US archbishop asks exorcist priest to ‘step back’ for a year

An American priest known for his high-profile exorcism ministry has been asked by a Colorado archbishop to step back from the spotlight. 

Denver Archbishop James Golka has asked Fr Chad Ripperger “to consider a one-year fast from public speaking and interviews,” according to a statement on Monday from the Denver Archdiocese.

The archdiocese confirmed that Fr Ripperger “remains a priest in good standing” within its ecclesiastical territory.

The request for the media appearance fast was delivered during a recent meeting between the archbishop and the priest “to discuss his ministry and his community, the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother”, the archdiocese said.

The Keenesburg, Colorado-based community, also known as the Doloran Fathers, describes itself as “a semi-contemplative society of priests who work in cooperation with the local bishop to provide the assistance to those in the most spiritual need”.

 The archdiocese said Archbishop Golka’s recommendation will enable Fr Ripperger “to devote himself to the society and to the people it serves,” adding, “Fr Ripperger readily agreed.”

According to the statement, the archbishop and the priest “will review the arrangement” at the one-year mark.

The archdiocese said that “Archbishop Golka is grateful for Fr Ripperger’s priestly service, exorcism ministry, and for the generous spirit in which he received this request.”

“We ask the faithful to join us in praying for Fr Ripperger and for the society,” said the archdiocese.

The 62-year-old Fr Ripperger, a Wyoming native, was ordained in 1997 for the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP), a community of priests that celebrates Mass according to the form of the Roman rite used prior to the Second Vatican Council.

It is not clear when Fr Ripperger departed the FSSP. He has had faculties within the Archdiocese of Denver since 2017, according to a notice of appointments published by the Denver Catholic. 

Fr Ripperger’s exorcism ministry spans a number of books, in-person appearances and social media videos.

Ukrainian priest forcibly conscripted

A Ukrainian priest was forcibly detained by recruitment officers and taken to a military training camp from where he could potentially be sent to the front lines of the war with Russia, his family stated.

The incident took place on Oct. 12 at a checkpoint in the Rivne region of northwestern Ukraine. 

Father Andrii Stebivka, a priest of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, was returning from participating in a spiritual retreat, according to his parents, Bohdan and Natalia Stebivka.

Fr Stebivka, 38, was recently transferred to a different parish, but administrative delays inherent in this change of pastoral assignment created a temporary gap in the state registry that formally certifies the pastoral work and ministerial service of priests in Ukraine.

Despite repeated efforts to provide proof of his active clergy status and ongoing pastoral service to the faithful, recruitment authorities rejected his documentation and sent him to a military training centre.

According to his family, he has already been assigned to a special assault unit and is expected to enter combat in the near future.

The bishop of the Eparchy of Mukachevo, Bishop Teodor Matsapula, and the apostolic nunciature in Ukraine are taking formal steps with government authorities to clarify the priest’s status and secure his reinstatement to his parish duties. So far, these requests have gone unanswered.

Fr Stebivka, who was ordained a priest in June 2024 at the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is also noted for his artistic work as an iconographer.

Throughout his ministry, he has created sacred compositions and apse murals in churches in Dublin, Boston, and various Ukrainian cities, such as Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Uzhhorod.

Faced with the imminent risk of being sent to the battlefield, the priest’s parents have made a public appeal to civil, military, and diplomatic authorities, requesting that the pastoral nature of his vocation be recognized and that he be permitted to continue carrying out his priestly ministry in Mukachevo.

Woman sues Kansas priest, dioceses alleging sexual misconduct and failure to supervise

A northeast Kansas woman is suing a Catholic priest, two dioceses and a parish, alleging that the priest subjected her to months of sexual misconduct after she sought his spiritual guidance.

The lawsuit, filed in Wyandotte County District Court, accuses the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, the Catholic Diocese of Salina and Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Manhattan of failing to adequately supervise the Rev. Ryan Anthony McCandless and allowing him to remain in a position of authority after the woman reported his conduct.

McCandless, 44, was under the authority of the Diocese of Salina, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Seven Dolors Parish, the lawsuit says.

He also faces criminal charges in a separate case.

McCandless was arrested by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in July and charged with three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a 6-year-old child in Belleville. 

According to the charges, the offenses allegedly occurred between July and September 2025. McCandless remained in custody Tuesday in the Republic County Jail in Belleville, online jail records showed.

Comments from Kansas church authorities

The plaintiff in the civil suit filed last month is referred to as Jane Doe and is a resident of Pottawatomie County, Kansas, the lawsuit says. She is demanding a jury trial and seeking more than $75,000 damages for each of the petition’s four counts.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in an email to The Star that McCandless “has never served in any capacity for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.”

“Because this involves pending litigation, the Archdiocese will not comment further.“

Bill Meagher, a spokesman for the Diocese of Salina, declined to comment.

“Out of respect for the ongoing legal proceedings, the Diocese cannot comment publicly on the matter while it is before the courts,” he said in an email to The Star.

Alleged abuse of child in Belleville

The Wendt Law Firm, which is representing the plaintiff, said in a statement that the chronology is a central part of the case.

“Our client reported McCandless’s 2024 misconduct to church officials,” the statement said. “The abuse of a child in Belleville is alleged to have occurred the following summer, from July through September 2025 — after that warning had already been given.

“We will not speak for the child or that family, and McCandless is entitled to the presumption of innocence in the criminal matter. But the sequence raises an unavoidable question that the evidence in our client’s case will likely answer.”

