Glenstal school closure unrelated to compensation paid in abuse cases, Benedictines say

The Benedictine Order’s decision to close Glenstal Abbey School in Murroe, Co Limerick, has no links to historic allegations of abuse and any settlements made, the religious order said.

The order said the closure of the school, announced on October 23rd, had “no links, either financial or otherwise, to historic allegations of abuse and the related settlements made directly with survivors”.

“These settlements were fully funded by the Glenstal Abbey Trust and did not involve the school,” the Benedictines said.

“The financial settlements had no bearing whatever on the decision to close the school or at any stage in the decision-making process. We will continue to respect the confidentiality associated with these settlements.”

The order encouraged anyone with “a safeguarding concern” or anyone wishing to report abuse, to contact the monastery or the safeguarding designated liaison officers for the school or monastery or to make direct contact with the statutory authorities.

“Furthermore should any person who is or has been in our care wish to contact Abbot Columba McCann directly with concerns about safeguarding today or about Glenstal Abbey’s pastoral response to survivors, he would be happy to meet them,” the order said.

“Glenstal Abbey and Glenstal Abbey School rigorously follow all national and church guidelines on the reporting of abuse – and this will continue to be the case.”

In May 2014 the Catholic Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children, based at Maynooth, reported that 10 allegations of child abuse had been made against six Benedictine monks at the school since January 1st, 1975.

It noted that of the six accused monks two were deceased while, of the remaining four, two had left the Benedictines and Glenstal. Allegations against one of the remaining monks were found to be malicious and false, while the sixth monk was then retired and under supervision.

In December 2022 it emerged that financial settlements arising from the sexual abuse of pupils by monks at Glenstal Abbey School had been made but details were not disclosed as “in each settlement, and by mutual consent, we are bound by a confidentiality agreement”, the then abbot said.

“All of these allegations are mentioned in our safeguarding audits which are available on our website. They were all fully reported and investigated. There are no current cases.”

In no case were there criminal or civil proceedings and “as there were no court proceedings, no legal costs were incurred by members facing allegations”, he said.

It was announced that Glenstal Abbey School is to close by August 2028.

The Glenstal Abbey Trust said: “Demand for boarding education has declined over time, while the cost of operating a small boarding school and providing the quality of education, care and facilities expected of Glenstal has continued to rise.

“A detailed external assessment of the school has confirmed that the kind of school we have here at Glenstal is not sustainable into the future.”

Following that announcement The Irish Times was contacted by the close friend of a man whom he claimed suffered serious sex abuse as a pupil at the school in the 1960s, wondering whether the closure was related to compensation paid to survivors of sex abuse at the school.

Of a group of six former pupils this man met at university in the early 1970s, he claims three had suffered such abuse while pupils at Glenstal.

His query was put to the Glenstal Abbey Trust.

Pope Leo XIV appoints 2 new under-secretaries to Synod office

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Italian Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa and Salesian Sister Elena Massimi, a professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, as the new undersecretaries of the General Secretariat of the Synod.

The appointments mark a leadership change at the body responsible for overseeing the Catholic Churchʼs synodal process. 

They follow the departure of Sister Nathalie Becquart, who had served as undersecretary since February 2021.

In recent years, Becquart became one of the most prominent figures in the synodal process initiated by Pope Francis and continued by Leo XIV. 

She was also the first woman to have voting rights at an assembly of the Synod of Bishops, a milestone in the Churchʼs recent history.

A Jesuit deeply involved in the synodal process

Costa, the new undersecretary, was born in Genoa in 1967 and entered the Society of Jesus in 1992. Trained as a sociologist, he earned a diploma of advanced studies in political and moral sociology from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

Costa is well known in Italian Church circles. From 2010 to 2021, he served as editor of the journal Aggiornamenti Sociali, and from 2007 to 2025, he chaired the San Fedele Cultural Foundation in Milan.

He has been closely involved in the synodal process, serving as special secretary for both the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, dedicated to young people in 2018, and the 16th Ordinary General Assembly on synodality, held from 2021 to 2024.

Until now, he had served as a consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod.

A liturgy expert

Alongside Costa, the pope appointed Sister Elena Massimi, a member of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, also known as the Salesian Sisters, as undersecretary.

Born in Rome in 1975, Massimi made her perpetual profession in 2009 and earned a doctorate in theology, specializing in pastoral liturgy, from the Santa Giustina Institute of Pastoral Liturgy in Padua, Italy, which is affiliated with the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm.

She currently teaches liturgy and sacramental theology at the Pontifical Salesian University, serves as president of the Italian Association of Professors and Scholars of Liturgy, and oversees music for the liturgy at the National Liturgical Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

Her appointment strengthens womenʼs representation in one of the Roman Curiaʼs most important bodies and brings recognized academic and pastoral expertise in liturgy to the synodal leadership team.

'Some measure of closure to this dark chapter': St. John's archdiocese restructuring process ends after it settles claims of abuse survivors

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s (RCECSJ) has nearly finished selling its assets, ending a complicated five-year process to raise funds to compensate victims of abuse at the hands of its members.

Lawyers for the archdiocese brought forward an application in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, asking Justice Garrett Handrigan to approve the end of currently legal proceedings, allowing the RCECSJ to transition into bankruptcy.

Handrigan granted the application.

“The termination of the RCECSJ’s stay of proceedings and assignment into bankruptcy is an important step in bringing to completion the process of settling the claims of the victims of abuse. Hopefully, it will help bring some measure of justice and healing to the victims, their families and the Archdiocesan faith community, and will bring some measure of closure to this dark chapter in the history of the Archdiocese,” Archbishop Peter Hundt wrote on Sunday, Nov. 1 in a message, saying he is grateful to those who have collaborated with the RCECSJ throughout the process.

“(I’m) asking that you please join with me in continuing to pray for God’s healing grace for the victims of abuse and for God’s guidance and wisdom in our efforts to ensure that never again such sins against the innocent occur in our Archdiocese.”

The province’s court of appeal ruled in 2020 that the RCECSJ was vicariously liable for sexual abuse by Christian Brothers of children at Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s. In 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal.

The Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection, and the court proceedings were later moved under the CCAA, a federal law allowing insolvent corporations owing more than $5 million to restructure.

It then began selling its assets, which included church and school properties, land, and artwork.

Number of claimants underestimated

“At the time of our first (court) appearance, we understood that we might conceivably have 100 claimants, and claim values, we estimated at that time, could be around 50 million dollars,” RCECSJ lawyer Geoffrey Spencer told the court Friday.

“We didn’t know at that time the value of the RCEC’s assets, but we knew that it would not be enough to cover the claims.”

In total, 367 survivors came forward with claims. An independent adjudicator awarded them a total of $121 million.

The RCECSJ, Spencer said, has sold 132 properties for a total of $32.8 million.

There are seven properties left: five are still for sale, and two have accepted offers but haven’t yet closed.

That amount “far exceeds the expectation for the properties when we started the process,” Spencer said.

Last spring, the survivors reached a settlement with the provincial government for another $45.8 million, representing the province’s responsibility for children at Mount Cashel, in Roman Catholic schools, and at other institutions.

So far, the claimants have received $85.2 million.

“No process will ever make right the terrible things that happened here, but I think we’ve all played a positive role over the past five years,” lawyer Geoff Budden, whose firm represents most of the claimants, said in court.

Budden’s work on behalf of Mount Cashel survivors began nearly three decades ago.

He recognized their patience, and noted two survivors were in the court gallery to see the legal proceedings wind down.

“Their dignity and patience throughout this process has been acknowledged, and I’d like to acknowledge it again today,” Budden said.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with these men and their widows, in some cases, for a long time.”

What’s next for the archdiocese?

During its restructuring process, the RCECSJ created two new entities: the Archdiocesan Renewal Corporation and St. John’s Archdiocese Inc., which will oversee the continued operation of the parishes and manage the few remaining properties.

The order issued by the court releases those entities from future claims.

