Bishop of Chelmsford tops bookies’ list for next Archbishop of Canterbury

The Bishop of Chelmsford has taken the bookmaker’s lead to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The odds are at 2/1 for Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis Dehqani to take the Church of England’s top seat, according to Ladbrokes, and 2/1 according to Star Sports.

If chosen, Bishop Guli would make history as the first woman to hold the role in its 1,428-year history.

Bishop Gulii, 58, was born in Iran and moved to Britain with her family following the country’s Islamic Revolution. Her father served as the Anglican Bishop in Iran and had threats made against his life. Shortly before the family fled, Guli’s brother, Bahram, was killed.

Bishop Guli is not avoidant of discussing tough issues; this week, she is one of 30 Christian leaders to sign an open letter to the Prime Minister condemning his comments about Britain becoming “an island of strangers” through migration.

She said: “In the churches and different communities I am a part of, we are not an ‘island of strangers’. Migrants are not ‘strangers’ but friends who fully participate and contribute as we worship, serve, and live life together.”

Also favoured to take the top spot are the Bishop of London, Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Rt Rev Michael Beasley, and the Bishop of Leicester, Rt Rev Martyn Snow – who has overseen the Living in Love and Faith process.

However, being favourite to win can be a poisoned chalice.

In 2002, following the retirement of Lord Carey of Clifton, Michael Nazir-Ali was tipped as a frontrunner but was not ultimately chosen. 

Similarly, after former Archbishop Rowan Williams announced his retirement in 2012, initial favourites included Lord Sentamu and Christopher Cocksworth - yet Justin Welby was eventually selected, despite not being considered among the top contenders at the outset.

Williams said the process of the Crown Nominations Commission can be unpredictable, and that seeking God’s will and discernment can “genuinely shift people’s perspectives”.

Monk arrested for allegedly embezzling $9 million from temple in Thailand

Thai police have arrested a Buddhist monk over allegations he embezzled more than $9 million from the prominent temple he ran which was funded by donations from devotees.

Investigators from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) accuse Abbot Phra Thammachiranuwat from Wat Rai Khing of siphoning more than 300 million baht ($9.05 million) from the temple's bank account into his own.

Investigators traced funds from the temple on Bangkok's western outskirts to an illegal online gambling network running baccarat card games, local media said.

Temples in Buddhist-majority Thailand rely heavily on income from "merit-making" ceremonies where worshippers make donations in hopes of gaining good fortune and better reincarnation.

Police charged Phra Thammachiranuwat with corruption and malfeasance, CIB deputy commissioner Jaroonkiat Pankaew told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

"This (arrest) is to help purify our religion," Jaroonkiat said.

Authorities have arrested a second suspect and are investigating whether others were involved, while local media reported the abbot has now left the monkhood.

Wat Rai Khing, believed to have been founded in 1851, houses a replica of the Buddha's footprint.

The arrest from one of the Bangkok suburb's most prominent temples has triggered significant backlash on social media.

"Next time I will donate to a hospital or school for good causes, not a temple," one user posted on social media.

Others cautioned their fellow Buddhists to remain firm in their faith.

"Not all monks are bad. Don't generalize," another social media user wrote.

Buddhist temples in Thailand have made headlines for unusual reasons before. 

Last November, Thai police launched an investigation of a Buddhist monastery after authorities discovered 41 bodies on site which were allegedly used for meditation practices.

In 2022, every single monk at a Buddhist temple in central Thailand was defrocked after they tested positive for methamphetamine. 

The monks were sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation.

Church of Ireland school in Mayo is being 'blaggarded'

Councillors believe religious discrimination is at play in the treatment of a Church of Ireland national school in Westport.

Holy Trinity NS has been blocked from progressing its plans for a new school. 

Parents, teachers and pupils from the school previously held a protest on a site they say was promised to them for a new building, but it is instead being allocated to another school in the town.

The former Scoil Pádraig site is being allocated to the Sacred Heart Secondary School, which the department says is in urgent need of temporary accommodation.

Planning concerns have recently been raised around development at the Altamont Street site.

Complaints have been made about alleged unauthorised development at the site by the Department of Education. However, Mayo County Council has said the complaint has no basis and has closed an enforcement file on the matter.

Cllr Peter Flynn hit out at the council's Director of Services with responsibility for planning Catherine McConnell for not attending last Friday's meeting of Westport-Belmullet Municipal District, either in person or remotely.

“Honestly, it is simply not acceptable," he remarked.

Municipal district manager Seamus O'Mongáin explained that Ms McConnell was not available that day but had furnished councillors with a report on the issue.

“I am certainly not in any way satisfied with the report," replied Cllr Flynn. "Here you have a situation where you have a complaint made to planning enforcement in January. You could issue a report in four weeks saying there was no issue there. In normal circumstances, if you get a response in four years you are doing well.

“You actually have a building on Altamont Street, which is an architectural area of conservation and nobody seems to care. You also have a situation where new vehicular access has been created out onto a regional road, and nobody seems to care. You have a situation where windows and doors were pulled out of a building which is an architectural area of conservation and nobody seems to care within Mayo Co Council,” he added.

Cllr Flynn asked if the Department of Education is exempt from planning regulations and requested that the council write to the Department.

“Is it a religious situation that we have here? Are you treated differently if you are not a Catholic? Because that’s what it seems like in this particular scenario,” he said.

Cllr John O’Malley said Holy Trinity NS is being “blaggarded”.

South Africa to pursue appeal against Nigerian pastor acquitted of rape

South African authorities say they will continue with legal proceedings against Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso who was acquitted of rape last month, even though he has left the country.

Mr Omotoso, who denied the 32 charges against him, was accused of sexually assaulting young women from his church in Port Elizabeth.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it will still appeal against the judgement which found Mr Omotoso not guilty, saying his presence is not required.

South Africa's Department of Home Affairs said Mr Omotoso had flown to Nigeria from OR Tambo International Airport, where he was filmed by public broadcaster SABC wearing a hoodie and dark sunglasses.

Mr Omotoso was first arrested in 2017 as he attempted to leave South Africa.

Among his accusers was a woman who said she was raped by the pastor when she was aged 14.

In a statement, South African prosecutors accepted "there are no legal grounds to prevent" Mr Omotoso from leaving the country following his acquittal.

However, if the appeal were allowed, the authorities would apply for Mr Omotoso to be extradited back to South Africa, the statement added, highlighting South Africa's "bilateral extradition treaty with Nigeria".

After his acquittal in April, Mr Omotoso also faced immigration issues, with the Department of Home Affairs alleging earlier this month that he was in South Africa illegally.

On Sunday, the department issued a statement saying that Mr Omotoso had been classified as an "undesirable person", meaning he will not be able to return to the country for five years.

South Africa's public broadcaster reports that the pastor left the country voluntarily.

The BBC has contacted the NPA for clarity on how any potential extradition process could work given Mr Omotoso's status as an "undesirable person".

Mr Omotoso leads the Jesus Dominion International church which has branches in the UK, Nigeria, France and Israel as well as in many parts of South Africa, according to its website.

Mr Omotoso's trial made South African history as the first high-profile rape case to be broadcast live.

Circuit Court: €14,400 damages awarded for defamation on church livestream

Delivering judgment for the Circuit Court, His Honour Judge Meehan held that the statements amounted “to an assertion that the plaintiff was a bad father who fought with his wife and caused upset to his young daughter. 