When an institution receives a credible report that a clergy member has engaged in sexual misconduct, the statement said, “it has a responsibility to act — to investigate, to restrict, and to protect those who may be exposed to further harm.”

“Where a warning is received and no meaningful action follows, foreseeable harm becomes preventable harm,” it said. “Whether that is what happened here is precisely what the evidence in this litigation will establish. We intend to pursue that evidence fully.”

Where the Rev. McCandless served

The Salina diocese issued a statement when McCandless was charged in July, saying he had been immediately removed from all public priestly ministry when church officials learned of the allegation. Those restrictions will remain in place, the diocese said, “unless and until he is fully cleared of the allegations by all the appropriate civil, legal, and ecclesiastical authorities.”

At the time of his removal, McCandless was serving as pastor of St. Edward Parish in Belleville, St. George Parish in Munden and St. Isidor Parish in Cuba, the Salina diocese said. He had previously served in Hays, Manhattan, Concordia, Mankato and Esbon, it said. The Manhattan assignments included Manhattan Catholic Schools and St. Isidore Catholic Student Center.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit was a parishioner at Seven Dolors in Manhattan and later worked for that parish and the Diocese of Salina, her lawsuit says.

Around November 2021, it alleges, she began meeting privately with McCandless while seeking spiritual guidance from him.

Those interactions became “increasingly inappropriate and abusive,” the lawsuit alleges.

“Beginning on or about March 2024 and continuing through on or about October 2024, Defendant McCandless engaged in a course of conduct directed at Plaintiff that included unwelcome sexual advances, sexual harassment, sexual comments and communications, coercion and pressure to engage in sexual activity, and unwelcome and non-consensual sexual contact,” the suit says.

The alleged conduct occurred in Manhattan, Salina and Westmoreland, a community in Pottawatomie County, the lawsuit alleges. The plaintiff says she did not consent to the sexual contact and repeatedly told McCandless that it was unwanted.

‘Pattern of concealment and inaction’

She reported McCandless’ conduct to employees, agents or supervisors of the Diocese of Salina, the KCK Archdiocese and Seven Dolors Parish, according to the lawsuit. Those organizations, the lawsuit alleges, responded with a “pattern of concealment and inaction.”

The Salina diocese effectively ratified McCandless’ conduct, the lawsuit says, by allowing him to retain a position of power and authority within the church and among parishioners and employees.

The plaintiff suffered “serious and permanent physical and psychological injuries” from the abuse, the lawsuit alleges.

“This was not an isolated remark or a misunderstanding,” the plaintiff’s law firm said in its statement. “It was a sustained course of conduct by a member of the clergy who exploited the spiritual authority and trust that his position conferred, directed at a person who came to him in that very context. Conduct of that nature, by someone in that role, is among the most serious betrayals a faith community can confront.”

Jane Doe has shown “considerable courage,” her lawyers said, adding that the toll she has endured “has been compounded by the institutional response she encountered.”

“She continues to deal with the consequences of what was done to her along with the difficulty of pursuing accountability through the legal system,” the statement said. “She did not ask to become a public figure. She came forward to seek accountability and hoping to protect others from potential harm.”

Jesuits’ expulsion of laicized priest is empty gesture, say abuse survivors

The Bolivian Network of Church Abuse Survivors objected this month to the expulsion of the laicized priest Francesc Peris, 84, from the Society of Jesus.

A leader of the survivors’ group said the Jesuits made only a “symbolic” expulsion of the priest, who is accused of sexually abusing 22 minors in Spain and Bolivia between 1974 and 2004, and that it does not address the Jesuit’s “complicity” in the priest’s sexual misconduct.

The measure was announced by the Jesuits on Oct. 5. In a statement, the order said that a canonical process had found Peris guilty of several offenses.

Born in Catalonia, Peris has been living in a Jesuit residence for the past few years and has not been engaged in pastoral activities. While he has been laicized and is no longer a member of the Society of Jesus, he will continue to live in a Jesuit residence.

An agreement between Peris and the order stipulates that he may not have contact with minors or vulnerable adults, leave the residence without authorization, or contact his victims.

Earlier this year, a Spanish court ruled that Peris – known as Padre Cesc among students – could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired. The most recent complaint against him dated to 2004.

But Pedro Lima, a spokesperson for the Bolivian Survivors’ Network, told The Pillar that in his view, expelling an 84-year-old who benefited from the Society of Jesus’ complicity for decades – during which it failed to take measures to prevent further crimes or punish him – appears to be an opportunistic move.

“He is convalescing and on the verge of death, having spent his entire life protected and enjoying impunity. They will not actually expel him. He will continue living with the Jesuits until his final day. It is merely a symbolic gesture,” Lima said.

Peris is a “sacrificial lamb,” Lima continued, adding that “the worldwide Society of Jesus has already suffered serious damage to its reputation and is now seeking to use him to clean up its image and make a show of supposed justice.”

The loss of Peris’ clerical status was hardly significant, Lima argued, since he was already unable to celebrate Mass. He could no longer work, either, and was of no further use to the Jesuits, “even as the Third World priest and revolutionary he portrayed himself as being.”

“And what happens when someone is expelled? The victims are told to sort things out with him themselves, because he is no longer part of the organization. It is an easy way to wash their hands of the matter and avoid institutional responsibility,” Lima said.

According to victims, Peris had been abusing minors since the 1960s. He taught at Casp–Sagrat Cor de Jesús, a school run by the Catalan Jesuits in Barcelona since 1881. He would single out students and call them out of class to his room, ostensibly to provide spiritual guidance.