The RCECSJ will also hold back $1 million from its cash reserves to cover bankruptcy administration costs, costs associated with winding down the current legal proceedings — including costs related to an appeal of a decision about its insurance coverage, which is still before the Supreme Court of Canada — and a few claims that have yet to be finalized.

Rooted in Christ—Growing in Faith: Archdiocese launches $185 million campaign

Citing continued growth in the Catholic community in north and central Georgia, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., has launched the first archdiocesan capital campaign in 30 years.

“The Holy Spirit has certainly been a part of the growth that we’ve experienced in these last years, and we see no end to it. And so we have a responsibility to prepare for the growth and also to take care of the increasing people who come to the church,” said the archbishop in a recent conversation with The Georgia Bulletin.

Deacon Rick Medina, chief advancement officer for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, publicly announced the “Rooted in Christ — Growing in Faith” $185 million dollar capital campaign at a gathering of donors and archdiocesan supporters on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

Deacon Medina went on to explain that the archdiocese has already raised almost half of the goal thanks to a silent phase that included meeting with major donors as well as 10 parishes that have already launched their campaigns.

Some of the money raised will stay in the parish community where it is raised. 

A large portion will be funneled into endowments where it will be invested so the proceeds can support the Church for generations to come. 

A final portion will be used as capital to address some immediate pressing needs.

“What we see here in Atlanta is our parishes are growing because they’re welcoming and because we accept people from all different countries, speaking all different kinds of languages, having come from different cultures, because there’s a high level of acceptance and welcome,” he added.

The campaign is built around three pillars: supporting our parishes and clergy, forming missionary disciples and uplifting our vulnerable neighbors.

Supporting our parishes and clergy

In 2010, the Catholic Extension Society ranked the Archdiocese of Atlanta the 49th largest diocese in terms of Catholic population in the United States.

Just 10 years later, Atlanta was the 25th largest. By some measures, this diocese is the second-fastest growing in the U.S.

“Only the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas added more people than our archdiocese between 2010-2020. Only the Diocese of Los Angeles had more people living within their boundaries (as of 2020),” explained Jenny Miles, who works in the Office of Planning and Research for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Parishioners of St. Lawrence Church stand in the narthex during an October 2025 Mass. At least six parishes currently have more people than seats during regular Sunday liturgies. Photo courtesy of Father Henry Atem

“In terms of percent growth, Georgia grew the fastest from 1990-2000. Our Catholic population increased 78 percent while our total population grew 26 percent. However, we are adding more Catholics in each subsequent decade,” added Miles. 

The expansion is diverse. 

The Office of Planning and Research estimated that in 2020, 43 percent of all Catholics in the archdiocese identified as Hispanic. 

Forty-two percent identified as white with other cultural groups making up the remaining population.

What has not kept pace with the growth is the size of the sanctuaries where all of these people worship. 

The archdiocese has seen this before.

“In the 1970s, corporate migration brought lots of professionals to Atlanta. This spurred a need for new churches in the new suburbs,” said John Schiavone, director of real estate development for Catholic Construction Services, the department that manages property acquisition and construction for the archdiocese. 

A capital campaign in the early 1990s allowed the archdiocese to fund a number of new parishes and schools, but the population kept growing.

“With that continued growth, much of which is Hispanic, some of the churches we built then are no longer large enough,” said Schiavone, pointing to St. John Vianney Church in Lithia Springs, as well as Our Lady of the Americas Mission in Lilburn, both of which have to open overflow spaces every weekend to accommodate Mass-goers.

Overcrowding is a great sign of an active, healthy church, but can deter people from coming. 

On any given Sunday, 30 of the 104 parishes and missions in the archdiocese have at least one Mass that is over capacity, meaning that 85 percent or more of the seats are taken.

“This is the point at which people feel uncomfortable,” said Miles. At six parishes, there are more people than seats every weekend.

The challenge to adding Masses is that vocations did not keep up with the growth of the last 30 years. 

According to the Official Catholic Directory, in 1980, each priest in the archdiocese had the care of an average of 560 Catholics. By 2020, that number jumped to more than 4,000.

Some pastors are celebrating three or four Masses per day of the weekend. This intense schedule can lead to exhaustion or burnout. There are not yet enough priests to increase the number of Masses, but vocations are booming. 

The archdiocese welcomed the largest seminarian class ever in 2026 and is currently supporting almost 70 seminarians in different stages of formation.

But this too, comes at a cost. 

Additional seminarians have added an additional $600,000 of expenses this year alone. The capital campaign aims to raise $10 million for an endowment to pay for the cost of formation for the generations of priests to come.

Once a man is ordained to the priesthood, the archdiocese is responsible for ensuring he gets ongoing formation and support for his physical, mental and spiritual health. 

A portion of the campaign will also endow funding for these efforts.

Forming missionary disciples

Lay Catholics also get support through the second pillar of the campaign: forming missionary disciples. The Office of Evangelization and Discipleship (OED) is developing and disseminating a robust family faith formation program. 

The model includes support for trained catechists at each church. OED teams are also trying to beef up campus ministry operations to keep young adults engaged in their faith. 

Five million dollars will expand family formation resources while another $8 million is allocated to college campus ministry. Some will pay for additional staff while the rest will go into an endowment for future support.

The bulk of the second pillar, $40 million dollars, will support the Catholic schools in the archdiocese.

“My wife and I are passionate about Catholic education,” said Jim Slattery, a member of Christ the King parish who also serves on the advisory board for the campaign. “We need an endowment fund to ensure that for every parent who wants to send their kids to Catholic school, money will not bar them from that dream. We do not want Catholic education to be a case of the haves and have-nots.”

In addition to the scholarship endowment, the campaign will spend $2.5 million to expand the Open Doors program and $2.5 million for an awareness campaign to support enrollment for all Catholic schools.

Uplifting our vulnerable neighbors

The last pillar, uplifting our vulnerable neighbors, speaks to work the Church does to strengthen society as a whole. As the population in Atlanta has grown, so have the needs of the most vulnerable members of society. 

Housing and mental health challenges are two of the most pressing social concerns of the day. Rooted in Christ—Growing in Faith will give Catholic Charities Atlanta and St. Vincent de Paul of Georgia money they need to expand services in these two critical areas.

The campaign will last eight years total, rolling out fundraising requests in waves of 10 to 20 parishes at a time. 

The endowments created will be housed in the Catholic Foundation of North Georgia, but the archdiocese is creating a trust to oversee management and distribution of proceeds.

The $185 million goal, while ambitious, is carefully chosen. Deacon Medina and the Office of Mission Advancement used market research as well as donor data to establish goals for each parish. 

The archdiocese hired CCS Fundraising to help with logistics, messaging and pastor support for the duration of the campaign.

CCS is the same firm the archdiocese used for its previous capital campaign. The more money a parish can raise, the more money the parish can keep. Parishes keep 30 percent of the set goal. 

The parish keeps 70 percent of all money raised between 100-200 percent of the goal, and the parish retains every penny of money raised above 200 percent of the goal.

“A campaign like the one we are in now—the generosity of the people who participate in it is contagious,” said Archbishop Hartmayer. “When we see the joy in their heart (when people donate) … then other people want to do the same. It inspires them. It encourages them. It’s a beautiful thing to watch as a bishop, as a priest, to see the people of God responding to his Church here on earth.”

Why the silence of Ireland’s church leaders in these dark days of Donald Trump? (Opinion)

Dressed in purple canonicals with full all-white clerical collar and pectoral cross hanging from his neck, 70-year-old English Archbishop Jonathan Blake – who broke with the Church of England in 1994 following which he cofounded the Open Episcopal Church – spoke from the heart.

His sermon: “Trump, Maga and the Church Lead America to Hell.”

A sermon for the ages.

Delivered not on the Mount but from a much derided (and with good reason) social media platform on September 16th, 2025, yet a sermon from the Mount still apt for these dark, dark days.

The original Biblical Sermon on the Mount, otherwise known as the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), was in two parts. Part one: the conduct of Christians before God. Part two: our relationship to the world.

