Fermanagh priest warns church is ‘living in fear’

A FERMANAGH priest has warned the Catholic Church in the county is now ‘living in fear’, stating the deepening shortage of clergy can no longer be treated as a problem for the future.

His warning comes amid a wave of retirements and a year-long sabbatical that will leave parishes facing further pressure, with more than half of the priests in the Diocese of Clogher aged over 70.

Fr Cathal Deery, who already serves Derrygonnelly, Monea and Boho, will take responsibility for Belleek and Garrison next month, bringing the number of churches under his care to eight.

The move, part of recently announced clerical changes in the Diocese, has underlined the growing pressure on priests as the church struggles to sustain parish life with fewer clergy.

“You can dress it up any way you want and put any titles around it but at the end of the day, that is a crisis,” Fr Deery told the ‘Herald.

His stark assessment comes following a warning from Bishop Larry Duffy this week that the clergy in the Diocese is now facing increased pressure as a result of the growing priest shortages.

Fr Deery said the church must confront the reality of its ageing clergy and stop relying on short-term measures.

“My thoughts are very clear. We’re at the edge of the cliff and every year we get closer to the edge of the cliff, but I think we’re on the edge now,” he said.

He said the problem was compounded by what he believes is an imbalance in the distribution of priests.

“I’m to take on responsibility for eight churches in west Fermanagh, while one of our priests who is a few years younger than me looks after one church and one parish – there’s a discrepancy there,” he said.

Fr Deery said the diocese must be prepared to consider fundamental changes to the way parishes are served, including accepting not every church may be able to have a priest celebrating Mass every weekend.

“I have no issue with Belleek and Garrison, but I have an issue when we as a diocese will not think outside the box,” he said.

Fr Deery said the figures showed the diocese faces an increasingly difficult future, with only around nine priests currently under 60.

He warned that, even if they remain in ministry and good health, that number could rise to just 12 priests under 70 within a decade, which he said was unsustainable.

“You can dress it up any way you want and put any titles around it but at the end of the day that is a crisis,” he said.

Bishop Larry Duffy recently confirmed 12 priests from abroad, mainly from Africa, are expected to arrive in September.

Fr Deery questioned whether the arrival of priests from overseas could provide more than a short-term answer to the shortage.

“I welcome our African friends, but those men are just here on holiday visas, which is for a six-month period. Those men will be gone after six months and that’s a short-term measure,” he said.

The local cleric said the Church needs to take a fundamental look at how its parishes are organised and how its remaining priests are deployed.

“The Catholic Church in Ireland has to be brave and bold. It has to say it can’t do what it is doing, and it has to have a better distribution of clergy,” he said.

The challenge facing parish life is also acknowledged by other senior Fermanagh priests.

Monsignor Peter O’Reilly of Enniskillen said the figures ‘bring home the reality that we are living through a period of significant change’.

Fr Joe McVeigh, who is celebrating 55 years as a priest, described the changing circumstances as ‘an opportunity, as well as a challenge’ to rethink how parishes are organised and give lay people a greater role.

Priests must confront the 'legacy question' (Opinion)

Gradually in the Catholic Church in Ireland we’re coming to a number of crisis points that are determined by the long-predicted and now emerging level of a gradual but definitive decline in the number of priests. 

The number of priests is the governing reality that determines so much else that will follow. 

The number of priests in a diocese, for example, determines the number of Masses and this is where the upcoming crisis will first be felt.

Up to now we have had more than enough Masses to provide a wide choice for everyone. 

We have Masses – usually on Saturdays and Sundays and in most parishes every morning of every week, Monday to Friday. 

But in terms of what’s coming down the line, the first challenge is to cut our cloth according to our measure. 

We will be asking questions in every parish: how many Masses have we? How many Masses do we need? 

And each diocese and each parish will be making choices that will be determined by the number and size of churches and their location, the numbers attending, the relative location of other churches and whatever other factors are deemed to be relevant.

The pace of this reflection will be determined by the number of priests as clearly the number of priests determine ultimately the number of Masses.

In Killala diocese, it has been officially estimated that in six years’ time – in 2032 – there may be as few as six priests for the 22 parishes of the diocese. 

Even that statistic on its own indicates the huge change that will be involved for every parish. Another statistic – Killala has only one priest under 50 years of age – compounds the depth of the crisis. 

And it isn’t just Killala, of course. 

This is a challenge that faces every diocese in Ireland.

In Kilmore diocese (which generally covers County Cavan), a few weeks ago Bishop Martin Hayes warned of the impending ‘staffing crisis’. 

He outlined what he called ‘Kilmore’s challenging statistics’: 47 per cent of the priests are over 70; 60 per cent are over 65; nine are under 40. 

While he pointed to possibilities of attracting priests from abroad and the availability of increased participation of lay people, his unvarying focus was that (for Kilmore diocese) he is justified in using the word ‘crisis’.

That crisis is now knocking on every bishop’s door because despite the support that priests from abroad may bring or that lay ministers can contribute it is, for the religious landscape with which we are familiar, a matter of seismic change. 

In a nutshell the present service being delivered by 20-plus Killala priests in the 22 parishes of the diocese will be very different from what, with the best will in the world, six priests will be able to cover – that’s while there are six priests still available.

So let’s try to imagine what this will look like. 

The probability is that while daily Masses (Monday to Friday) will continue in some parishes in some form, this is a short-term reality and such Masses will soon discontinue because sustaining them in the long term with a diocesan team of just six priests – and numbers gradually ever-declining more – will simply be impossible in a situation where the six priests will every week be covering funeral Masses in the 22 parishes. 

This means that, in parishes where lay leaders have been trained and commissioned, lay-led liturgies will substitute for morning daily Masses.

Already lay-led liturgies have been introduced in some parishes and take place usually when the priest is on holidays and a lay person, female or male, leads a liturgy not unlike Mass. 

Apart from no Eucharistic Prayer and no consecration of bread and wine, a lay-led ceremony has all the other features we’re used to at Mass: Scripture Readings, Bidding Prayers, reception of Holy Communion, reflections, etc. 

Some parishes with trained and commissioned lay leaders – there are now 80 such in Killala diocese – are able to provide lay-led liturgies as Mass numbers decrease but parishes who have neglected to train women and men (or who have had them trained and for some reason just refuse to use them) will not be able to provide this alternative to morning Mass.

Lay-led liturgies provide a good example of what a wider and fuller service of lay ministers will be able to provide for parishes in not just supporting priests but more generally in serving their own parishes. 

An example of this ministry is the contribution in particular lay ministers can make to supporting and enhancing funeral ministry in their own parishes.

This raises the question of parishes preparing appropriately for a time when the service they are used to now will be replaced by a lesser level of service that will (if it’s to happen) need to be driven by lay people. 

It is what has become for priests what’s called the ‘legacy question’.

The compelling question now that progressively the declining number of priests are asking is: what’s the legacy that as a priest I need to leave to my parish and parishioners after I’m gone? 

How will what we do now to prepare for the future serve or not serve the parish well in the future?

For parishes to become as near to self-sustaining as it is possible in the future two things are needed: parishioners who are willing to step up to the responsibilities of lay ministries (like lay-led liturgies, funeral ministry, Communion to the sick and housebound, etc) and priests who are prepared to facilitate them. 

Responding to the seismic change I mentioned earlier will depend on how those two challenges are met.

This raises the difficult question of priests who are not preparing for the seismic change that’s coming. 

Effectively, in not preparing, they are sitting on their hands and limiting the service that will be available to their parishes and parishioners in the near future. 

They are walking blindly towards a cliff-face instead of preparing parish and parishioners for a different future.

They may not be easily forgiven.

«You will make the Church hateful»: the day the abbot of the Valley of the Fallen attacked Opus Dei

A note from the Dirección General de Seguridad to the Minister of the Interior and a confidential bulletin from Foreign Affairs, which InfoVaticana publishes today for the first time, reconstruct the forty-eight hours of November 1965 in which fray Justo Pérez de Urbel, abbot of the Valley of the Fallen, said out loud what the Falange whispered about Opus Dei, and the State machinery rushed to put out the fire.

