Who would envy Pope Leo his life's work? (Contribution)

Pope Leo is a busy man. 

On a visit to Rome last year and a fleeting glimpse of the hectic round of appointments, meetings and Masses that mark his day, I got some sense of the daily and weekly schedule that is the lot of Pope Leo XIV. It was a privilege and an instruction to see him up close. 

Like so many others I found the experience unusually moving. Clearly a man of prayer and reflection, he seemed unusually placid and unself-absorbed as he took in his stride responsibilities that could easily overwhelm a less composed personality.

Extraordinarily calm and self-assured, here was the man who challenged Trump when others were indulging his childish fantasies. A man who up close looks extraordinarily young for a pope – even though he is 70. 

A polyglot, he has a high efficiency in a number of languages, easing out of one and seamlessly into another as he famously exhibited immediately after his election as pope. 

And, for the English-speaking world, crucially the first pope who speaks fluent English – his native language – and whose every comment we can understand clearly without the questionable benefit of Vatican bureaucrats mangling in translation some obscure indeed unintelligible version of King’s English.

It was a relief to hear too that Leo has, in so far as it is possible to achieve it in a crazily busy place like Rome, a determination to balance his impossible work-load by taking a full day away from his desk every week. 

Apparently, he has designated Tuesdays as his day off. 

He leaves Rome for Castel Gandolfo (25 km away) every week where he spends his Tuesdays, which includes a sleepover and a day relaxing by indulging his passion for tennis, swimming and (unusually) for horse-riding, a skill he acquired in his years in the diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru when he visited villages that were only accessible on horse-back.

Unlike Pope Francis, who rarely visited Castel Gandolfo unless fleetingly, Leo realises the need to have an oasis of calm, a refuge in which to escape periodically from a busy and stressful life - and in the process to give a sensible example to bishops and priests who sometimes foolishly imagine that their dioceses or parishes couldn’t possibly survive their absence for one day a week. 

Francis never took a day off and that was his right but most Catholics I imagine are more than happy that on Tuesdays Pope Leo enjoys a necessary temporary relief from his demanding workload – playing tennis, swimming in the pool and galloping on his Arab stallion, Proton, in the grounds of Castel Gandolfo.

That’s not to say that the memory of his predecessor will be in any way compromised by Leo’s style. 

Far from it. 

Francis will forever be identified with bringing the vision and the teaching of the Second Vatican Council back on the agenda of the Catholic Church and in so doing has resurrected hope for the future of our church. 

During my Rome visit I had the privilege of visiting Francis’ grave, marked by a simple stone with one word FRANCISCUS in capitals. It was for me an emotional release of sheer gratitude to Francis for re-setting the agenda for the future and in so doing putting into due perspective the pontificates of his predecessors when Vatican Two was casually and (for the Church) shamefully relegated to the sidelines. 

I will remember that visit to his grave for as long as I live.

Meanwhile back in Leo’s office the recent challenge was what to do about the impending threat of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) to ordain without papal permission four priests as ‘Catholic’ bishops. The (SSPX) was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebre. 

A French bishop, he believed that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council had lost touch with what he (and his followers) were convinced was the authentic Catholic tradition. 

Even though the documents of ‘Vatican Two’ (as that Council came to be known) were discussed by representatives of the bishops of the Catholic world in tandem with the pope and thus became the official teaching of the Catholic Church, Lefebre and others refused to accept or even recognise the documents of Vatican Two.

At first the breakaway group was regarded as little more than an interesting hissy fit on the sidelines of church history but in 1988 Lefebre decided to consecrate four bishops without papal approval and this led to a number of excommunications and an immediate break with Rome.

Later Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications as a way of drawing the group back into the Catholic fold and later again Pope Francis I granted SSPX priests faculties to validly hear confessions and to celebrate marriages in an effort to heal the division. 

But the more concessions were offered, the more confident and rigid in their beliefs the SSPX became.

Leo appealed to them – in effect, begged them – not to ordain any more bishops without a papal mandate. He described that decision as the equivalent of ‘tearing the seamless garment of Jesus Christ’.

The SSPX ignored him and went ahead with the ordinations. 

The following day the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome announced a decree of automatic excommunication for the ordaining bishop, for the more than 700 priests of the SSPX society who ‘are in schism and who must therefore be considered schismatic’ as well as lay-people who ‘formally adhere’ to the society.

Who would want to be a bishop? is a cry not unknown in Catholic dioceses – especially when ‘difficult’ priests or ‘awkward’ parishioners, like the SSPX society, insist on having their own way regardless of the consequences – because they are always right! 

But who would want to be pope? must ring out late at night in the corridors of the Vatican.

Who would envy Leo his life’s work? 

Apart from possibly those who know it all but often, like the SSPX, don’t know how little they know and the damage they do.

Leo deserves his swim and his horse Proton.

Vatican Increases Net Worth by $3 Billion in 2025

The Vatican’s financial investments and assets rose to a net worth of approximately $3 billion (2.686 billion euros) in 2025.

According to the annual report released on July 31 by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), the profit increased by $102 million (89 million euros) compared with 2024. 

The profit was also mainly due to the revaluation of physical gold, the increase in the value of real estate, and the positive valuation of financial securities.

Speaking to Vatican Media, APSA President Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti said that comparing profits in 2024 and 2025 should be done with caution, as 2025 was marked by extraordinary income from the reorganization of financial flows, a situation he described as unrepeatable.

“APSA’s purpose is not to generate an annual profit, but rather to preserve and strengthen the patrimony entrusted to it,” he stated.