For people of a particular age and for regular churchgoers, the Beatitudes have a familiar refrain: “Blessed are …, Blessed are …, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness …, Blessed are the peacemakers.”

The second part … “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.”

Archbishop Blake’s sermon was also in two parts. 

The first concerned Trump’s America: he referred to 47 crazed school attacks by September last year, 19 children’s lives horrifically ended. 

In 12 months, 45,000 lives brutally lost from civilians using arms, 770,000 homeless people with many cites banning them from sleeping in public and food distributors fined in some areas for giving them food.

A total of 48 million battling substance use disorder, often injecting in public. 

Some 42 million living in poverty; 30 million with no health insurance; 51,000 undocumented migrants detained, half of them unaccompanied migrant children taken to emigration courts with no legal representation.

Up to 32,000 new HIV infections a year and 2.2 million needing prep, as Trump axed HIV prevention programmes.

This while having the wealthiest population in the world, including 25 million millionaires, more than 10,000 centimillionaires (own over €100 million) and 870 billionaires.

All while boasting 219 million Christians. Churches are full. Jesus is worshipped. God is praised and the culture collapses, mired in pretence, corruption, culture wars, ruthlessness, depravity and a callous abuse of the poor. What seems to matter is money, power and fame alone.

The second part of his sermon was directed at the British government.

The United Kingdom, its king and prime minister shamefully rolled out the red carpet for a second time for this monstrous president with his Maga bullying policies leading the world towards hell.

Archbishop Blake was not the first bishop to confront Donald Trump. In January 2025, at the Washington National Cathedral prayer service, Episcopalian Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde spoke directly to Trump at his second inauguration as president asking him to grant mercy to families fearing deportation and those fleeing war and persecution.

She pointed out that “the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” adding they were “good neighbours” and “faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara and temples”.

“Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land,” she said.

Bishop of Derry Michael Router, then auxiliary bishop in Armagh, described Budde’s sermon as “a wake-up call to all of us on the challenges inherent in trying to live out our Christian faith in today’s fractured world”.

The Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI), which represents 150 Irish Catholic religious congregations from across the island, wrote to Budde thanking her for her “courage in publicly conveying the truth, grounded in the Gospel, that reminds us all of our duty of care”.

But nothing from other Irish Church leaders.

However, Pope Leo earlier this year said – without naming Trump – that the world was being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war.

When the US president described the pope as “weak” Leo told reporters he did not fear Trump. “I do not see my role as that of a politician. I am not a politician and I do not want to enter a debate with him,” he said. “I continue to speak strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.”

Trump’s misanthropism is undisguised, as is his disdain for all humans other than a wealthy white elite and his narrow sycophantic clique, his contempt for the poor of the world, his crass disregard for the very Earth on which we all depend.

What struck most about Trump’s recent visit to Ireland was the silence of the main Christian churches.

Nothing from Dublin’s Catholic and Church of Ireland Archbishops Dermot Farrell and Michael Jackson. 

Nothing from Church of Ireland Bishop Michael Burrows and Catholic Bishop Fintan Monahan in whose Killaloe diocese Trump’s golf links is located.

It wasn’t always so. 

The late Catholic Bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh courageously and unequivocally supported peace activists at Shannon Airport. 

“Their peaceful protest challenges us that we cannot selfishly ignore this appalling threat to the lives of so many people,” he said. 

And in September 2025 the Association of Catholic Priests did describe as “shameful” a decision to host the Irish Open this year at Trump’s Doonbeg golf course.

One other notable exception. At the recent protest in Doonbeg, a lone member of the clergy, Rev Steven Foster, a minister of the Methodist church, was present. Courage in these dark days.

Courage too from Archbishop Blake’s open challenge to the British prime minister and the British monarch, supreme governor and titular head of the Church of England, for their obsequious treatment of Trump.

If ever there was a moment when church leaders should demonstrate some courage it is now. Inexplicably, that courage has too often been absent.

Archbishop Blake’s sermon ended in prayer: “May God raise up leaders of integrity who shun self, commercial, religious and national interests and whose aspirations are based on justice, fairness, equality and love for all the human family.”

If only.

Veneration of thousands of relics at Kilkenny church

A rare public veneration featuring more than 3,000 first-class relics of martyrs and saints took place in Kilkenny city.

The solemn exposition took place during and after 11.30am mass in St Canice's Church to coincide with the Feast of All Saints.

In Catholic tradition, a 'first-class relic' refers to the physical remains of a saint or martyr - such as a fragment of bone, hair, or flesh.

They are distinguished from second-class relics (items owned or used by a saint) or third-class relics (objects touched to a first-class relic).

St Canice's Parish said that displaying thousands of such sacred items in a single location is an exceptional occurrence.

Curator of the relics and parish priest, Fr Willie Purcell, said locals and visitors alike will have a unique opportunity to connect with centuries of Christian history and spirituality.

He said: "We encourage everyone to join us for this prayerful occasion, to venerate these sacred relics, and to draw spiritual strength from the extraordinary lives these saints led.

"Whether you have a deep devotion to a specific patron saint or simply wish to draw closer to the mysteries of faith, this event provides a profound physical link to the history of the Church".

The Feast of All Saints is celebrated annually on 1 November, honouring all the saints of the Catholic Church, both known and unknown.

The practice of venerating relics dates back to the early centuries of Christianity, when believers gathered at the tombs of martyrs to pray and seek their intercession.

Leo XIV: Faith assures us that ‘our bond with the faithful departed has not been broken’

Continuing a tradition begun by St. John Paul II in the late 1970s, Pope Leo Continuing a tradition begun by St. John Paul II in the late 1970s, Pope Leo XIV visited a cemetery outside the Vatican on Nov. 2 — the day the Catholic Church commemorates All Souls’ Day — to celebrate Mass and pray for those who have died.

“We have gathered to celebrate the Eucharist in this place of prayer and remembrance, of affection and hope. We offer it in suffrage for the faithful departed, particularly for those who rest here and for those whom each of us carries in our hearts,” the pontiff said during Mass celebrated on the central avenue of Rome’s Verano Cemetery.

The altar from which he presided over the celebration was flanked by a row of tombs. Located in the Tiburtino neighborhood, the cemetery, built in the 19th century during the Napoleonic era, is Italy’s second-largest civil cemetery and the largest in Rome.

The grounds, which include an area designated for non-Catholics, suffered severe damage during the Allied bombing of Rome in 1943 and were rebuilt in 1949.

Upon his arrival, Leo XIV placed a bouquet of white and yellow roses on the marble headstone of a randomly chosen grave belonging to an Italian family and bearing the name Antonia Coccia Nicolini.

During his homily, the pontiff explained that the commemoration of the faithful departed, celebrated the day after the solemnity of All Saints, guides the prayer of the Church.

“We turn to the heavenly Father so that the life of holiness and blessedness already enjoyed by so many of his sons and daughters may envelop the souls of those who sleep the sleep of peace,” said the pope, who wore purple liturgical vestments, a symbol of penance, prayer, and hope in the Resurrection.

He also emphasized that faith in Christ is illuminated “by the word that has been proclaimed and that strengthens our trust in God’s hands.”

The Beatitudes, the ‘self-portrait of Jesus’

About 1,500 people attended the celebration, according to figures provided by the Vatican.

Reflecting on the Gospel of the Beatitudes proclaimed during the Mass, Leo XIV said they constitute the “self-portrait of Jesus” and reveal the path to a fully realized life, both on this earth and in eternity.

“The risen Lord tells us: Blessed are those who live according to this path, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” he said.

He also observed that this message takes on particular force in a cemetery, which he described as “a threshold between this world and the next,” where faith enables believers to view death through the hope of the Resurrection.

In this context, he stressed that “faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed has not been broken but transformed.”

‘The absurd violence of war’

The Holy Father also offered prayers for the deceased and made a special appeal for those suffering the consequences of armed conflicts.