They included an allegation of verbal abuse and perhaps controlling behaviour that caused his daughter’s mental health to suffer. These are certainly matters that tend to injure the plaintiff’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society.”

Michael O’Doherty BL appeared for the plaintiff, instructed by Lavelle Partners LLP, and Shane English BL appeared for the defendants, instructed by Corrigan and Corrigan Solicitors.

Background

On 14 May 2023, seven people including the plaintiff’s 15-year-old daughter were baptised at the first defendant church in Tullamore. The second and third defendants were pastors of that church.

During the ceremony, which was livestreamed on the church’s Facebook page, the plaintiff’s daughter made a speech in which she made claims to the effect that the plaintiff was a bad father. The second defendant praised the plaintiff’s daughter for making the said claims.

The video was subsequently removed from the Facebook page on 2 June 2023 following the receipt of a letter of claim from the plaintiff’s solicitors.

The plaintiff issued Circuit Court proceedings thereafter.

Submissions

The plaintiff submitted that the statements were untrue and had “spread like wildfire”, with various people approaching him and phoning him to discuss the video following its publication to those physically present in the church and online on the Facebook page.

The defendants submitted that the statements were not defamatory, in that the meaning of the words was not made out and neither the plaintiff’s daughter nor the plaintiff were identifiable from the video. 

The defendants also suggested that the plaintiff was not named in the subject publication, and that the defendants were not publishers of the alleged defamatory words.

The Circuit Court

Having heard the parties’ submissions, Judge Meehan set out the relevant provisions of the Defamation Act 2009 (as amended).

The judge disagreed with the defendant that the plaintiff was not identifiable from the video which he found to be “very clear”, and with the contention that the statements were not defamatory, noting that the “meaning of the words is crystal clear”.

Having been satisfied that the words constituted a “defamatory statement” within the meaning of s.2 of the 2009 Act, the court moved to consider the issue of whether the defendants were “publishers” for the purposes of establishing liability for defamation.

Judge Meehan had particular regard to, inter alia, Byrne v Deane [1937] 1 KB 818 concerning the liability of ‘secondary’ publishers, explaining that the defendants “provided a platform for the plaintiff’s daughter but did not know what she would say” and had “no knowing involvement in the publication of the particular words complained of”.

Recognising that, since the enactment of the 2009 Act, secondary publishers could avail of the statutory defence of innocent publication in s.27 thereof, the court found it unnecessary to consider that issue any further where the defendants could avail of the defence of qualified privilege in respect of the in-church publication of the impugned statements, the statements having been published to persons with an interest in receiving the information in the statement and the defendants having a corresponding interest in communicating the information to such persons.

In respect of the online publication, Judge Meehan found that the defendants were publishers in circumstances where they operated and controlled the Facebook page and organised a livestream of the ceremony, making same available for a period of 20 days during which they were “fully aware of the content of the defamatory statement”.

The court also found the second defendant’s reaction to the making of the statements “informative” and evidence that “he was not particularly surprised by what she had said”. The court was convinced that the defendants were aware of the words immediately as they were spoken and having failed to remove the video, they became primary publishers in relation to the online publication.

Noting that the online publication reached a group of persons “not easily identifiable” with no apparent interest in receiving the information contained in the daughter’s statements and who the defendants could not have reasonably believed to have had such an interest, Judge Meenan ruled that the defence of qualified privilege was not established.

The Circuit Court also considered the defendants’ argument that the plaintiff, having failed to issue proceedings against his daughter within the statutory limitation period, should be identified with her wrongdoing pursuant to s.35(1)(i) of the Civil Liability Act 1961, remarking that the plaintiff’s daughter could also have availed of the defence of qualified privilege in respect of the in-church publication.

The court found that the case fell into the “medium” range of cases as described in Higgins v Irish Aviation Authority [2023] IR 65 and set the headline damages award at €30,000.

The court attributed 60 per cent of the damage to the online publication and 40 per cent thereof to the in-church publication, resulting in a reduction of the award to €18,000 where the defence of qualified privilege was accepted in relation to the latter.

Judge Meenan also determined that a reduction of 20 per cent should be applied to the award due to the plaintiff’s daughter being a concurrent wrongdoer for the purposes of s.35(1)(i) of the 1961 Act.

Conclusion

Accordingly, the Circuit Court held the defendants 48 per cent liable for the total damage to the plaintiff’s reputation and awarded €14,400 in damages.

Warren Walsh v Cornerstone Slieve Bloom Church & Ors, Record No. 2023/00112

Divine inspiration needed to lower speed limit outside Ballynacally church

DIVINE INSPIRATION will be needed to help reduce the speed limit outside Ballycorick Church.

Fr Brendan Coyne is hoping Cllr Dinny Gould (IND) will be able to answer his prayers to improve road safety in Ballynacally.

In the middle of February, a serious accident occurred outside Ballycorick Church which prompted Fr Coyne to call on Cllr Gould to try bring about improvements.

Tabling the matter before a sitting of the West Clare Municipal District, Cllr Gould requested an assessment “at the request of Fr Brendan Coyne” regarding road safety conditions at Ballycorick Church. He said there was “speed concerns on approach to church from both sides with lack of public car parking”.

Senior executive engineer, Alan Kennelly advised, “Ballycorick Church is located just outside Ballynacally village on the R-473, a regionally important road. The speed limit at Ballycorick Church is 80 kmh-1. The speed limit was not altered by the recent speed limit review”.

He said, “The issue seems to be with speeding cars. The enforcement of speeding legislation is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána”. The senior engineer suggested. “Fr. Coyne could make a speed limit appeal but the speed limit at this location was not reduced as part of the recent speed limit review, so an appeal may not succeed. Clare County Council does not have plans to reduce the speed limit at Ballycorick, nor is it scheduled for a low-cost safety scheme. I suppose the argument is that the road is not inherently unsafe, if drivers stick to the speed limit. Once again, ensuring that drivers adhere to the speed limit is not within the gift of Clare County Council”.

Kennelly added, “An Garda Síochána collate information on roads where speeding is an issue and allocate enforcement resources (“Go-Safe” vans, etc.) accordingly. Go-Safe vans are possibly the most effective deterrent for speeding. Perhaps the matter might be raised with An Garda Síochána at local level in the first instance”.

With no car park, the safety risk is greater outside the church, Cllr Gould felt. He referred to the accident on February 23rd and aid, “we were lucky that nobody was killed”. He asked the Council to try erect signage of some sort to try reduce speeding from Ennis to Ballynacally.

In response, the senior engineer commented, “The speed limit is 80km/h and that is not going to change or certainly is not scheduled to change. It is a little outside the village seems to be the thing, road design say it is a regional road”. Cllr Gould replied, “They have no car park, they double park and are just flying off the road”.

Seconding the proposal, Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) said similar issues are occurring in North Clare. “We want a review of the speed limit there to see if it is appropriate for the density of traffic in the area, what is the mechanism for doing that”. Kennelly repeated his suggestion that a speed limit appeal be made by the local community.

Support for a change was also voiced by Cllr Michael Shannon (FF), “A lot of the churches, their designation has changed, a lot of funerals held at night time”.

Caution was issued by Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) on requesting Gardaí to do speed checks, “Gardaí will ticket the cars that are parked, every single car got a ticket in Kilrush a few weeks ago when they came out”.