According to the 2025 report, real estate management was APSA’s main economic driver that year, with a profit of $51 million (44.5 million euros), an improvement of $10.8 million (9.4 million euros) over the $40.3 million (35.1 million euros) recorded in 2024.

This growth was driven by higher income from properties directly managed by APSA in Italy. APSA also manages approximately 1,200 properties abroad, including residential and commercial units, primarily in London, Paris, Geneva, and Lausanne, Switzerland.

APSA also made profits from its stakeholdings in several companies, including the Société Sopridex in France, the British Grolux Investments in the United Kingdom, and Profima S.A. in Switzerland.

Cardinal Becciu and the London property sale

For investments, APSA reported that it continues the financial and legal procedures for the divestment of the Luxembourg fund U.K. Opportunities (Sloane & Cadogan), in compliance with a 2020 motu proprio issued by Pope Francis to strengthen transparency and control of Vatican investments.

The fund is linked to the controversial real estate deal involving the Sloane Avenue building in London, which led to one of the Vatican’s biggest financial scandals in recent years. 

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, was at the center of this scandal, and the Vatican sentenced him to five years and six months in prison.

Since his conviction in 2023, Becciu has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied any wrongdoing.

The Vatican court ordered a retrial of Becciu’s case on March 17 after the initial sentence was overturned due to a "relative nullity" caused by violations of the right to defense. On Sept. 30, the appeal process against Becciu and other defendants will resume.

Growth by gold, money in reserves, and supporting Roman Curia

The growth in assets was mainly driven by the revaluation of physical gold in the portfolio, which contributed $46.9 million (40.8 million euros), as well as by the increase in the value of real estate by $45.1 million (39.2 million euros) and the appreciation of financial securities by $18.8 million (16.3 million euros).

Financial management showed a negative accounting result of $4.3 million (3.7 million euros) in 2025, compared with a positive $43.8 million (38.1 million euros) in 2024. However, APSA explained that this figure is mainly due to the application of the new Holy See accounting standards, the Vatican Financial Management Policy.

In 2025, APSA allocated a total of $26.1 million (22.7 million euros) to cover the financial needs of the Roman Curia, fully complying with the contribution requested by the Holy See.

Jewish Settlers Attack Armenian Church in Occupied Al-Quds, Hurling Stones and Spitting at Entrance

Jewish settlers attacked the Armenian Church in Occupied Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, in the latest assault targeting Christian holy sites in the occupied city.

The Jerusalem Governorate said a group of Jewish settlers attacked the Armenian Church, throwing stones at its entrance and collectively spitting on its doors.

Footage circulating from the scene showed settlers hurling stones at the church while spitting on its entrance during the attack.

Churches and Christian holy sites in Occupied Jerusalem have been subjected to repeated attacks by extremist settlers, alongside violations committed by Israeli forces.

Diocese of Buffalo releases investigative findings regarding three priests

The Diocese of Buffalo announced Monday that Bishop Michael Fisher has reviewed and accepted the findings of the Diocese's Independent Review Board pertaining to allegations against three local priests.

In two instances — regarding Reverend Patrick O'Keefe and Reverend Jeffrey Nowak — the investigation determined the allegations were substantiated.

Allegations made by a mother of a teenager who died in 2017 against Reverend Joseph Gatto were determined by the investigation to be unsubstantiated.

The investigation into Gatto was carried out by Julie Ledwin, a retired detective from Buffalo Police's Sex Offense Squad. Her report determined that any allegation that Gatto had an inappropriate relationship with the teenager or did anything to contribute to his death is unsubstantiated. The report determined that Gatto "maintains the ability to carry out his priestly ministry."

Allegations of inappropriate conduct toward adults made against O'Keefe were investigated by retired police detective Jacqueline Sullivan. Her report concluded the allegations are substantiated and recommended that O'Keefe not be allowed to resume active ministry.

In the case of Nowak, who was arrested and charged last month with possession of child sex abuse material, the review board did not conduct its own investigation, instead relying on the findings of the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI. 

Based on those findings, the IRB recommended Nowak "be removed from the 'clerical state' in an expedited manner."

Has the Christian Brothers’ ‘grossly unfair’ legal strategy backfired? (Opinion)

The controversial legal strategy adopted by the Christian Brothers in claims for damages taken by victims may have backfired.

A legal ruling this week means hundreds of former brothers now find themselves about to be publicly named regarding legal claims for damages for child sex abuse crimes they had no knowledge of.

The congregation has not said why it has adopted its highly obstructive strategy, but one of the State’s most senior judges expressed the belief last week it was intended to protect the congregation’s assets – which remain considerable.

Lawyers representing claimants have long believed that the congregation is making it so time-consuming, difficult and expensive to take a case for damages in the hope that claimants will be inclined to settle for lower amounts, while those considering making claims will be put off doing so.

One of the State’s most senior judges, the president of the Circuit Court, Keenan Johnson, said the Christian Brothers had adopted their obstructive strategy in order to protect their assets.

The congregation is an unincorporated association, as are most religious organisations. This means there is no incorporated entity that can be taken to court and sued.

Most religious orders put forward a nominee for the purposes of litigation but the Christian Brothers, for the past number of years, have chosen not to do so.

When delivering sentence in a criminal case last week involving a former Christian Brother, Johnson referred to the approach being adopted by the congregation in civil cases.

‘A monumental task’

“That approach has the effect of frustrating the claims of victims, as proceedings have to be served on each individual member and former member of the congregation, which is a monumental task that appears to have been adopted to protect the assets of the congregation and wear down claimants through attrition,” he said.