He prayed that “the tears of so many mothers, so many children, and so many elderly people” would move the consciences of those who have the power to end wars.

Reflecting on the beatitude “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” he offered a special remembrance for those who have recently lost a loved one.

“At this moment we wish to pray for those who have recently lost a loved one, especially for those from whom a loved one has been taken by the absurd violence of war,” he said.

He then renewed his appeal for peace: “May the tears of so many mothers, so many children, and so many elderly people move the consciences of those who have the power to silence the weapons.”

Christian hope in the face of death

Speaking during the 800th anniversary year of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, Leo XIV recalled the praise the saint added to the “Canticle of Creatures” near the end of his life, when he referred to “Sister Bodily Death” and proclaimed blessed those who are found doing God’s will.

In his homily, the pontiff underscored Christian hope in eternal life and reaffirmed that God keeps forever those who have departed this world. Citing the Book of Wisdom, he recalled that the souls of the just are secure in the Lord’s hands and that “no torment shall ever touch them.”

The pope explained that this promise of salvation lies at the heart of the Church’s prayer on All Souls’ Day, when the faithful entrust their loved ones to divine mercy so that they may attain full communion with God.

Leo XIV also invoked the words of the Book of Revelation, which proclaims that God will dwell forever with his people, as well as the promise of the Good Shepherd that no one can snatch his sheep from his hand.

The pope concluded his homily with a reference to Revelation and God’s definitive promise for humanity: the day when “death shall be no more, neither mourning nor crying nor pain,” because all suffering will have been overcome forever.

With this Mass, Leo XIV, as he did last year, continued a tradition promoted by St. John Paul II, who visited the same cemetery on 12 occasions for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. 

Pope Benedict XVI also celebrated a Mass at the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, located next to the cemetery, though without visiting its graves.

Pope Francis, for his part, maintained the custom of celebrating the All Souls’ Day Mass in various cemeteries throughout Rome during his pontificate.

In addition to Monday’s celebration, Leo XIV is scheduled to preside on Thursday, Nov. 5, at St. Peter’s Basilica, one day before departing on his apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, at a Mass offered for the cardinals and bishops who have died during the past year.

Polish bishops appeal for dialogue as constitutional court standoff deepens

Polandʼs bishops have appealed for de-escalation and prayer amid a deepening standoff over the countryʼs Constitutional Tribunal, warning that the dispute is driving a “deep crisis of the state.”

“It is not the role of the Church to adjudicate the causes of this dispute or the responsibility for the lack of its resolution,” the Presidium of the Polish Bishops' Conference, headed by Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdańsk, said in an Oct. 31 statement.

The Polish prelates called on politicians to calm the conflict and asked for “the initiation of constructive dialogue and the peaceful resolution of all difficulties."

The bishops appealed to the faithful to pray “for light and wisdom for the rulers and all those responsible for public life.”

Archbishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno, Polandʼs primate, urged all sides of the political dispute to “seek a common solution” through talks. The heads of Polandʼs religious orders called for dialogue “on the basis of respect for the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the applicable legal order.”

Archbishop Andrzej Przybylski of Katowice and military Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz also urged prayer.

FSSPX premieres on YouTube "Salus animarum", its documentary on the Écône episcopal consecrations

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX) has made available this past Sunday, November 1, on its official YouTube channel, the documentary “Salus animarum,” dedicated to the episcopal consecrations celebrated on July 1, 2026, in Écône (Switzerland). 

According to the announcement published by the Fraternity itself on October 20 on its official website, the film features subtitles in several languages that viewers can activate from the player settings.

The film, subtitled “Consecrations for Souls,” was directed by Siebe Van Gaever in collaboration with the General House of the Fraternity. 

According to the FSSPX presentation, it gathers exclusive testimonies and unpublished images about the reasons for the consecrations, their preparations, the development of the ceremony, and the reactions it provoked. 

The Fraternity recalls that on that day four new bishops were consecrated before some 17,000 faithful, thirty-eight years after the consecrations of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988.

“The salvation of souls is the supreme law”

The title of the documentary refers to the principle with which the FSSPX justifies its decision. 

According to its announcement, despite the crisis the Church has been going through for decades, the film seeks to recall that the Fraternity wishes to remain faithful to a principle: “the salvation of souls is the supreme law.” 

The presentation text does not identify the people interviewed nor preview excerpts of their statements.

The FSSPX maintains that the consecrations were carried out without authorization from the Holy See, due to exceptional circumstances. 

The consecrators were Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, assisted by Bishop Bernard Fellay, and the new bishops are Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier, according to the information released by the Fraternity.

The appeal against the excommunications remains open

The release of the documentary comes as the Fraternity continues its appeal in Rome against the excommunications declared after the consecrations. 

As InfoVaticana reported, the FSSPX confirmed that it continues to appeal in Rome against the Écône excommunications and will maintain discretion regarding the process.

The film can already be viewed on the Fraternity’s official YouTube channel, where viewers must select the subtitle language using the gear icon and the corresponding option.

Top German bishop denounces far-right AfD as a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’

The head of the Catholic church in Germany has accused the far-right Alternative for Germany of showing “contempt for our democracy and its principles”, doubling down on criticism of rightwing extremists by Pope Leo and other Christian leaders.

Bishop Heiner Wilmer, president of the German bishops’ conference, said he and senior Catholic clerics “vehemently reject” the AfD’s claim to be a Christian organisation, calling the party now poised to form the government in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. 

In an interview, Wilmer said the Catholic church would maintain its red lines against the AfD, refusing any public platforms to the leaders or official representatives of a party that he accuses of downplaying the historic crimes of the Nazi era.

“Ethno-nationalist ideology . . . is completely incompatible with Christianity,” Wilmer told the FT at the Vatican’s 150-year-old Teutonic College. “Within the ideology that AfD politicians repeatedly draw upon, white male rightwing Germans are particularly exalted at the expense of others — especially migrants.” 

That message, Wilmer said, was at sharp odds with contemporary Christianity, which encourages “love of neighbour and solidarity with all people in need — and not merely with those we view as culturally similar or with whom it is convenient for us to align”.

But Wilmer said the church would “not close its doors to the people who vote for these parties”, but instead “seek dialogue” and try to “offer guidance”. He also said the Catholic church would seek to “work with other forces in society to defend democracy in Germany and cohesion in Europe”.

The anti-immigrant, pro-Russian AfD emerged from recent elections as the largest party in Saxony-Anhalt, where it could soon claim Germany’s first far-right state premiership since the second world war. It is now polling at about 30 per cent nationwide.

The church’s strident criticism of the AfD — first made official in the German bishops’ conference’s public denunciation of the party in 2024 — is unusual in Europe, where Catholic clerics typically expound on church teachings on specific issues of concern, while seeking to remain non-partisan.

But the attack reflects the Vatican’s growing alarm over the rise of far-right forces across Europe — from France’s Rassemblement National to Spain’s Vox and Italy’s National Future — ahead of an intense European election cycle with four of the EU’s five most populous member states holding national elections over the next 12 months.

Since his elevation to the papal throne, Pope Leo has criticised the US’s callous treatment of migrants, and visited Italy’s Lampedusa island and Spain’s Canary Islands — two major arrival points for foreign migrants making the dangerous journey to Europe from Africa and the Middle East.

Pope Leo has endorsed the German bishops’ concerns about the AfD, saying recently that “the combination of these far-right points of view, with a certain kind of religion . . . is not an authentic expression of Christianity”. 

His comments followed his recent excommunication of clerics and lay members of a rebellious, arch-conservative Catholic society, the Society of St Pius X, which had historic ties to France’s far right — and for which AfD lawmaker Maximilian Krah worked as a lawyer.

About 23 per cent of Germans are registered Catholics and about 20 per cent are Protestants, while 48 per cent of the population has no religious affiliation.

Wilmer conceded that the AfD’s positions on many modern biomedical issues — including opposing abortion, assisted suicide and commercial surrogacy — were aligned with Catholic teachings. 