That was when the abuse allegedly took place. Over time, his reputation as an abuser spread among students.

After several complaints, Peris was sent to Bolivia in 1983, where he worked at the Juan XXIII school in Cochabamba. The Jesuits founded the institution in the 1960s to provide an education for disadvantaged students in the region, many of them children of mine workers.

What initially appeared to be a promising opportunity soon became a nightmare for many boys and girls, according to numerous reports. Several Jesuits, along with a few teachers, would reportedly summon children and teenagers at night and abuse them.

The abuses committed by Jesuits at Juan XXIII came to public attention in 2023, when the Spanish newspaper El País published an article about Father Alfonso Pedrajas, a Catalan Jesuit known as Padre Pica. For more than five decades, Pedrajas kept a diary in which he documented the abuse he had committed, sometimes in graphic detail. The diary refers to more than 80 victims.

The case became a national scandal in Bolivia and severely damaged the public image of the Jesuits and the Catholic Church as a whole in the South American country. Some victims had remained in contact and discussed the El País article. An initial group of former Juan XXIII students then decided to establish a survivors’ association. Dozens of victims have joined them since. As the network grew, other alleged abusers came to light, and the group began building legal cases against several of them.

Padre Cesc worked in Cochabamba for only one year before returning to Spain in 1984. Even during that brief period, however, victims say he continued to abuse children. According to their accounts, he acted much like Padre Pica, reportedly touching victims while they slept.

Allegations did not stop after the priest’s return to the Sacred Heart of Jesus school in Barcelona. It was only in 2005, following a series of complaints, that the Jesuits finally decided to remove him from the school and transfer him to a residence.

Bolivia’s Survivors’ Network has reported several alleged abusers, including Padre Cesc, to the Jesuit provincials in the Andean country. According to the network, the order’s leaders repeatedly failed to take action.

Earlier this year, the Bolivian Congress asked the Catalan parliament to launch an interparliamentary investigation into the conduct of the Catalan Jesuits in Spain and Bolivia. In September, the Catalan parliament shelved the request.

The survivors’ group accused the Society of Jesus of operating like a criminal conspiracy in Bolivia, with several priests allegedly committing serial sexual abuse and an entire hierarchy, led by provincial superiors, working to cover up the crimes.

“Deep down, the Jesuits are asking the Spanish people for forgiveness. Bolivia and the victims in Bolivia don’t count as far as they’re concerned. Once again, they are treating us as if we don’t matter,” Lima said.

They are asking for forgiveness, “but we must tell them forcefully that forgiveness is not the same as justice,” he added. Not only the perpetrators of sexual abuse, whether alive or dead, must be denounced, but also those who covered up the crimes and their accomplices, Lima argued.

“And those people are still alive and still in Bolivia, along with the entire Jesuit leadership in Spain and at the Vatican. It is time to expose these charades of justice and demand comprehensive reparation,” he concluded.

New book to celebrate the remarkable life of Fr Paddy O’Kane

“He gave so much of himself to others, including people struggling with depression and those facing many other types of challenges”

A book is being written about the remarkable life of Inishowen-born priest Father Paddy O’Kane.

Fr Paddy, who was born in Culdaff in 1948, spent most of his ministry in some of the most deprived and troubled areas of Northern Ireland.

Over the following decades, he became a distinctive figure in the communities he served, including Moville, where he was parish priest from 2007 until 2009.

His unconventional approach to the priesthood, his willingness to challenge established attitudes and his commitment to helping people inspired deep affection among many parishioners and friends.

Fr Paddy, who suffered from depression for many years, took his own life aged 73 in March 2022.

The book is being written by journalist Ciaran O’Neill, who was editor of the Derry News for twelve years.

During that time, Fr Paddy wrote a weekly column for the paper, in which he shared his views on a wide range of subjects, including his own long battle with depression.

O’Neill, who has also worked for the BBC, Sunday Independent and Belfast Telegraph and is currently digital editor of the North West News Group, said it was while reading old editions of the Derry News that he began to appreciate the depth and power of Fr Paddy’s writing.

“Reading those columns again, I was struck by how honest and open he had been about his own struggles, and by the impact his words had on other people.”

“I particularly remembered the calls and messages we received after publishing his articles about depression.”

“People told me how deeply the articles had affected them, and some wanted to make contact with Fr Paddy because they felt he might understand what they were going through.”

“I initially thought it would be a good idea to bring some of his writings together in a book. But I soon realised that the columns needed a wider story around them – the story of the man who had written them, the experiences that shaped him and the people whose lives he touched.”

While his sudden death was a devastating end to his life, O’Neill hopes the book will ensure it is Fr Paddy’s life and the impact he made on others that people remember.

“He was a hugely intelligent man with a mischievous sense of humour and a fun, often childlike approach to life.”

“He could be a showman, whether performing as his beloved Elvis Presley, demonstrating his magic tricks or bringing his own distinctive personality to the altar.”

“He was also a complex character who could be difficult at times. But helping people was always at the heart of what he did. He gave so much of himself to others, including people struggling with depression and those facing many other types of challenges.”

Author O’Neill is appealing to anyone who knew Fr Paddy or would like to share a story about him to get in touch.

“It might be a story about something he did for you or your family, an encounter that stayed with you, a funny incident, or simply your recollection of what he was like as a person. I would love to hear from people whose lives he touched, in whatever way.”

