Buncrana parish priest issues warning over ‘poisonous’ religious sect

An Inishowen Catholic priest is warning parishioners to beware of a “dangerous and poisonous” Christian extremist group, which is actively attempting to recruit here in the Diocese of Derry.

Buncrana parish priest Fr Francis Bradley says the SSPX Resistance sect is a “hate-filled group” that “is rotten to the core” - and he’s strongly urging the local faithful to steer well clear.

The SSPX Resistance is a splinter organisation which receives support from far-right elements, and its Holocaust-denier founder was twice excommunicated by the Vatican.

The group has begun operating in the Derry diocese, leading Bishop Dr Donal McKeown to issue a statement in which he has urged Catholics not to engage with their “illicit” Sacraments.

Bishop McKeown says there can be “no legitimate reason to seek out Mass or Sacraments from SSPX Resistance Ireland” - and his message is strongly echoed by Fr Bradley.

Fr Bradley says SSPX Resistance [Society of Saint Pius X] gives the veneer of true Catholicism, but “it is nothing of the sort.”

“They are a poison. They are dangerous. They masquerade as something they are not. They dress it up as something good for you but people should steer clear of what could become an onslaught on their souls.”

“It’s like with ash dieback. We recently felled ash trees out at Cockhill. The trees looked fine on the outside but on the inside they were actually rotten to the core - and this group is the same thing.

“This looks like some very old and devout Latin Mass [the Rite which kept our faith alive for centuries] but it’s nothing of the sort. When you strip it back, you see how it’s all sorts of poisonous agendas, all gathered into the one.”

Fr Bradley reveals how SSPX Resistance members deny the teachings of the Second Vatican Council; they deny the authority of the Pope and they deny large parts of the Magisterium [teaching authority] of the Church, including the Church’s doctrine on Christian unity.

“They can sell themselves off to people as being more Catholic than the Pope and that is how they would see themselves. But they would have serious, serious issues with Pope Francis,” he says.

“Some of their message is hate-filled and it’s based on an antiquated understanding of human history and a properly Catholic Christian anthropology.

“What they offer verges on the profane for it undermines the unity, which Christ himself called for amongst his flock.

“Jesus warned all of us to make sure that in our lives we do not fall into the trap of becoming wolves in sheep's clothing - and

Bishop McKeown, as chief shepherd of this portion of the Lord’s flock, which is the Diocese of Derry, must do all he can to promote and protect the gift of faith amongst his people.”

Fr Bradley is worried that some locals could inadvertently find themselves caught under the sinister spell of SSPX.

“They attract people who, perhaps out of misunderstanding or being misguided in some way, might find themselves attracted to that message.

“In this part of the world people are very devout and this group feels that in their devotion they could be easy pickings - and I find that offensive to people’s faith.

“I’d be worried that people could without thought drift into that. They might somehow find themselves at these sorts of gatherings. But they’re not a place any believer should find themselves, because their basis is division, not unity.

“They are not, in my prayerful opinion, a movement inspired by the Holy Spirit or according to the mind of God.”

The Buncrana PP concluded with a direct message for the SSPX splinter sect.

“They want everything in Latin but they don’t understand a word of it themselves. Here’s an ancient Church teaching: ‘Ubi Petrus Ibi Ecclesia’ - Where Peter Is, There is the Church. In other words: Where the Pope is, There is the Church.”

Derry Bishop warns splinter group holding illicit Masses

The Catholic Bishop of Derry has warned parishioners that someone posing as an ordained priest who is part of a breakaway fundamentalist faction of the church is conducting illicit Masses in the diocese.

SSPX, the Society of St Pius X, was founded in 1970 by a Bishop and group of priests who believed the Catholic Church was becoming too modernist.

In 2012 a much more fundamentalist breakaway faction, SSPX Resistance, was formed.

It does not accept the authority or infallibility of the Pope, nor any of the teachings of Vatican II and the reforms that followed, and it wants to retain the traditional Latin Mass.

The group believed to be operating in Derry is aligned to that splinter group, which is described as ultra conservative and far right in its ideology.

It was founded by a former Catholic Bishop who was twice excommunicated by the Vatican and was found guilty of Holocaust denial in Germany in 2009.

SSPX Resistance Ireland also claims to have held Masses in Belfast, Newry and Cork.

At least one former, defrocked priest is believed to have held masses and administered communion in a community hall the Galliagh area of Co Derry.

Bishop Donal McKeown told RTÉ News that he had heard claims during the past two years that someone who was not an ordained priest was saying Mass in Latin in a community hall.

