates are expected to endorse a statement that the church “seeks to denounce abortion” in all forms and opposes the acceptance of transgender identity in society. 

In practical terms, one resolution calls for the “complete and permanent” removal of government funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. 

Another explicitly condemns the use of abortion-inducing drugs like mifepristone and misoprostol, citing both moral evils and medical dangers associated with what it terms “chemical abortion”.  

These resolutions, once adopted, are not laws but formal declarations of the Convention’s values and priorities. By approving such statements, Southern Baptists aim to influence public policy and rally their members in advocacy consistent with their religious convictions. 

The Convention is taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, from Sunday 8 June to Wednesday 11 June. The four-day gathering is expected to draw approximately 20,000 attendees, including church delegates known as messengers, along with guests and observers.