Anyone who would like to share their story about Fr Paddy can contact Ciaran O’Neill at caoneill1971@gmail.com

Church makes sainthood case for 'WW1 hero' priest

A "heroic" Irish priest who was killed in World War One while trying to help injured and dying soldiers has taken a step towards potential sainthood.

Fr Willie Doyle served as a British Army chaplain during some of the bloodiest battles of the First World War, including the Somme, Messines and Passchendaele.

The Dubliner was renowned for his courage under fire, repeatedly running into No Man's Land to carry wounded troops to safety or to comfort those fatally injured.

On Sunday, the Catholic Church in Ireland held a special service in Mullingar Cathedral as it prepares to send thousands of documents to the Vatican to support the case for his canonisation.

World War One had been raging for more than a year when Fr Doyle volunteered to become a military chaplain to the 16th (Irish) Division of the British Army.

He served with the division for almost two years, much of that in the trenches at the Western Front, until his death at the Battle of Passchendaele on 16 August 1917.

He was killed by shellfire while going to the aid of two wounded Protestant soldiers, one of whom was a young officer from Belfast - 2nd Lt Arthur Vivian Green.

Because of that, the Catholic Church in Ireland considers Fr Doyle to be an "ecumenical martyr of charity" who died ministering to soldiers of other Christian denominations.

Military Cross for bravery

The campaign for sainthood is being led by the Fr Willie Doyle Association, a Dublin-based group comprised mostly of lay people but supported by the clergy.

The group was founded by Patrick Kenny, a business school lecturer who lives a short distance from where Fr Doyle grew up in south County Dublin.

"Fr Willie Doyle lived a life of great heroism and, I would also say, great holiness," Kenny told BBC News NI.

"He was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery at the Battle of the Somme. He was mentioned in despatches on a number of occasions as well."

Kenny set up the association in 2020 after he became "captivated" by Fr Doyle's courage through reading a biography of the late priest.

'Servant of peace and reconciliation'

Born William Joseph Gabriel Doyle in 1873, the future priest had a comfortable, middle-class childhood in the affluent Dublin suburb of Dalkey.

He was sent to a Catholic boarding school in England, but returned to Ireland as a teenager, where by the age of 18 he had begun studying to be a Jesuit priest.

He was in his early 40s when he was sent to the Front as a WW1 chaplain.

Even though it was a non-combatant role, Kenny points out that the commander of the 16th (Irish) Division, Maj-Gen Sir William Bernard Hickie, described Fr Doyle as "the bravest man that he ever met".

He added that Fr Doyle was a prolific letter writer whose personal correspondence has become an important eyewitness source for historians.

"If you look at any book about the Irish in the First World War, almost invariable Fr Willie Doyle is in that book.

"Because of the sheer volume of letters that he sent home, we know a lot about what the Irish soldiers experienced."

Kenny added Fr Doyle was held in great esteem by his own men, but was also noted for his kindness towards injured German prisoners-of-war.

He described the priest as "a servant of peace and reconciliation and a model of true ecumenism"

"In many ways, his life and witness are more relevant to us now than they were 100 years ago."

How does someone become a saint?

There are five steps in the process to achieving sainthood in the Catholic Church, some of which can take many years, and this campaign is at a very early stage.

The Fr Willie Doyle Association petitioned the Irish Church to support its proposal for his canonisation, and the Church opened a diocesan inquiry in 2022.

"The Diocese of Meath conducted an extensive investigation - a theological commission studying his writings; a historical commission studying his life," Kenny explained.

It also conducted a "diocesan tribunal" during which experts were interviewed to determine the strength of the religious legacy Fr Doyle inspired among devotees.

"Together all of that documentation comes close to 3,500 pages," Kenny said.

"That documentation will be brought to Rome and then the next phase of the process begins."

Spirituality 'resonates with Gen Z'

This week, the Bishop of Meath Tom Deenihan was filmed adding wax seals to the many parcels of evidence gathered on Fr Doyle, ready for Vatican inspection.

The bishop said the example of an Irish Catholic priest who died serving as a British Army chaplain "has much to offer our own time when nationality and denomination run the risk of polarity".

"Indeed Fr Doyle's spirituality, and example, resonate very much with that of the spirituality of Gen Z," he added.

Members of Fr Doyle's family were invited to join Irish bishops at the ceremony in Mullingar on Sunday afternoon.

The event marked the "final public session of the tribunal of inquiry" after which the last documents will be collated and added to the bundles bound for Rome.

"It's a ritual that's heavily prescribed by church regulation," Bishop Deenihan said.

"The remainder of the documentation, including the minutes of the final [session] itself, will be sealed at the ceremony in the cathedral."

The bishop said it was "an important moment in the life of the Church here in Ireland" and added he was "confident" the case would be successful.

Talented Limerick student creates unique vestment for Munster-mad priest

A TALENTED fashion designer has created a unique vestment for a priest to mark his 30th anniversary in ministry.

Gabriele Bosella, who came to Limerick from Ukraine in 2022, volunteers with his mother Zhanna at St Joseph’s church in O’Connell Avenue.

A fashion student at Limerick School of Art and Design, he was asked by churchgoers if he could create a vestment in the red of Munster Rugby as a gift for Parish Priest Canon Derek Leonard.

The 22-year-old spent nearly two months making the garment, which has the famous Munster badge embroidered on the back, and the province’s triple crown on the stole.

"It required a lot of hand-stitching, and general sewing,” Gabriele explained.

