Tony Flannery: Responding to the Vatican statement on the ordination of women as deacons

My initial reaction to the statement from the Vatican ruling out the possibility of women being eligible for the diaconate in the Catholic Church was one of great sadness.

This development has something of the same feel for me as the papal document, Humanae Vitae, of 1968 declaring that the use of artificial means of contraception was a serious sin. One of the great problems with that document was that it emerged from a ‘shadowy’ group of male clerics in the Vatican — largely nameless – and that it went against what was then the developing consensus among the members of the Church.

This present statement has again come from a ‘shadowy’ body – apparently ten members appointed by the Curia, but names are not revealed. 

If the 1968 document went against a developing consensus, this one is much more problematic in this area. We are now in the middle of a Synodal Process in the Church, which is based on the notion of giving a voice to all the baptised. That voice has so far been clear and strong on its view of the need for equality for women in all aspects of Church life and ministry; in this country a survey a couple of years ago recorded that 96% of church going Catholics were in favour of women being ordained, not just as deacons, but also as priests.

So once again the Vatican, with its secretive methods, has dismissed the views of the faithful, even in the midst of much hyped synodality.

The consequences of this could be serious for the Church. I know that the large majority of women, especially in the western world, will reject it, and the exodus of young women from the Church will increase.

Can Synodality survive this development? At the very least it will be damaged. How can people be expected to continue to give their time and energy to the significant amount of work involved if they know that a secret Vatican ‘cabal’ can dismiss the findings with the stroke of a pen? Does Pope Leo not realise that? 

So, in my view, this is a bay day for the Catholic Church.

Housing charity McVerry Trust wasted €172k renting derelict property

Controversy-hit housing charity the Peter McVerry Trust wasted €172,000 in funds for the homeless by renting a derelict and uninhabitable property for more than five years, an Extra.ie investigation reveals.

The country’s largest housing charity also bought a house from its own head of IT for €170,000 in another undisclosed property deal that was not declared as a related-party transaction, something that is required by governance and transparency rules.

Both the undeclared house purchase and the scale of the wasted rental payments were not uncovered during last year’s investigations by the Charities Regulator and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA). These regulatory probes have cost the taxpayer more than €400,000.

Today’s revelations come as the Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT) seeks to move on from recent scandals involving conflicts of interest, poor financial controls and millions in misspent funds.

It will also fuel fears that the Government has failed to properly regulate the country’s Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).

With more than 400 AHBs in the sector, controlling as much as €10billion in assets, the chair of the Dáil spending watchdog this weekend expressed fears that ‘another Peter McVerry-style scandal may be lurking’.

As a result of the mismanagement, during the 18-year rule of former CEO Pat Doyle, taxpayers have so far had to bail out PMVT by €15m, with no guarantee the charity will survive.

Recent investigations by inspectors from the Charities Regulator and the Housing Regulator were aimed at disclosing all financial breaches, allowing PMVT to move on with a clean sheet.

According to the Charities Regulator, its investigation was ‘carried out by an internal forensic accountant and a senior forensic accountant from Deloitte’ at a cost of €212,185. The total cost of AHBRA’s statutory investigation was €197,015.25.

As recently as two weeks ago, amid extraordinary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revelations of expenditure on a Peacock enclosure and an unauthorised lift for then CEO Doyle, PMVT refiled new accounts for 2022 and 2023 to take account of the regulators’ findings.

These re-filed accounts contain various related-party transactions that had not been previously disclosed as required by transparency rules.

However, our investigation confirms the inspectors missed glaring examples of poor governance during their inquiries, raising questions about what else may have been missed.

One money-wasting deal the inspectors failed to get to the bottom of involves the rental of a Limerick property that was uninhabitable.

In this instance, the charity ended up paying €2,500 a month in rent from July 2017 to March 2023 for a property no one could be housed in. A total of €172,000 was wasted throughout this 69-month period.

The property was later bought by PMVT for €250,000 in a controversial 2023 purchase that was examined by inspectors from the Charities Regulator.

According to the inspectors’ report, PMVT was originally going to buy this property itself, but decided not to when the soon-to-be owner approached Mr Doyle, saying he wanted to invest in housing. Mr Doyle suggested this individual could buy the property, renovate it and then PMVT could rent it.

The report confirms the then-owner of the Limerick property also has other properties in Dublin that he rents to PMVT.

However, the Charity Regulator’s report does not reveal the property was derelict and unsuitable for housing when PMVT rented it.

Planning files confirm the property was uninhabitable when PMVT agreed a 20-year lease in July 2017. Planning permission to make it suitable for human habitation was not made until April 2022 – more than five years after PMVT commenced paying rent.

A letter compiled on behalf of the owner by the architect states: ‘The site has been in a state of disrepair and vacant for a number of years – the existing flat roofs are currently leaking and in bad condition with damp spots internally in several locations.

‘Internally, the condition of the walls and floor is very bad with some minor fire damage in a section, mould in other areas with damp spots throughout – there is a need of a full refreshment to make this building occupiable.’

Despite the unlivable condition of the building, PMVT inexplicably agreed to rent it.

It is likely these funds, rather than going to house those in need, helped the owner to pay for the renovation of the property. According to the inspector’s report, the housing charity bought the property for €250,000 in March 2023.

However, PMVT did not have the €250,000 at the time as it was waiting for approved State funding.

Instead, according to the report, PMVT agreed to take a loan which was channelled through a trust firm business that the Limerick owner used to hold his property.

This loan was not approved by the board or the audit committee. There was no signed agreement and the money was paid into a separate charity to the McVerry Trust.

The cost of this loan, which the inspectors were unable to establish by the time they published their report, remains unknown.

The charity this week confirmed more than five years of rent had been paid on the Limerick building.

It said in a statement: ‘Our records show that Peter McVerry Trust entered a 20-year lease on a property in Limerick on the 1st July 2017 at a cost of €2,500 per month.

‘It is unclear to the current board and senior management why the lease was undertaken by the former CEO.’

A further transaction missed by inspectors involves a house in Athy, Co. Kildare that was purchased for €170,000 from long-term charity employee and head of IT Mark Durham and his wife Sandra in 2022, who live within 800 meters of the then-charity CEO Pat Doyle.

The three-bed property was later registered to PMVT on the land registry folio in January 2023. But the purchase, which was funded via Kildare County Council, has never been declared by PMVT as a related party transaction.

Mr Durham, who always acted appropriately during the sale, confirmed he had sold the house to his employer.

‘That should have been [declared] because that went to the housing development people,’ he said when asked about PMVT’s failure to declare the deal as a related party transaction.

‘That was all officially done. It went to Kildare County Council, they paid the money to our solicitor. Everything was properly done? I’m surprised, actually.’

Mr Durham said the deal was problematic as PMVT was overwhelmed and unable to process purchases promptly.

‘It was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare. It took us months and months but I wasn’t going to complain because it was my company and it was a charity.