On 4 November 1965, with the Second Vatican Council in its final stretch, the Information Service of the Dirección General de Seguridad registered note number 8372, addressed to the Minister of the Interior, Camilo Alonso Vega. The subject, typed in capital letters: «Statements by Fray Justo Pérez de Urbel». The text is brief and urgent: «it is known that the foreign press today is receiving from its correspondents the news» that the newspaper Información of Alicante has published that same day statements by the abbot of the Valley of the Fallen «sharply attacking Opus Dei». The DGS attaches the France Presse teletype dispatches and promises to forward the newspaper «as soon as it is received». The detail is not minor: the State learned what an Alicante newspaper was publishing through Paris.

Neither of the two documents has been cited until today in the bibliography on the Valley of the Fallen nor in the histories of Opus Dei: InfoVaticana publishes them for the first time.

The attached cables capture the substance of the attack. «Rome has warned Opus Dei: if you do not limit yourselves to being a religious institute you will make the Church odious», the abbot states according to France Presse. And he continues: «Opus Dei seeks to occupy important posts and tries to instil in them the spirit of Christ. But, in acting this way, this organisation cannot avoid engaging in politics». The abbot concludes: «Even when clothed in the ideals of Opus Dei, they will never be able to be completely pure nor obtain the unanimous approval of the Nation. In case of failure—as has recently occurred in the problems of Agriculture—it is much worse, for people believe that this Organisation tends only toward temporal objectives».

The speaker was no ordinary clergyman. Fray Justo Pérez de Urbel, a Benedictine from Silos, medievalist, national councillor of the Movement and procurator in the Cortes, had been since 1958 the first mitred abbot of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen. He was, moreover, an old acquaintance of the Work: the official accounts of Opus Dei themselves recall that in 1942 he visited Escrivá at the Diego de León centre and that he was the one entrusted with teaching Liturgy to the first three faithful of the Work ordained priests, among them Álvaro del Portillo. The attack came from within the family.

France Presse immediately gauged the political reach: the statements had caused «a certain sensation in governmental circles in Madrid» and ran «the risk of rekindling the latent hostility between Falangist Ministers and Ministers who are members of Opus Dei». It also recorded the detail that hurt most in the Council: the decision to publish had come from the newspaper’s director, «without consulting the Minister of Information in Madrid», where the incident had provoked «a certain consternation». The structural reading is inevitable. Información was not just any newspaper, but the flagship of the Press Chain of the Movement, then directed by Timoteo Esteban Vega, a career journalist in the house: a Falange newspaper fired at Opus Dei, bypassing Fraga’s ministry.

The second document is dated 6 November and stamped «Confidential». It is a bulletin from the Diplomatic Information Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that reproduces the dispatch of the agency Relignews signed by the Daily Telegraph correspondent in Madrid. By then fray Justo had already retracted: «My words did not have the intention the newspaper gave them», and «I have always had great affection for the founder of Opus Dei». The bulletin, however, records beforehand a damning detail for the retraction: the newspaper’s director had not only published the statements, but «moreover has them recorded on magnetic tape».

The jewel of the file follows. The anonymous analyst from Foreign Affairs, himself placing the word in quotation marks, notes: «There is, nevertheless, a slight sting in the subsequent «retraction» of Father Justo», when the abbot adds that members of Opus Dei and of Catholic Action «are not mistaken in anything except in their civil activities». In other words: he retracted everything except the thesis.

The bulletin concludes with two State observations. First: the abbot’s resignation is not expected, «since he has sympathies toward the Falange and in favour of the Regime, and the general policy of the Government is not to run the risk of friction among the various currents of opinion within the Church». Second: «in circles close to Opus Dei it is denied that any «admonition» from the Vatican has been received», against the version attributed to the abbot: «Rome has admonished Opus Dei, saying: if you do not conform to being a religious organisation and nothing more than that, you will make the Church odious».

The documents do not settle whether the Roman warning existed; they record the attribution and the denial. What was indeed a live issue in Rome at that time was the Work’s discomfort with its secular institute status: the 1962 efforts to change its canonical standing had been rejected, and the question would not be closed until the personal prelature of 1982.

The second wave of France Presse carried the usual institutional defence: the abbot’s arguments are «the habitual ones of the enemies of Opus Dei»; the Work insists «on the solely religious character of its activities»; and if some of its members occupy important posts, «it is due to the great number of its adherents and the high level of their intellectual capacity».

Fray Justo resigned the abbacy in September 1966, officially for health reasons. Alonso Vega, the minister who received the note, had attended his abbatial blessing seven years earlier. The file was archived. The magnetic tape, as far as is known, never appeared.

Pope Leo XIV calls for an "authentic ecological conversion" that begins by renewing the heart

Pope Leo XIV has published his message for the XI World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to be celebrated on September 1 under the theme “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4). 

The Pontiff focuses his reflection on the relationship between war, the degradation of creation, and the disorder of the human heart, maintaining that conflicts are not only a political failure, but also a “moral and spiritual” one.

Leo XIV affirms that building peace requires more than structural reforms and calls for a “personal and collective conversion” that orders desires and allows resources destined for war to be transformed into instruments at the service of life, the poor, and creation. 

Taking up an expression from Benedict XVI, he warns that “the deserts of the world are multiplying, because the deserts in the human heart have become so vast,” and points to the deep causes of conflicts and the exploitation of creation as “the loss of the sense of limits, the desire for domination, the pursuit of immediate gain, and the inability to recognize the dignity given by God to every human person.”

Below, we offer the full message of the Holy Father:

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4)

Dear brothers and sisters:

Our Lord Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). This gift of life lies at the very heart of our mission as disciples and of our common call to build a civilization of love. As we can see, on this World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, we are once again invited to contemplate the gift of life and to appreciate the earth that sustains it, for these are tangible ways of praising our Creator.

At present, we are witnessing multiple crises and great human suffering. At the same time, it seems that the disruption of the harmonious balance of creation is accelerating. These phenomena are not unrelated; they are a single appeal for healing and peace arising from a wounded world.

The God of life, revealed in Jesus Christ, offers a peace that the world cannot give: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). This peace is neither superficial nor fleeting; it flows from the enduring love of Christ and his concern for every human person.

Yet this promise of peace stands in stark contrast to the realities we see in many parts of the world. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a time when the nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares” (Is 2:4), transforming what destroys life into what sustains it. But today, we often witness the opposite, as efforts continue to focus on violence and war.

War leaves wounds that extend far beyond the battlefield. It takes lives, tears families apart, and forces millions of people to abandon their homes, increasing fear, injustice, and division (cf. Gaudium et spes, 77-82). War also leaves behind social and ecological destruction that lasts for generations. Moreover, the interaction between armed conflicts and environmental degradation often creates vicious cycles that destroy ecosystems, pollute essential resources such as air and water, and undermine food security. This generates poverty, inequality, and new social conflicts that can contribute to the resurgence of future conflicts.

Beyond this, war creates injuries that harm the entire fabric of life, damaging not only individuals and communities, but also their wide network of relationships with the entire human family, as well as their harmony with creation. This reveals a deeper failure to live in the image and likeness of God, to respect life, and to care for the earth entrusted to us. It is not only a political failure, but also a moral and spiritual one. War, rooted in distorted desires and the misuse of human freedom and power, stands as a counter-witness to the Gospel of peace.

The crises mentioned above call not only for responsibility but also for a conversion of the heart that bears fruit in deeper fidelity to God, in mutual love, and in respect for the gift of creation. Indeed, the discords we witness in the world—such as violence, injustice, and ecological harm—do not simply result from imperfect structures or systems; they are the “symptom of a deeper dichotomy rooted in humanity itself” (Gaudium et spes, 10). In fact, the human heart is the place where the fiercest battles are fought and where our fallen condition is revealed. It is not only the seat of emotions, but the center of the person—where reason, desires, will, and conscience converge. It is here that we struggle with our conflicting desires between love and indifference, truth and illusion, justice and injustice (Jas 1:14-15). The harms of war and the degradation of the earth are thus deeply linked to the condition of the human heart. The conflicts that afflict humanity are, in various ways, the outward expression of inner discord and division. When the heart is distorted, relationships suffer and the structures we build begin to reflect that disorder.

Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that “the deserts of the world are multiplying, because the deserts in the human heart have become so vast” (Homily at the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry, April 24, 2005). This calls us to recognize that what is ruined in our environment is, in some way, also ruined within us. To build a peaceful society, we must therefore not only reform structures, but renew our hearts. The underlying causes of conflict and the exploitation of creation stem from an ethical and cultural crisis, as well as a loss of the sense of limits, the desire for domination, the pursuit of immediate gain, and the inability to recognize the dignity given by God to every human person.