Asked how he felt when Canon Leonard wore the vestment as he led his 30th anniversary Mass, he added: “It was so incredible. I've never witnessed my work being worn on such occasions.”

He was equally thrilled because, when the popular priest exited the church, people were taking “sneaky pictures” of the vestment on their phones!

Pope Leo XIV - Health Update

Pope Leo XIV resumes general audiences after his operation: "Thank you for the support of your prayers"

Pope Leo XIV has resumed this Wednesday, October 21, the general audiences in St. Peter’s Square following the surgery he recently underwent. 

Before the faithful and pilgrims gathered in the Vatican, the Pontiff began his address with words of gratitude for the prayers received during his recovery: “The first thing I want to say to you is: thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers. Thanks be to God for his generosity.”

During the audience, Leo XIV continued his cycle of catechesis on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, dedicating his reflection to the teaching of the pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes on marriage and the family. 

The Pope recalled the importance of marital fidelity and indissolubility, the defense of life from conception, and society’s responsibility in protecting the family.

General Audience of Pope Leo XIV

St. Peter’s Square, Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Catechesis. The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. IV. Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes. 6. The Commitment to the Family in Today’s Society (GS, 47-52)

Reading: Eph 5:31-33

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

The first thing I want to say to you is: thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers. Thanks be to God for his generosity. Let us all renew our trust in the goodness and mercy of God.

The pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes (GS) of the Second Vatican Council, after having explained in its first part the dignity of the person and his or her vocation in the world, addresses in its second part, “in the light of the Gospel and of human experience,” some of the most urgent contemporary problems (cf. GS, 46). First of all, attention is focused on marriage and the family, with the conviction that “the well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the prosperity of the conjugal and family community” (GS, 47).

To this end, the constitution does not merely reiterate the values and ends of marriage, but proposes a renewed understanding of it as an “intimate community of conjugal life and love” (GS, 48). Integrating the juridical dimension of marriage as a contract, it recognizes the foundation of this union in the “conjugal covenant,” understood as “the human act by which spouses give and receive each other mutually” (ibid.). The mutual self-giving of man and woman, “so that they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mt 19:6), motivates the demand for “complete fidelity” and “indissoluble unity” of the spouses; and finds living expression in the procreation and education of children (cf. GS, 48). A reflection of the divine Trinity, conjugal and parental love, through the Sacrament of Marriage, “is ruled and enriched by the redemptive power of Christ,” so that spouses may love one another “as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her” (ibid.).

Having illuminated the reality of marriage with the light of Christ’s love, which is the truth of both human and divine love, Gaudium et spes turns its attention to conjugal love and marital fruitfulness. Conjugal love is not limited to erotic attraction—which is also part of it—but encompasses the entire will of the spouses, rekindling their affection and expressing itself through sentiments and gestures of tenderness (cf. GS, 49). This love embraces the good of the whole person of man and woman, equal in dignity; it permeates the entire life of the spouses and finds expression in acts proper to marriage alone (cf. ibid.). The special intimacy of the spouses signifies the integral love of person to person, fosters mutual self-giving, and enriches their shared joy (cf. ibid.).

The fruitfulness of conjugal love, moreover, is expressed in the procreation of children, “the most excellent gift of marriage” (GS, 50). By transmitting and educating human life, which must never be discarded, spouses become “cooperators in the love of God the Creator and, as it were, his interpreters” (ibid.). Called to this human and Christian responsibility, they must be guided by a right judgment concerning their own good and that of their children, already born or yet to come. This judgment, which ultimately the spouses must form personally before God, requires that their conscience be conformed to the divine law, interpreted by the Magisterium of the Church in the light of the Gospel (cf. ibid.).

The appreciation of loving communion and procreative fruitfulness in marriage leads the Council to exclude the possibility of any “genuine contradiction between the divine laws of the transmission of life and the fostering of authentic conjugal love” (GS, 51); and to affirm, instead, that “when it is a question of harmonizing conjugal love with the responsible transmission of life, the moral character of any procedure does not depend solely on sincere intention or on an evaluation of motives. It must be determined by objective criteria, criteria drawn from the nature of the person and his acts, which preserve in the context of true love both the full sense of mutual self-giving and human procreation” (ibid.). It follows that “life must be safeguarded with the utmost care from the moment of conception,” rejecting “abortion and infanticide”; and that “the very acts proper to conjugal life, ordered according to genuine human dignity, must be respected with great reverence” (ibid.).

The teaching of Gaudium et spes on the conjugal and family community thus underscores the social function of the family, which it defines as “the school of a richer humanity” and “the foundation of society” (GS, 52), reminding all those who bear social responsibilities, especially in the political and cultural spheres, of the duty to “contribute effectively to the advancement of marriage and the family” (ibid.).

Dear friends, this commitment is more urgent than ever. The Church knows this well, as shown by the pastoral solicitude of the Popes who have succeeded one another since the last Council, up to the double Synodal Assembly desired by Pope Francis, on which the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences have recently dialogued. May the Holy Family of Nazareth enlighten us on our journey and protect families throughout the world.

Greetings

I cordially greet the Spanish-speaking pilgrims. May the Holy Family of Nazareth protect all the families of the world. May God bless you. Thank you very much.

Summary read in Spanish by the Holy Father

Dear brothers and sisters:

Today we begin to reflect on the second part of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, which deals with some of the most urgent problems of our time, including the family and marriage; the Council explains that marriage consists in a mutual self-giving that demands complete fidelity and an indissoluble unity. Moreover, it is a fruitful love expressed in the transmission of life as well as in the education of children.