He made the remarks while sentencing Liam Coughlan (90), who was already serving time in jail for child sex abuse in a Kilkenny school, to a further five years for the sexual abuse of nine primary school pupils in Portarlington in the 1980s.

The congregation’s approach in the civil courts “strikes me as morally bankrupt and grossly unfair not only to victims but also to the many, many brothers who are totally innocent and blameless of any wrongdoing”, Johnson said.

“I merely mention it because it is so unfair to victims and, in this case, the court has nine victims to consider.”

Judge Mary Rose Gearty, in the High Court, made an order this week that will allow a claimant seeking damages for being sexually abused by Coughlan in a primary school in Kilkenny in the 1970s to progress his case by way of what is called substitute service. Other claimants are now likely to be granted similar orders.

Normally, a summons must be served directly on a defendant in a civil claim. In the case before Gearty, the judge has ruled that instead of having to track down 341 former brothers who were members of the congregation at the time the claimant was sexually assaulted by Coughlan, the man’s law firm, Coleman Legal, can instead put a notice in a national newspaper listing all the men’s names.

The notice will also include details of the case and a warning that, if the men do not put in an appearance within a stated time, judgment may be given against them in default of appearance.

The notice is expected to be published next week.

Former members of the Christian Brothers who are still alive will suffer the stress of being publicly named in connection with a child sex abuse case with which they have otherwise no connection.

They also face the worry that they may have damages awarded against them.

It means the claimant’s name will be published, something that might not otherwise occur because the case involves child sex abuse.

Under the Civil Liability Act, in cases where an unincorporated association is being sued, its members at the time of the material event can each be held liable for damages.

Although it is not likely that any former member of the Christian Brothers will end up having to pay out for crimes committed by others in the congregation, it is a legal possibility and, therefore, presumably a source of stress for the men involved.

Court files indicate there have been 50 or more sets of legal proceedings lodged in the High Court against the congregation in recent years involving claims of historical child sex abuse.

The head of the congregation in Ireland, Br David Gibson, despite opting not to put himself forward as a nominee for the purposes of litigation, has in the past put himself forward as the congregation’s nominee for the purposes of mediation talks. However, to date, this has been a rare occurrence.

Settlements agreed against that backdrop are settled out of the congregation’s finances.

According to the Charities Regulator, the Congregation of Christian Brothers European Province-Republic of Ireland had net assets of €44 million at the end of 2024.

Gibson’s next move will be watched with great interest by a significant number of people.

"The sex is not a spectrum": Caribbean bishops publish a guide to confront gender ideology in schools, parishes and families

The bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference have published a comprehensive pastoral guide to help Catholic schools, parishes, catechists, and families address the challenges posed by gender ideology.  

The document, one of the most complete issued in recent years by an episcopal conference on this matter, combines a solid doctrinal exposition with practical guidelines to respond to situations increasingly common in educational and pastoral life.

The pastoral letter, titled Pastoral Letter on Sexual and Gender Identity, starts from the conviction that the Church is called to respond «with truth and charity» to a cultural context that presents human identity as fluid and self-determined. 

In response, the bishops recall that «identity is received, not invented; the body has meaning, it is not malleable,» and warn that separating personal identity from bodily reality leads to a mistaken understanding of the human person.

«Sex is not a spectrum»

The bishops recall Catholic doctrine on sexual difference, drawing on both Christian anthropology and biological data.

«Sex is not a spectrum. It is a binary reality, inscribed in our nature, affirmed by biology, and upheld by faith«

The letter adds that «there is no third gamete nor a spectrum of possible gametes» and notes that intersex conditions, while requiring appropriate medical and pastoral accompaniment, «do not constitute a third sex.»

The document insists that the human being was created «male and female» and that the body is not a secondary element of personal identity. «The body is not a prison from which the self must escape, but an expression of the gift received from God,» the prelates emphasize.

A guide for schools, parishes, and families

Far from limiting itself to stating doctrinal principles, the letter offers concrete guidelines for addressing situations already arising in schools, parishes, and catechetical groups.

The bishops urge Catholic schools to «resist any curriculum or external influence that promotes gender ideology» and call for forming students in a Christian vision of the person. They also defend parents’ right to educate their children according to their convictions and demand protection for minors from any form of premature social or medical transition.

Among the recommendations is also the use of language. The document calls for avoiding expressions that, in the bishops’ view, incorporate the assumptions of gender ideology.

«Avoid and reject terminology that affirms gender ideology, for example ‘sex assigned at birth,’ ‘gender identity’ separate from sex, and ‘cisgender’, and always use language that affirms biological truth and the unity of the human person,» the guide states.

How to respond when a student identifies as trans or non-binary

The episcopal conference’s publication includes an extensive appendix of real-life situations addressed to teachers, catechists, and pastoral agents.

When a female student states, «I think I’m a boy, not a girl,» the proposed response invites listening with respect, acknowledging any suffering she may be experiencing, and accompanying her with closeness, but without reinforcing an identity different from her biological sex. 

«Do not refer to her with male pronouns or a new name, as that would reinforce the confusion,» the bishops advise.

In another scenario, a student communicates that he no longer considers himself either male or female. The guide recommends avoiding «invented pronouns or labels» and gently reminding that «each of us has been created male or female. That is something sacred; it is not something we invent.»

The document also addresses the case of a teacher required to use pronouns chosen by a student. 