‘Everyone’s overworked. There were too many properties, so they just couldn’t be processed on time – we did nearly a favour, because I could have sold for much more because of the length of time it took to sell it. It went into the next bloody year and I could have got another five of six thousand more, but we wouldn’t do that,’ he said.

Asked if he was a friend of Mr Doyle, he said: ‘I know him from years ago. That’s about it. We would have known him for years – school and things like that – but he was my boss’s boss.’

He said he declared the sale to Revenue and paid Capital Gains Tax of €7,639, and that he had originally bought the Athy property for €140,000 in 2004.

Asked about the charity’s failure to declare the deal, he said: ‘I know they are tidying up a lot of things. Maybe they missed my one.’

In their statement, PMVT said the Athy purchase had been at market value and had been ‘executed in a compliant manner’.

The charity admitted: ‘This purchase was not recorded as a related-party transaction, as it should have been, in the 2022 financial statements, and this omission forms part of historical weaknesses in accounting standards in PMVT.’

They added that the property was acquired ‘for a family experiencing homelessness,’ and has been used for this purpose since 2022.

Asked about its inspector’s failure to spot the deals disclosed today, a spokesperson for the Charities Regulator said: ‘The scope of the investigation was to review and identify, in a timely manner, the principal compliance and governance failures relating to charity law.

‘The report makes it clear that the investigation “was not designed to identify all circumstances of noncompliance or other irregularity… that may exist”.

AHBRA also defended its report. A spokesperson said: ‘It was not a forensic audit, and the Act does not require AHBRA to conduct property condition assessments, planning reviews, commercial valuations or detailed examinations of individual transactions.’

New Book of Confessions published after seven-year review

A new Book of Confessions has been published by the Church of Scotland after a detailed seven-year review of the confessional position of the Church led by the Theological Forum.

For centuries, ministers and elders have subscribed at their ordination to the Westminster Confession of Faith. This document was approved by the Church of Scotland in 1647, and contains doctrinal statements that seek to express the common faith of the Church, and that are intended to guide the beliefs of office-holders.

These doctrinal statements emphasise among other teachings the centrality of scripture, the sovereignty of God, and salvation by God's grace alone. However, since 1921, liberty of opinion in points not entering into the substance of the faith has meant that office-holders have not had to agree to every statement in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

At the 2018 General Assembly it was decided that the matter should be revisited.

Nathalie Mares McCallum, who is the Secretary of the Theological Forum, explained that while the Westminster Confession of Faith remains an important part of the Church of Scotland's historical and present identity, its relevance has changed.

"It was adopted by the General Assembly of the Church in Scotland in 1647, and in time it became the touchstone for orthodoxy for ministers and elders within the church," she said.

"However, there are a number of reasons it's no longer seen as representative of the variety of Reformed beliefs present within the Church of Scotland today."

"In particular, there's been long-standing disagreement about certain doctrines in the Confession, such as predestination, which some see as limiting the scope of salvation in ways that Scripture does not support."

She also highlighted the "polemic against Roman Catholicism" it contains, from which the Church of Scotland officially distanced itself in 1986.

The process leading towards this new Book of Confessions has involved people from across the Church, with the original overture to move in this direction brought to the General Assembly by the then Presbytery of Melrose and Peebles in 2018.

The Theological Forum has worked on the project over the intervening years with presbyteries, advisers on church law, the Principal Clerk and others, with a conference at Edinburgh University's New College exploring the issue in 2019.

After further discussion at recent General Assemblies, the Church's Theological Forum, which is made up of ministers, elders and academics with a range of views, has produced the new Book of Confessions, which has now been approved by presbyteries and provides a more holistic account of the Church's faith.

As well as the original Westminster Confession it will include the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Scots Confession, and the 1992 Statement of Christian Faith.

The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed relate to what it is to be part of the wider Christian faith, and the three confessions to what it is to be from the Reformed tradition. The Scots Confession, which was overseen by John Knox and dates from 1560, helped to establish the Church of Scotland, while the Statement of Faith from 1992 offers an accessible and more contemporary summary of the teaching of the Church.

"We are part of the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, but we're also a member of the family of Reformed churches, historically rooted in the Protestant Reformation," Ms Mares McCallum explains.

Ms Mares McCallum added that the new published book includes "an introduction and prefaces, which explain how the statements of faith came to be written, what's distinctive about them and what role they've played in the life of the church".

There are also footnotes clarifying some of the more challenging historical contents and contexts.

From 1 January 2026 all office-holders when they are ordained will now promise to be guided by the Book of Confessions in their life and doctrine.

A new Church of Scotland Learning module is being created on the Book of Confessions which will be available in the new year and will show how what's contained within it is relevant to everyday Christian life.

Rev Dr Liam Fraser who has been part of the process from the start said:

"I am delighted by the publication of the Book of Confessions of the Church of Scotland. After a process lasting more than seven years, the Church has clarified its beliefs for the 21^st century, making it easier for office holders and for the people of Scotland to know what it stands for.

"Importantly for our relations with other denominations, in its 1700th anniversary, the Church has formally adopted the Nicene Creed, a summary of belief shared by the majority of Christians. This, along with the re-adoption the Scots Confession – the first Protestant confession in Scotland – makes it clear that we share the same basic faith as other Christians, while preserving our unique Scottish Reformed identity."

Rev Dr John McPake, acting Principal Clerk, said:

"The publication of The Book of Confessions of the Church of Scotland now gives fuller expression to the significance of the decisions made by the General Assembly, regarding the subordinate standards of the Church. These decisions may rightfully be regarded as the most significant made since 1647.

"In expanding the subordinate standards to include the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed alongside the Scots Confession and the more contemporary Statement of Christian Faith, and setting these alongside the Westminster Confession, the Book of Confessions affirms that the life of the Church is rooted in 'the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic faith' founded upon the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. At the same time, it affirms that it is a Church rooted in the Scottish Reformation and one called to the ever-renewed task of being reformed.

"As we take up that task, the Book of Confessions reminds us of our fundamental identity as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and resources us for the challenge of living out that identity in the nation in which we are called to bear witness to the Gospel."

Burnout and isolation are common problems for Church of England clergy - report

The Church of England has published findings from the final survey of its decade long Living Ministry project, offering the most comprehensive picture yet of what helps — and hinders — clergy as they seek to thrive in their work.

The final panel report, Lord, for the Years, released on December 1, draws on the experiences of 500 clergy who responded to the study’s fifth wave of research.

Since 2017, over 1,000 priests commissioned in 2006, 2011, 2015, or who began their ministerial preparation in 2016, have taken part in the study.

The latest publication not only sets out new data from this year’s survey but also traces how clergy wellbeing has evolved over nearly a decade.

Researchers examined five interconnected dimensions of clergy wellbeing: health of body and mind, relational networks, spiritual and ministerial fulfilment, economic security, and engagement in the Church’s communal life.

The programme stresses that wellbeing is a shared responsibility — one shaped both by personal resilience and by the environments clergy serve in.

Across interviews, focus groups and surveys, four pressures have persisted year after year. Clergy described burnout, feelings of isolation, diminished morale, and ongoing financial strain.