But he said this merely gave a “Christian facade” to a party that he accused of having an exclusivist worldview and tolerating the aggressive intimidation of its critics.

“When the AfD makes national or cultural identity the measure of political belonging, we must ask a fundamental question: what happens to the dignity of those who do not belong?”

For its part, the AfD has called for an end to German state funding for Catholic and Protestant churches, financial obligations that stem from the 19th century seizure of church assets.

The party also wants the government to stop collecting church taxes on behalf of religious communities, a potentially serious financial blow to the German Catholic church — which spent more than €537mn in international humanitarian aid last year.

German economy

Christian churches played a big role in welcoming the 1mn migrants who came to Germany from war-torn Syria and elsewhere in 2015 after then chancellor Angela Merkel decided to welcome asylum seekers from the Middle East.

Not all senior German Catholic clerics agree with the bishops’ outspokenness. Cardinal Gerhard Müller — former prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the erstwhile Inquisition — warned in September against an “abuse of spiritual authority for political purposes”.

But the bishop’s criticism comes as recently unsealed Vatican archives have put a renewed spotlight on the Catholic church’s chequered response to the rise of fascism in Europe a century ago.

“The Catholic church is repeatedly accused of not having taken a firm enough stand against the Nazis in Germany. I do not wish to pass judgment here on the actions of church leaders at that time,” Wilmer said. “But for us today — in the times in which we live, we underline that we do everything against any kind of antisemitism and the violation of humanity. I therefore say, nip it in the bud.”

Call to holiness ‘speaks to each of us where we live,’ Pope Leo says on All Saints Day

The following is the full text of Pope Leo XIV’s Angelus address given Nov. 1, 2026, the feast of All Saints, at St. Peter’s Square.

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

The Solemnity of All Saints, which we celebrate today, invites us to share in the joy of that countless family of men and women who, following the Lord Jesus, have made their lives a gift to God and to their neighbors. Along their different paths to holiness, they have longed for “the ocean of infinite love,” to use a beautiful expression of Pope Benedict XVI (Spe Salvi, 12).

The Liturgy of the Word describes this family as “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev. 7:9). Today, in fact, we celebrate all the saints: those whom the Church has recognized as such as well as the countless others who have not been formally recognized but are known to God. 

As today’s Gospel reminds us (Mt. 5:1-12), they are poor in spirit, yet rich in God’s love. Their faces are streaked with tears, yet they find consolation in prayer. They are meek in the face of violence and rewarded by the Father. They hunger for justice, yet are filled in the depths of their consciences. They are ready to forgive and embraced by mercy. They are disarmed in heart, yet protected by God. They are peacemakers, called by name by God. They are persecuted and insulted, yet strong in faith and charity.

It is indeed true that it is impossible to count this multitude of brothers and sisters, and not just in numerical terms. Holiness, in fact, cannot be reduced to any calculation, for such is the good that all the saints have spread around them in the world. As we admire them, we ask ourselves: what have these people, with God’s grace, brought forth? 

Essentially, actions and choices of love that transcend the calculations of greed and the arrogance of evil, which at times seems to prevail. 

The saints are the most beautiful and powerful sign of the Kingdom of God that is coming — or rather, as Jesus teaches us, is already among us (cf. Lk. 17:20-21). Moreover, this blessed multitude embraces people from the most diverse backgrounds, cultures and walks of life.  

Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live. This is the hope-filled message of today’s feast: God sees the good that we do not see, knows stories that we do not know and reaches hearts to which we have no access.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, blessed because she believed the word of the Lord, accompany us along the path to holiness, so that we may never grow weary of fostering peace, both in the most important situations and in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.

Pope mentions new blesseds, initiatives, sports after the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

Yesterday, in Savannah, Georgia, in the United States of America, Pedro de Corpa and four companions, religious of the Order of Friars Minor, who were killed in odium fidei in 1597, were beatified. Originally from Spain, they responded generously to the Lord’s call to evangelize the peoples of the Americas, even to the point of giving their lives. Let us invoke the intercession of these martyrs for all missionaries of the Gospel.

In recent days, a humanitarian operation has been carried out to assist the civilian population in the city of Oleshky. I hope that the cooperation between the parties, which made this necessary humanitarian act possible, will strengthen the desire for dialogue and lead to new concrete peace initiatives.  Let us entrust to Mary, Queen of Peace and of All Saints, all those throughout the world who are suffering because of war.

From yesterday until November 13, the Youth Olympic Games are taking place in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, for athletes aged 15 to 18. This is the first Olympic event to be held on the African continent. 

In addition to the competitions, these Games include educational and cultural gatherings aimed at promoting Olympic values and fostering understanding among young people from all over the world. Once again, we see a sign of hope coming from the world of sport! I warmly greet and bless all the participants.

From November 8 to 15, the Mission with the Poor, promoted by the Friars Minor, will take place in Rome. I congratulate the sons of St. Francis who, through this initiative, are placing the poor at the center, as the Lord Jesus did and as St. Francis of Assisi did. I also thank the civil authorities and law enforcement agencies for their cooperation.

And now I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from various countries!

I am pleased to welcome the Syro-Malabar faithful together with their pastors.  Dear friends, together with you I give thanks to the Lord for the growth of your communities throughout Europe.

I greet the “Capiteo” group from Borbiago di Mira, in the Province of Venice, as well as the participants in the “Race of the Saints,” which the Don Bosco Missions have once again organized in Rome this year to promote sport as an educational experience.

Tomorrow afternoon, on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, I will celebrate Mass at the Verano Cemetery. During these days, let us feel united in the Communion of Saints with the immense family of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us on our earthly pilgrimage, and let us pray for the departed, especially those whom no one remembers.

Thank you all, and have a happy feast day!

Two Peruvian bishops die on eve of papal visit

Just days before Pope Leo XIV’s arrival in Peru, two Catholic bishops in the South American country died following illnesses, including Archbishop Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia of Cusco, whose archdiocese is preparing to welcome the pope Nov. 15.

Archbishop Alarcón passed away Oct. 30 after a long illness, according to Peruvian media. He was 74.

Bishop Jorge Pedro Carrión Pavlich of Puno, whose diocese serves communities along Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, died Oct. 31, according to a social media statement by the cathedral in Puno. 

Bishop Carrión, 76, also succumbed to an undisclosed illness, according to Peruvian media.

Pope Leo expressed his condolences in a Nov. 1 telegram to Coadjutor Archbishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera of Cusco, describing Archbishop Alarcón as a “self-sacrificing shepherd who, for years and with great faithfulness, dedicated his life to the service of God and the Church. I offer prayers for the eternal repose of his soul, that the Lord Jesus may grant him the crown of glory that does not fade.”

Coadjutor archbishop is automatic successor

Pope Leo elevated Archbishop Estrada Herrera to coadjutor archbishop in August. This means Archbishop Estrada Herrera would automatically succeed Archbishop Alarcón upon retirement or death. 

The pope visits Cusco on Nov. 15 — a trip which will take him more than 11,000 feet into the Andes barely a month after he had the lower part of his right lung removed. 

Doctors have given Pope Leo permission to travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov. 6 to Nov. 17 for the longest trip of his papacy. 

The visit to Cusco includes a large gathering at the Saqsaywaman archaeological site, where Pope Leo is scheduled to speak about popular piety. He is also scheduled to pray the Angelus with the faithful outside the local cathedral. 

“Cusco is a Marian people; I would say the entire southern part of Peru is a Catholic, Marian people,” Archbishop Alarcón said in a 2026 interview with Fe y Realidad, an Archdiocese of Lima program. “The Holy Father is going to speak about popular Marian devotion, with the aim of providing some guidance on how such devotion can be channeled into a Christian commitment, ensuring it doesn’t remain merely a matter of folklore or culture.” 

Archbishop Alarcón was born in Lima, the Peruvian capital, and joined the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor. He said he was drawn to missions and began his pastoral service as a parish priest in Cusco, according to a video produced by the Archdiocese of Cusco. 