In that situation, it proposes explaining that «using inaccurate pronouns affirms a false identity, something I cannot do in conscience» and, when possible, addressing the student by name to avoid unnecessary conflict.

The bishops thus emphasize that it is possible to combine respect and welcome for each person with fidelity to the truth about human nature, offering concrete pastoral criteria for addressing issues that increasingly arise in the life of the Church.

A call to intervene in the public debate as well

The letter does not limit these guidelines to the ecclesial sphere. 

The bishops explicitly encourage parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and policymakers to participate in the public debate to defend a Christian vision of the person and the family.

«Our voice must not remain within the sanctuary. It must reach the halls of power,» they state. Therefore, they urge the promotion of laws and policies that protect the dignity of every person, educational freedom, and parents’ rights, while rejecting initiatives inspired by gender ideology.

Published on July 26, the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the pastoral letter constitutes one of the most complete and clear episcopal responses issued to date on sexual identity and gender ideology. 

In addition to reaffirming Catholic doctrine, it offers concrete criteria for education, pastoral care, healthcare, and the presence of Catholics in the public debate.

Rabat already has an apostolic administrator while Cardinal López Romero is under investigation

The Archdiocese of Rabat already has an apostolic administrator while the preliminary investigation opened against Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero continues over accusations of alleged sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct made by five adult women. 

The decision, however, has not been announced by the Holy See through the Bollettino, the usual channel for communicating this type of appointment.

The appointment was made known by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), the congregation to which Monsignor Mario León Dorado belongs, and later confirmed by ACI Prensa, which claims to have had access to the decree sent by the Apostolic Nunciature in Morocco through a letter signed by the apostolic nuncio, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, dated August 1. 

In its statement, the Oblates announced that “the Holy See has appointed Monsignor Mario León Dorado, OMI, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Rabat, Morocco” and noted that he will exercise this responsibility “in communion with the Holy See and at its discretion.”

He will govern the archdiocese for the duration of the investigation

The figure of the apostolic administrator sede plena is used when the titular bishop remains at the head of a diocese but cannot temporarily exercise pastoral governance. 

In these circumstances, the Holy See entrusts the ordinary administration of the diocese to another bishop or priest until the situation that prompted the measure is resolved.

In this way, Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero retains the title of Archbishop of Rabat, but ceases to exercise the powers of governance, which are provisionally transferred to Monsignor Mario León Dorado.

López Romero stepped away from public ministry

In early July, the cardinal announced that he was temporarily withdrawing from all public and pastoral activity following the opening of a preliminary investigation by the Holy See. 

The accusations, revealed by the AFP agency, refer to alleged inappropriate behavior with adult women that occurred between 2009 and 2024 in Morocco and in other countries where he carried out his ministry.

In a statement released at the time, López Romero defended his innocence and assured his full cooperation with the investigation. 

“I have not committed any aggression, nor violence or sexual harassment,” he stated, explaining that he had decided to “take a step back” so as not to interfere in the development of the process.

A missionary with long experience in North Africa

Monsignor Mario León Dorado belongs to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and is currently apostolic prefect of Laayún-Sahara in Western Sahara.

Ordained a priest in 2001, he has been carrying out his missionary work in North Africa for nearly twenty-five years. 

On a provisional basis, he will now assume the governance of the Archdiocese of Rabat until the Holy See concludes the investigation into Cardinal López Romero and makes a definitive decision regarding his situation.

Cardinal Sarah describes the liturgical war as a "true sin" and calls for the recovery of Benedict XVI's model

Cardinal Robert Sarah has stated that the division surrounding the traditional Mass constitutes “a drama, a true and authentic sin” and has defended the recovery of the model promoted by Benedict XVI, in which the Novus Ordo and the traditional liturgy coexisted within the Roman rite. 

The Guinean prelate believes that the Church in the West is going through “a time of great difficulty, even of confusion,” especially in the doctrinal, moral, and disciplinary spheres.

In an interview given to the director of Il Foglio, Matteo Matzuzzi, the prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments reflected on the situation of the Church, the transmission of the faith, the liturgy, and the first months of the pontificate of Leo XIV.

“No one has the authority to abolish a rite”

Sarah lamented that the liturgy has become a source of division within the Church. “It is a drama, a true and authentic sin, that on an essential matter such as the liturgy there should be a kind of war,” he stated. In his view, the liturgy is a source of ecclesial communion and it is “unthinkable” that it should provoke such intense confrontations.

In that context, he defended that the rites belong to the living tradition of the Church and do not depend on arbitrary decisions. 

“No one has authority over the rites, which are born from the secular history of the Church. Rites cannot be abolished arbitrarily and no one can say that a rite ceases to exist from one day to the next,” he maintained.

For this reason, he called for the recovery of the “balanced, pastoral, and theologically grounded position” of Benedict XVI, which allowed the coexistence of the two forms of the Roman rite so that they might “enrich each other mutually” and be known by the people of God.

Likewise, he considered that, with the passage of time, the faithful will be able to choose the liturgical form that best responds to their spiritual needs.

A Church marked by confusion

The prelate affirmed that the Church in the West is going through “a time of great difficulty, even of confusion,” a situation that, according to him, affects doctrine, morality, and ecclesiastical discipline.

In his view, the transmission of the faith can no longer rely on the dominant culture, but on communities capable of offering authentic Christian experiences, centered on prayer, silence, a liturgy celebrated with dignity, and fidelity to the Gospel. 

Sarah linked this vision to Benedict XVI’s proposal to strengthen communities solidly rooted in the spiritual life.