Earlier this month, he was contacted by a diocese in England that said it had received information that a defrocked priest who was a member of SSPX Resistance Ireland may be ministering in the Co Derry area.

The Bishop wrote to all priests in the diocese informing them that the group was holding Masses and asking them to make all parishioners aware.

The letter was then printed in all Mass bulletins.

"The priests of SSPX Resistance Ireland are not in full communion with the Catholic Church and do not accept the full teaching authority of the Church," it said.

"The priests of SSPX Resistance Ireland administer sacraments, but do so illicitly - that is, without the necessary faculties and approval of the church," it added.

The letter also pointed out the Catholic Church has no supervision of those ministering for the group in terms of safeguarding policies.

It urged "all the faithful to remain steadfast in communion with the church, united with the Holy Father and the bishops who share in full communion with them".

Bishop McKeown said he "wanted to make people aware" that members of the group who are ministering mass "may not have gone through vetting and safeguarding procedures, which is a legal requirement, as well as the fact that they reject everything to do with the Roman church at the present time".

"They would refer to the Mass in English as the Protestant Mass," he said.

"They would reject everything to do with the Church as we have been for this past 50 or 60 years," he added.

He said: "I thought it was responsible for me to inform our priests and ask them to inform parishioners."

Fr Michael Canny, parish priest for the Waterside parish in Co Derry, said it was important to warn parishioners that people may be dressing as priests and purporting to be priests, but are not.

"It is my understanding that there's a small group of people in this area who believe in the teachings of this group and that at present time, there's a concern because a person purporting to be a priest belonging to this group may be ministering in the territory of the Diocese of Derry," he said.

"This breakaway group is not in in line with the church's teaching, or accepts the church's teaching, so they're totally independent of the church's teaching, albeit they sometimes go about behaving just like they are ordained priests," he added.

Fr Canny said the group "have some views that certainly we would not accept", adding "they didn't accept any of the teachings of Vatican II, or any of the teachings of the church since Vatican II and of course they don't accept the promissory of the pontiff".

Promissory of the Pope refers to the doctrine of papal infallibility which states that when speaking in his capacity as head of head of the Catholic Church the Pope cannot error.

The Catholic Church believes this infallibility was a promise given by Jesus to the first Pope, Peter, and passed down to his successor.

Fr Canny said that while the number of people in Co Derry believed to be attending Mass ministered by SSPX Resistance Ireland is small, the church was duty bound to inform them.

"Should something happen with regard to safeguarding with regard to this group, then the people certainly have been warned," he added.

Pope decries 'appalling humanitarian catastrophe' in Sudan

The Holy See Press Office published Pope Francis' Angelus address on Sunday, 30 March, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, as Jubilee celebrations continue in the Vatican.

In the Holy Father's remarks, the Pope took his cue from the day's Gospel reading according to St. Luke, to urge all faithful to live this Lent as a time of healing.

"I am, too," he said, "experiencing it this way, in my soul and in my body."

"That is why," he continued, "I give heartfelt thanks to all those who, in the image of the Saviour, are instruments of healing for their neighbour with their word and their knowledge, with kindness and with prayer."

"Frailty and illness are experiences we all have in common; all the more, however," he said, "we are brothers in the salvation Christ has given us."

Appeals for peace conflict zones, Myanmar

The Pope went on to invite the faithful to join him in praying for peace in war and conflict-stricken areas.

In particular, he prayed for peace in war-torn Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.

In a special way, he again acknowledged Myanmar's suffering has greatly worsened due to Friday's devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar's Mandalay region, killing more than 1,700 in the country, many others in Thailand, and leaving several hundred more missing.

Appeal for constuctive dialogue to alleviate suffering of 'beloved South Sudanese people'

Pope Francis said he continues to follow the situation in South Sudan with "great concern."

"I renew," he said, "my heartfelt appeal to all leaders to do their utmost to lower the tension in the country," adding, "We must put aside our differences and, with courage and responsibility, sit around a table and engage in constructive dialogue."

"Only in this way," he continued, "will it be possible to alleviate the suffering of the beloved South Sudanese people and to build a future of peace and stability."

Prayers for 'lasting solution to crisis' in Sudan

In addition, the Pope recalled how the war in Sudan "continues to claim innocent victims."

In this regard, he appealed, "I urge the parties concerned in the conflict to put the safeguarding of the lives of their civilian brothers and sisters first, and I hope that new negotiations will begin as soon as possible, capable of securing a lasting solution to the crisis."

"May the international community," he urged, "increase its efforts to address the appalling humanitarian catastrophe."

Good news between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

Yet the Pope expressed gratitude to God "for positive events," citing specifically the ratification of the Agreement on the demarcation of the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which he called "an excellent diplomatic achievement."