Pope Leo speaks with President Zelensky, calls for humanitarian aid

The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Leo XIV and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke over the telephone on Monday, 19 October.

During the conversation, according to a statement, "the Holy Father recalled the grave situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and made reference to the request for a humanitarian ceasefire that he had presented to the President of the Russian Federation".

The Pope also expressed his hope that "co-operation between both parties will allow for the delivery of food and medical aid", as well as for the "voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population".

Finally, the Holy Father reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to promoting dialogue and peace.

Knoxville bishop continues his war on traditional Catholics

When the Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, banned the praying of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel at the end of Masses in his diocese late last week, he counted another score in his growing campaign to extinguish the faith and practices of devout and Traditional Latin Mass-going Catholics. 

Bishop Mark Beckman is at war with Traditional Latin Mass Catholics, the SSPX, and has now taken on St. Michael the Archangel. 

Beckman banned the TLM

Last year, Beckman limited the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to just one chapel at a retreat center once a month after previously announcing the suppression of all parish TLMs in the diocese.

Beckman declared at the time that the changes to the Roman liturgy after the Second Vatican Council, as well as Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which placed sweeping restrictions on the celebration of the TLM, were guided by the Holy Spirit.

Beckman revoked faculties of priest who associated with the SSPX

Earlier this month, Beckman revoked all the faculties of a diocesan priest who has associated himself with the SSPX. 

A strongly worded statement issued by the diocese said that Beckman had withdrawn all faculties, permissions, and authorizations previously granted to Father David Mary Engo for ministry within the diocese. “He is not authorized to exercise public priestly ministry anywhere within the Diocese of Knoxville.”

The statement went on to condemn the presence of the SSPX within his diocese, and in no uncertain terms discouraged Catholics from participation in any of the activities of the SSPX:

Furthermore, the Bishop of Knoxville has not authorized, condoned, or approved the establishment within the Diocese of any priory, mission, chapel, foundation, or other apostolate intended to advance the purposes or ministry of the Society of Saint Pius X.

The faithful are therefore strongly urged not to attend Masses, sacramental celebrations, retreats, conferences, or other religious activities organized or conducted by Fr. David Mary or in connection with this unauthorized ministry, and not to provide material or organizational support for his ministry or the establishment or maintenance of an SSPX apostolate within the Diocese.

Beckman banned Prayer to St. Michael at the end of Masses

In a statement to members of the Knoxville Diocese published on Friday, Beckman lamented that as he has traveled throughout his diocese, he “noticed that in some of our parishes additional prayers, including the Prayer to St. Michael, the ‘Prayer of St. Francis,’ a Prayer to the Holy Spirit, and others have been added regularly to the liturgy – recited together, sometimes before the entrance hymn, or immediately after the dismissal.”

“Having reflected on the importance of celebrating the liturgy in accordance with the mind of the Church, I do not think it appropriate to add additional prayers associated with the celebration of the Mass itself,” wrote Beckman.

“Therefore, I have asked our priests to catechize the people of God as we move away from additional prayers recited together immediately before, during, and immediately after Mass,” said Beckman.

Beckman instead encouraged pastors to find alternative ways to incorporate the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel “into the devotional lives of our families and communities beyond the celebration of the liturgy.”

Historian: Church failed massively at Abbé Pierre

With a comprehensive monograph, the historian Axelle Brodiez-Dolino has underpinned the extent of the sexual wrongdoings surrounding the priest Abbé Pierre (1912–2007), who was formerly revered as the "father of the homeless". 

In the interview of the newspaper "La Croix" from the weekend, the church leadership attests to her ongoing failure in the desire to sweep the scandals under the carpet and keep damage away from the church.

Your archive study "I must entrust you with a very great secret" (J'ai un très grand secret à vous dire) also deals with childhood traumas of the priest, who grew up with the real name Henri Grouès in a strictly Catholic family in Lyon and apparently had to suffer from sexual assault even during school.

"Relation to sexuality marked by suffering"

"As a child, his relationship with sexuality was marked by suffering and guilt," says Brodiez-Dolino. A traumatizing involvement of his aunt in a murder case is also dealt with in the book. 

The historian speaks for the years after his adolescence of a "progressive increase in perversions."

When France was hit by a cold wave in the winter of 1953/54, Abbé Pierre triggered a nationwide and international wave of aid with aid appeals for the homeless on the radio. 

According to Brodiez-Dolino, the priest then became sexually assaulted several times during a successful trip to the USA. 

Even the highest church authorities, however, were primarily interested in not letting the matter become public.

The historian literally: "In his file in the Vatican, three elements appear, which are equally important in the eyes of Rome: his financial lightness -- he had entrusted the 1954 money to a notorious fraud -- his communist attitude and his sexual aberrations. Reason enough to worry the hierarchy."

According to her account, 1957 was a pivotal year. The Holy Office, the predecessor of today's Vatican religious authority, closed its file in the spring. 

But from autumn, Abbé Pierre was treated for several months in a psychiatric hospital in Switzerland at the instigation of the church leadership and the community he founded Emmaus.

Church archives show that there must have been sexual assaults or even rapes of minors somewhere in the autumn, according to the historian. She now also considers a involvement of the priest in a nationwide sex scandal quite likely, which, however, only flew up in January 1959. 