Despite this diagnosis, he expressed his confidence in the future of the Church. “Throughout the centuries it has gone through many storms, but we must never forget that it is divine and, therefore, will never disappear,” he stated.

Criticism of liturgical abuses and preaching focused on pleasing

During the interview, Sarah acknowledged that excesses may exist among some faithful linked to the traditional liturgy, but maintained that, in part, they respond to the “dramatic and widespread abuses” that, in his opinion, continue to occur in numerous celebrations of the ordinary form of the Roman rite.

He also warned of the risk of preaching concerned with pleasing listeners rather than proclaiming the Gospel. 

In his opinion, when preaching adapts to cultural fashions or limits itself to social issues, it ends up being “banal” and incapable of responding to the deepest needs of man.

“It is never legitimate to reduce the Gospel to social and horizontal themes, however important they may be,” he stated.

Formation, key to facing the crisis

Asked about the path to addressing the current challenges of the Church, the cardinal responded that the priority must be formation.

“The key is liturgical formation, formation, and once again formation: of bishops, of priests, and of the laity,” he concluded.

Cardinal Sarah’s statements come after the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Arthur Roche, stated that Leo XIV will not reverse Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio promulgated by Pope Francis in 2021 that restricted the celebration of the traditional liturgy.

"There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet": rioters shouting the shahada in Ceuta

The Spanish Government is unable to provide a reliable figure for how many immigrants have returned to Morocco and how many remain in Ceuta. 

The dance of numbers is, in itself, the diagnosis: the State does not control the situation.

What is indeed confirmed is what happened on Sunday night. 

According to the German agency NIUS, the immigrants whom the Army was supposed to transfer from the first reception camp to the beach for their return resisted violently, thwarted the operation, and marched in groups toward the city center.

What they chanted - clearly audible in the footage - is the shahada: «La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah», the Islamic profession of faith, the constitutive formula of belonging to the umma.

The sector that refuses to return invokes Allah against Spanish law. That is the nature of the conflict, and whoever does not wish to see it has decided not to see it.

Morocco knows what it is doing; Spain does not

None of this is new.

In May 2021, Rabat pushed ten thousand people across the border in just two days as retaliation for the reception of Brahim Ghali.

Morocco manages migratory pressure on Ceuta and Melilla as an instrument of foreign policy, with the territorial claim over both cities always on the table.

Each crisis constitutes a test of strength, and this one reaches a city of barely 83,000 inhabitants, with a Muslim population already approaching half the census and a Christian community in demographic decline.

The alms of the faithful, for the mutineers

In the midst of this scenario, the Church in Ceuta announces that the weekend collections will go entirely to the provisions of the invaders.

One may wonder whether they will also serve those who defied the Army while chanting the Islamic profession of faith through the streets.

Handing over the money of the faithful of Ceuta, precisely now and precisely to this contingent, amounts to rewarding the mutiny with the Sunday collection of those who suffer it.

There is no Gospel that justifies this; there is a hierarchy that has renounced discernment and calls its abdication mercy.

The Catholics of Ceuta, who for decades have sustained their faith on a frontier that Madrid and the curias only visit for the photo opportunity, deserve something better than seeing their alms turned into supplies for the challenge.

Roche campaigns to drag Leo XIV to his anti-Traditional Mass thesis

In three days, two publications have launched the same message: that the restrictive line on the traditional Mass is not Cardinal Roche’s, but the Pope’s. 

On July 29, The Tablet published an interview in which the still-prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship stated: “No, Pope Leo is not going to change Traditionis custodes, and he is not going back to Summorum Pontificum.” 

On August 2, La Razón added, citing anonymous Vatican sources, that the liturgy document Roche distributed to the cardinals at the January consistory was drafted at the request of Leo XIV, who reviewed it and “did not change a single comma,” and that it was distributed at the Pope’s direction.

From institutional assignment to papal endorsement is a leap no one has proven

That the Pope commissioned Roche to prepare the report is plausible and has corroboration: Austen Ivereigh, close to curial progressives, already wrote in January that Roche was one of the four cardinals asked to prepare reports on the four topics of the consistory.

But a Pope asking the prefect of Divine Worship for a report on liturgy - subject matter proper to his dicastery and his role - and respecting the text without amending it does not mean endorsement of its content. 

It simply means that Leo XIV allowed each prefect to present his own vision within his area of competence, as he did with the other three speakers. A ruler who respects the independence of his collaborators does not thereby endorse every word they write. 

The “did not change a single comma” that the anonymous sources present as proof of papal approval admits a much more sober reading: the Pope did not wish to correct his prefect, which is exactly what one would expect from someone who commissions a report, not a magisterial text. Turning that institutional respect into doctrinal commitment on the part of the Pontiff is the logical leap on which the entire operation rests.

Subsequent facts also fail to support the thesis of total backing. The cardinals rejected by a wide majority any debate on the liturgical question, and the text was distributed without discussion. 

And the documented gestures of Leo XIV point in a more nuanced direction: the instruction conveyed by Parolin to the French bishops in March asking for “concrete solutions that allow the generous inclusion of those who are sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo”; the letter to the FSSPX before Écône recognizing their “desire for fidelity to Tradition”; the appointment of Monsignor Cordileone to the Signatura. 

Fifteen months after his election, the Pope has not signed any document on this matter. 

Everything asserted about his will comes from third parties.

Imprudent and targeted leaks

Whether Roche is more or less right on the substance, the Tablet–La Razón sequence is, above all, imprudent and targeted. Imprudent, because it publicly attributes to the Pope a decision the Pope has neither taken nor communicated, apparently closing off a space for discernment that belongs only to him. 