The prophetic saying “they shall beat their swords into plowshares” (Is 2:4) is therefore not only a vision for nations, but a call to every person. It invites us to transform wounds into life. Yet this transformation cannot be achieved through mere external change; it requires, through our cooperation with God’s grace, a deeper personal and collective conversion—a return to God that reorders our desires, heals our wounds, and helps us grow in virtue.

Without this inner transformation, peace will remain fragile and fleeting. But where hearts are renewed, new possibilities begin to open. What has been used for destruction can be redirected toward life: the care of the poor, the feeding of the hungry, and the care of creation. This is the path of authentic ecological conversion, where the effects of our encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in our relationship with the world around us (cf. Francis, Laudato si’, 217). Peace then begins in our hearts and extends to our relationships, our communities, and the world as a whole.

Although the challenges before us are immense, God does not leave us without the means to heal and transform. Instead of weapons of war, the God of peace fills us with strength to heal, to reconcile, and to build a civilization of love. In this sense, we are called to care for the many “ecosystems” entrusted to us: the ecosystems of creation, of human relationships, and of the human heart itself.

Let us imagine a world in which the efforts currently invested in war were directed toward integral human development, the fight against poverty, the protection of human dignity, and the reconciliation of divided peoples. Such a vision reflects faith in the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The true instruments for building peace are not destructive weapons; rather, they are truth, dialogue, patience, kindness, justice, mercy, understanding, care, and love. These instruments spring from hearts formed by the Gospel and sustained by the grace of God. Only these qualities have the power to transform individuals, renew communities, and heal the wounds of our world.

Dear brothers and sisters, the path before us is clear, though not easy. We are called to allow our hearts to be renewed so that we may promote peace and care for creation. Sacred Scripture tells us to guard our hearts, for from them flow all that we do (cf. Pr 4:23).

If we take on this task with humility and faith, we will become collaborators in God’s renewing work. We will advance slowly but steadily, from the desert to the garden, from division to communion, and from violence to peace.

May the Lord grant us the courage to walk this path, so that in our time swords may truly be beaten into plowshares, the promise of the Gospel may take root in our world, and the peace of Christ may reign over all creation.

Vatican, August 15, 2026, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

LEO PP. XIV

Satué reorganizes the IVE government with a mostly external team

The Holy See has consolidated the governance structure of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) under the authority of its pontifical delegate, Monsignor José Antonio Satué Huerto. 

A decree signed in Málaga on July 25 and a document released on August 18 with the profiles of those in charge show that six of the eight people who make up the current leadership structure come from outside the Institute.

The appointments do not correspond to a government elected by the members of the IVE, but to the structure established within the pontifical intervention that the Institute has been undergoing for years. 

Satué, current bishop of Málaga, holds all powers of governance, and the collaborators now confirmed exercise their functions under his authority.

Satué retains all powers of governance

The decree Prot. n.º IVE-037/2026 recalls that the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life appointed Satué as pontifical delegate by decree of December 8, 2024, approved in forma specifica by Pope Francis on December 3 of that year.

The mandate entrusted Satué with the direction of the Institute ad nutum Sanctae Sedis and “with all powers of governance,” in accordance with the universal law of the Church and the constitutions of the IVE.

The formula makes clear the scope of the intervention: the pontifical delegate does not perform a merely consultative or accompanying function, but exercises the Institute’s authority of governance by mandate of the Holy See.

Rome’s decision was accompanied by other significant measures, including a three-year ban on accepting new candidates and admitting members to the novitiate. 

The Vatican decree also pointed to a “great weakness in the formation process,” linking it to the high number of departures the Institute has suffered since its beginnings.

The Dicastery gave the green light to the appointments

The mandate granted to Satué allows him to choose collaborators of his trust, with the obligation to inform the Dicastery of his decisions.

On May 26, 2026, the delegate informed Rome of his intention to confirm those who had worked with him during the first stage of his mandate and to distribute among them the different responsibilities of governance. On July 14, the Dicastery responded that it “had nothing against” the planned appointments.

The decree of July 25 thus establishes that Father Ervens Darío Mengelle, IVE, will serve as vicar general, while Salesian brother Giampietro Pettenon will assume the role of general treasurer.

Fathers Diógenes Valentín Urquiza, IVE; Giampiero Gambaro, OFM Cap.; and Paolo Crivelli, FFB, will serve as general councilors and will be in charge of Monasteries, Procuratorship, and Formation, respectively.

Passionist Antonio María Munduate Larrea and lawyer and canonist Francisco García Villalobos will continue to collaborate in the functions proper to the General Secretariat by virtue of previous appointments made by the Dicastery.

Only two of the eight belong to the IVE

One of the most significant data points of the structure presented on August 18 is its composition. If the pontifical delegate himself is included, only two of its eight members belong to the Institute of the Incarnate Word: Mengelle and Urquiza.

Satué is a diocesan priest and bishop of Málaga; Pettenon belongs to the Salesians; Crivelli to the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany; Gambaro is a Capuchin; Munduate is a Passionist; and García Villalobos is a layman.

The majority presence of external persons shows the scope of the tutelage established over the Institute, although many of them did not arrive at the IVE now, but have been linked to its intervention for several years.

A structure that has been working for years

Mengelle has held numerous responsibilities within the IVE. He was general treasurer, member of different provincial councils and of the General Council, and vicar general by appointment of the Dicastery between 2016 and 2019. 

Between 2020 and 2025 he worked as assistant to the pontifical commissioner and later began collaborating with Satué.

Urquiza presents a profile especially linked to the origins of the Institute. He entered the nascent IVE in 1984 and was part of its founding group. 

After carrying out much of his ministry in Russia, in 2019 he was appointed to collaborate with the Council of the pontifical commissioner and since 2025 he has been working with the delegate.

Among the externals there is also continuity. Pettenon has been working on IVE matters since 2021 and was the legal representative of the Institute’s entity in Italy. 

Crivelli has also been collaborating since 2021, while Munduate has been working with the Dicastery on matters related to the IVE since 2019.

The reorganization, therefore, does not imply the arrival of a completely new team, but rather the formalization and distribution of responsibilities among people who, to a large extent, were already participating in the intervention process.

Formation, finances, and legal control

The chosen profiles also allow identification of some of the central areas of the current stage.

Pettenon holds a degree in Economics and Commerce and has extensive experience in economic tasks within the Salesians. Crivelli was master of postulants, vicar general for six years, and superior general for twelve, and is now in charge of Formation.

Gambaro has training in Business Administration and Canon Law, has served as general treasurer and provincial minister of the Capuchins, and is part of the legal-canonical commission of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. He assumes the area of Procuratorship.

García Villalobos, for his part, holds degrees in Law and Canon Law and has served as secretary general-chancellor of the diocese of Málaga, director of the Office for the Protection of Minors, and head of Regulatory Compliance. 

In February of this year he was appointed by the Dicastery as assistant to the pontifical delegate for the IVE, especially in matters of the Secretariat.

The background of the IVE intervention

The current reorganization cannot be separated from the process that led Rome to intervene in the Institute. 

In the decree made known in January 2025, the Dicastery pointed to problems in the area of formation and stated that the superiors and members of the IVE had not collaborated sufficiently with the previous pontifical commissioner to clarify the allegations of abuse against its founder, Father Carlos Miguel Buela, who died in 2023 before he could be canonically tried by the Holy See.

Rome then ordered a thorough review of the Institute’s proper law and established restrictions on the admission of new members, while recognizing its “great missionary drive.”

The documents now known do not provide new information on the investigations related to those antecedents or on possible measures concerning victims or complainants. 

Their purpose is different: to define who currently governs the IVE and how responsibilities are distributed within the intervention.

The IVE continues under pontifical tutelage

The decree is explicit in stating that all collaborators will exercise their functions “under the authority of the Pontifical Delegate,” within the limits of the mandate received from the Holy See and subject both to the provisions of the Dicastery and to the determinations established by Satué.

The publication of the new structure does not, therefore, imply the end of the intervention or the recovery of ordinary governance by the Institute. 

On the contrary, it formalizes the continuity of pontifical tutelage, with Satué concentrating the authority of governance and a predominantly external team in charge of the main areas of the IVE’s functioning.