The "Affaire des Ballets roses", in which underage girls with drugs are substantively and after choreographed dances then gentlemen of the higher society are fed, cost, among other things, the then parliament speaker André Le Troquer the office.

In a summary document from 1964, the Paris Auxiliary Bishop and later Cardinal Pierre Veuillot writes about the actions of Abbé Pierre: "Young girls are thus drawn for their entire lives."

Strict controls revoked

After the Swiss therapy, according to his biographer Brodiez-Dolino, Abbé Pierre realized that "he wanted to be removed from Emmaus "; this had made him "angry and incredibly energetic again". 

But he was able to escape all the discreet attempts of the French bishops to keep him under control as much as possible – medical care, travel restrictions, constant surveillance – every time.

Until 1964, according to the historian’s finding, Abbé Pierre was still under strict control; after that, the conditions had gradually eased with the change of those responsible – until he had literally disappeared from the church’s field of vision in 1972. 

When he returned to the spotlight in the 1980s, the Church no longer had any influence on him, Brodiez-Dolino reports: "He is too well-known and now exclusively embodies 'Emmaus'."

Until the allegations became known a few years ago, Abbé Pierre was regularly one of the "most popular French people of all time," according to surveys. 

An independent commission of inquiry into its acts of violence (Cevap) is due to present its conclusions in 2027.

Parolin, under scrutiny: the phrase about a "pontificate to be readjusted" and a streak of defeats in the Vatican

The phrase by Cardinal Pietro Parolin about the possibility that Leo XIV might “readjust” his pontificate after the operation continues to spark discussion in Rome. 

Vaticanist Nico Spuntoni devotes an analysis to the controversy in the Sunday edition of Il Giornale on 18 October, arguing that the Secretary of State’s remark “has caused annoyance in the Vatican” and placing it within a series of setbacks Parolin has faced in recent months.

An “unfortunate remark”

Parolin made the comment on Thursday afternoon at an event at the Iraqi embassy to the Holy See. Asked by journalists, he said the Pope would “reajustará su pontificado, si es necesario reajustarlo” once the doctors had given their assessment.

The following day, at the Catholic University, he limited himself to saying that the recovery “is going well” and that he could not “interpret” anything about the Pontiff’s plans. According to Il Giornale, the cardinal later clarified that he was referring to the trip to Latin America.

Spuntoni describes the remark as an “unfortunate remark” and states that, “among prelates and experts,” the judgment of its inopportuneness is “unanimous.” 

The surprise, he adds, was greater because Parolin has a reputation for being prudent. His critics also reproach him, according to the newspaper, for an excessive presence at conferences and the habit of “talking too much to journalists.” 

The words came, moreover, just hours after the first images of the Pope after the operation and his telephone call to Vladimir Putin were released.

Russia, the Domus Paul VI and the deanship

The article lists several episodes in which, in its view, the Secretary of State has come out the loser:

• Russia. At the end of August it was Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, whom the newspaper describes as a friend of the Pope, who was sent on the delicate mission to Russia. Parolin had travelled to Moscow in 2017.

• The Domus Paul VI. According to Il Giornale, Parolin opposed the lease of the building, which is to become a hotel, and tried to freeze the operation in February. Leo XIV approved it anyway, citing savings on maintenance.

• The deanship of the College of Cardinals. Last week’s election of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as dean closed, according to the newspaper, an aspiration Parolin already had in 2025 and which Francis did not grant. 

  A source cited by Spuntoni claims that Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re conveyed to the cardinal-bishops the preference for “not someone over eighty,” and that Parolin was told he “has too many commitments.”

The “stigma of the defeated” in the conclave

Eighteen months after the conclave, Parolin remains at the head of the Secretariat of State, unlike what happened with his predecessors Angelo Sodano and Tarcisio Bertone. 

But, according to Spuntoni, he carries the “stigma of the defeated in the conclave” and there has never been harmony between him and Leo XIV, although the newspaper stresses that the Pope is not one to humiliate his collaborators.

With the Pontiff already out of the Gemelli, Il Giornale expects a meeting between the two that will clarify what it calls the “rimodulare-gate,” and recalls a similar misunderstanding between Paul VI and Cardinal Giuseppe Siri.

House of Bishops meets with its own vacancies on the agenda

THE cost of long vacancies in sees was among the issues discussed by the House of Bishops at its meeting this week.

The meeting, held from Monday to Wednesday, focused on “discussion of emerging work and matters of common concern across the Church”, a summary provided by Church House, Westminster, said.

This included work being done on episcopal appointments. Bishops noted “the cost of long vacancies and shared experiences of identifying and encouraging candidates for episcopal ministry”. 

Nine sees are currently vacant, and, in recent years, the failure of the Crown Nominations Commission to appoint, the withdrawal of candidates, and suspension of bishops have resulted in suffragan bishops’ serving as acting bishops for longer periods of time.

In the General Synod, members have been raising concerns about the functioning of the system, and the backlog. In 2024, Archbishop Welby spoke of “unprecedented demand in the senior appointments system”.

The meeting this week also received an update on safeguarding, which noted a “significant improvement in safeguarding provision and training over the past 15 years” and “the enormous culture change in the Church during that period”. 

There had been more than 850,000 “instances of people being trained” in the Church of England since 2016, the Bishops heard.

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, Dr Joanne Grenfell, gave an update on the work being done by the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board.

Also discussed were ways of encouraging those considering a call to ordination; and interfaith relationships in local communities, The Bishops “examined how the Church could work for the common good at a time of increased societal division”.