Targeted, because it comes from anonymous sources in the prefect’s circle, at the precise moment when Roche, aged 76 and with his five-year term expired since May, is being insistently mentioned for replacement. 

The Tablet interview—empty of content except for the sentence on Traditionis custodes, which the interviewer himself admitted having introduced almost at the end—reads like that of an outgoing official trying to bind the successor of Peter to his own thesis, raising the cost of any future correction. As Monsignor Cordileone said this week: “I do not know to what extent he knows the mind of the Holy Father.”

A text with its own problems

The document distributed in January, moreover, does not withstand scrutiny. It invokes Quo primum - the bull that guaranteed the traditional missal in perpetuity - to justify its suppression. 

It suggests that tradition without reform is reduced to “dead things, not always healthy,” a qualification no magisterium has applied to the Roman Missal and which clashes with Benedict XVI: “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us as well” (2007). 

It identifies without nuance the 1969 reform with the will of the conciliar Fathers, when Sacrosanctum Concilium ordered a revision according to criteria (SC 23, 25, 36) whose fulfillment has been the subject of academic debate for decades. 

And in its most revealing passage, it states that the use of the ancient books was, “from St. John Paul II to Francis, a concession”: sixteen years of Summorum Pontificum, which recognized the 1962 missal as a right of every priest and not as a concession, simply disappear from the narrative. 

The omission is not accidental: it is the necessary premise for presenting the restrictive line as uninterrupted continuity.

Nervousness in the most anti-traditional sector, heir to Bugnini

What is verifiable is little and clear: there was a papal commission for a report, there was no debate, and the Pope has not spoken. 

The rest - the supervision “without changing a single comma,” the endorsement of the content, the decided will of Leo XIV - are anonymous attributions in the midst of a battle to define the pontificate. 

Respecting the work of a prefect is not endorsing it; and whoever needs leaks to put his thesis in the Pope’s mouth probably knows that the Pope has not yet made it his own.

Pope Leo XIV receives in audience the future prefect of the Dicastery for Communication

Pope Leo XIV received María Montserrat Alvarado, the designated prefect of the Dicasterio for Communication, in audience this Monday, August 3, according to the Holy See Press Office in its daily bulletin of audiences.

Alvarado was appointed by the Pontiff on June 2 and will officially assume the position on November 1, when she will take charge of the dicastery responsible for coordinating the institutional communication of the Holy See.

The audience takes place less than three months before her installation and is part of the meetings the Holy Father holds with the heads of the various bodies of the Roman Curia.

María Montserrat Alvarado will be responsible for succeeding in the prefecture of the Dicasterio for Communication upon completion of the transition process planned after her appointment by Leo XIV.

Bishop’s appeal to women not to ‘lure priests into an affair’ sparks criticism from Limerick priest

A bishop’s appeal to women not to lure priests into an affair has been strongly criticised by a member of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland, who said it plays into the “church’s medieval view of women as temptress”.

Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya of Maralal in Kenya recently called on women to respect the celibacy of priests and not to “force them into affairs that go against their beliefs and priestly calling”.

However, Fr Roy Donovan, parish priest of Caherconlish and Inch St Lawrence in Co Limerick, told the Irish Independent that the bishop’s comments showed a negative view of women and he was “blaming women” while men were “not taking responsibility for their own sexuality”.

Setting out a new set of disciplinary norms for the clergy of his diocese, Bishop Emusugut Joya imposed a 7pm curfew on priests and banned on overnight guests in priests’ residences without his permission.

As part of this reform, the prelate has also removed seven priests from ministry for alleged violations of canon law.

In his message to the faithful, the bishop made an explicit appeal to women to respect the priestly commitment to celibacy.

“For those intending to tempt priests and force them into affairs that go against their beliefs and priestly calling, please stop. These priests are human and have feelings. If you convince them, they might fall,” he said.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Fr Donovan said the statement raised questions about the view of priesthood “as if priests are special species”.

He said it also raised issues about seminary formation in an all-male environment as an outdated way of learning. “What about women and men learning together as in the modern world”. Synodality, he said, saw women and men as equal in baptism.

Fr Diarmuid Hogan of the diocese of Galway told the Irish Independent: “Priests and religious freely undertake a commitment to celibacy and to chastity. These commitments are clear and unambiguous and the responsibility for living them faithfully rests entirely with the individual priest, sister or brother, who has made them before God.

“In the same way, those who enter into the sacrament of marriage freely undertake vows of lifelong faithfulness and fidelity to one another and are thus responsible to each other and to God to live them out.

“In a culture where there can sometimes be a tendency to shift responsibility onto other people or institutions, it is important to reaffirm this core Christian principle of personal accountability.

“God has given each of us the gift of free will. While people may encounter temptation in many forms, we remain responsible for our own choices and actions.”

In March, a Catholic bishop in Belgium said he plans to ordain married men to the priesthood by 2028, despite the church’s mandatory celibacy rule.

In a pastoral letter, Bishop Johan Bonny cited a shortage of priests and said “the number of unmarried men who want to become priests has fallen to just above zero” in many dioceses.

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake causes damage to churches in southern Italy

An earthquake of magnitude 4.7 recorded on Friday, July 31, caused significant damage to several churches in Pozzuoli, a city located near Naples in southern Italy. 

The quake, followed by aftershocks, also affected homes, commercial establishments, and infrastructure in the area.