Covid-19 sharply intensified many of these burdens, especially for incumbents, whose mental health and relationships have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Among this year’s respondents, 62% rated their overall health as good or excellent, while 9% said it was poor.

Around 29% reported symptoms consistent with probable or possible depression.

Two in five felt isolated in their ministry context, while around one in 10 (11%) said they struggled financially.

Incumbents consistently reported weaker financial and mental wellbeing than other groups — a trend recorded before the stipend and pension uplift unveiled in 2025.

New questions on burnout were able to shed more light on some of the causes.

"Of the three elements of burnout, high scores in depersonalisation (related to isolation) and personal inefficacy (related to demoralisation) were more prevalent than emotional exhaustion (related to tiredness), suggesting that the nature of ordained ministry may contribute more to burnout than simply the number of hours worked," the report said.

Parish finances and the upkeep of church buildings emerged as the biggest sources of discouragement, and administrative load remained one of the most frequently cited causes of stress, often perceived as pulling clergy away from their core calling.

The report recommended that steps be taken to address some of the issues.

"In the context of highly demanding work, both personal and parish finances continue to cause anxiety," it reads.

"It is yet to be seen whether the former will be mitigated by recent proposals to increase stipends and pensions.

"Workload issues relate strongly to administrative work and isolation, and finding ways to address these and enable people to give more time to aspects of ministry core to their gifts and calling may contribute to improved wellbeing and increase the impact of the Church's mission and ministry."

Despite the challenges, many clergy reported finding hope in the engagement of congregations, signs of growth, fruitful ministry with youth, and the support of colleagues.

Some 42% reported being in a stable financial position, and nearly three quarters (72%) felt they were fulfilling their sense of vocation.

Respondents also highlighted the value of stronger diocesan support, improved financial security, and lower levels of nationwide tension within the Church.

Long-time clergy reported greater recovery from pandemic-era dips in wellbeing than those recently entering ministry.

Those ordained in 2015 or training in 2016 — many now in their first incumbency — showed higher isolation and lower recovery overall.

Younger clergy, however, often showed stronger vocational confidence.

When asked about the coming years, 34% of those surveyed say they plan to retire by 2030, while 62% anticipate remaining in ministry.

Co-author of the report, Rev Dr Fiona Tweedie, said the project offers an important counterbalance to headline-driven narratives about church life.

“Their ministry is demanding yet vocational fulfilment is high,” she said. “Being part of the Living Ministry panel takes time, and we are grateful to all those who have completed even one of the surveys.”

After expressing her gratitude to the participants, leader of the programme Dr Liz Graveling Fox added: “Lord, for the Years provides a compelling view of how wellbeing has shifted for different groups of clergy over nearly a decade and reminds us of the importance of taking care of those who have devoted their lives to God’s service.”

A final qualitative report — drawing on the last round of interviews and focus groups — will be released in late 2026.

New Slovak Virgin Mary mosaic highlights spiritual bonds between Slovakia and Vatican

Just before the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a mosaic of Our Lady of Sorrows, Protectress of Slovakia, was inaugurated in the Vatican Gardens. 

Archbishop Bernard Bober of Košice, president of the Slovak Bishops' Conference, blessed the artwork during a ceremony attended by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, whom Pope Leo XIV received in audience the day before.

Among other bishops and diplomats, two cardinals took part: the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Re, and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.

The Slovak president said he was happy to see the Slovak Virgin Mary image inside the Vatican as she "is a source of hope, faith and unity." 

Peter Pellegrini stressed that his Central European country and the Holy See "share common values, such as the dignity of human person, true liberty and open dialog."

During the audience with Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican said, pontiff and president reaffirmed their commitment to supporting social cohesion, promoting justice, and safeguarding the family, and discussed the war in Ukraine, its impact on European security, and the situation in the Middle East.

Each time we pass by this beautiful artwork, Cardinal Gugerotti underlined in his speech at the inauguration, "we will pray for the Slovak people" who suffered during atheist communism, and yet "were able to maintain and renew its Christian roots."

Likewise, Cardinal Giovanni Re told CNA that he is very happy for the new artwork. "I have always loved Slovakia because it is still very Catholic," the prelate said.

It is a great honor for us that the mosaic of Our Lady of Sorrows has reached the heart of the Church, Archbishop Bober underscored. The Slovak Virgin Mary is "a symbol of the spiritual connection between Slovakia and the Vatican." It reminds us, the archbishop continued, that "Our Lady of Sorrows has a special place in our nation, but also in the lives of all believers."

The colorful mosaic, created by Greek Catholic priest and artist Father Kamil Dráb, is a copy of an image in the chapel of the Pontifical Slovak College of St. Cyril and Methodius in Rome and has been installed in the Vatican Gardens near the bell used during the Great Jubilee of 2000.

‘Sons of Thunder’ vocations group teaches boys how to be Catholic men

A little over a year ago, Father Matthew Gonzalez, a priest in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, had the idea to create a group for boys in grades eight to 12 that focuses on vocations and what it means to be a Catholic man in today’s world.

“The Lord has placed a strong desire for vocations on my heart. I am convinced the Lord is still calling young men today,” Gonzalez told CNA.

“A few years ago, I brought several of our parish young men to the Quo Vadis summer camp, a weeklong experience focused on authentic Christian manhood. They came home with a hunger for more — more faith, more fraternity, more service. That experience planted the seed,” he explained.

Soon afterward, Gonzalez started the Sons of Thunder, which takes its name from Mark 3:17, where Jesus gave that nickname to the apostles James and John. The group meets once a month at St. Bartholomew Church in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and currently has 12 members who come together for prayer and fellowship.

Each monthly meeting starts with one of the boys leading evening prayer and another one handling the readings. Then the group watches a video from the Knights of Columbus called “Into the Breach,” a series on authentic masculinity that explores topics such as the importance of prayer and how to become a leader. A discussion follows the video.

Gonzalez shared that the aim of the group is to inspire the boys to model themselves after the ultimate Catholic man — Jesus.

“Every meeting always includes three pillars: prayer, faith formation, and fun. We pray together, learn together, and build brotherhood together,” he said.

The group also frequently visits the local seminary and takes part in community service projects.

“We’ve done a garden project in the rectory backyard, organized service for the needy and for religious communities, and held a beach cleanup day. Serving others is central to our mission,” Gonzalez said.

Another central focus of the group is to introduce the boys to the priesthood.

“People often say we have a vocations crisis. I don’t believe that. There is no crisis in vocations — the Lord is still calling, just as he always has. What we are facing is a crisis of meaning and purpose in our culture, and this affects young people deeply,” Gonzalez said.

“Sons of Thunder exists to help restore a sense of identity as Christian men, of purpose, and of mission. When young men know who they are and what they’re made for, they can hear the Lord’s call more clearly.”

Gonzalez recently started a new assignment as rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, so the Sons of Thunder will look slightly different going forward. The group’s lay leader, who has helped Gonzalez run the group since its creation, will now be taking over the responsibilities of running the group.   