A church without clergy? It’s time for a brand new model of leadership (Opinion)

The decline in priestly vocations in Ireland is no longer a warning, it is a reality. 

Last week in the Irish Times, Fintan O’Toole noted the traditional supply line of male clergy has collapsed.

With most priests now over 60, and with almost no one entering seminaries, the Church faces a stark future.

But this is not just a crisis of numbers, it is a financial crisis too. Across the country, vast Church estates built in an era of abundance now stand largely empty, increasingly unsustainable to maintain. 

Churches, schools, halls and administrative buildings were constructed to serve a vibrant institution. 

Today, with fewer worshippers, fewer clergy, and significantly reduced income, the cost of upkeep has become a crushing burden.

Many parishes struggle to keep buildings heated and insured, with fewer people giving regularly and less volunteer capacity to manage day-to-day operations. In some dioceses, entire parishes have merged, not out of choice but necessity. 

The Church can no longer afford to run on the assumption of plenty. What is needed is a strategic rethink.

That rethink must include how leadership and ministry are exercised. The future of the Church lies with the laity not simply as volunteers, but as trained, empowered, and recognised leaders. 

Already, lay men and women are leading liturgies, managing finances, offering pastoral care, and sustaining community outreach. Their contribution is not a stopgap it is the future.

To date the laity has served without recognition or authority. That must change. If the Church is to remain a presence in Irish life, it must shift from a clerical to a collaborative model. 

This includes rethinking the Church’s estate and investing in people, not just buildings.

The continued refusal to ordain married men or women feels increasingly self-defeating. With too few priests and too many parishes, the old model cannot be preserved. 

Pope Leo XIV,. known for his organisational gifts, faces a critical test. Will he empower the whole people of God, or will he continue trying to manage decline with a diminishing few?

Ireland may no longer be the heart of Catholicism, but its experience offers a wider lesson. 

When a Church built on exclusivity falters, its people do not vanish they adapt. 

The Church should do the same.

The crisis of vocation is also a moment of possibility. 

The Church has faithful people, willing hands, and deep roots in community life. 

But it must now trust in a broader vision one that includes shared leadership, sustainable stewardship, and the courage to let go of what no longer serves. 

In this space the laity need to be ready to come to the fore.

Jury sworn in for trial of NI priest accused of multiple historic sex abuse charges

A jury has been sworn in the case Co Tyrone priest who is to stand trial for historic sexual abuse charges against a number of males.

The case began with two complainants but increased to five after further reports in recent months about Canon Patrick McEntee which have now been joined to the original matters.

‘Trusting’ Catholic priest took his own life after mental health deteriorated due to exploitation

An elderly priest who died by suicide had made payments of around $40,000 to people in Bolivia and America in the year leading up to his death.

Geoffrey John Gray, known as Father Geoff, was found dead at home in Akaroa, Banks Peninsula on November 29 last year.

A coroner’s inquiry into the circumstances of his death found that the deterioration of the 82-year-old’s mental health largely arose due to the “exploitation of his generous and trusting nature”.

‘Family-like relationships’ with Bolivian locals

Father Geoff had served as parish priest in Akaroa since 2019, while he eased into retirement.

Earlier in his career, between 1982 and 1992, and again from 1997 to 2001, he had served as a priest in the Society of St James Apostle in Bolivia.

Part of his work there was to establish facilities and enhance health services, specifically to reduce the number of children dying.

The findings said Father Geoff developed a strong connection to the area and established “family-like” relationships with local people.

Witnesses spoke of Father Geoff’s “adoption” of a Bolivian young adult, who he stayed in contact with and provided financial support to.

Coroner Ian Telford, who conducted the inquiry, said the precise details of the relationship were unclear, but it was most likely an “informal and supportive arrangement”, rather than a legal adoption.

Telford wrote Father Geoff sent money to various people, including the young adult, for education and other expenses.

But around the time of his death, the requests for money became “increasingly regular”, which the coroner said caused Father Geoff “significant stress”.

‘More and more’ money

On 2 September, Father Geoff had told his doctor he was stressed and suffering from increased panic and low mood.

He said he had been sending “a lot” of money to people in Bolivia, including his “adoptive son”.

The doctor said the Bolivian young adult had been asking for “more and more” money, saying he needed it for educational expenses and then later for car repairs.

The doctor told Father Geoff he thought that was “suspicious” and referred Father Geoff to counselling.

At a later visit to his doctor, he said he was expecting a “substantial sum” of money to be returned to him when the car in Bolivia was sold.

Retirement concerns

After a family member raised concerns about Father Geoff being “not himself” with his diocesan bishop, the bishop met with Father Geoff and encouraged him to retire immediately.

The priest had “strongly rejected” that, saying he was involved in a “complicated financial situation with a friend in Bolivia”. 

He assured the bishop he was not being taken advantage of.

Arrangements were made for Father Geoff to retire in Christchurch, close to his family.

Catholic Diocese of Christchurch

The coroner said Father Geoff had a history of mental health issues since experiencing depression in 2008. 

He had spent time in and out of a mental health hospital, but after being discharged in 2009 he had no further involvement with mental health services.

Father Geoff had told his doctor in the past that he had considered suicide, but it was “not an option” for him due to his Catholic faith.

His last days

On 27 November, Father Geoff left a clergy retreat suddenly. While leaving, Father Geoff told another priest he was overwhelmed, had forgotten his medication and needed to go and sort out a “bank issue”.

While driving out of the car park, Father Geoff had minor collisions with a parked car and then the building. Still, he “remained adamant” he could drive.

Later that day Father Geoff went to the supermarket in Akaroa, but when he got to the checkout, his card declined.

His neighbour visited him with dinner and Father Geoff asked her to help him pay an online bill, but he appeared to have been locked out of his bank account. He told her his bank thought he was being scammed and had frozen his account.

He showed her a long handwritten list of payments he had made to people overseas and explained why he thought the requests for money were legitimate.

Two days later, on November 29, he was found dead.

A ‘deep loss for the Diocese’

Ultimately, Coroner Telford found Father Geoff had been “deeply committed to his vocation and community”.

But, he said, Father Geoff’s mental health had deteriorated “markedly” towards the end of his life, worsened by mounting financial pressures and other uncertainties.

“The evidence indicates that this largely arose due to the exploitation of his generous and trusting nature.”

A post announcing Father Geoff’s death on the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch Facebook was met with an outpouring of sadness, with those that knew him remembering him as a “constant friend” and a “faithful servant”.

His death was described as a “deep loss for the Diocese.”

Pope Leo XIV holds Vatican talks with JD Vance

Pope Leo XIV has held "cordial" talks with US Vice-President JD Vance, according to the Vatican.

It comes a day after Vance - a practicing Catholic - joined other dignitaries and thousands of worshipers at the Pope's inaugural mass on Sunday.

After Pope Leo became the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church earlier this month, it emerged he had previously appeared to make veiled criticisms of Vance and the wider Trump administration's migration stance.

In a statement, the Holy See said both sides had expressed satisfaction with relations between the US and Vatican during face-to-face talks on Monday.

Religious freedom and cooperation between church and state were also discussed at the meeting, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also taking part.

A statement continued: "Finally, there was an exchange of views on current international issues with a shared call for respect for humanitarian and international law in conflict zones, and support for negotiated solutions among the parties involved."