The Diocese of Pozzuoli and Ischia reported on Saturday, August 1, that the first tremor occurred at 7:46 p.m. the previous day and that the successive shocks had left a “truly difficult” situation. 

According to the statement, the few churches in Pozzuoli that were still open for worship showed “significant damage.”

Bishop Carlo Villano noted that the Diocesan Office for Cultural Heritage had intensified inspections to assess the condition of the temples. At the time of reporting, the diocese had not released a complete list of the affected churches nor specified how many would have to suspend services.

Damage to the churches of Pozzuoli

One of the most visible damages occurred at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua, located in the center of Pozzuoli, where one side of the bell tower partially collapsed. The collapse caused no injuries or damage to nearby buildings, according to Italian authorities.

The church was already closed for worship due to its state of preservation and was undergoing restoration and consolidation work. The façade had been secured in December 2025, and structural work began in March of this year.

The church was included in public plans for the rehabilitation and seismic protection of places of worship in the area. 

According to the Italian Ministry of Culture, the interventions carried out before the earthquake helped limit the damage. Technicians must now assess the reconstruction of the collapsed sections and the continuation of the works.

The diocese calls for attention to vulnerable people

“I express the Church’s closeness to the population, to law enforcement, and to all those involved in civil protection efforts,” Villano stated in the Saturday communiqué.

The bishop asked the community to remain united and to pay particular attention to “the most vulnerable, children, the elderly, and the sick.” 

The diocese indicated that its first concern was for the people and families affected, given the existence of numerous uninhabitable homes and damage to businesses and churches.

Navigation in the port of Pozzuoli was also suspended due to problems with the dock and access roads. Villano called for efforts to reopen it as soon as possible because of its importance for the economic and social activity of the Phlegraean Fields and the island of Ischia, especially during the summer.

Churches that had served as shelters

The statement recalled that, during previous seismic events, the bishop had offered the churches of the diocese as shelter spaces. 

In October 2023, Villano stated that the doors of the temples were open to show that “the Church is a home for all and for everyone” and so that each person could feel “welcomed, heard, and accompanied.”

The damage recorded on Friday now complicates that function, as several of the few churches that remained open were affected. The inspections initiated by the diocese will determine which ones can continue to be used safely.

The Italian Church expresses its closeness

Following the earthquake, the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, contacted Villano to convey the closeness, solidarity, and prayers of the bishops and the Italian Church.

Also, the vice president of the Episcopal Conference, Bishop Francesco Savino, expressed his support and assured his prayers for the communities of Pozzuoli, the Phlegraean Fields, and Naples, called to face “once again moments of fear and great concern.”

The Italian Church entrusted the families, the most vulnerable people, and all the affected communities to God, and asked for them “serenity, strength, and hope.”

Pope Leo XIV to Ernest Simoni: "No chain can imprison a conscience enlightened by the Gospel"

Pope Leo XIV addressed a message to Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni on the occasion of the Mass he presided over on Friday, July 31, at the former Spaç prison camp, where he served a significant part of his 18-year sentence during the communist persecution. 

In the text, the Pope recalled the testimony of those who suffered in that place and stated that “no chain is strong enough to imprison a conscience enlightened by the Gospel.”

The message, dated July 30 and read at the end of the celebration, accompanied Simoni’s return to the camp where he had been subjected to forced labor and where, despite the risk of being discovered, he secretly celebrated Mass, heard confessions, and distributed Communion.

“With deep emotion, I spiritually join Your Eminence and all those gathered at the former Spaç prison camp, returning after so many years to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of Christ that transformed the Cross from a sign of death into a promise of life,” wrote Pope Leo XIV.

Ernest Simoni’s Return to Spaç

Simoni, 97, returned to the camp to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of those who suffered or died there during the Albanian communist regime. The cardinal had been sentenced to death as an “enemy of the people,” although the sentence was later commuted to imprisonment and forced labor in various detention centers.

During his captivity, he continued to exercise his priestly ministry in secret. “During my imprisonment, risking my life each time, I celebrated Mass in Latin from memory, just as I heard confessions and distributed Communion in secret,” he recalled.

To prepare the Eucharist, he used a dough made from flour cooked on improvised stoves and pressed grapes. “If they had found me, they would have hanged me immediately,” he explained. During the celebration in Spaç, he also displayed the helmet he was forced to wear when descending into the mines.

“One of the Most Painful Pages” of Albania

In his message, Pope Leo XIV described Spaç as a place “etched in the memory of the Albanian people” and as one of the most painful chapters in its history. There, he noted, “many bore the heavy cross of injustice,” while “the blood of those who suffered and died in those mountains irrigated that land, turning it into a silent testimony of fidelity, courage, and hope.”

The Pontiff also recalled the prayers of those who remained imprisoned in the camp and the faces of those, marked by labor and deprivation, who entrusted their final hope to the Lord.

“How many prayers must have risen to Heaven from that place! How many invocations whispered in the heart! How many faces, marked by labor and deprivation, entrusted their last hope to the Lord!” he wrote.

A Conscience Enlightened by the Gospel

Reflecting on the memory of the prisoners, Pope Leo XIV affirmed that “no chain is strong enough to imprison a conscience enlightened by the Gospel, no night is long enough to prevent the dawn that the Lord prepares for His children, and no prison is deep enough to separate man from the love of God.”

The Pope also joined in prayer for those who suffered and died in Spaç, many of whom were buried in unmarked graves, and asked that their memory remain alive as a warning to new generations.