St. John Paul II appointed him bishop of Tarma in 2001, and Pope Francis later appointed him archbishop of Cusco in 2014. 

From urban areas to remote mountain villages

In Cusco, Archbishop Alarcón said that he spent his first year in Cusco traveling the diocese, which covers urban areas, remote mountain villages with Quechua-speaking populations and several parishes in a jungle region. 

“He didn’t speak Quechua especially well, but that didn’t stop him from being close to the people,” Veronique Lecaros, head of the theology department at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, told OSV News. “He reached out to the people and was very egalitarian in his interactions.”

Archbishop Alarcón told Fe y Realidad of his first year in Cusco: “I wouldn’t give any advance notice, I would simply arrive and knock on doors to see how everyone was doing. … That really helped me understand that we have a strong presence everywhere.”

Archbishop Alarcón embraced the vision of synodality promoted by Pope Francis and continued by Pope Leo, saying it produced both “beautiful things,” but also pointed questions.

“We are reaching out to the most humble, remote parishes, communities where Quechua is spoken, enabling them to find their own voice within that space,” he said. “We are broadening participation, allowing them to become active members of the Church rather than mere spectators.”

Mary McAleese says baptism has become a ‘lazy doctrine of obligation’ that breaches babies’ human rights

Former president Mary McAleese has said baptism is a breach of babies’ human rights.

In her forthcoming book, The Baptism Bluff: Human Rights and the Canon Law of Baptism she challenged the Catholic Church’s viewpoint on baptism, saying: “It requires all Catholics to overlook the fact that babies cannot give informed consent to promises at baptism.”

The former president has received criticism for her viewpoint, with Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín calling the remarks “nonsense”.

“She is entitled to her view but equally, parents should be able to raise their children as they see fit,” Mr Tóibín said.

Mrs McAleese is an outspoken critic of the church and has previously challenged it on a number of issues, including women’s exclusion from the priesthood.

Despite this, she remains a practising Catholic.

Her upcoming book argues that the church's teachings have promoted baptism as part of a “lazy” doctrine of obligation, rather than a “dynamic” approach.

She said in a statement that the message of the book was not opposing the “divine sacramental” elements of a baptism.

However, she added: “It challenges man-made imposition of canon law rules which assert serious limits on human rights.”

Senator Rónán Mullen, who served as senior communications officer for the Archdiocese of Dublin from 1996 to 2001, said: “I think Christian baptism is about something more important than Mary McAleese’s concept of human rights, autonomy and choice.

“These are important ideas for politics but pretty meaningless when it comes to share the gift of faith with an infant,” he added.

This is the latest example of the former president’s clashes with the church. In the past, the two sides have argued over the church’s exclusion of women from the priesthood.

In 2018, a panel discussion in Rome was organised by Catholic women’s advocacy group Voices of Faith.

The event was set to discuss church governance, but the Vatican prevented Mrs McAleese from speaking.

The group moved the event away from the Vatican and held the discussion at the headquarters of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Rome.

At this event, Mrs McAleese claimed the church was an “empire of misogyny”.

Mrs McAleese’s book is due to be published on November 13.

Parents and past pupils bid to keep Glenstal Abbey School open

After being in operation for almost 100 years, Glenstal Abbey School, one of Ireland’s most popular private boarding schools, is set to close its doors in 2028.

In recent days, the village of Murroe in Co Limerick was rocked by the news of the school’s closure.

Now former students and parents have rallied to make sure “alternative” options are explored to save the establishment.

While the trustees of the Benedictine school said the environment in which boarding education operates has changed and is “not sustainable into the future”, some are of the opinion it can still be salvaged.

The news came as a shock for current students and their parents.

Now, two groups have urged the Abbot of Glenstal, Columba McCann, to consider other options.

As of now, concerned parents have one priority — make sure there is a “viable way to keep Glenstal open for all current pupils to complete their education”.

If students are allowed to pursue their education at Glenstal, it would have to stay open up until 2032.

Another group, the Glenstal Old Boys Society, have also contacted Mr McCann to halt the closure.

Sources told the Irish Examiner the group was to have a meeting last Saturday to discuss solutions to Glenstal Abbey’s finances.

A number of notable personalities are among the school’s alumni, including business magnate John Magnier, and Paddy Cosgrave, who founded the Web Summit. Former Munster rugby players Duncan Casey and Ben Healy both graduated from the school.

Healy, the former Munster outhalf who hails from Tipperary, spent six years at Glenstal Abbey.

“A lot of people will have a lot of very happy memories there. My family and I have had a very close connection to the school and the people there,” he told the Irish Examiner.

“Some of the happiest memories from playing and training are from the pitches at Glenstal. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that place,” he said.

From 2018 to 2024, Limerick man Harry Gleeson studied at Glenstal Abbey.

“The things to say about it, it’s kind of hard to put into words. But I think one of the best things about Glenstal was the brotherhood that came from it,” Mr Gleeson told the Irish Examiner.

“The year before I went into school, rugby was a big part of my life, they had won the Senior Cup, which was a big Limerick competition, the year beforehand. For us younger lads, going in in first year was great. It made the rugby look cool, and that kind of forced you to play rugby. Rugby was a big thing that brought everyone together.”

Three days a week, he attended rugby practice where he would train and meet his friends before studying. Their time together led to a cherished sense of “brotherhood”.

“When you leave, you get given a book that has the contact numbers and names of everyone who went to Glenstal. If you’re ever in need of someone in a certain profession, you can go back through that book and call someone or even your friends.”

To this day, Mr Gleeson said they still organise Christmas dinner with their classes, and meet at events in the likes of Lahinch, Cork, or Dublin.

“We still see posts now going into the WhatsApp groups of lads who were in there in the 1990s, who still meet up to this day all wearing their old boy school ties and stuff.” 

Cistercian College Roscrea also faced closure 

Echoing the response to the planned closure of Cistercian College in Roscrea in 2017, two groups are now working to ensure Glenstal Abbey School remains open.

“There were arguments going through the group chat that people didn’t want the school to just come back for the sake of having the school. I think other boarding schools brought in boys and girls, whereas I think ‘Glenstal was better as just a boys school’ is what some people were saying,” Mr Gleeson said.

“I’m not too sure if they want to bring it back as just an ordinary school. I think they’re trying to aim to keep Glenstal the way it was, which sounds difficult to do,” he added.

While not everyone agrees with the prospect of the school potentially being co-ed, Thailand-born film producer Tom Waller would welcome the news.

Mr Waller enrolled his two sons, Alex and William, in Glenstal Abbey, and they both graduated from the school. They now study in UCD.

“They left the school only with positive thoughts about the place,” he said.

“My two boys definitely have benefited from fantastic education there, so I was slightly shocked to hear that the school is closing.”

As his family have roots in Co Tipperary, the idea of his boys studying in Limerick, only a 45-minute drive away, was appealing.

Plus, Mr Waller had himself experienced a similar type of school in England.

“I’d met a lot of old boys of Glenstal Abbey School, and they impressed me very much and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to send my two boys, if I could to a school like that?”

“And we were in a position to do so, it was a fantastic solution for us.”

According to him, it would be a fantastic opportunity for girls, if the school was to go co-ed.

“I have two young daughters myself, we now have to look at the schools for secondary and absolutely if Glenstal was co-ed, I’d definitely consider sending my daughters there, for sure.

“I think it would be fantastic if they could think of a way to keep the school open and, certainly, I would support them by considering sending my girls there.” Mr Waller said.

In the village of Murroe, people remain proud of the “high regard” that the Benedictine school holds nationally.

That’s according to Fianna Fáil senator Dee Ryan, who said the community has been saddened by the school’s closure.

“There was talk at one point of potentially the school going co-ed and having girls also admitted, so there might have been an awareness that the school needs to change along with the times, but there wasn’t an expectation that the school would be announcing the eventual closure of the boarding school and so it was quite shock in the village when the news broke,” Ms Ryan said.