“As I begin my new mission as the rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, I’m spending time learning the heartbeat of this parish family. But I absolutely hope to expand youth ministry here, and one way to do that is by beginning a new chapter of Sons of Thunder,” Gonzalez said. “I want the young men of this community to experience what our first group experienced.”

For members who are currently in the group, were previously in the group, or will join one day, Gonzalez said his “greatest hope is that they learn the faith is worth living — even when it demands sacrifice and self-gift. And at the heart of it all is relationship: a relationship with God and the relationships they build with one another. If they leave knowing they are loved by God and made for greatness, the mission of Sons of Thunder is fulfilled.”

Leader of schismatic Colorado Springs group disregards excommunication

After receiving a letter of excommunication from the Vatican, the leader of a schismatic group in Colorado Springs told congregants he would ignore it — furthering the divide between the small splinter group and the Catholic Church.

Anthony Ward heads the Servants of the Holy Family, a group that labels itself as Catholic in spite of the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ declaration that the group is schismatic.  

In a 40-minute speech to his congregation in which he called Church authorities “a kangaroo court” of “heretics” and “freemasons,” Ward went public on Nov. 16 about his excommunication and his plans to continue ignoring the Catholic Church’s directives. 

During a secret ceremony in 2024, a bishop whose name was withheld at the time consecrated Ward as a bishop without papal permission.

In the Catholic Church, only the pope can appoint bishops. Consecrating a bishop without papal mandate is considered illicit and incurs an automatic “latae sententiae” excommunication for both parties.

During the meeting at the Servants’ chapel on Nov. 16, Ward told his congregation that the Catholic Church had made a declaration of excommunication against him due to what he described as “persistent, rebellious disobedience.”

Though excommunication is a “medicinal penalty” designed to urge an individual to repent, Ward has said he is “ignoring” the letter and will not be responding within the 30-day window given to him. 

Embracing the claims of the letter, Ward said he will continue to disobey, instead putting his loyalty toward what he called “the true Catholic faith.” 

“I have not and will not obey commands from the kangaroo court composed of heretics, schismatics, Freemasons, representatives of the most vile sinful perversions, enemies of the cross of Christ,” Ward told the congregation, “of whom the majority of bishops — particularly in this country — no longer believe in the real presence of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, Christ in the Eucharist.”

The U.S. Catholic bishops recently led a yearslong Eucharistic Revival that centered on the Catholic belief that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.

Despite the local Catholic diocese’s denouncement of the Servants, the group continues to hold Eucharistic celebrations and is recruiting minors as well as adult men to be trained as priests.

The Servants’ website advertises the group as “faithful to the Latin Mass” as well as to “Catholic doctrine and morals” and claims it is “endorsed by Catholic bishops worldwide.” 

Ward named Archbishop Telesphore George Mpundu Lusaka, the African archbishop emeritus of Zambia, as the bishop who illicitly consecrated him, but the other bishops are not specified readily on the website. 

When asked to comment, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Colorado Springs referred to the most recent public statement by Bishop James Golka in April 2024. 

Since 2013, the Diocese of Colorado Springs has publicly held that the Servants are “not in good standing” with the Church.   

Pointing to continued “obstinate ill will” by the Servants, Golka declared last year that Ward and other priests affiliated with the Servants “are not in good standing with the diocesan or the universal Catholic Church” and declared it “a schismatic group.” 

Pointing to canon law, Golka declared that its Eucharistic celebration “is illicit and a grave moral offense” and that its celebration of baptism “is illicit.” The bishop also declared celebrations of penance, the sacrament of matrimony, confirmation, and holy orders by this group to be invalid. 

Golka said it would be “an act of spiritual danger” for Catholics to attend celebrations led by the Servants and encouraged the faithful to pray for reconciliation. 

The Servants did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Pope Leo: ‘Music is like a bridge that leads us to God’

Saturday evening was special in the Vatican as Pope Leo XIV welcomed artists, volunteers, and more than 3,000 guests of honour - vulnerable and marginalised men and women in need of different nationalities, languages, and religions - who filled the Paul VI Hall for the sixth “Concert with the Poor.”

Greeting participants and guests at the conclusion of the event organised by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and in collaboration with the Diocese of Rome and a host of associations and groups that care for the poor, this 2025 edition featured international artist Michael Bublè, together with his band, the Choir of the Diocese of Rome, conducted by Monsignor Marco Frisina, and the Nova Opera Orchestra.

The Pope sat back throughout the concert smiling, clearly enjoying the music, clapping with enthusiasm at the conclusion of every song and even singing along with Michael Bublè before taking a few moments to express his pleasure for having been able to join an event “born from the heart of Pope Francis.”

He highlighted the universal gift of music, saying, “This evening, as the melodies touched our hearts, we felt the inestimable value of music: not a luxury for the few, but a divine gift accessible to everyone, rich and poor.”

A special joy

“As I greet each one of you, I feel a special joy in welcoming you, brothers and sisters, for whom we have experienced this concert today: thank you for your presence!” he said as he welcomed the concert's intended audience, before thanking the organisers and contributors, including Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, and the various charitable organisations that, he noted, made the event possible. 

He also had special words of thanks for the performers: “Our gratitude naturally goes to those who have performed the music and songs with art and passion.” 

Music is like a bridge that leads us to God

Reflecting on the spiritual significance of music, the Pope said, “Music is like a bridge that leads us to God. It is capable of transmitting feelings, emotions, even the deepest stirrings of the soul, lifting them up and transforming them into an imaginary stairway connecting earth and heaven.”

Music, he continued, does not merely distract from suffering, but reminds humanity of its greater identity: “We are not just this: we are far more than our problems and our troubles, we are God’s beloved children!”

The Pope also highlighted the strong connection between music and the celebration of Christmas, noting that “It is not a coincidence that the feast of Christmas is very rich in traditional songs, in every language and every culture. It is as though this Mystery could not be celebrated without music, without hymns of praise.”

Prepare for the coming of Christ

Inviting all to prepare for the coming of Christ during Advent, the Pope concluded, “Let us ensure that our hearts are not weighed down, that they are not preoccupied with selfish interests and material concerns, but rather that they are awake, attentive to others, to those in need; let us be ready to listen to the song of God’s love, which is Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus is God’s song of love for humanity. Let us listen to this song! Let us learn it well, so that we too can sing it with our lives.”

Pope: Visit to Türkiye and Lebanon teaches that peace is possible

At the Sunday Angelus prayer following his visit to Türkiye and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV thanked the many people who made it possible and the faithful who accompanied him with their prayers.

In Türkiye, he prayed with his “beloved brother Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Representatives of other Christian confessions” at the site of the Council of Nicaea in 325, at modern-day Iznik.

“Precisely today we mark the 60th anniversary of the Common Declaration between Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, which put an end to the mutual excommunications,” he said. “Let us give thanks to God and renew our commitment to the journey toward the full visible unity of all Christians.”

Pope Leo expressed his joy for the opportunity to meet with the Catholic community of Türkiye, which he said bears witness to the Gospel of love in its patient dialogue and service to those who suffer.