The papal audience lasted 45 minutes, Vance's spokesperson said. It took place behind closed doors without reporters present.

The Vatican said Vance also held positive talks with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who is responsible for the Holy See's diplomatic relations.

In February, an X account under Leo's name shared criticism of the White House's plans for mass deportations of migrants.

That same month, the account also shared a link to an opinion piece titled: "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."

The Vatican has not responded to previous requests to confirm whether the account belonged to Pope Leo.

On Sunday, Vance said the United States was "very proud" of the Chicago-born pontiff.

"Certainly our prayers go with him as he starts this very important work," the vice-president said.

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV - FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE PONTIFICATE OF POPE LEO XIV

HOLY MASS

FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE PONTIFICATE OF POPE LEO XIV

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV

Saint Peter's Square

Sunday, 18 May 2025

___________________

Dear Brother Cardinals,

Brother Bishops and Priests,

Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Greetings to the pilgrims who came on the occasion of the Jubilee of Confraternities!

Brothers and Sisters,

I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry that has been entrusted to me. Saint Augustine wrote: “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, I: 1,1).

In these days, we have experienced intense emotions. The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness. In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Yet on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock” (Jer 31:10).

In this spirit of faith, the College of Cardinals met for the conclave. Coming from different backgrounds and experiences, we placed in God’s hands our desire to elect the new Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world. Accompanied by your prayers, we could feel the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.

I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.

Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.

We see this in today’s Gospel, which takes us to the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus began the mission he received from the Father: to be a “fisher” of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death. Walking along the shore, he had called Peter and the other first disciples to be, like him, “fishers of men”. Now, after the resurrection, it is up to them to carry on this mission, to cast their nets again and again, to bring the hope of the Gospel into the “waters” of the world, to sail the seas of life so that all may experience God’s embrace.

How can Peter carry out this task? The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial. For this reason, when Jesus addresses Peter, the Gospel uses the Greek verb agapáo, which refers to the love that God has for us, to the offering of himself without reserve and without calculation. Whereas the verb used in Peter’s response describes the love of friendship that we have for one another.

Consequently, when Jesus asks Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Jn 21:16), he is referring to the love of the Father. It is as if Jesus said to him, “Only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more’, that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.”

Peter is thus entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock. The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.

The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are “living stones” (1 Pet 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity. In the words of Saint Augustine: “The Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbour” (Serm. 359,9).

Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.

In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!

This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.

Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 21).

With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.

Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.

Newly-ordained Limerick priest celebrates first mass

SPEAKING in front of his new congregation, and celebrating his first Mass, newly-ordained priest Fr Tim Collins said he feels a “real sense of renewal in the Catholic faith” since the election of Pope Leo XIV.

Fr Collins celebrated his first Mass since his ordination on May 11, telling a packed congregation in his native Croagh parish that “I cannot help but feel right now a real sense of renewal and it has so much to do with timing”.

“Pope Francis had clearly begun a journey of courage and hope and, as Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony at St Peter’s Basilica, and from the global reaction and the new Pope’s words since, I believe that Christ’s mission that Pope Francis followed will be continued.”

Fr Collins said that he was taken aback by the warm welcome he received far and wide following his recent ordination at St John’s Cathedral, presided over by Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy.

“What struck me over the last few days was the support, from my family, my friends, parishioners, but also from people across the diocese, including those who don’t know me personally. There’s been tremendous goodwill and encouragement and this will strengthen me for my own ministry in the future.”

“The priesthood is a gift and a privilege, and I hope that in my own ministry I will be able to be an instrument of God’s grace for his people.”

Fr Collins will remain at that St Nessan’s Pastoral Unit, where he has been assisting across the parishes of Mungret, Raheen, and Crecora over the past 18 months, both in his pastoral placement and as a Deacon.

Congratulating Fr Collins, Bishop Brendan Leahy said the young priest’s ordination “has been a moment of great joy, yes for Tim himself and, indeed, for me personally as a Bishop. But I’ve also been very struck by the joy across the diocese.”

Bishop Leahy said that a priest’s life is made up of many wonderful, deeply fulfilling experiences, meeting people in key moments of their lives, deeming it “a very meaningful way of life that perhaps few understand”.

“Your vocation is a noble one. It is serving a wonderful cause – to be a servant of all of humanity. Through the gift of celibacy, your heart is extended in love to create and build up a universal family,” he told Limerick’s newest priest.

REGINA CAELI

 POPE LEO XIV

REGINA CAELI

AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MASS

Saint Peter's Square

Sunday, 18 May 2025

________________________________________

As we conclude this celebration, I greet and thank all of you, the people of Rome and the faithful from many parts of the world, who wished to participate.

In particular, I express my gratitude to the Official Delegations from numerous countries, as well as to the representatives of Churches and Ecclesial Communities and other religions.

I extend a warm welcome to the thousands of pilgrims who have come from every continent for the Jubilee of Confraternities. Dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for keeping the great heritage of popular piety alive!

During Mass, I strongly felt the spiritual presence of Pope Francis accompanying us from heaven. Reflecting on our participation in the communion of saints, I recall that yesterday in Chambéry, France, the priest Camille Costa de Beauregard, was beatified. He lived from the end of the 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s, and was a witness of great pastoral charity.

In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war. In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation. In Myanmar, new hostilities have cut short innocent young lives. Finally, war-torn Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.

Therefore, as we entrust to Mary the service of the Bishop of Rome, Pastor of the universal Church, let us, from the “Barque of Peter,” look to her, Star of the Sea, Our Lady of Good Counsel, as a sign of hope. We implore her intercession for the gift of peace, for support and comfort for those who suffer, and for the grace for all of us to be witnesses to the Risen Lord.

OMELIA DEL SANTO PADRE LEONE XIV

 CELEBRAZIONE EUCARISTICA

PER L’INIZIO DEL MINISTERO PETRINO DEL VESCOVO DI ROMA LEONE XIV

CAPPELLA PAPALE

OMELIA DEL SANTO PADRE LEONE XIV

Piazza San Pietro

Domenica, 18 maggio 2025

___________________

Cari fratelli Cardinali,

fratelli nell’Episcopato e nel Sacerdozio,

distinte Autorità e Membri del Corpo Diplomatico!

Un saluto ai pellegrini venuti in occasione del Giubileo delle Confraternite!

Fratelli e sorelle, saluto tutti voi, con il cuore colmo di gratitudine, all’inizio del ministero che mi è stato affidato. Scriveva Sant’Agostino: «Ci hai fatti per te, [Signore,] e il nostro cuore non ha posa finché non riposa in te» (Le Confessioni, 1, 1.1).

In questi ultimi giorni, abbiamo vissuto un tempo particolarmente intenso. La morte di Papa Francesco ha riempito di tristezza il nostro cuore e, in quelle ore difficili, ci siamo sentiti come quelle folle di cui il Vangelo dice che erano «come pecore senza pastore» (Mt 9,36). Proprio nel giorno di Pasqua abbiamo ricevuto la sua ultima benedizione e, nella luce della Risurrezione, abbiamo affrontato questo momento nella certezza che il Signore non abbandona mai il suo popolo, lo raduna quando è disperso e «lo custodisce come un pastore il suo gregge» (Ger 31,10).