Former Munster player Duncan Casey told the Irish Examiner he was sad to hear the school does not see a way forward to keep its doors open.

"I had heard through the grapevine that things had proven difficult in recent years but despite this, many of us were still very surprised that the announcement came when it did.

"I have often said that I would not have been fortunate enough to play professional rugby had I not been in Glenstal because I was a late bloomer who didn't particularly like the sport until I was in 4th year," he said.

Mr Casey added: "I have many fond memories of my time there and am very grateful to to the monks who helped to raise me and so many others, particularly Fr Denis Hooper, Fr William Fennelly and Br Colmán Ó Clabaigh, who I know will all be extremely sad that things have come to this."

Pope Leo's Latin America trip is a high-stakes homecoming (Opinion)

After weeks in which Pope Leo XIV's Latin America trip hung in the balance of his doctors' recommendations, the Vatican confirmed Oct. 26 that his visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru "will proceed according to the programme previously published."

Less than a month after undergoing surgery that removed a malignant tumor from his right lung, the pope will embark on a 11-day journey involving a dozen flights and a whirlwind agenda across three countries.

"I am looking forward to returning to the continent where I've experienced so many moments of my life," the pope said in a Vatican statement released ahead of the trip. "May this journey be an occasion for us to open our hearts to one another, strengthen our communion as brothers and sisters, and renew our commitment to proclaiming the Gospel with joy."

Though American by birth, Latin America is where the future pope spent more than two decades as a missionary priest and bishop, acquired Peruvian citizenship and developed much of the pastoral outlook he has since carried into the papacy.

His homecoming in Peru and to the city of Chiclayo in particular, has been highly anticipated since he name-dropped his former diocese from the balcony of St. Peter's Square in his first address as pope.

After an early-morning takeoff from Rome, Leo will land in Uruguay on the afternoon of Nov. 6 and spend fewer than 48 hours in one of Latin America's most secularized countries. 

Roughly one-third of Uruguayans identify as Catholic, and the country's church operates on a considerably smaller scale than in many of its neighbors.

The pope will celebrate Mass, meet with a local community engaged in social outreach and visit the Catholic University of Uruguay.

"Our church is poor and small, but free and beautiful," Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo said at a recent conference hosted by Aid to the Church in Need International ahead of the visit. 

"Being a priest here is a service offered with modesty. There is no prestige attached, which leaves the priest free to lead a normal life and be devoted to his tasks."

The opening leg of the pope's trip may therefore be relatively subdued compared with what follows, though in secularized France Leo showed that he can still draw large crowds and intense fervor even in a country that seems to have shaken off its Catholic roots.

From Uruguay, the pope will travel to Buenos Aires, a city that gave the Catholic Church a pope in 2013 but has not received one since St. John Paul II visited Argentina in 1987.

Pope Francis, a native porteño from the Argentine capital, never returned to his home country during his 12-year pontificate. 

Though he repeatedly expressed a desire to visit, Francis also seemed wary of being drawn into Argentina's fiercely polarized politics, where both supporters and opponents repeatedly sought to claim him as their own.

Many Argentine Catholics nevertheless longed for a homecoming that never came. Ahead of Leo's visit, Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva of Buenos Aires warned against treating the new pope as a stand-in for the old one.

"The successor of Peter is coming, not the successor of Francis," he told Argentine daily Clarín.

But Leo may want to imitate his predecessor when it comes to meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei. 

Francis ultimately developed unexpectedly warm relations with the right-wing populist despite his repeated attacks on the pope during his presidential campaign.

Milei, who has cozied up to U.S. President Donald Trump, has since become a target of criticism from Argentina's bishops over austerity measures that have slashed social spending.

The two leaders also diverge sharply over another issue Leo has made central to his pontificate: artificial intelligence.

While Leo has called for greater regulation of emerging technologies to safeguard human dignity, Milei has sought to attract AI investment by pledging that Argentina will not preemptively regulate the technology in ways that could hinder innovation. 

Peter Thiel, the PayPal and Palantir co-founder who has publicly criticized the pope's approach to AI, bought a mansion in Argentina earlier this year.

The enthusiasm of Argentine Catholics who have waited 39 years for a papal visit, set against the clear differences between Leo's and Milei's political visions, could make the pope's three days there among the most closely watched of the trip.

Leo is expected to draw the crowds, but what he chooses to tell them remains to be seen.

Yet the emotional and ecclesial centerpiece of the journey comes with Leo's homecoming to Peru. The pope has made no secret of his affinity for the Peru leg of his trip, dedicating six of his 11 days of travel to the Andean nation.

On Nov. 11, Leo will arrive in Peru, where the U.S.-born pope spent more than two decades as a missionary priest and bishop and where he remains, to many Peruvians, one of their own.

Though the Peru that Leo will encounter as pope is markedly different from the country Robert Prevost first knew, some of its political tensions will feel familiar.

As a formation director in Trujillo during the 1990s, Prevost marched in support of human rights and gathered signatures backing the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The president at the time was Alberto Fujimori, whose increasingly authoritarian rule gave rise to the political movement known as Fujimorismo.

Now, when Leo returns to his adopted country as pope, Alberto Fujimori's daughter, Keiko Fujimori, will receive him as president.

Though not a carbon copy of her father, Fujimori campaigned on restoring order after a decade of extraordinary political instability that produced eight presidents and 21 prime ministers.

But only months after her inauguration in July, Fujimori's approval rating has already fallen sharply, dropping from more than 40% to 28.3% in October amid concerns over the economy and public security, according to a Bloomberg poll.

A successful papal visit, however, could offer her government a rare moment of national unity.

"The figure of the pope is very important in Peru's religious life, and his mere presence alongside a government would almost certainly foster a climate of peace, which is exactly what [Fujimori] needs right now," said Kurth Mendoza Gutiérrez, a professor of communications at the University of San Martín de Porres in Lima and former head of communications for the Peruvian bishops' conference.

In Lima, Leo will participate in a "Meeting on the Challenges and Hopes for the Future of the Peruvian People" in the capital's central square outside the cathedral, giving him a prominent platform to address the country's political and social crises to an audience that extends beyond government officials.

Leo also returns to a Peruvian church whose internal divisions he knows intimately.

As bishop of Chiclayo, Prevost was generally associated with the more progressive wing of a sharply divided hierarchy, while earning respect across ideological lines as an effective administrator. 

His emphasis on the poor, migrants and communities on the margins placed his ministry within a Peruvian church deeply marked by liberation theology, the theological current born in Peru that sought to place the experience of the poor at the center of Christian reflection. 

Liberation theology was, for decades, the subject of intense debate within the global church, with crackdowns from Rome on priests and theologians.

The challenge for Leo will then be how he can capitalize as pope to sell his pastoral message to a divided episcopate.

"In Peru, as in all of Latin America, there is a sector of the church that is very critical of the Catholic Church of Francis. ... This pope [Leo] has a lot of that [vision] as well, the option for the poor, concern over the power of large private companies," said Eduardo Dargent, a political scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. 

"The Peruvian pope is the one in charge right now, he's very beloved and respected, and what you'll probably see is this sense of harmony and gratitude, even though there may still be some lingering resentment and probably criticism as well."

Prevost also gained some enemies in Peru due to his role in suppressing the Catholic movement Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which was immensely powerful in church circles but was found to have perpetuated widespread spiritual, and in some cases sexual, abuse among its members. 

Leo will meet with victims of abuse during his trip to Latin America, just as he did when visiting Spain and France, the Vatican said, though where the meetings will be held and how many will take place was not announced. 

In Peru, Leo's trip will also be deeply personal. In Chiclayo, the diocese he led from 2014 to 2023, his schedule includes dinner with its priests and encounters with clergy, seminarians, pastoral councils and the local Catholic university. 

He will also visit a shrine dedicated to St. Turibius of Mogrovejo to close a jubilee year honoring the Spanish missionary bishop who became one of Peru's most important saints.