Turning to Lebanon, the Pope said the country continues to be “a mosaic of coexistence,” saying he was encouraged to hear many people bear witness to that model.

“I met people who proclaim the Gospel by welcoming the displaced, visiting prisoners, and sharing bread with those in need,” he said. “I was heartened to see so many people in the streets greeting me, and I was deeply moved by the meeting with the relatives of the victims of the explosion at the port of Beirut.”

Even as he brought a word of consolation, said the Pope, he in turn receive much greater consolation from the Lebanese people’s faith and enthusiasm.

“What has taken place in recent days in Türkiye and Lebanon teaches us that peace is possible,” concluded Pope Leo XIV, “and that Christians, in dialogue with men and women of other faiths and cultures, can help to build it.”

Hong Kong court hears Cardinal Zen appeal

Hong Kong’s appeals court heard an appeal this week by trustees of a relief fund, including Cardinal Joseph Zen, against their convictions for failing to register the body officially as a society.

A judge promised to deliver a verdict on the appeal by trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund within the next nine months, following the Dec. 3-4 hearing.

Cardinal Zen, the 93-year-old former Bishop of Hong Kong, was pictured arriving at the Hong Kong Court of Appeal wearing a white disposable face mask and carrying a bag and a walking stick.

In addition to Zen, the appellants were barrister Margaret Ng, Cantopop star Denise Ho, former lawmaker Cyd Ho, and cultural studies scholar Hui Po-keung, who also served as trustees of the now-defunct fund helping pro-democracy protesters.

They were found guilty in November 2022 and fined 4,000 Hong Kong dollars (roughly $512) each at the end of a trial that began in September 2022.

They were convicted for failing to register the fund as a society under Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance between July 16, 2019, and Oct. 31, 2021, or to obtain an exemption.

A sixth person, the fund’s secretary Sze Ching-wee, was convicted separately and fined $2,500 Hong Kong dollars (around $320). He did not appeal the conviction.

Anthony Chau Tin-hang, the deputy director of public prosecutions, told the appeals court that the fund “solicited public donations” and its activities aligned it with the statutory definition of a society, even though it didn’t have formal articles or rules.

Lam Kwok-fai, the counsel for Denise Ho, said that Ho had believed the fund was not required to register under the ordinance.

In a Dec. 3 social media post, the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a nonprofit supporting the territory’s democracy movement, said the hearing focused on “intricate legal issues” concerning whether the fund should be classified as a fund or a trust. But it argued that “the main issue is Cardinal Zen & co are being politically persecuted.”

The 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund was founded in June 2019 to provide “humanitarian support to all persons who are arrested (regardless of charges), injured or affected” during mass protests against a bill allowing political detainees to be deported to mainland China to face trial. The fund closed in October 2021.

Although the extradition bill was withdrawn, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 that restricted civil liberties.

Prominent pro-democracy figures, including Catholic businessman Jimmy Lai, were detained, raising fears that outspoken religious leaders such as Cardinal Zen might also be targeted.

Although Zen retired as Bishop of Hong Kong in 2009 at the age of 77, he continued to speak out for democracy and human rights in the former British colony, which became a special administrative region of China in 1997.

When he was arrested on May 11, 2022, the cardinal was originally held on national security grounds, including alleged collusion with foreign agents. But he was ultimately charged only with failing to register the humanitarian fund through the proper channels.

Following his conviction in November 2022, the authorities permitted Zen to leave Hong Kong for two days to attend the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Jan. 5, 2023.

He was allowed to leave for 10 days to attend the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025.

Franciscan Media to close at end of 2025 amid larger downturn in Catholic news media

Franciscan Media, a long-running U.S.-based Catholic news and evangelization outlet, has announced it will shut down at the end of 2025, amid a broader contraction in Catholic news outlets and wider shifts in the journalism industry itself.

“After much prayer, discernment, and heartfelt conversation, the Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe have reached the difficult decision to conclude the operations of Franciscan Media as of the end of 2025,” said the outlet in a message posted to its website and emailed to supporters Dec. 5.

Print, digital and multimedia

The organization — known until 2011 as St. Anthony Messenger and publishing a flagship magazine of the same name — offered a number of free subscriptions, along with extensive evangelization and inspirational content in print, digital and multimedia formats.

Founded by Franciscan friars in 1893, the outlet and similar Franciscan initiatives strove to engage the laity with the faith and the example of St. Francis of Assisi, providing what Franciscan Media called “a trusted voice” that shared “the Gospel and the Franciscan spirit with people worldwide.”

Franciscan Media’s current website includes an array of commentary, profiles, news and vocations features, along with saint biographies, minute meditations and podcasts.

But, said the outlet in its message, “we now face a difficult reality.” 

Challenges facing publishing ministries

“In recent years, despite strong leadership and ongoing investment, Franciscan Media has encountered the same challenges facing Catholic and Christian publishing ministries,” the outlet said.

Among those are “profound financial, technological, and cultural shifts that have reshaped how people engage with faith-based content.

“Many publishers have restructured or closed as outreach moves from print to digital platforms,” said Franciscan Media.

A perfect storm of multiyear religious disaffiliation, shifting media distribution technologies and dwindling revenue streams have seen Catholic media outlets large and small shutter in rapid succession.

2022 closure of CNS Washington

In 2022, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the closure of the domestic office of its Catholic News Service in Washington, although the USCCB has retained its Rome bureau.

Our Sunday Visitor, which purchased the CNS media assets and launched OSV News in January 2023, recently discontinued its flagship magazine (and former newspaper) of the same name, while also sunsetting the periodicals OSV Kids, The Priest and The Deacon.

Diocesan newspapers that have closed in recent years include the Archdiocese of New York’s Catholic New York, and the Catholic Sentinel and its Spanish counterpart El Centinela, a joint effort of the Archdiocese of Portland and Oregon Catholic Press.

The Archdiocese of New York later launched its digital-only news outlet, The Good Newsroom, while the Archdiocese of Portland opted to post diocesan news items, statements and announcements on a dedicated webpage, a strategy adopted by many dioceses. Some shuttered diocesan news outlets have reemerged in print and online magazine format — such as The Catholic Miscellany of the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, and Pittsburgh Catholic of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Traditional news media struggling

Globally, traditional news media as a whole has been “struggling to connect with much of the public, with declining engagement, low trust, and stagnating digital subscriptions,” said Nic Newman, senior research associate at Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, in his executive summary of that organization’s “Digital News Report 2025.”

Newman also noted “an accelerating shift towards consumption via social media and video platforms is further diminishing the influence of ‘institutional journalism’ and supercharging a fragmented alternative media environment containing an array of podcasters, YouTubers, and TikTokers.”

Raymond Haberski Jr., author of the 2018 book “Voices of Empathy: A History of Franciscan Media in the United States,” told OSV News that over the years Franciscan Media valiantly “tried really hard to fill in some sort of middle ground” in a market that “had become so chopped up” by hyper-targeted demographics.