Archbishop of Paris calls on French Catholics not to avail themselves of the new "right to die": "Life must be loved and cared for"

After Emmanuel Macron promulgated the law that definitively introduces in France the so-called “right to assistance in dying,” the Archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Laurent Ulrich, has called on Catholics not to avail themselves personally of this new possibility and to maintain their commitment to the care and accompaniment of the sick. 

The regulation, promulgated on August 18 and published this Wednesday the 19th in the Journal officiel, incorporates into French law the possibility of resorting, under certain conditions, to a lethal substance to bring about one’s own death.

In a message published on the same August 19 under the title Fin de vie: appelés à agir et prier —End of Life: Called to Act and Pray, Ulrich acknowledges that the new law is now part of French law, but maintains that this “is not the end of the fight” for those who advocate another response to illness and the end of life.

France incorporates “assistance in dying” into its legislation

The promulgation culminates a long parliamentary process followed in recent months by InfoVaticana. 

The National Assembly definitively approved the text on July 15 by 291 votes to 241, after successive disagreements with the Senate, which had rejected the initiative on several occasions.

Law No. 2026-794 defines “assistance in dying” as the right of a person who meets the established requirements to resort to a lethal substance. 

As a general rule, the applicant will administer it themselves; when physically unable to do so, a doctor or nurse may intervene under the conditions provided by the regulation.

The requirements include being of legal age, having French nationality or stable and regular residence in France, suffering from a serious and incurable illness that compromises the prognosis of life and is in an advanced or terminal phase, experiencing suffering refractory to treatment or considered unbearable by the patient, and retaining the capacity to express a free and informed will.

The Constitutional Council examined the law on August 14 and declared its core consistent with the Constitution, with certain interpretive reservations. 

After this final review, Macron promulgated the regulation on August 18, and it appeared in the Journal officiel the following day.

The opposition of the French bishops

The Church in France has maintained a position against legalization throughout the legislative process. 

After the definitive approval in July, the presidency of the French Episcopal Conference described the decision as a “serious breaking point” and warned of the consequences it could have for the sick, the elderly, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.

Ulrich himself had intervened during the process. 

In early July, when the text had not yet completed its parliamentary journey, he stated that “more than assistance in dying, our society needs assistance in living” and called for access to care and accompaniment to take priority.

Ulrich denounces a contradiction with palliative care

Now that the law has been promulgated, the Archbishop of Paris focuses his message on what he considers a contradiction between the new “right” and the State’s parallel commitment to palliative care.

Ulrich recalls that the promotion and development of such care were unanimously supported in Parliament and constitute a national priority. 

However, he laments that death may be offered to the most fragile people before there is sufficient and equitable coverage of palliative care throughout French territory.

This issue was present during the legislative process. The National Assembly unanimously approved an initiative aimed at strengthening palliative care while, in a much more divided manner, advancing the legislation on “assistance in dying.”

For Ulrich, the response to the end of life must start from another principle: “This life that we receive and that never belongs to us must be loved and cared for,” while its end must be “accompanied and relieved.”

“Choosing not to request this new right”

The archbishop also proposes a concrete response for Catholics in light of the new legal framework. Although he acknowledges that euthanasia and assisted suicide are now possibilities contemplated by French legislation, he asks that this legal possibility not determine personal decisions.

“It is up to us, first of all, to choose not to request this new ‘right,’” Ulrich states. “Euthanasia and assisted suicide now exist as a possibility: nothing should compel us to make them realities in our lives.”

The prelate also refers to the reservations expressed by the Constitutional Council and considers that they may offer room for institutions specifically dedicated to accompanying the seriously ill and to palliative care to maintain their identity. His wish, he says, is that they may continue to be places “where killing will not take place.”

Accompanying those who might request death

Ulrich calls for the rejection of euthanasia to also have a practical translation. He invites Catholics to become personally involved in accompanying the elderly, the sick, vulnerable people, and patients at the end of life.

The archbishop distinguishes between the medical relief of pain, which corresponds to healthcare professionals, and the companionship that any person can provide. 

In the face of the possibility that someone might come to feel “useless, poor, or unworthy to the point of requesting death,” he proposes responding through presence, listening, and accompaniment.

The mobilization of the French Church in defense of life did not begin with the definitive approval of the law. During the legislative process, the bishops convened days of prayer and a novena for life, in addition to issuing successive appeals to parliamentarians.

Ulrich finally asks for prayers for those at the end of their lives, for healthcare professionals who will have to face requests for death, for those who accede to them, and for families, who—he warns—may be left disoriented or divided by the situations arising from the new legislation.

“We will have to remain close to each one, continue to firmly uphold what we believe is right and true, but also welcome, console, and accompany,” concludes the Archbishop of Paris.

Bishop of Lourdes withdraws the FSSPX's authorization to celebrate Masses and sacraments at the Sanctuary

Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Monsignor Jean-Marc Micas, has withdrawn from the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX) the authorization it held to celebrate Mass, administer sacraments, and organize public prayers at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. 

The measure, communicated on August 13, follows the episcopal consecrations carried out without pontifical mandate in Écône on July 1 and the subsequent decree of the Holy See regarding the canonical situation of the Fraternity.

The decision does not prevent priests or faithful linked to the FSSPX from accessing the Sanctuary or visiting the Grotto of Massabielle. 

The bishop himself clarifies that any person may continue to visit these places freely to pray in private.

Micas links the decision to the consecrations in Écône

In the informative note, specifically dedicated to the FSSPX pilgrimage to Lourdes, Micas maintains that the episcopal consecrations of July 1 “without pontifical mandate” have created “a new situation in the relations between the FSSPX and the Catholic Church.”

The bishop recalls that, according to the decree of the Holy See, the excommunication affects the six bishops involved in the consecrations - the two consecrators and the four new bishops - and notes that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith extended the sanction to the priests of the Fraternity and to the faithful who publicly and formally adhere to it.

Micas also mentions the appeal filed against the decree and maintains that this procedure “does not substantially change anything regarding the substance of what caused it.” 

Before adopting his decision, he states that he consulted both his collaborators and other competent persons.

No public celebrations of the FSSPX inside the Sanctuary

In light of this new situation, the bishop affirms that he cannot authorize “the celebration of Mass nor that of the other sacraments, nor even the public prayers of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X inside the Sanctuary.”

The authorization previously granted to the FSSPX to carry out these activities in Lourdes is thus withdrawn. 

The restriction affects acts publicly organized by the Fraternity, but not the individual access of its priests and faithful.

The measure will have consequences for the international pilgrimage of Christ the King that the FSSPX has scheduled in Lourdes from October 23 to 26 of this year, an event that usually gathers numerous priests, religious, families, and faithful.

The bishop acknowledges the “pain” the measure will cause

Micas admits in his communiqué that he is aware “of the pain and perhaps the incomprehension” that his decision will provoke and states that he entrusts it “to the mercy of God.”

The bishop also refers to the divisions existing in the Church and notes that these “scandalize the little ones and hinder our evangelical witness.” “Our pain is great at the situation of tearing the tunic of Christ caused by our divisions,” he adds.

The communiqué concludes with an invocation to the Virgin: “May Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, come to the aid of all of us, out of love and in service to the Body of her Son.”

The decision represents a change regarding the pilgrimages the FSSPX has been making in Lourdes. 

Its faithful may continue to enter the Sanctuary and pray privately, but the Fraternity will no longer have authorization to publicly celebrate Mass there, administer the sacraments, or organize acts of prayer.

Rome confirms the departure of the "migrants' parish priest" from Vicofaro after rejecting his appeal

The Dicastery for the Clergy has rejected the appeal of Italian priest Massimo Biancalani and has confirmed his removal from the parishes of Santa Maria Maggiore in Vicofaro and San Niccolò in Ramini, in Pistoia. 

The ruling upholds the intervention adopted by the former bishop, Fausto Tardelli, after years of tensions surrounding the migrant reception center installed in the parish facilities and Biancalani’s rejection of the new assignment proposed by the diocese.

According to La Nazione, the Dicastery for the Clergy’s pronouncement closes this phase of the canonical procedure. 

Biancalani, known in Italy as the “priest of migrants,” had appealed the decision made by Tardelli before leaving the governance of the dioceses of Pistoia and Pescia.