In questo spirito di fede, il Collegio dei Cardinali si è riunito per il Conclave; arrivando da storie e strade diverse, abbiamo posto nelle mani di Dio il desiderio di eleggere il nuovo successore di Pietro, il Vescovo di Roma, un pastore capace di custodire il ricco patrimonio della fede cristiana e, al contempo, di gettare lo sguardo lontano, per andare incontro alle domande, alle inquietudini e alle sfide di oggi. Accompagnati dalla vostra preghiera, abbiamo avvertito l’opera dello Spirito Santo, che ha saputo accordare i diversi strumenti musicali, facendo vibrare le corde del nostro cuore in un’unica melodia.

Sono stato scelto senza alcun merito e, con timore e tremore, vengo a voi come un fratello che vuole farsi servo della vostra fede e della vostra gioia, camminando con voi sulla via dell’amore di Dio, che ci vuole tutti uniti in un’unica famiglia.

Amore e unità: queste sono le due dimensioni della missione affidata a Pietro da Gesù.

Ce lo narra il brano del Vangelo, che ci conduce sul lago di Tiberiade, lo stesso dove Gesù aveva iniziato la missione ricevuta dal Padre: “pescare” l’umanità per salvarla dalle acque del male e della morte. Passando sulla riva di quel lago, aveva chiamato Pietro e gli altri primi discepoli a essere come Lui “pescatori di uomini”; e ora, dopo la risurrezione, tocca proprio a loro portare avanti questa missione, gettare sempre e nuovamente la rete per immergere nelle acque del mondo la speranza del Vangelo, navigare nel mare della vita perché tutti possano ritrovarsi nell’abbraccio di Dio.

Come può Pietro portare avanti questo compito? Il Vangelo ci dice che è possibile solo perché ha sperimentato nella propria vita l’amore infinito e incondizionato di Dio, anche nell’ora del fallimento e del rinnegamento. Per questo, quando è Gesù a rivolgersi a Pietro, il Vangelo usa il verbo greco agapao, che si riferisce all’amore che Dio ha per noi, al suo offrirsi senza riserve e senza calcoli, diverso da quello usato per la risposta di Pietro, che invece descrive l’amore di amicizia, che ci scambiamo tra di noi.

Quando Gesù chiede a Pietro: «Simone, figlio di Giovanni, mi ami?» (Gv 21,16), si riferisce dunque all’amore del Padre. È come se Gesù gli dicesse: solo se hai conosciuto e sperimentato questo amore di Dio, che non viene mai meno, potrai pascere i miei agnelli; solo nell’amore di Dio Padre potrai amare i tuoi fratelli con un “di più”, cioè offrendo la vita per i tuoi fratelli.

A Pietro, dunque, è affidato il compito di “amare di più” e di donare la sua vita per il gregge. Il ministero di Pietro è contrassegnato proprio da questo amore oblativo, perché la Chiesa di Roma presiede nella carità e la sua vera autorità è la carità di Cristo. Non si tratta mai di catturare gli altri con la sopraffazione, con la propaganda religiosa o con i mezzi del potere, ma si tratta sempre e solo di amare come ha fatto Gesù.

Lui – afferma lo stesso Apostolo Pietro – «è la pietra, che è stata scartata da voi, costruttori, e che è diventata la pietra d’angolo» (At 4,11). E se la pietra è Cristo, Pietro deve pascere il gregge senza cedere mai alla tentazione di essere un condottiero solitario o un capo posto al di sopra degli altri, facendosi padrone delle persone a lui affidate (cfr 1Pt 5,3); al contrario, a lui è richiesto di servire la fede dei fratelli, camminando insieme a loro:  tutti, infatti, siamo costituiti «pietre vive» (1Pt 2,5), chiamati col nostro Battesimo a costruire l’edificio di Dio nella comunione fraterna, nell’armonia dello Spirito, nella convivenza delle diversità. Come afferma Sant’Agostino: «La Chiesa consta di tutti coloro che sono in concordia con i fratelli e che amano il prossimo» (Discorso 359, 9).

Questo, fratelli e sorelle, vorrei che fosse il nostro primo grande desiderio: una Chiesa unita, segno di unità e di comunione, che diventi fermento per un mondo riconciliato.

In questo nostro tempo, vediamo ancora troppa discordia, troppe ferite causate dall’odio, dalla violenza, dai pregiudizi, dalla paura del diverso, da un paradigma economico che sfrutta le risorse della Terra ed emargina i più poveri. E noi vogliamo essere, dentro questa pasta, un piccolo lievito di unità, di comunione, di fraternità. Noi vogliamo dire al mondo, con umiltà e con gioia: guardate a Cristo! Avvicinatevi a Lui! Accogliete la sua Parola che illumina e consola! Ascoltate la sua proposta di amore per diventare la sua unica famiglia: nell’unico Cristo noi siamo uno. E questa è la strada da fare insieme, tra di noi ma anche con le Chiese cristiane sorelle, con coloro che percorrono altri cammini religiosi, con chi coltiva l’inquietudine della ricerca di Dio, con tutte le donne e gli uomini di buona volontà, per costruire un mondo nuovo in cui regni la pace.

Questo è lo spirito missionario che deve animarci, senza chiuderci nel nostro piccolo gruppo né sentirci superiori al mondo; siamo chiamati a offrire a tutti l’amore di Dio, perché si realizzi quell’unità che non annulla le differenze, ma valorizza la storia personale di ciascuno e la cultura sociale e religiosa di ogni popolo.

Fratelli, sorelle, questa è l’ora dell’amore! La carità di Dio che ci rende fratelli tra di noi è il cuore del Vangelo e, con il mio predecessore Leone XIII, oggi possiamo chiederci: se questo criterio «prevalesse nel mondo, non cesserebbe subito ogni dissidio e non tornerebbe forse la pace?» (Lett. enc. Rerum novarum, 21).

Con la luce e la forza dello Spirito Santo, costruiamo una Chiesa fondata sull’amore di Dio e segno di unità, una Chiesa missionaria, che apre le braccia al mondo, che annuncia la Parola, che si lascia inquietare dalla storia, e che diventa lievito di concordia per l’umanità.

Insieme, come unico popolo, come fratelli tutti, camminiamo incontro a Dio e amiamoci a vicenda tra di noi.

Pope Leo XIV vows to work for unity during inaugural Mass in St Peter’s Square

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, vowed on Sunday to work for unity so that the Catholic Church becomes a sign of peace in the world.

He offered a message of love and communion during an inaugural Mass in St Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of people, presidents, patriarchs and princes.

Leo officially opened his pontificate by taking his first popemobile tour through the piazza, a rite of passage that has become synonymous with the papacy’s global reach and mediatic draw.

The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary smiled and waved from the back of the vehicle, but did not appear to stop to kiss babies and the crowd.

During the Mass, Leo appeared to choke up when the two potent symbols of the papacy were placed on him – the pallium wool stole over his shoulders and the fisherman’s ring on his finger – as if the weight of responsibility of leading the 1.4-billion strong church had just sunk in.

He turned his hand to look at the ring and seal and then clasped his hands in front of him in prayer.

Security was tight as civil protection crews in neon uniforms funnelled pilgrims into quadrants in the piazza and up and down the boulevard that leads to it for the ceremony blending ancient ritual, evocative symbols and a dose of modern-day celebrity.