They discussed the work being undertaken on the governance and culture of the House of Bishops, after its announcement in June last year, including “any practical changes needed to help increase Standing Committee transparency”.

On the final day, the Bishops discussed the National Funding for Diocesan Ministry Review. This was commissioned last year in response to a Synod motion that called for “early in the next triennium a full debate that will enable Synod to express its view on the approach to disbursing funding, including support for local stipendiary ministry”.

An update provided in July referred to “shared recognition that many of the challenges facing the Church, including clergy numbers, diocesan deficits and parish viability, cannot be meaningfully addressed within short-term funding cycles”.

Pope Leo XIV to resume Wednesday general audience this week, skips Castel Gandolfo

Pope Leo XIV will resume his Wednesday general audience at the Vatican this week. 

But he will skip his usual Monday-evening-through-Tuesday-evening stay at the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo southeast of Rome.

The pontiff returned to the Vatican on Saturday, four days after surgery to remove a cancerous lung nodule. 

The same day, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, who operated on Pope Leo on Oct. 13 at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, cleared the pope to proceed with his apostolic journey to South America in November.

The next day, Oct. 18, Leo resumed praying the Sunday Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

“Having overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will now gradually resume my activities, always with Godʼs help and your prayers,” the pope said in his Angelus address.

Brother surprised that pope’s South America trip will proceed

Louis Prevost, one of Pope Leo XIV’s brothers, expressed surprise in a Sunday interview with Fox News that Margaritora had cleared the pope’s trip.

“I thought maybe theyʼd postpone that,” Prevost said.

Prevost, who is receiving treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, also expressed surprise that Leo had been diagnosed with lung cancer, which had never occurred in the family.

“He was the first with the lung cancer, which came out of the blue. Nobody else had that in our family that Iʼm aware of,” Prevost said.

Prevost also shared that he and the pope had talked every day during his hospitalization.

“Every time I talked to him or texted him [during his hospitalization], he was answering,” Prevost said. “So, I know other than during the operation and in his brief, quick recovery, he was incommunicado. But since then, almost anytime I reach out to him, he is right there.”

“When we get on the phone or talk, we give each other crap, you know?” Prevost said. “We tell jokes; some are off color.”

Asked how he could give the pope crap, he replied: “You tell him he’s being stupid.”

Former Hampton vicar admits online sex offenses against police decoy posing as 13-year-old

A former Church of England vicar in south-west London has pleaded guilty to sending sexual messages and explicit photographs of himself to an undercover police investigator posing as a 13-year-old girl. 

The Rev. Ben Lovell, 44, former vicar of St Mary’s Church, Hampton, and former Area Dean of Hampton in the Diocese of London, entered his pleas at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, and was committed to Kingston Crown Court for sentencing.

Prosecutor Ross Davis told the court that Mr. Lovell had contacted the decoy, known as “Isla,” over Snapchat in 2025. “The defendant engaged via social media with the decoy [undercover investigator posing as a child] and the conversation was sexual,” Mr. Davis said. “He also sent indecent images of himself to the decoy. Further inquiries revealed he was the vicar of St Mary’s.”

Mr. Lovell pleaded guilty to two offences. The Daily Mail reported them as one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one of causing a child under 13 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity. 

A report by Max Stephens published on Yahoo News described them as sending indecent images of himself to a person under 16 and causing a child under 16 to look at a photograph of sexual activity.

Mr. Davis called it “a high culpability offence as it included solicitation of images and also sexual images were sent and received,” and said Mr. Lovell was likely to receive a sentence of between 18 months and two years in prison. Magistrates said the offences were too serious for their sentencing powers. 

“The offences you have pleaded guilty to are so serious, we will be committing them to Kingston Crown Court at a date that will be confirmed with you,” the chairman of the bench said.

Fred Batstone, for the defence, told the court that Mr. Lovell had no previous convictions and had complied with all bail requirements concerning his children. He said Mr. Lovell, who is married with two daughters, is not living with his family, is not working and has daily supervised contact with his children approved by social services. The court ordered a pre-sentence report and released Mr. Lovell on conditional bail.

In a statement issued by its safeguarding team on Oct. 13, the Diocese of London confirmed the guilty pleas and said the offences “do not relate to his role at St Mary’s, or to any other role, or to his family.” 

The diocese said that when it learned of his arrest in 2025, it worked with statutory agencies “to put safeguarding and risk management measures in place to protect the parish community and to ensure that children, young people and vulnerable adults remained safe.” 

Bail conditions were imposed immediately, and Mr. Lovell “was suspended from ministry, and stepped back from his other responsibilities.”

The diocese said statutory agencies had advised it “on what could be communicated publicly and when, to respect the integrity of the ongoing police investigation,” and added that “the matter remains subject to court process, which should be allowed to conclude fairly and independently.” St Mary’s Hampton has posted a link to the diocesan statement on its website.

Mr. Lovell came to St Mary’s from a curacy at St Paul’s, South Harrow, and was inducted as vicar on June 6, 2017. He became Area Dean of Hampton on April 18, 2023, while remaining vicar. In 2018 he led the parish’s first baptisms by immersion in the River Thames. 

He also served as a director of Hampton School, an independent school, until December 2025, and chaired the board of trustees of the Instanter Learning Trust, which runs St Mary’s Hampton Church of England Primary School.

The Daily Mail reported that Mr. Lovell is due back in court next month for a pre-sentence report hearing. He will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on a date yet to be fixed.