According to him, that memory should serve as “a constant reminder of the inviolable dignity of the human person, the value of freedom, and the commitment to peace.”

Pope Leo XIV concluded by entrusting Simoni and all participants in the celebration to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom he invoked as “Mother of Hope,” and imparted the apostolic blessing.

Archbishop of Tangier rules out the involvement of mafias in the mass entry of illegal immigrants into Ceuta

The Archbishop of Tangier, Emilio Rocha, has ruled out that mafias are behind the mass entry of illegal immigrants from Morocco into Ceuta and has called for a «pact of common sense» to prevent the migration crisis from being used as a tool for political confrontation.

In an interview broadcast on Saturday, August 1, on the program La Linterna de la Iglesia, on COPE, the prelate maintained that those who have crossed the border are not paying organizations involved in human trafficking and attributed the mobilization mainly to the spread of messages through social media and the expectations generated by the difficulties in carrying out immediate repatriations.

«I believe that the mafias are not operating here, because mafias act for money and the young people who are jumping are not paying,» Rocha stated, who also rejected that most of them are fleeing from hunger. «Morocco is not a poor country, it is not a country where young people are fleeing from hunger,» he noted.

Inequality and expectations of prosperity

The archbishop explained that many of the young people trying to reach Spain are seeking «more successful alternatives» in the face of existing inequalities in Morocco and the image of prosperity they associate with Europe. 

According to him, in some Moroccan families, the arrival of one of their members in Spanish territory is seen as an opportunity for economic progress.

«When a young person managed to reach Spain and communicated ‘I’m in Spain,’ it was a family celebration,» he recounted. That perception, he added, coexists with a critical view of Europe, which some Moroccans attribute with greater material wealth, but also with a «loss of ethical and moral values.»

From Tangier, Rocha described an uneven reaction to what happened. While Moroccan official media have treated the crisis with caution and as a somewhat predictable situation, part of the population has shown concern and, in some cases, satisfaction at the possibility that relatives or acquaintances have reached Spain.

The human impact on both sides of the border

The prelate expressed concern both for those who have crossed the border and for the residents of Ceuta, where the mass arrival has caused a sense of insecurity and helplessness.

Rocha asked that the crisis not be reduced to numbers and recalled that «behind every face there is a person with projects, with dreams, with hopes.» 

At the same time, he acknowledged the impact the situation has had on the Ceuta population and the need to address the social and security consequences resulting from an arrival of these dimensions.

According to estimates cited during the interview, around 60,000 people would have entered Ceuta from Morocco and 57 deaths would have been recorded.

A «pact of common sense» between the parties

In the face of the political confrontation generated by the crisis, the archbishop called on Spanish parties to avoid turning immigrants into «political bargaining chips» or «throwing weapons.»

«We need a pact of common sense where we do not use migrants as political bargaining chips,» he stated. In his opinion, parliamentary forces should lower tensions and seek a coordinated response that combines border control with an orderly management of immigration.

Rocha also called for greater dialogue between the governments of Spain and Morocco and proposed «working more on training, less on repression,» with the aim of promoting regular and integrated migration processes. 

In this regard, he recalled that Spain needs labor, although he insisted that the arrival of workers must occur in an organized manner.

Poland will bless Europe's tallest Marian figure on August 15

The small Polish town of Konotopie, near Toruń, is finalizing the construction of a monumental image of the Virgin of Mercy which, at 55.6 meters in height, will become the tallest Marian figure in Europe. 

The statue will be solemnly blessed on August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and will be open to the faithful and visitors.

The ceremony will begin at 12:00 with a Mass presided over by the Bishop of Włocławek, Krzysztof Wętkowski. 

Its promoters hope that the complex will become a new destination for pilgrimage and religious tourism in Poland, around the sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows, which for years has welcomed faithful from different parts of the country.

A 55.6-meter image

The figure will surpass in height other great European religious monuments and also the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, which, including its pedestal, reaches approximately 38.5 meters. 

It will not, however, be the largest Marian monument in the world, a title that belongs to the statue Mother of All Asia – Tower of Peace, located in the Philippines and whose structure exceeds 98 meters including the base.

Inside the Konotopie image, an elevator has been installed that will allow access to a panoramic terrace from which visitors can contemplate the surrounding landscape. 

To erect the monument, approximately 2,500 cubic meters of concrete have been used, while parking areas, green spaces, and technical facilities are being prepared in the surroundings to accommodate pilgrims.

The project was carried out by sculptor Adam Jakub Matejkowski. Work began in 2025 and had its symbolic start with the laying of the foundation act on March 12 of that year. 

At this moment, the final finishing work on the statue and the conditioning of the grounds are being carried out before its inauguration.

Inspired by a small local image

The monumental figure is inspired by a small image of the Virgin of Mercy venerated in the Konotopie sanctuary. 

The carving measures barely 55 centimeters, but for years it has occupied a prominent place in the devotion of the faithful in the area.

The promoters of the initiative are businessman Roman Karkosik and his wife, Grażyna, who have presented the construction as a personal vote of thanksgiving. 

Those responsible for the project insist that the main purpose of the complex is religious, although they trust that its dimensions and characteristics will also arouse the interest of those who come for architectural or tourist reasons.

The monument already attracts visitors

Although it has not yet been officially inaugurated, the figure has already become a point of attraction. 

Its silhouette is visible from National Road number 10, which leads numerous drivers to stop nearby to contemplate and photograph it. 

Other visitors travel expressly to Konotopie and share images and videos of the construction on social networks, increasing the notoriety of the town.