US vice president JD Vance, one of the last foreign officials to see Pope Francis before he died, led the US delegation honouring the Chicago-born Leo after paying his respects at the Argentine pope’s tomb when he arrived in Rome late on Saturday.

In his homily, Leo said he wanted to be a servant to the faithful through the two dimensions of the papacy, love and unity, so that the church could be a force for peace in the world.

“I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,” he said.

“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest.”

His call for unity was significant, given the polarisation in the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond.

Francis’ radical 12-year pontificate, which emphasised care for the poor and marginalised and disdain for the capitalist economic system, often alienated conservatives and traditionalists.

Leo’s May 8 election, after a remarkably quick 24-hour conclave, has appeared at the outset to have pleased conservative Catholics who seem to appreciate his more disciplined, traditional style and Augustinian background, emphasizing core truths of Catholic doctrine.

Strict diplomatic protocol dictated the seating arrangements at his inaugural Mass, with both the United States and Peru getting front-row seats thanks to Leo’s dual citizenship.

Mr Vance, a Catholic convert who tangled with Francis over the Trump administration’s mass migrant deportation plans, was being joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Rome ahead of time to try to advance Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte is one of about a dozen heads of state attending, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia is being represented by the culture minister, Olga Liubimova.

Diplomatic protocol also dictated the dress code. 

While most wore black, the handful of Catholic queens and princesses – Charlene of Monaco and Letizia of Spain among others – wore white in a special privilege allowed them.

Three dozen of the world’s other Christian churches sent their own delegations, the Jewish community had a 13-member delegation, half of them rabbis.

Other representatives headed Buddhist, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Sikh and Jain delegations.

US seminarian Ethan Menning, 21, from Omaha, Nebraska, wrapped himself in an American flag to celebrate.

“Rome always felt like home for a Catholic, but now coming here and seeing one of our own on the throne of Peter,.. it almost makes Jesus himself more accessible,” he said.

Kalen Hill, a pilgrim from the US, got to St. Peter’s soon after the gates opened at dawn on Sunday and said he never expected an American would lead the 1.4-billion strong church.

“I would say all the Americans are emotional about it,” he said. “It is really powerful for American Catholics who sometimes feel separated from the world church to be brought in and included in this community through Pope Leo.”

The two symbols of the papacy handed to Leo were the pallium, and the fisherman’s ring.

The pallium, draped across his shoulders, symbolises the pastor carrying his flock as the pope carries the faithful.

The ring, which becomes Leo’s official seal, harks back to Jesus’ call to the apostle Peter to cast his fishing nets.

The other symbolically important moment of the Mass was the representational rite of obedience to Leo.

Whereas in the past all cardinals would vow obedience to the new pope, more recent papal installations involve representatives of cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, nuns, married couples and young people participating in the rite.

In the days since his historic election, Leo has already sketched out some of his key priorities as pope.

In his first foreign policy address, he said the Holy See’s three pillars of diplomacy were peace, justice and truth. In his first major economics address, he emphasised the Catholic Church’s social doctrine and the search for truth.

After the homily and at the end of the Mass, Leo offers a final blessing and then goes into the basilica to greet the heads of the more than 150 official delegations attending.

Security was tight, as it was for Francis’ funeral on April 26, which drew an estimated 250,000 people.

Rome authorities are planning for another 250,000 on Sunday. The piazza and main boulevard leading to it, and two nearby piazzas were set up with giant television screens, and dozens of portable toilets have been erected in a nearby park.

Gregory and Susan Hudak, who lived for 40 years in the Chicago area, found themselves in Rome after booking a trip in February, with just a faint hope of perhaps glimpsing the pope.

Seeing the popemobile pass by in front of them was even better than watching Michael Jordan play, said Gary Hudak, a former altar boy wearing a Chicago Bears hat.

“Originally, the only hope I had coming here was to see the inside of the Sistine Chapel,” he said.

“I was glad the conclave was over, because I could get to see the inside of the Sistine Chapel. Seeing the pope was not scheduled, it was a long shot hope. And this was a treasure, simple as that.”

Pope Leo XIV at Inauguration Mass: 'Let us walk towards God and love one another'

Greeting over 100,000 pilgrims, leaders from around the world, and representatives of Christian denominations, Pope Leo XIV marked the joyous start to his Petrine Ministry, officially inaugurating it with Mass in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, 18 May.

Religious delegations included Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Jainists, among the many present for the celebration.

Heart full of gratitude

Expressing his heartfelt gratitude for the prayerful and joyful support offered to him as he begins his pastoral ministry as Pope, Leo XIV recalled the intense emotions experienced over these past few weeks.

"Following the death of Pope Francis, we felt like sheep without a shepherd," he recalled, "yet having received his final blessing on Easter Sunday, and with eyes of faith, hope, and joy, we remembered how the Lord never abandons His people.”

The Pope also thanked everyone for accompanying in prayer the College of Cardinals meeting in conclave to elect the Successor of Peter as they looked at how to continue the mission of preaching the Gospel with a shepherd able to address today’s challenges.

He said they felt “the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.”

United in love and unity

"I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling," said Pope Leo, "I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family."

Pope Leo XIV recalled how love and unity are the two aspects of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.

In the Gospel on this Sunday, Jesus entrusts the disciples to continue the mission, to be “fishers of men” and bring the “hope of the Gospel” to all people “so that all may experience God’s embrace.”

Peter’s experience of God’s “infinite and unconditional love of God," despite his own weakness and denial, enabled him to take up this mission, the Pope explained.

Self-sacrificing love

Pope Leo recalled how Peter is entrusted then with “loving more” and “giving his life for the flock,” a “self-sacrificing love.”

“The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.”

Church, sign of unity and communion

The Holy Father expressed his hope that the entire Church be united by a "great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world."

In the face of a world marked by so much discord and wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear, and economic reality “that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest,” the Pope said, “we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity within the world.”

"We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one," he urged. 

"This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!"

The Pope upheld the missionary spirit, adding that such an approach will keep the Church from closing itself off in small groups or taking on a feeling of superiority to the world.

“We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people," he said.

“Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters.”

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV invited all Christians to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, so that we might build a Church “founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made ‘restless’ by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”

“Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.”

Pope Leo XIV makes popemobile debut ahead of papal inauguration

POPE LEO XIV has made his popemobile debut before his papal inauguration at St Peter’s.

While this morning marks the inauguration of his papacy, he took up full papal powers upon being elected as pope following the conclave.

Today’s celebration will officially commence Pope Leo’s Petrine Ministry as the successor of the apostle Peter and the new Pastor of the Catholic Church. It is expected to last around two hours.

At the ceremony, Pope Leo will receive two important symbols of this papacy.

The first is the Pallium, a vestment made of lamb’s wool that points to his role as the “Good Shepherd”. 

The second is the Ring of the Fisherman, which signifies his succeeding St. Peter the fisherman.

This will be presented to him by Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who had been seen as a front runner to become pope and is sometimes dubbed the “Asian Francis”.

Representatives of countries around the world will be in attendance this morning, including US Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism at the age of 35.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also be at today’s inauguration of the first pope to come from the United States of America. 

Here at home, President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins will be attending, as well as Independent TD Noel Grealish. 

In a statement following the announcement of Leo XIV’s election, President Higgins remarked that Ireland “enjoys a long-standing and deeply rooted connection with the Holy See”.