Magazine once had circulation of 300,000

In researching his book — which covered the soon-to-close outlet as well as a number of independent Franciscan media efforts — Haberski interviewed Brother Jeremy Harrington, whose tenure at the St. Anthony Messenger once saw circulation of some 300,000.

Brother Jeremy and his fellow Franciscans “knew they were going to have problems” as early as “1980, 1982,” said Haberski, who is a professor of history and director of American studies at Indiana University in Indianapolis.

The friars were aware they would “have to keep pivoting” and “pushing out shorter, segmented pieces,” said Haberski.

But even “the social media blasts they would put out each day — you do that, but it’s like a drop of rain in a thunderstorm,” he said. “There’s just so much out there that people are getting. And if you can’t attract attention in a very particular way, it’s really hard to sustain your audience.”

Haberski also said Franciscan Media had tried “to appeal to the people who ran religious education programs for parishes,” but that “the really big corridors where you used to have a lot of Catholic education” — such as in the Northeastern U.S. — have “dried up.”

‘No budget for it anymore’

“There’s no budget for it anymore,” he said. “They’re closing parishes throughout the Northeast.”

Haberski, who described Franciscan Media’s origins as “kind of pro-labor and pro-family,” with material that sought to reach the working class, said, “It’s a shame we are losing that legacy — but it still exists for people to read and to look at.”

Franciscan Media said its decision to close “in no way lessens the profound gratitude to the many friars, authors, writers and creative staff who have served in this ministry. 

Rather, said the outlet, “it reflects the province’s commitment to explore and discover new ways of evangelizing as Franciscans and ensure that future evangelizing efforts remain sustainable, innovative, and mission driven.”

Patron saint as a guide

The outlet pointed to its patron saint as a guide for navigating the closure of its operations.

“As St. Francis reminds us, ‘Let us begin again,'” said the organization in its statement. “His words capture the spirit with which we approach this moment — not as an end, but as a new beginning rooted in faith, renewal, and trust in God’s unfolding work among us.”

As “this chapter closes,” said the outlet, “the friars remain committed to proclaiming the Good News and walking with people of faith in new ways.”

The statement invited readers and supporters to “stay connected through the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe newsletter by visiting friars.us, and subscribe to its Franciscan Insights or its social media channels @friarsguadalupe.”

In addition, the message called for “prayerful support for the friars and their mission during this time of transition,” including donations to the Franciscan Friar Charities.

Cardinal McElroy of Washington says he’s ‘cancer-free’ following surgery

Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington has announced he is “cancer free,” following surgery Nov. 13 for a rare but non-aggressive cancer.

“This week I received word from my doctor that my pathology report had come back, and it stated that the surgery had removed all of the cancerous tissue in my body,” said the cardinal in a statement posted online Dec. 5 by the Catholic Standard, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington. “I am cancer free and will not have to undergo any further treatments.”

On Nov. 5, the archdiocese had reported the 71-year-old cardinal had been diagnosed with “well-differentiated liposarcoma, which is a non-aggressive cancer that tends not to metastasize.”

Group of rare cancers

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the term “liposarcoma” covers a group of “very rare cancers that begin in your fat cells,” typically originating in the arms, legs and midsection.

Some 1 in 100,000 in the U.S. are affected each year by liposarcoma, which is usually found in men more than women, particularly men between the ages of 50 and 65.

The Cleveland Clinic notes on its website that “well-differentiated liposarcoma” — the cells of which appear more like normal cells when examined under a microscope — along with “atypical lipoma of the extremities (arms and legs), grow slowly and aren’t life-threatening.”

Given that, said the archdiocese in its November statement, “the Cardinal’s doctors are in consensus that his prognosis is very good.”

‘In God’s grace’

The cardinal had spoken with the archdiocese’s priests on Nov. 4 about his condition, telling them, “I am at peace with this challenge and hope and believe that in God’s grace I will be Archbishop of Washington for many years to come.”

Now, said the cardinal in his latest statement, that belief has been affirmed, thanks to God’s grace and the prayers of many.

“I give thanks to God who has sustained me through this journey,” he said. “And I give thanks to all of you who have prayed to God for my healing. I believe those prayers were what led to this wonderful outcome.”

He added, “May the Lord bless you deeply during this joyous season of Advent.”

6 years after Sheen’s cause was shelved, could Illinois-born Pope Leo bring it back?

As holy Roman pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has the singular prerogative of advancing canonization causes and solemnly raising men and women to the glory of the altars.

Leo’s immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, canonized the most saints of any pontificate to-date with 942 (813 at one time when he declared the Martyrs of Otranto to be saints early in his pontificate). 

As with many aspects of his pontificate, Francis sometimes took an avante-garde approach to declaring saints, designating more saints by equivalent canonization — that is by papal fiat, without a requisite miracle — than any pope in modern history. 

Setbacks for Sheen’s cause

Some cases moved ahead with great speed, too, like that of St. Carlo Acutis, whose canonization took place Sept. 7, after having been postponed due to Pope Francis’ April 21 death. And yet others have experienced unorthodox setbacks — such as the cause of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.

Sheen’s beatification had been scheduled for Dec. 21, 2019, in Peoria, Illinois, before its mysteriously postponement, a move that was both unusual but also scandalous, given the stage of the cause.

Could the church’s change in leadership at the top bring Sheen’s cause out of dormancy?

There is hope that Pope Leo might have a variety of reasons to be aware of and interested in rectifying the situation. 

Sheen and the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, now the first native-born American to occupy the see of Peter, are both sons of Illinois. 

A television phenomena

With Leo having grown up in baby booming American suburbia when Sheen was a television phenomenon and household name, it’s possible he even has a devotion to the TV evangelist. 

Additionally, with Leo’s emphasis on unity and an apparent bent toward overcoming polarization in the church, Sheen’s beatification could be seen as a much-needed opportunity to heal and divide a fractured church, especially in the land of his birth. The signs are hopeful.

Nearly six years after the planned beatification, there has been very little clarity on what happened to cause its extraordinary and surprise delay. 

Moving it ahead, and explaining what happened, could give Pope Leo a “win” in this first year of a pontificate clearly directed at building up the body of Christ in charity and truth.

Request for further examination

To-date, the only explanation offered by an ecclesiastical authority was from the Diocese of Rochester, New York, where Sheen served briefly as diocesan bishop. 

The diocese acknowledged its request for further examination of Sheen’s record on handling claims of abuse against some Rochester priests during his brief tenure as diocesan bishop there.

This request seemed to arise from concerns related to a statewide report then expected from New York’s attorney general relating to clergy sexual abuse. Nothing has surfaced whatsoever as that process is believed to be nearing a conclusion. 

After nearly six years, the Diocese of Rochester alone reached a settlement agreement Sept. 5 that established a $256.35 million fund for abuse survivors.  

Ongoing infighting between dioceses — namely Peoria and New York — over Sheen’s mortal remains might also be a contributing factor, one which Rome could solve rather easily, avoiding any potential additional legal disputes in American courts between a Sheen descent and the New York archdiocese, which wanted to retain Sheen’s body in the crypt of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. 