A pastoral governance decision

The procedure against Biancalani does not stem from disciplinary violations related to his priestly conduct nor does it constitute a sanction for having welcomed migrants. 

The measure was adopted for pastoral reasons after years of difficulties surrounding the communities entrusted to him.

In the summer of 2024, Tardelli proposed that the priest leave the two parishes and take up a new assignment at the diocesan Missionary Office. 

The solution allowed Biancalani to continue his work related to the care of migrants, but outside the ordinary governance of Vicofaro and Ramini.

The priest rejected the transfer. 

He subsequently lost legal representation of the parish of Vicofaro and appealed the bishop’s decision through the procedure provided for in canons 1732-1739 of the Code of Canon Law.

Rome has now rejected that appeal and confirmed the measure adopted by the diocese.

A decade of tensions in Vicofaro

The parish of Santa Maria Maggiore began to gain national prominence from 2015 onward due to the migrant reception promoted by Biancalani. 

Over the years, the parish facilities came to house around 200 people, using various spaces linked to the parish and the church.

Vicofaro thus became one of the most well-known places in the Italian debate on immigration. 

At the same time, problems related to the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the facilities, coexistence, and the capacity of the parish spaces to accommodate such a large number of people began to emerge.

The situation also generated protests among neighbors and tensions within the parish community itself. 

Some parishioners began to stop attending the celebrations and activities held in Vicofaro.

The difficulties lasted for years and eventually forced both civil authorities and the diocese to intervene. 

The reception center installed in the parish facilities was closed in June 2025 for health reasons, and the migrants who were still there were transferred to other accommodations.

The conflict with Bishop Tardelli

The Vicofaro case accompanied much of Fausto Tardelli’s final years leading Pistoia. The bishop himself publicly referred to the complexity of a situation that had dragged on over time and affected both charitable activity and parish life.

The proposal to transfer Biancalani to the Missionary Office sought to separate the two spheres: allowing the priest to continue his dedication to reception and, at the same time, entrusting the governance of the parishes to another priest.

It was Biancalani’s rejection of this new assignment that opened the canonical procedure that has led to the Dicastery for the Clergy’s decision.

The case, therefore, does not sanction Biancalani for welcoming migrants or for a disciplinary violation, but responds to a pastoral governance decision made by the bishop after the priest rejected the assignment proposed by the diocese.

Biancalani can still appeal to the Apostolic Signatura

The Dicastery for the Clergy’s ruling does not exhaust all the priest’s legal options. Biancalani now has 60 days to file a new appeal before the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Holy See’s highest judicial body.

However, the possible filing of that appeal would not suspend the effectiveness of the decision. Biancalani therefore ceases to be in charge of Santa Maria Maggiore in Vicofaro and San Niccolò in Ramini while the procedure continues if he decides to appeal.

The case now rests with the new bishop of Pistoia, Augusto Mascagna, who has expressed his intention to lead the situation toward a new pastoral phase and ease the accumulated tensions.

Mascagna will preside over a Mass in the church of Vicofaro with which the diocese intends to mark the beginning of a new phase “to accompany the new beginning of the community.” 

According to ANSA, Biancalani is not expected to be present at the celebration.

Salvini: “Time is a gentleman”

The Roman decision has also provoked political reactions. Italian Deputy Prime Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini, who for years maintained public confrontations with Biancalani over his positions on immigration, celebrated the outcome of the appeal.

“The priest of the illegals leaves Vicofaro. Time is a gentleman,” Salvini wrote on his X account.

The reaction reflects the political dimension the Vicofaro case acquired over the years. 

However, the resolution adopted by the Dicastery for the Clergy is limited to the ecclesiastical governance of the two parishes and confirms the pastoral decision previously made by the diocese.

Eleganti: "The marginalization of the traditional Mass has been institutionalized"

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Chur (Switzerland), Monsignor Marian Eleganti, considers that the marginalization of the traditional Mass within the Church “has been institutionalized” and warns that the growth of movements of the faithful, especially young people, linked to the traditional liturgy “cannot be stopped from above.” 

In an interview granted this Wednesday to AdVaticanum, the prelate calls on Rome to reopen the debate on liturgical reform, although he maintains his rejection of the episcopal consecrations carried out by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX) and maintains that it is in a state of schism.

The interview revisits several issues on which Eleganti has spoken during recent months: the restrictions on the Vetus Ordo, the situation of the FSSPX after the consecrations of July 1, the continuity of the synodal process under Leo XIV, and the contemporary way of exercising the Petrine ministry. 

On this last matter, InfoVaticana published on August 11 a broad reflection by the bishop himself on what he considers an excessive media personalization of the papacy.

“Ignoring criticism is not a solution”

Eleganti regrets that the liturgical question has not occupied a relevant place in the extraordinary consistories held this year and considers it necessary for the cardinals to examine the criticisms made of the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council.

“I think we should take the criticisms of the liturgical reform seriously and re-examine the issue,” he states. In his view, the cardinals should begin that analysis in an upcoming consistory instead of continuing to postpone it: “Ignoring the criticisms and pretending that everything is fine is not a solution.”

The prelate links the current situation with Traditionis custodes, the motu proprio promulgated by Francis in 2021 that restricted celebration according to the liturgical books prior to the reform. 

Eleganti maintains that there is a will not to modify those restrictions and again questions the interpretation given to the prior consultation carried out with the bishops.

According to the Swiss bishop, the survey did not show that the worldwide episcopate was calling for stricter measures against the traditional liturgy, but rather that the majority of prelates were satisfied with the situation established by Benedict XVI through Summorum Pontificum.

“Movements from below cannot be stopped from above”

Asked about the continued interest that the traditional Mass arouses among young people, Eleganti responds affirmatively when AdVaticanum asks him whether the marginalization of the ancient rite has ended up becoming institutionalized.

The bishop considers, however, that this policy will find a response: “There will be a reaction. Grassroots movements that arise from below cannot be stopped from above.”

For Eleganti, the hierarchy must offer a pastoral and theological response to those who find in the traditional liturgy the silence, reverence, and solemnity they seek. “Not giving a response is a bad response,” he summarizes.

His position maintains the line he already expressed in April, when he described the post-conciliar liturgical reform as a reconstruction that had entailed significant losses and defended that the traditional and reformed rites could coexist without becoming ideological battlefields.

The FSSPX “is not the solution”

The defense of a review of Rome’s liturgical policy does not lead Eleganti to support the path taken by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

After the episcopal consecrations carried out by the FSSPX on July 1 without a pontifical mandate, the bishop maintains the judgment he had expressed before they took place. 

Eleganti considers that the Fraternity is in a state of schism and rejects that it can become an alternative for Catholics dissatisfied with the liturgical reform.

“The FSSPX is not the solution,” he states. At the same time, he issues a warning to the hierarchy: “We should not push into their arms the faithful who are dissatisfied with the liturgical reform or with what they frequently see in parishes.”

Eleganti’s argument thus establishes a distinction between the two issues. On the one hand, he considers legitimate and in need of response the criticisms of the liturgical reform and the restrictions on the Vetus Ordo. 

On the other, he rejects episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate and the constitution of an episcopal structure outside Rome.

Eleganti also does not see a correction of synodality under Leo XIV

The interview also addresses the synodal process and its continuity during the pontificate of Leo XIV. Asked whether he sees any rectification regarding the model developed during the pontificate of Francis, Eleganti responds: “No, unfortunately not.”

The bishop maintains that the synods convened under Francis introduced a form of participation that has no equivalent in the previous tradition of these assemblies. His objection focuses especially on the incorporation of laypeople into decision-making functions alongside bishops.

In his view, the problem arises when synodality ceases to consist of consulting and listening and moves into the realm of ecclesial governance. Eleganti considers that this process “undermines the sacramental leadership of the Church” and states that he does not see it producing a true spiritual renewal.

His statements come as Leo XIV continues to expressly support synodality. Last week, the Pontiff told religious sisters from the United States that members of consecrated life are called to become “experts in synodality” and valued the methods of listening, dialogue, and discernment used in their assemblies.

“More teaching, fewer informal statements”

Eleganti also develops in the interview his recent criticism of the growing public exposure of pontiffs, although it is a matter on which he had already spoken at length.

The prelate now summarizes his proposal for the Petrine ministry in a formula: “More teaching, fewer informal statements; more quiet governance of the Curia, fewer public audiences and fewer trips; more dignity of the office, less personal style.”