“We in Ireland very much look forward to maintaining and deepening that relationship with Pope Leo, as we continue to share and work together on the project of fostering dialogue and understanding between peoples and nations,” said President Higgins.

Born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost, Leo was elected by fellow cardinals on 8 May to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Many observers were surprised at the choice of an American.

Pope Leo, prior to his elevation, criticised US President Donald Trump’s administration over its harsh rhetoric and approach to immigration. He also responded critically to Vance’s interpretation of his adopted religion.

When Marco Rubio was asked about the pontiff’s calls for compassion toward migrants, he said: “I understand there’s this temptation to cover the papacy as a political office.”

“It is not a political office. It is a spiritual office.

“I would argue there’s nothing compassionate about mass migration. There’s nothing compassionate about open borders that allows people to be trafficked here,” Rubio said.

Other notable guests expected include Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky – who memorably met Trump in St Peter’s Basilica at Francis’s funeral – and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Argentine President Javier Milei, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and a host of European royals are also due to attend.

Italian authorities have deployed thousands of security officers for the event, alongside snipers on rooftops and anti-drone operations.

Fisherman’s ring

Leo XIV was elected the 267th pope on 8 May after a secret conclave vote of cardinals that lasted less than 24 hours.

Succeeding the charismatic but impulsive Francis, he takes over a Church still battling the fall-out of the clerical child abuse scandal, and trying to adapt to the modern world.

Modernity is not the concern on Sunday, however.

Although no pope has been crowned during an inauguration mass since Paul VI in 1963, the event is still a grand affair steeped in tradition.

Leo will begin by visiting the tomb of Saint Peter – who in the Christian tradition was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and the first pope – which is located under the altar of the basilica that bears his name.

Leo will then receive the pontifical emblems – the pallium and the fisherman’s ring, which is forged anew for each pope and which he will wear on his finger until he dies, when it will be destroyed.

With other cardinals and clergy, the pope will walk in procession into St Peter’s Square, where large screens will display the proceedings to the gathered crowds.

At the end of the ceremony, the pope will greet the delegations of heads of state – although it is not clear yet if any of them will also be accorded a one-to-one private audience.

What’s happened to Pope Francis’s social media accounts?

WHEN POPE FRANCIS died, the Vatican faced the dilemma of what to do with the late pontiff’s social media accounts.

Pope Benedict XIV was the first pontiff to have a social media presence when the papal office opened an account on X, formerly Twitter, on December 12, 2012.

But he resigned just over two months later, on 28 February 2013, and Francis inherited the account and turned it into a network with over 52 million followers across accounts publishing posts in nine languages.

Francis also got his own Instagram account in 2016, which gained more than 10 million followers.

People online picked up on something curious about the account on X.

Very shortly after Francis’s death on 21 April, the handle on his X accounts read “Apostolica Sedes Vacans” – Latin for “the Apostolic See is vacant”.

The profile photo was also changed to the papal coat of arms used during this sede vacante period where there is no pope of the Catholic Church.

But while the X account was quick to adapt to the sede vacante period, it was somewhat slow to react to the new pope.

Pope Leo XIV became pontiff on Thursday, 8 May but three days later the account was still in sede vacante mode.

“The Dicastery for Communication has an annual budget of €38 million and they haven’t updated the official Pope Twitter account yet,” complained one priest on X.

Others opined that the Dicastery were taking their time to decide how best to proceed.

When the X accounts were updated just over three days after the election of the new pope, they had been turned into an archive.

Rumours then began that Leo XIV, who himself had a personal account on X which has now been deactivated, would decide not to use social media.

In February, Leo XIV – then Cardinal Robert Prevost – shared a news article on his personal X account which read: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

But such rumours were short lived as on Tuesday, 13 May the Dicastery for Communication announced that Leo XIV would indeed maintain an “active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram”.

Leo XIV inherited the @Pontifex accounts on X that were used by Pope Francis, and before that by Benedict XVI.

Meanwhile, Francis’s posts on X have been moved to an archive account on the site.

And on Instagram, Francis’s @Franciscus account will remain accessible as an “Ad Memoriam” commemorative archive.

The new pope meanwhile takes on an Instagram account called @Pontifex.

In under 24 hours, Leo XIV’s Instagram account gained over 4 million followers – it now stands at 13.4 million, surpassing Francis’s 10.5 million followers.

And on X, the new pope subsumed Francis’s followers and the English language account has 18.6 million followers.

Vatican media budget concerns

Meanwhile, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication could be in line for budget cuts.

It oversees all the media and communication offices of the Vatican and in 2022, had a budget of €40 million – larger than any other department.

But last year, Francis warned the Vatican’s media wing to expect budget cuts and told employees to “exercise a bit more discipline with money”.

“You need to find ways to save more and seek other funds, as the Holy See cannot continue to support you as it does now,” Francis added.

In 2021, Francis queried how many people actually consume the content provided by the various arms of the Vatican’s media output.

“There are a lot of reasons to be worried about [Vatican] Radio, L’Osservatore, but one that touches my heart: how many people listen to [Vatican] Radio? How many people read L’Osservatore Romano?” Francis asked.

L’Osservatore Romano is the daily newspaper of Vatican City.

While he praised them for their work, he warned there was a “danger” that it doesn’t arrive where it is supposed to. 

It comes amid grave concern for the Vatican’s finances, with the Vatican Museum being used to plug deficits.

The Vatican has over 4,000 staff and there are severe concerns around the Vatican’s ability to pay the pensions of lay and clerical employees.

The shortfall in the Vatican’s pension fund was estimated to total some €631 million in 2022. 

Earlier this year, Francis had created a Vatican taskforce to encourage donations from lay Catholics “and other potential benefactors” to aid the asset-rich but cash-poor Vatican.

And last year, Francis ordered the third reduction in three years for the pay packages of the cardinals who lead Vatican departments.

Elsewhere, the Church is also still reeling from the disastrous Sloane Avenue property deal in London.

60 Sloane Avenue is a former Harrods warehouse and the Vatican is estimated to have lost around €140 million on the deal.

In February, the High Court in England ruled that the Vatican’s Secretariat of State was deceived by Italian financier Raffaele Mincione in the purchase of the building.

And in the Vatican Courts, Cardinal Angelo Becciu was also sentenced to five and a half years in prison for embezzlement of public funds.

He was stripped of his Cardinal privileges by the late Francis as a result and was therefore not able to take part in the recent conclave, despite his last minute appeals.

New pope will build on legacy of Francis (Opinion)

What an extraordinary time the last few weeks have been for the overwhelmingly positive media coverage the Catholic Church has enjoyed. 

The illness and death of Pope Francis was followed by the election of our new pope, Leo XIV. 

In different ways, one event fed on the other, with blanket coverage on all the major channels.

My own particular interest was to focus on what for me and for many was the big question that hovered in the background of both events: would Francis’ successor as pope continue the synodal pathway (co-responsibility for our Church) he proposed as the way of being Church into the future? 

Or would the conservative wing of the Church, disaffected by and opposed to the Francis reforms, succeed in undermining ‘the Francis effect’. 

In short, would one of a number of conservative cardinals manage to be elected pope and set about undoing the good work that Francis had achieved, the way President Donald Trump has systematically attempted to undo Joe Biden’s legacy?