It was the wish of Sheen’s family to see their uncle brought home to the Peoria cathedral where he discovered his priestly vocation and was ordained in 1920. 

Life of heroic virtue proven

The linchpin in the debate about postponing the beatification? 

That Sheen’s life of heroic virtue has been proven and a miracle attributed to his intercession has been authenticated. 

Pope Benedict XVI declared in 2012 that Sheen was worthy of veneration by the faithful, and the miracle paving the way to Sheen’s beatification was approved by Pope Francis in 2019. 

That miracle warrants and necessitates his beatification regardless of any behavior that may or may not be uncovered from Rochester or elsewhere. 

When a miracle is approved, but a cause is effectively put on ice — particularly in the way Sheen’s has been, with little transparency — what does that say about the church’s process of beatification? 

In a situation such as this, transparency and clarity from church leadership can help avoid unpleasant questions. 

Six years later, the delay of Sheen’s beatification remains a cause of concern for the whole church. 

Because despite the scandal surrounding the 2019 Beatification That Wasn’t, devotion to Sheen continues to grow, and he is continually celebrated and invoked as a man for our times.

A man worthy of veneration

There is hope that Pope Leo might be particularly concerned about how the faithful — who have been told Sheen was a man worthy of our veneration for his life of holiness and virtue — have been left in the dark as far as the current status of his cause is concerned.

There is also hope that other recent changes pertinent to Sheen’s legacy could help advance setting right the wrong. 

In Peoria, Bishop Louis Tylka recently renewed the Sheen Foundation Advisory Board, which had been inactive since 2019. And for decades, Sheen was national director of The Pontifical Mission Society in the United States. And his renown for occupying that position was and is legendary. 

As such, it is hopeful that Msgr. Roger Landry — a well-respected, non-ideological churchman of rising prominence, and growing media presence — has taken the reins of that organization, becoming successor to Sheen’s most prominent role in public ministry. 

(Msgr. Landry, it should be noted, is celebrating Mass Dec. 9 in New York on the 46th anniversary of Sheen’s death.) 

Perhaps he could be positioned well to take up the cause of continuing to advance Sheen’s rich legacy and see his beatification finally scheduled. 

Time will tell where all this will go. 

But as Pope Leo continues to identify priorities and actions that can help bring unity to the church, it seems to me that finally beatifying Sheen could be a significant win.

The story behind the young woman who wept while hugging Pope Leo in Beirut

As Pope Leo XIV was wrapping up his first apostolic trip to Turkey and Lebanon recently, the world was moved by the sight of a young Lebanese woman crying and hugging the pontiff as he was meeting with victims of the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion.

"My heart was beating so fast when I saw that God had put the Holy Father right in front of me," Melvine Khoury, a Maronite Catholic, told OSV News by phone from Beirut.

"We stood in the port, the scene of the horrific crime, this massive explosion that forever changed our lives," she said, her voice full of emotion.

Some observers say this meeting of Leo's was the most powerfully emotional moment of his entire visit as he consoled the loved ones of those who died.

Video footage showed Khoury, holding her cross in one hand, speaking to Leo as he listened intently. She asked if she could hug him. He replied, "Yes," as she wept profusely.

"Standing in front of the pope, memories of this awful explosion flooded back. The cross was the same I held during the eight operations I underwent to repair the injuries I suffered," she said. "It also reminds me of how much Jesus loves me, dying on the cross, experiencing the pain of this world."

The Beirut port explosion of Aug. 4, 2020, was the largest non-nuclear blast in modern history. It killed more than 220 people and wounded scores more, like Khoury.

Efforts to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for allowing hundreds of tons of explosive ammonium nitrate at the port have so far been thwarted by political interference.

Khoury, 36, was at home in the Beirut district of Ashrafieh with her mother and brother when the powerful blast ripped through, slamming her against a wall as furniture flew in the air. Her left cheek, shoulder and clavicle were broken, and she sustained injuries to her left eyelid and teeth.

Her brother suffered wounds from flying shattered glass, while her mother was unharmed. An aunt sitting in a wheelchair in a nearby apartment died from wounds from shards of glass.

"I told the Holy Father of this terrible pain, and yet feeling a sense of peace and hope remembering how much God loves me. It cannot compare to Jesus' suffering on the cross," she said.

Leo recited a silent prayer at the port Dec. 2 and later celebrated Mass, ending his first overseas trip as pontiff. Laying flowers at a memorial at the port, he prayed for survivors of the blast and tearful relatives of its victims.

"Although Pope Leo did not speak, he expressed with his eyes and listened intently to me and others. What is so beautiful is his listening," Khoury said. "You sense that he understands deeply what's inside us, the pain inside us, and that his understanding is great."

Beside Khoury stood a man and his daughter, who was 2 years old when her mother, a nurse at St. George's Hospital, was killed in the blast. A young boy standing with them experienced the death of his father who worked at the port.

"Pope Leo's visit greatly touched us. He listened. He prayed in silence. This listening and prayer was extremely deep. He understands and feels the pain of the Lebanese and the need for justice to be served for the people," Khoury said.

She expressed hope that Lebanon's Maronite Catholic President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will finally obtain justice for the victims of this tragedy.

"Peace and justice must go hand and hand for the families," she said. "I believe that God has given us this hope by sending the Holy Father as a messenger of peace to this place of the explosion to help us. It's like placing Jesus on the spot of this crime to offer us grace and goodness in the place of death."

"For me, the powerful explosion of 2020 was like a rebirth, but now I say (with Pope Leo's visit), it's a resurrection," she said. "Jesus has seen these five troubled years and gave us His grace through the way Pope Leo listened and heard me, saw my pain and ministered Jesus' peace to my heart."

"The Lord brought the pope to Lebanon to minister the peace of Christ and has given Lebanon deep joy," Khoury said of the Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 pastoral visit.

In his farewell remarks before leaving Lebanon, Leo said he was deeply moved by the encounter at the port.

"I pray for all the victims, and I carry with me the pain and the thirst for truth and justice of so many families, of an entire country," he said.

"We love Pope Leo," Khoury said of the encounter. "He is truly a man of God. We saw Jesus and the messenger of peace."

Gaudium et spes - Why the Council text is still fascinating after 60 years

When the pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes of the Second Vatican Council was adopted on 7 December 1965, it caused a worldwide sensation - not only among Catholic believers, but also among Protestant Christians, members of the Eastern churches and many members of non-Christian religions. 

The text continues to succeed in inspiring people for its basic concern - building a more just and peaceful world. In 2023, the Protestant theologian Ulrich H. J. Körtner called Gaudium et spes a "great text of Christianity" and included it in the series of publications of the same name. 

How is it that this document still fascinates people today? Why is it one of the most quoted and received texts of Vatican II? What is the reason for its seemingly unbroken relevance almost two generations later?