He considers that the Pope should have more time for prayer, study, reflection, and effective governance of the Curia and reduce those public activities that are not directly related to those responsibilities.

“The unity of the Church lies in the unity of the faith”

At the end of the interview, Eleganti places the doctrinal question as the priority for the Western Church. “The unity of the Church lies in the unity of the faith,” he states.

From this premise, he calls on the Pope to clearly exercise his function of safeguarding and teaching the faith, to intervene against heresies and abuses, and to avoid increasing the bureaucratization of the Church through new procedures and documents.

Eleganti concludes by synthesizing what, in his view, should occupy the center of any ecclesial reform: “He must teach the simple Gospel, proclaim Jesus Christ and nothing more.” And he adds: “Jesus Christ is the solution. This is what we must offer the world.”

Brambilla calls on secular institutes to transform society "from within" and advocates for "integral ecology"

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Sr. Simona Brambilla, has defended in Madrid a presence of secular institutes oriented toward transforming social and cultural structures “from within,” and has presented “integral ecology” as one of the criteria for discerning human development. 

The religious sister spoke this Wednesday, August 19, at the Congress of the World Conference of Secular Institutes (CMIS), which brings together 240 members from 71 institutes in 42 countries in the Spanish capital.

In an extensive address entitled “Living Within”, Brambilla developed the mission of secular consecration from a central idea: remaining fully inserted in society in order to act on its values, structures, relationships, and cultural models from the Gospel. 

Her intervention drew extensively on the magisterium of Francis and also on texts by Leo XIV, Benedict XVI, St. John Paul II, and St. Paul VI.

Transforming structures “from within”

Brambilla took as her starting point the Gospel image of the seed and the leaven to explain how secular institutes should carry out their mission. 

Rather than a presence based on visibility or imposition, she defended a discreet action integrated into ordinary realities.

This conception implies, according to the Prefect, being present “within” the human heart, families, structures, different situations, and history itself. Drawing on Evangelii nuntiandi, she also recalled that the field of evangelization for the laity includes politics, social reality, the economy, culture, the sciences, the arts, and the media.

Brambilla insisted that this evangelization must reach the foundations of culture. To this end, she recovered St. Paul VI’s formulation on the need to evangelize “in a vital way, in depth, and to the roots,” reaching criteria of judgment, values, interests, lines of thought, and models of life.

The Prefect had already used a similar approach during her previous visit to Madrid, on the occasion of the CONFER General Assembly held last May. 

On that occasion, she called for progress toward a “conversion of relationships and structures” within the synodal process. InfoVaticana then reported on the weight that institutional transformation and the continuity of synodality had in those days.

“Integral ecology” as a criterion for discernment

Another focus of the address was “integral ecology,” a concept developed by Francis in Laudato si’. Brambilla contrasted two models that, in her view, run through contemporary society: the technocratic paradigm and that of integral ecology.

From the first, she highlighted dynamics such as “possessing, grasping, dominating, manipulating, extracting, squeezing, exploiting, consuming, and discarding.” In contrast, she placed within integral ecology reciprocity, communion, care, sobriety, contemplation, gratitude, and service.

The Prefect linked these approaches to Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas, which uses the biblical images of Babel and Jerusalem to contrast a “culture of power,” characterized by polarization and violence, with the building of a “civilization of love.”

Brambilla thus presented integral ecology as a criterion for distinguishing “what humanizes or dehumanizes” and for discerning when integral human development exists.

In recent years, the concept has gained increasing presence in various Church structures and initiatives. In Spain, the Episcopal Conference has a Department of Integral Ecology and is working on a framework document on this pastoral area, while the Vatican maintains various projects explicitly inspired by Laudato si’.

Evangelizing culture from its internal dynamics

The address devoted considerable space to defining what it means to evangelize a culture. Brambilla maintained that it is not enough to act on its external manifestations; it is necessary to reach the structures and dynamics that determine the way a society understands man, his relationships, and his own destiny.

To this end, she argued that the evangelizer should approach the world of the other “with humility, gratitude, wonder, and a desire to learn” and seek to understand cultural roots through “listening, respect, empathy,” and spiritual discernment.

This insertion into reality has been presented as a specific characteristic of secular consecration. Brambilla recalled words of Benedict XVI from 2007, when he stated that the discernment proper to these institutes must take place “not from outside reality, but from within, through full involvement.”

Pizzaballa and the Christian presence in the Holy Land

Brambilla also devoted part of her speech to the Holy Land, drawing on a letter from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, published last April.

From it, she raised the question of how Christians should remain within situations of conflict without being absorbed by the logic of confrontation. The religious sister extended this issue beyond wars, applying it also to social, community, and interpersonal tensions.

In the specific case of the Holy Land, she took up the idea that Christians do not constitute an external group simply called to mediate between Israelis and Palestinians, but are part of the societies in which they live. 

Their mission would be to act within them as “salt, light, and leaven,” bearing witness to forgiveness, coexistence, and reconciliation.

“Attentive to the world, with the heart immersed in God”

The Prefect completed her reflection by recovering an expression used by Francis in 2017 to describe the vocation of secular institutes: being “attentive to the world, with the heart immersed in God.”

Brambilla turned to the biblical figures of Simeon and Anna to present secular consecrated persons as “receptive antennas” capable of discerning the action of the Spirit in everyday reality.

The religious sister concluded by summarizing her proposal in the expression “living within”: within the relationship with God, one’s own interiority, and the world, in order to recognize the dynamics that run through society and discern them in the light of the Gospel.

The CMIS meeting, being held for the first time in Spain, will continue until August 22. After the Congress, the leaders of the 71 represented institutes will hold the General Assembly on August 21 and 22, at which the new presidency and executive committee of the organization will be elected.

Parolin calls for prayers for persecuted Christians and warns against those who live "as if God did not exist"

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, has called for prayers for persecuted Christians in various parts of the world and warned that many contemporaries live «as if God did not exist.» 

The cardinal made these remarks during the celebrations for the ninth centenary of the transfer of Saint Agatha’s relics to Catania, Sicily, in which he participated as papal legate of Leo XIV.

Parolin presided over a prayer vigil on August 16 in Aci Castello, the place where the relics landed before being transferred to Catania in 1126, and the following day celebrated the pontifical Mass in the city’s cathedral. In his addresses, he dealt with Christian fidelity in the face of difficulties, martyrdom, and the witness of believers in everyday life.

«People live as if God did not exist»

During the vigil in Aci Castello, Parolin took Psalm 1 as his starting point to refer to the need to remain rooted in God and the ways in which man can gradually distance himself from Him.

The Secretary of State pointed out that evil «often does not come with clamorous gestures, but through small steps» and habits that slowly modify «our heart and our way of thinking.»

«Thus we become accustomed to living without God, as if God were not necessary. It is the condition of many of our contemporaries. There is no longer any concern to deny God, but rather people live as if God did not exist,» he stated.

According to Parolin, this attitude leads to organizing one’s own life «as if He had not spoken to us, as if He had not come to meet us, as if He had not shown us the path to happiness.»

In contrast, he presented the Word of God as «a source» and maintained that «it is not a limit to freedom, but the path that leads to true freedom.»

Saint Agatha, a life «rooted» in God

The cardinal also used the biblical image of the tree planted by streams of water to explain Saint Agatha’s fidelity.

«Whoever puts down roots in the Lord can go through even the most difficult trials, yet does not lose hope and continues to bear fruit,» he assured.

Parolin recalled that faith does not imply the absence of suffering: «Faith does not eliminate trials, but provides a new presence and strength to go through them.»

The Sicilian martyr, he added, represents a life «rooted» in God that continues to produce «fruits of life, fruits of hope, fruits of true happiness.» For this reason, he asked the faithful to remain steadfast and not allow themselves to be carried away «by the wind of fears, fashions, and illusions.»

Parolin asks for prayers for persecuted Christians

The following day, during the Mass celebrated in Catania, the Secretary of State expressly referred to the persecution that Christians currently suffer in different countries.

«Let us remember and pray at this moment for all our brothers and sisters scattered throughout the different parts of the world who suffer persecution for the name of the Lord and for His Gospel,» he stated.

Parolin linked this reality to the witness of Saint Agatha, martyred in the third century during the persecutions against Christians.