As pope, Leo wrote about his devotion to St. Turibius in a September letter to Latin American bishops, praising the saint's willingness to travel through his vast diocese to encounter and understand its people. 

"Certain aspects of a diocese are hard to grasp from behind a desk," he wrote.

Just like the Spanish saint, Leo will also do his fair share of travel throughout Peru.

After traveling to Lima and Chiclayo, he will head to Cusco in the Andes before flying east to Pucallpa, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, for a meeting with missionaries and representatives of Amazonian peoples.

Leo's predecessor made the Amazon a central concern of his pontificate, convening a Vatican synod on the region in 2019 and repeatedly linking the defense of Indigenous peoples with the protection of the environment.

The entire trip, however, will also be a highly visible test of Leo himself. His doctors recently recommended that he cancel a day trip to Assisi, Italy, by helicopter to give his body more time to recover from surgery. 

In Latin America, there will be little room for rest between a dozen flights, days of public events spanning more than 12 hours and, in Cusco, an ascent to more than 11,000 feet above sea level.

For the 71-year-old pope who has proven indefatigable on his international trips, a return to the continent that defined his priestly ministry could hardly offer a more emphatic return to the papal office.

Church in Wales opens consultation on disability accessibility

The Church in Wales is examining how it can be more accessible and inclusive for people with lived experience of disability. 

A consultation examining the breadth of church life is seeking input from disabled people, those with long-term physical health and mental health conditions, as well as others with lived experience including parents, carers and those with professional experience. 

Online surveys and workshops will cover “provision of information, policy, resources for local churches, worship and liturgy, accessibility improvements and funding, and how the church welcomes disabled people”, according to a statement from the Church. 

A delivery group will oversee the project. Its membership has a disabled majority and reflects a range of experience, care responsibilities, professional and ministry background, and represents all six dioceses.  

The Church in Wales’ governing body voted in April to create the body, which will advise on increasing welcome to and engagement of disabled people in the life of the Church. 

Rev James Lawson, chair of the delivery group, said: “A genuinely welcoming Church is one in which disabled people are able not simply to enter the building, but to participate fully in its worship, ministry, and community life. This consultation is about listening. We want to hear honestly about what churches are doing well, where people continue to encounter barriers, and what needs to change. 

“Most importantly, we want the experiences and ideas of disabled and neurodivergent people themselves to shape the recommendations we make. We would encourage anyone with experience, whether positive or negative, to share.”

The consultation is not limited to those who regularly attend Church in Wales services. It runs until the end of November. 

Prison chaplain makes history as Church of Scotland's next Moderator

The Church of Scotland's next Moderator has told Premier Christian News that love, respect and compassion are at the heart of her ministry and could help transform society.

Rev Jill Clancy, a chaplain at HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow, will become the first prison chaplain to serve as Moderator of the General Assembly when she takes up the role in May 2027.

The 56-year-old, who will be only the seventh woman to hold the position, says the prisoners she works with have strengthened her own faith.

Speaking to Premier, she described the men as "quite inspirational", despite the challenges of working in a prison environment.

Her theme for the year will focus on loving God, loving your neighbour and loving yourself.

"If we all loved each other and respected each other a lot more, then we wouldn't probably need prisons for a start, and the world would be in a much better place," she said.

Rev Clancy explained that she tries to treat prisoners with dignity, regardless of their offences, offering support and encouragement during difficult times.

Looking ahead to her new role, she expressed optimism about the Church of Scotland's future, despite declining congregations and significant changes.

"It's actually quite an exciting time for the church," she told Premier, pointing to growing membership and new forms of ministry.

She also encouraged Christians to pray that the Church would remain a strong witness in Scotland and beyond.

Her hope, she said, is that more people will turn towards God and discover His love.

Vicar resigns after alleged racist abuse at parish supper

A vicar has resigned from a church in south west London after claiming she had been subjected to racist abuse at a parish supper.

Rev Sharon Hunt who was the first black curate in the history of St Mary’s Putney, had taken on extra responsibilities as a vicar when she attended a monthly Seminar Supper with a number of parishioners at one of their homes on 24 September.

But on Sunday 25 October a letter written by Rev Hunt was read out to congregations by the Archdeacon of Wandsworth Bridget Shepherd, which outlined her decision to resign from St Mary’s and the parish of Putney. 

She wrote that the supper which “was meant to be a pleasant evening amongst friends turned into a personal attack on me and my personhood. I was on the receiving end of racist abuse.”

In the letter, seen by The Times, she added that “It should not go unnoticed that I am the first African-Caribbean heritage priest in the almost 700-year history of this worshipping site.”

Rev Hunt who joined St Mary’s in 2023, claimed that while the “racial abuse was happening, other members of this community present witnessed what was taking place and sat in silence. The silence was palpable”. 

She said this had made her feel that she was “neither seen nor valued as a member of this community. No one proffered to advocate on my behalf. Inaction and politely looking the other way can never be a response to racism; it is, instead, an act of complicity.”

Although she said she didn’t believe the view was shared by the whole community, she had found the situation “deeply distressing” and had decided to lay down her curacy.

The Diocese of Southwark is providing pastoral support to Rev Hunt and has referred the matter through the relevant process. 

In a statement it said it was “deeply saddened” by the situation and condemned racism “unequivocally”, adding “our commitment to racial justice must be reflected in our actions as well as our words. Over the coming months, we will review the lessons from this situation and consider how to strengthen anti-racism work with the parish. Our Christian faith calls us to share in one another’s suffering and to work towards healing and repair.”

The Diocese told Premier Christian News that a team of clergy and lay leaders are supporting people within the parish and are “working to identify someone who can offer additional pastoral support to all who have been affected by this”. 

The Bishop of Kingston and the Archdeacon of Wandsworth are also offering support.

Bishop of Derry supports campaign against closure of Catholic school

The new Bishop of Derry has supported a cross-community campaign against the closure of an under threat Catholic primary school. 

Rt Rev Michael Router, Bishop of Derry, paid a visit to pupils, staff and family at St Columba’s Primary School in Newbuildings, three miles south of Londonderry, Northern Ireland on Tuesday 27 October. 

The school, which is in a predominantly Protestant village, has received a swathe of support fighting the closure of the school in August 2027.

Nearly 5,000 people have signed a petition opposing the planned closure, with campaigners highlighting support they have received from Protestant neighbours and local churches. 

Just over a month into office, Bishop Router said he’s impressed by the level of support for the school and “the continuation of Catholic education within the village.”

“It is clear that the students and their parents love St Columba’s and would be very saddened to see it close,” he said. 

The Churches Trust have supported the school, as have political figures including SDLP MP Colum Eastwood, DUP MLA Julie Middleton and Sinn Fein Mayor of Derry City Grace Uí Niallais. 

Principal Tina Lyons added that cross-community support from the Protestant community to save the 71-year-old school has been significant. 

“We have been overwhelmed by the support from across Newbuildings, particularly from our Protestant neighbours, who have stood alongside us throughout this campaign.

“We all want excellent education for our children, and we can work together to protect parental choice.”

She added that the school’s approach stretched outside the classroom, helping children develop faith and learn to respect those from other backgrounds. 

Significant residential development has been approved in and around Newbuildings, adding another chapter when considering the future of St Columba’s. 

A new Religious Education curriculum in Northern Ireland, published this year, kept Christianity at the heart of teaching.

Chicago priest accused of inappropriate physical contact, withdrawn from ministry: Archdiocese

The Chicago Archdiocese has temporarily withdrawn a priest from ministry after receiving an allegation of inappropriate physical contact.

The allegation involved an adult.

Reverend Samson Mukundi was serving as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish on Chicago's Southwest Side.

In a letter to the parish, Cardinal Blase Cupich says he directed Mukundi to undergo a period of evaluation.

The cardinal sent the same letter to Saint Benedict the African Parish and Jesus, Bread of Life Parish, where Mukundi previously served.

No further information was available, and the allegation is under investigation.