Gaudium et spes is the sympathetic face of the Catholic Church. That was the case in the 1960s and is still true today. The very first sentence made the world sit up and take notice: "The joy and hope, grief and anguish of people today, especially the poor and oppressed of all kinds, are also the joy and hope, grief and anguish of Christ's disciples. And there is nothing truly human that does not find an echo in their hearts." (GS 1) A magisterial text that does not begin with a reference to revelation and tradition, church fathers, scholasticism and natural law, but speaks of feelings, that summarises the attitude to life of modern man in a few words - that was new.

Right from the first sentence,Gaudium et Spes shows a community of Christians who engage with the people of their time, who can empathise and want to empathise, who develop an attitude of care and solidarity from the knowledge of the deep interconnectedness of all people, who build deep relationships and thus lay the foundations for a more humane world.

This is why Gaudium et Spes stands for a modern church

This new habitus has nothing of the superior rigour and distance of a theological treatise, but reveals a completely new humility. It begins with the fact that the Church sees itself as part of modern society, that it recognises the need to provide information about its beliefs and thus give an account of them. Gaudium et spes contains the admission that the Church is not only a giver but also a receiver with its proclamation, that it is dependent on political and social conditions, that it has learnt a lot from modern times and that it has made mistakes in the past in dealing with atheism.

It is also recognised that it is ultimately the "laity", the non-ordained women and men, who help the Christian message to be effective in the public sphere. Against this background, the Pastoral Constitution makes marriage and family, culture and the economy, international relations and world peace its themes. The sciences, education and the media are seen as partners whose work can support the construction of a more humane world. This openness to all sides is the other side of humility. Both together mark an unmistakable "break in style".

With Gaudium et spes, a new style of interaction is emerging in the Catholic Church, and this has a great deal to do with the way this constitution is organised. This text is the first ever magisterial document to consistently follow the three steps of seeing-judging-acting in its structure and individual chapters.  

Pope John XXIII had recommended it a few years earlier as a useful working method for church youth work. With Gaudium et spes, the Magisterium has now adopted this method itself, and this has consequences for the entire proclamation. Before social contexts are evaluated theologically and ethically, the situation is analysed objectively. This is intended to ensure that moral judgements are not made in isolation from reality and that the improvements sought are not in vain from the outset. The method avoids ethical judgements that correspond to "pure doctrine" but contain no potential for change.

On the basis of the biblical message and the church's social proclamation, the three-step approach enables solutions to be developed from practical experience and can thus establish a new, better practice. He stands for a church that - as we would say today - does not withdraw into its own bubble in a moralising manner, but sets out to shape the future together with people. 

In paragraph 4 of his encyclical Octogesima adveniens in 1971, Pope Paul VI once again recalled this fundamental concern of the Pastoral Constitution. In doing so, he set an impulse that attracted worldwide attention. Gaudium et spes set the tone for pastoral letters in Latin America, the USA and Europe. Today, it is impossible to imagine social ethics and pastoral theology, as well as pastoral practice, church education and social work, without the three-step approach.

Paradoxically, the fact that it has since completely disappeared from the magisterial proclamation and only reappeared under Pope Francis (Dare to Dream, 2022, 162) also has to do with the Pastoral Constitution, specifically with its understanding of personal freedom. This approach was taken up by Latin American liberation theology and interpreted pastorally and socially, but also politically. 

When liberation theology was categorically stopped by Rome in the 1980s, this condemnation was directed not only at its theological content, but also at its method. From this time onwards, the Curia abandoned the three-step approach. In fact, this was a relapse into pre-conciliar times, but it could no longer stop the triumphal march of the three-step worldwide. But what did the Pastoral Constitution originally want?

Gaudium et spes has a heart for modern man. Not only the first sentences reveal this, but the whole document shows it. The Pastoral Constitution describes human beings with all that they are and all that they can achieve for themselves and for society, but also with what they need, where they are insecure and vulnerable, where they are damaged or even destroyed. The text speaks poignantly about the light and shadows of human existence and finds words that can still touch us and make us think today.

What does freedom mean between liberalism and Marxism?

Of course, the traditional anthropological motifs of creatureliness, filiation with God and likeness, guilt and sinfulness, need for redemption, hope for fulfilment and communion with God are not dispensed with. However, the Pastoral Constitution deliberately links these theological themes with an ethos of freedom that is understood in both Christian and modern humanist terms. 

For a long time, this aspect of the Christian view of humanity was rather underexposed in the tradition, and it seems that the magisterium still struggles with human autonomy and self-determination today. Gaudium et spes sought and found a way between the unrestrained striving for freedom of liberalism and the suppression of freedom in Marxism. 

The Pastoral Constitution, which dedicates a separate chapter to freedom (GS 17), describes it as a freedom lived in social relationships. It is realised in the responsibility that people assume for one another, especially in emergency situations and in the face of oppression and persecution.

With this understanding of human freedom as a disposition to social responsibility, the Pastoral Constitution succeeds in building a bridge to human rights, which are then also described and recognised in detail. Freedom rights on the one hand and social rights on the other have been part of the indispensable inventory of the Church's social ethics since Gaudium et spes. As the Council itself says, it wants to "inculcate respect for the human person: all, without exception, must regard their neighbour as an 'other self' and be concerned above all for his life and the necessary conditions for a dignified life" (GS 27). By recognising others in their freedom and neediness, Gaudium et spes hints at something that is discussed today as "relational ethics". With its liberal-social view of humanity, the Pastoral Constitution was far ahead of its time.

With Gaudium et spes, the Church not only opened itself up to the areas of life of modern people and not only sought dialogue with all relevant social actors and groups, it also represented an emphatically historically aware approach that was open to the future. It no longer confined itself to proclaiming so-called timeless values, but attempted to formulate goals that were defined in terms of content. These necessarily remained very general and had to be concretised. They were temporary, provisional and therefore contestable.

For a church that had always retreated to "eternal truths", this approach was very courageous, and the accusation of a naïve belief in progress, a willing adaptation to the spirit of the times and a lack of fidelity to tradition was not long in coming. Conversely, the vision of a fairer and more peaceful world emerged. The sincere willingness to participate in its construction "together with all people of good will" could be understood as a credible self-commitment.

Gaudium et spes - as an alternative to the political utopias of the time - sketches a picture of a society in the making. Because conditions are often anything but perfect, the constitution is not sparing in its criticism, but it always refers to the living conditions and not to the people. They are and remain brothers and sisters in the great human family to which the Church of the Council is deeply committed. In his impressive final declaration, also dated 7 December 1965, Pope Paul VI took stock and once again explained the basic attitude of the majority of the Council Fathers with regard to the critics:

"Their attitude was markedly and deliberately optimistic. A wave of affection and admiration flowed out from the assembly over the modern world of men. The errors were rejected because love demanded this no less than truth, but for the people themselves there was only invitation, respect and love. Instead of depressing diagnoses, uplifting remedies were offered; instead of gloomy prognoses, the gathering sent messages of confidence in today's world. The values of the modern world were not only respected but also appreciated, their endeavours supported, their aspirations purified and blessed."