Her martyrdom, he explained, «is not primarily the account of violence suffered, but the manifestation of a love that no violence managed to extinguish.»

The cardinal also pointed out that Saint Agatha «does not belong simply to the history of Catania,» but that her witness remains relevant for Christians today. Her holiness, he added, «does not belong to the museums of memory,» but continues to generate «faith, hope, and charity.»

The «daily martyrdom of fidelity»

Parolin distinguished between the martyrdom of blood and another form of Christian witness that he described as the «daily martyrdom of fidelity.»

Among his examples, he mentioned spouses who maintain their commitment in difficulties, parents who educate their children in a Christian way, young people who do not give in to «the culture of appearance,» priests and consecrated persons who give their lives, and the elderly who offer their sufferings.

He also referred to those who, in ordinary circumstances, «choose each day justice instead of compromise, truth instead of convenience, and forgiveness instead of revenge.»

The Secretary of State linked this daily witness to the universal call to holiness formulated by the Second Vatican Council.

«Do not be afraid»

Another focus of the homily was the biblical exhortation «Do not be afraid.»

Parolin pointed out that these words «are not a simple psychological stimulus, but the very foundation of our Christian life.» Christ, he explained, does not promise an existence without trials and tribulations, but rather His presence in the midst of them.

The cardinal also applied this principle to the Church itself, which, he stated, «does not live by its own efficiency» nor «is founded on the abilities of its members,» but «on the fidelity of the Lord who continues to work in human weakness.»

Leo XIV recalls «the victory of grace over violence»

Leo XIV had appointed Parolin as papal legate for the celebrations through a letter dated June 20.

In it, the Pope pointed out that, in the martyrdom of Saint Agatha, «an illustrious example of fidelity to Christ and of love to the point of complete self-giving,» the ecclesial community contemplates «the victory of grace over violence, of faith over fear, and of charity over death.»

The celebrations commemorate the 900 years since the return of the saint’s relics to Catania. After having been transferred to Constantinople in the eleventh century, they returned to Sicily and landed in Aci Castello before being taken in procession to Catania on August 17, 1126.

The social difficulties of Sicily

At the end of his homily, Parolin referred to some of the problems currently affecting Catania and Sicily as a whole, including poverty, inequalities, family difficulties, new forms of material and spiritual poverty, and the departure of young people seeking professional opportunities outside the island.

The Secretary of State called for preserving Catania’s heritage of «faith, culture, popular piety, and charity» and making it bear fruit in the face of these difficulties.

«Evil is not overcome with another evil,» Parolin concluded, but with «the charity that is born of the Cross and transforms history from within.»

Spain grants conditional release on health grounds to Inocente Montano, convicted of the murder of five Jesuits

The National Court has granted conditional release on health grounds to former Salvadoran colonel Inocente Orlando Montano, convicted in Spain for the murder of five Spanish Jesuits in El Salvador in 1989. 

The former Salvadoran Deputy Minister of Public Security, aged 83, suffers from a serious and irreversible illness and presents significant cognitive deterioration that requires medical attention outside prison.

Montano was serving his sentence at the Madrid VII penitentiary center in Estremera, after the National Court convicted him in 2020 for five counts of terrorist murder. The sentence, later upheld by the Supreme Court, imposed penalties totaling more than 133 years in prison, with a maximum effective compliance limit of 30 years.

Conditional release due to his health condition

The decision responds to the deterioration of Montano’s health and the difficulties in adequately addressing his situation within the prison regime. According to the information published about the ruling, he presents significant cognitive deterioration, substantial dependency for carrying out daily activities, and a serious and incurable illness that has required frequent hospital transfers.

The judge has considered that the prison environment is no longer suitable for monitoring and controlling the disease and has based the measure on reasons of humanity and dignity. The Prosecutor’s Office did not oppose the granting of conditional release.

The release does not annul the conviction. Montano must continue under supervision and pursue the corresponding medical treatment.

The UCA massacre: six Jesuits and two women murdered

The events for which Montano was tried date back to the early morning of November 16, 1989, during the Salvadoran civil war. A group of soldiers from the Atlácatl battalion entered the campus of the Central American University José Simeón Cañas (UCA) in San Salvador and headed to the Jesuit residence.

There, six members of the Society of Jesus were murdered: Ignacio Ellacuría, Ignacio Martín-Baró, Segundo Montes, Amando López, Juan Ramón Moreno and Joaquín López y López. The first five were Spanish, while Joaquín López y López was Salvadoran.

The soldiers also murdered Elba Julia Ramos, who worked at the residence, and her daughter Celina Mariceth Ramos, aged 15. The massacre therefore left eight victims.

The National Court found it proven that the operation had been decided by members of the high command of the Salvadoran Armed Forces and that Montano, then a colonel and Deputy Minister of Public Security, was part of that high command and participated in the decision.

Why Montano was convicted of five murders and not eight

The Spanish sentence established Montano’s responsibility for the murders of the five Spanish Jesuits: Ignacio Ellacuría, Ignacio Martín-Baró, Segundo Montes, Amando López and Juan Ramón Moreno. For each of the five counts of terrorist murder, he received a sentence of 26 years, eight months and one day in prison.

The court also considered Montano responsible for the deaths of the Salvadoran Jesuit Joaquín López y López, Elba Julia Ramos and her daughter Celina. However, it could not convict him for these three crimes because the United States, from where he had been extradited to Spain, had not authorized his surrender to be prosecuted for those acts.

Hence, the Spanish process usually refers to the «murder of five Jesuits,» although the massacre perpetrated at the UCA left eight dead: six religious and two women.

Ellacuría and the search for a negotiated solution to the war

Among the victims was Ignacio Ellacuría, born in Portugalete (Vizcaya) in 1930 and rector of the UCA since 1979. The Jesuit, linked to liberation theology, had acquired a notable presence in Salvadoran public life during the civil war.

Ellacuría advocated for a negotiated solution to the conflict between the Government and the guerrilla of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). The massacre occurred during a major guerrilla offensive that had begun days earlier in San Salvador, in a context of strong military and political confrontation.

The Spanish sentence established that the objective of the operation was to eliminate Ellacuría and that the members of the high command agreed to carry out the action against the Jesuits. The Supreme Court confirmed Montano’s conviction in 2021 and considered his participation in the decision to be proven.

A process that continues in El Salvador

Montano’s release occurs while the case remains open judicially in El Salvador. Other former political and military leaders are being prosecuted for the massacre, including former Salvadoran president Alfredo Cristiani and several former members of the Armed Forces. The trial scheduled against eleven defendants has been postponed until October 2026.

Montano was the only member of the Salvadoran high command tried and convicted in Spain for these events. His conditional release responds exclusively to his medical situation and does not modify the final sentence that established his responsibility for the murders.

Notre Dame report on seminary formation clouds gay priests in unjust suspicion

Soon after hosting a four-day New Ways Ministry retreat for gay priests, brothers and deacons, I read the news about a report from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame titled "Do You Know Them to be Worthy?" 

The July 17 report was subtitled "Twelve Proposals for Bishops, Rectors, Seminary Formation Teams, and Mental Health Professionals in Assessing the Suitability of Men for Holy Orders."

When I read Proposals 11 and 12, which offer a negative view of gay men, I was stunned. 

I had just been blessed by spending four days with extremely "suitable" men who are dedicated to ministering to their communities, even though many of them have endured a lack of acceptance from church officials and their peers. 

These two proposals create a cloud of suspicion about gay men in the priesthood that will only increase fear, discourage true vocations, and cause great personal pain. 

They will also rob the church of many healthy and holy priests.

The report's first mistake is that the topic of gay priests is raised under "Proposals Aimed at Supporting Chastity and Celibacy Formation." 

That categorization implies that the report views gay men primarily in terms of sex and that their greatest challenge is a tendency to engage in sexual activity. 

This framing implies that heterosexual men — all of them — are somehow equipped to integrate their sexuality in healthy ways, while their gay counterparts are not. 

One need only look at the incidence of sexual compulsion among heterosexual men to know this is not true. Sexual compulsion is an equal opportunity phenomenon.

After more than 30 years of ministering with gay priests, time and again I have been told by them that their greatest struggle is not with celibacy, but with their inability to be open with their bishops, superiors and parish communities about their identity. 