Yes, I know, it seems a fanciful worry. After all the Catholic Church is not the Republican Party. And support for a conservative candidate in the election was very minimal, apart from a few vocal critics of Francis. 

Indeed, how could the cardinals, in the main responsible and careful in their deliberations, conclude that a conservative successor to Francis would serve the church well, when the vast percentage of Catholics didn’t just admire Francis but long for his reforms to continue. 

It would, commonsense suggested, be daft to disrupt the Francis reforms.

Yet the question, in its possible negative import, lingered.

So on Thursday evening last when Cardinal Francois Mamberti, who was responsible for announcing the new pope, seemed to be milking his spot in history through a series of exaggerated pauses, I found myself wondering why he wouldn’t just get on with it and let us know who was the pope and where he was from. 

And when he did (in Latin) there was a huge pause as so many, including myself, failed to recognise the name or the location. Eventually, a voice-over managed to explain the basics.

My impatience was indicative of a worry that unless the new pope was going to continue the Francis reform that the effect on the church might be catastrophic. 

It took Leo XIV himself to arrest my fears by mentioning Francis twice and indicating that he intends to pick up where Francis left off. 

"We have to be a Church that works together to build bridges," he said, "and to keep our arms open."

While Francis drew energy from greeting and engaging with the crowds in St Peter’s Square, apparently Leo doesn’t enjoy the spotlight. 

While Francis chose to be Francis I, to reflect his commitment to the poor, Leo has chosen to walk in the footsteps of Leo XIII who famously laid the foundations of Catholic social teaching. 

In other words, social justice was, for both Francis and Leo, a shared and defining compulsion of their lives. 

When Francis criticised President Trump’s attitude to migrants and Vice-President’s Vance’s justification for prioritising selfishness, the then Cardinal Prevost was firmly on Francis’ side.

The consensus seems to be that Leo XIV is quiet-spoken, a considered and serious man, a good listener and a balanced leader who will focus on two huge ambitions - as he indicated in his opening remarks - peace in the world and the unity of the Church, as he said, ‘seeking peace and justice’. His commitment to the synodal pathway is, effectively, now set in stone.

At 69 years of age, Leo has packed a lot into his life. Born in Chicago, he actually spent most of his life outside the United States and is, by common consent, the most un-American of all the American cardinals. 

As an Augustinian priest, he is a missionary at heart. It is the key impulse in his life and brought him to Peru where he became a bishop and which became his home - to such an extent that he exchanged his American citizenship for Peruvian citizenship, becoming more (it is said) a Latin American than an American. 

And, then, it was on to Rome where he served as the head of the Augustinian order and where he later became prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery of Bishops and then a cardinal just two years ago.

A pastoral man, as well as earning a litany of degrees in a stunning academic career, Leo reminded his hearers in his first words on the balcony of St Peter’s that a fundamental of our faith is that ‘God loves each one of us unconditionally’.

In political terms, Leo is a centrist, a unifier as his work in his diocese in Peru attested, but also a progressive in that his focus on peace and justice has fuelled his support for migrants, his love of the poor and his protection of the environment. He is in many ways a carbon-copy of his predecessor. 

The Francis project of reinstating the vision and reforms of the Second Vatican Council is now in safe hands.

On Thursday evening, on the balcony of St Peter’s, our new pope seemed stunned and appeared emotional as he looked down on an estimated half a million people from all over the world. 

He looks younger and appears younger than his 69 years. He seems a calm person. His exterior seems controlled – whatever about the confusion of emotions that must be raging within him as he wonders what the future will bring. 

And the outpouring of such genuine support and such unrestrained joy among the people must have given him confidence that God’s Spirit has led him over the years, slowly but providentially to the immense responsibilities he now faces for the Church and for the world.

May he receive a fair wind.

Desecrations, threats and silence: anti-Christian violence grips France

This month France has been severely rattled by what some are calling Christianophobie that has swept over the country.

In the Brittany city of Rennes, the church of Saint Jean Marie Vianney was desecrated, and in Normandy the parish hall of a church was vandalised. 

A similar fate befell the parish hall of the Saint-Laurent church in Maurepas, south of Paris, while in the middle of the French capital a man carrying a knife entered Saint-Ambroise church

just before Mass. Police were swiftly on the scene and no one was hurt in the incident.

In the south of France, a church in Saint-Aygulf was targeted on the night of May 4/5. The tabernacle was ripped off and the Eucharist removed. In a statement, Monseigneur François Touvet of the local diocese, said: “For Christians, this act is a sign of a desire to desecrate what is most dear to Catholic Christians.”

The most disturbing incident occurred last weekend at Avignon, 120 miles west of Saint-Aygulf, at the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Repos. Shortly after Father Laurent Milan had conducted evening Mass, he was confronted by “around ten teenagers or young adults asking if they could enter the church”. They said they were Muslims who wanted to visit a church.

Father Milan welcomed the youths into the church whereupon the trouble started. One of several parishioners who witnessed the disorder told reporters that “one of them started running around, others gathered around the priest, shouting insults”.

The invective was against Jesus and the Catholic religion, and Father Milan was warned: “We’re going to come back and burn down your church.” The mob departed with a cry of “Allah akbar!”

The threat should not be taken lightly. Incidences of arson on Christian places of worship rose by 30 per cent in 2024, up from 38 incidences in 2023 to 50. Some of these occurred in the French Overseas Territory of New Caledonia in the Pacific, which experienced several weeks of civil unrest in the spring of 2024, but the majority were on mainland France.

In response to the confrontation in Avignon, the city’s archbishop, François Fonlupt, lamented the “lack of respect” and linked it to the “poverty” of the neighbourhood. Some have argued this is a disingenuous analysis, and that poverty should be no excuse for such behaviour.

The archbishop also warned against any “media hype” that might enflame tensions. He needn’t worry. The French media have a tendency to ignore the growing number of anti-Christian acts. Two priests were assaulted in separate incidents at Easter but neither received much coverage outside the conservative media.  

An intelligence report revealed that in 2024, acts categorised as anti-Christian accounted for 31 per cent of religious-motivated violations in France. This rose to 62 per cent for anti-Semitic incidents and dropped to 7 per cent for anti-Muslim acts.

However, there was a heinous crime committed against a Muslim last month at a Mosque near Nimes on the Mediterranean coast. A 20-year-old of Bosnian extraction fatally stabbed a young man as he prayed, filming the dying man’s last moments while insulting Allah.

President Emmanuel Macron responded to the murder by declaring that: “Racism and hatred based on religion can have no place in France. Freedom of worship cannot be violated.”

The reality is that for years people in France have been killed because of their religion. An Islamist shot dead three Jewish children in 2012, and in 2016 Father Jacques Hamel was murdered in his church by two youths inspired by the Islamic State.

There have been other murders of Jews, and in 2020 three worshippers were killed by a Tunisian migrant outside a church in Nice.

This is one reason why the overwhelming majority of French people want their borders better controlled, Under Macron, legal and illegal immigration has reached unprecedented levels and most of the arrivals are from North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

A survey in 2021 found that 65 per cent of Muslim secondary school pupils in France attached more importance to Islamic law than to Republican law. This does not bode well for the future.

Political leaders like to sing the praises of “integration” but in France, as in Britain, a sizeable number of immigrants have no wish to integrate. 

In France the fear is that religious tension will increase in the coming years, and the appalling incidents of recent weeks will become commonplace.