Having to remain closeted increases loneliness, isolation and an incapacity to be fully authentic with their communities. 

This repression sometimes, but not always, leads to psychological trauma and can result in erratic sexual behavior. 

But it is not their gay identity that causes these problems. 

The cause is their difficulty in being open because of homophobic policies, structures and leaders that prevent them from living honest and authentic lives. 

The climate of fear about gay candidates' sexuality can easily foster psychological problems that may make celibacy more difficult to honor. 

These proposals help to create an atmosphere that breeds exactly what they are trying to avoid.

Proposal 11 states that same-sex attraction "is a difficult topic given both the complexity of same-sex attraction itself, and the multiple layers of discourse — theological, pastoral, psychological — in which this topic necessarily comes packaged." 

The question needs to be asked, "Why is homosexuality complex and why is it difficult to discuss?" 

The wider society has made great advances in recognizing that there is nothing mysterious about gay men. The more public conversations people have had, the easier it has been to discuss the topic. 

Church leaders can start practicing by talking with gay priests.

"Complexity" implies that only experts can understand an issue. 

Being gay is not complex but a simple fact of life. It is only the magisterium's abstractions that make it complex. If experts are needed, gay men know best what it feels like to be gay. They are the experts. 

Yet nothing in this report indicates that gay men were consulted in its preparation.

Had the researchers consulted gay men, they would have found that their interests are manifold. 

They would have seen that gay men have had to overcome tremendous amounts of fear, oppression, concealment, self-doubt, exclusion and messages that God does not truly love them. 

As a result of overcoming these obstacles, they have developed great wells of courage, freedom, truth-telling, confidence, inclusiveness and a deep, often arduously won awareness of God's awesome love of all. Being gay is so much more than sex.

Moreover, the report reveals what little knowledge church officials have about the full lives of gay priests and seminarians. 

Sadly, the climate of fear created by this and previous documents prevents researchers from being able to collect data about the true reality of gay priests' lives. How rich this report would have been if the authors had such information! 

Even sadder is this report shows no awareness of how gay priests continue to work tirelessly to spread the Gospel and to build up the church. 

Their contributions have been invaluable. 

Without gay men in the priesthood and the episcopate, the Catholic Church would be greatly diminished. 

Gay priests should not be marginalized and treated with suspicion. They should be enthusiastically thanked.

Drink-drive priest given new post

A priest who crashed a bishop’s car while three times over the drink-drive limit has been handed a new post.

The Rev Sion Hughes-Carew was censured earlier this year after writing the car off when he smashed into a garden wall and railings near Lincoln Cathedral.

In January, a Church of England panel found that he had engaged in “conduct unbecoming and inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders”. 

He was issued with a “rebuke and injunction”, and the Church confirmed that he had remained a clergyman.

After the incident, the 40-year-old was arrested and admitted driving the Bishop of Lincoln’s Kia Sportage on Oct 30. He was handed a two-year driving ban and fined £873 at Lincoln magistrates’ court. 

There was speculation that he faced being defrocked, but he escaped being stripped of his holy orders.

Now the priest – nicknamed “The Vicar of Tiddly” – has returned to the pulpit in west London as a curate, which is usually a training post. He is preaching to parishioners and making home visits at St Michael and All Angels in Chiswick.

At his first mass on Aug 9, he thanked the congregation for their “loving welcome”, the Daily Mail reported. He said this had included trips to the opera, theatres, galleries, concerts and a football match.

One former parishioner from Lincoln claimed that the appointment was “a cover-up” and that Mr Hughes-Carew had “not had to face the consequences” of what he had done.

After stepping away from his role as vicar of All Saints Church and priest-in-charge at St Mary le Wigford in Lincoln, Mr Hughes-Carew previously said he was “deeply sorry”.

A Diocese of London spokesman said the appointment of Father Carew had been made after careful consideration.

A spokesman told the Mail: “Following the penalty he received earlier in the year from the Church of England, alongside the court’s fine and two-year driving ban, the Revd Sion Hughes Carew is able to minister again in the Church of England.

“The parish of St Michael and All Angels, Chiswick, enquired about the possibility of his filling a vacancy and the Diocese of London worked with the parish to ensure that safer recruitment processes were carried out, including the necessary employment checks and taking up of references.

“These steps have all been completed and the diocese and parish have ensured additional training and support are in place, given the previous incident for which Fr Sion has apologised.”

The diocese was approached for further comment.

Ten Catholics released in India after spending more than 100 days in prison accused of "conversions"

Ten Catholics detained in the Indian state of Rajasthan have regained their freedom after spending more than one hundred days in prison accused of “conversion” and “attempted murder,” following an incident that occurred on May 1, when a group of Hindu activists stormed a Mass being celebrated in a church of the diocese of Udaipur.

The faithful returned to their homes on the night of August 13, after the Rajasthan High Court ordered their release on bail. 

The bishop of Udaipur, Bishop Devprasad John Ganawa, explained to EWTN News that the community is “happy and relieved” after the Catholics remained imprisoned for more than one hundred days under accusations that the prelate considers false.

An intrusion during Communion ended with the Catholics detained

The events date back to the afternoon of May 1. 

According to the account given by the parish priest, Father Arvind Amliyar, a group of Hindu activists entered the church of Kalinjara while Communion was being distributed and began recording those present and accusing them of carrying out religious conversions.

The priest stated that one of the men even pulled out a knife, which was taken away by the parishioners before they expelled the group from the church.

Members of a Hindu Sena group, for their part, claimed that they had gone to the place after receiving information about alleged conversion activities and cow sacrifice. 

The Banswara police later stated that they had opened an investigation and collected evidence at the scene.

However, the police action ultimately turned against the Catholics themselves. 

Parish members were detained during the nights of May 1 and 3 and accused of conversion and attempted murder. Ten of them were finally placed in judicial custody.

“Our people are victims of the anti-conversion law. Our legal team pursued the case after the district court denied bail. We thank God because they are now out of jail,” Bishop Ganawa told EWTN News.

“The days in prison have only strengthened us in the faith”

The bail order was issued on August 12 by the Rajasthan High Court and reached the Kushalgarh prison the following day. Father Amliyar personally went to receive the detainees.

“It was certainly a day of great joy for us,” the priest said, who during the months of imprisonment had made continuous trips to stay in contact with the legal team handling the case.

The detainees spent a total of 104 days in prison. During that time, he recounted, the ten faithful remained distributed in different cells and were unable to pray together.

Far from weakening them, the experience, they indicate, has strengthened their faith.

Rajasthan’s anti-conversion law

The case unfolds in the context of the legislation against religious conversions in force in Rajasthan, a state governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, which came into force in 2025, establishes restrictions on conversions considered unlawful. 

One of its most controversial aspects is the reversal of the burden of proof: it is up to the accused to demonstrate that a conversion did not occur in an illegal manner, a circumstance that makes it difficult to obtain bail in lower courts.

The constitutionality of the law is also being challenged before the Supreme Court of India. 

In November 2025, the high court notified the Government of Rajasthan of several lawsuits against the legislation, including one filed by the Jaipur Catholic Welfare Society.

The anti-conversion laws in force in different states of India have for years provoked protests from Church leaders and Christian organizations, who denounce their use against priests, missionaries, and faithful under accusations of proselytism.

Detentions that are repeated in other states of India

The episode in Rajasthan is not an isolated case. 

Accusations of illegal conversions have led in other states to prolonged detentions that have not necessarily resulted in convictions.

One such case was that of Father Babu Francis, director of the diocesan society for development and welfare of the diocese of Allahabad, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. 

The priest was detained on October 1, 2023, after going to a police station to inquire about the situation of his driver, who had been held by the police.

The officers were looking for the driver’s brother, a pastor reported by a Hindu activist for alleged conversions after holding prayers in a home. 

The investigation ended with several people detained and accused of conversion and attempted murder, including the priest himself.

The Allahabad High Court finally granted bail to Father Francis 82 days later, shortly before Christmas 2023.

The use of anti-conversion laws has been a cause for concern for the Church in India for years. 

In 2024, representative bodies of the country’s Catholics denounced the increase in attacks, the destruction of churches and homes, and harassment against Christian institutions through accusations of conversion.

The release of the ten Catholics from Kalinjara closes, for now, more than three months of pretrial detention, but the judicial proceedings continue and the charges brought against them have not been withdrawn.