"I encourage both countries to continue on this path," he said.

Pope Francis concluded his Sunday address by praying that "Mary, Mother of Mercy, help the human family be reconciled in peace."

Cardinal’s role in effort to ‘resignify’ Franco era war monument sparks controversy

In a statement published by the Archdiocese of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo defended his role as an interlocutor between the Vatican and the Spanish government in the process of resignifying the Valley of the Fallen, a massive monument dedicated to both sides of the Spanish Civil War.

The statement, issued after the recent change of the prior of the Benedictine community at the historic site, seeks to clarify the agreements reached and the scope of the planned modifications to the monument.

Released just after 10:30 p.m. local time on March 26, the Archdiocese of Madrid’s statement regretted “the leak and dissemination of some recently published information about the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen, within an open process of dialogue.”

The concept of “resignification,” in the case of historical or symbolic spaces such as the Valley of the Fallen, seeks to reinterpret or redefine their meaning in order to adapt them to new contexts, perspectives, or purposes.

The statement from the Archdiocese of Madrid specifies that “to date, the only definitive agreement has been the permanence of the Benedictine community and the non-desacralization of the basilica, as well as respect for all religious elements located outside it.”

However, the statement admits that some type of modification to the church has been agreed upon, but it has not been specified: “Regarding any alterations within the church, they will be studied respecting the liturgical criteria and the purpose for which the basilica was built, guaranteeing independent access.”

The archdiocese also emphasized that “any other aspect related to the resignification is the exclusive responsibility of the Holy See and the government, which are the parties that conducted the negotiations.”

Furthermore, the statement emphasizes that the Spanish cardinal “has participated in this process as a designated interlocutor within an ecclesiastical commission,” which has entailed “an exchange of private notes on how to articulate the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen, always ensuring respect for the religious elements and the permanence of worship in the basilica.”

Finally, the Archdiocese of Madrid emphasized that, “beyond pastoral activity,” Cobo’s role is one of “accompaniment, but without having jurisdiction over the basilica or the religious community residing there.”

The statement came just hours after El Diario published that an agreement had been reached between the Vatican and the Spanish government to achieve the intended political “resignification” of the monument.

This agreement, in whose process Cobo allegedly participated, was reportedly finalized in a meeting between Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Minister of the Presidency Félix Bolaños on Feb. 25 in Rome.

In response to this statement, numerous X subscribers responded with accusations of treason and other forms of accusations against Cobo.

Changes to the interior of the pontifical basilica

The recent replacement of the prior at the Benedictine community, confirmed March 25, is reportedly part of the agreement reached. In addition, it is not ruled out that both the previous prior, Santiago Cantera, and one other monk may be transferred from the community because the Spanish government disapproves of them. 

According to the same information, only the altar and pews are expected to remain untouched, but changes may be made to the dome, vestibule, atrium, and nave, which are part of the Pontifical Basilica of the Holy Cross.

Brief history of the Valley of the Fallen

The Valley of the Fallen, inaugurated in 1959, is a monumental complex built after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and is located about 30 miles from Madrid. It consists of a basilica situated underground in an excavated space in the mountain, an imposing cross, a Benedictine monastery, a school, and a monumental Stations of the Cross.

Among the monument’s founding purposes are “to pray to God for the souls of those who died in the National Crusade, to implore the blessings of the Almighty for Spain, and to work for the understanding and establishment of peace among men, based on Christian social justice.”

The complex was commissioned by Gen. Francisco Franco, Spain’s longtime head of state and leader of the winning Nationalist side in the bloody conflict with leftist Republican forces.

The controversy over the monument is colored by the fact that Franco supported the Catholic Church, which was caught in the middle and was being severely persecuted by elements of the Republicans. 

Between 33,000 and 50,000 Spaniards from both sides are interred there. In 1975, King Juan Carlos decided that Franco should be buried there. José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of the Spanish Falange political party, who was executed for sedition in the early months of the war, was also buried there. 

Since 2007, the government led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE, by its Spanish acronym) implemented a series of measures to resignify the site, which leftist parties decry as a monument to Franco and his dictatorship. 

These measures have been reinforced since 2018 when Pedro Sánchez, also of the PSOE, took office as prime minister in a coalition with communist and separatist parties and heirs of terrorist groups.

In October 2019, the government ordered Franco’s remains to be exhumed and moved to another cemetery, an event broadcast live on public television.

In 2023, the same procedure was followed with Primo de Rivera’s remains, but at the family’s request and in a discreet manner in anticipation of the government’s wishes.

Patriarch of Georgia congratulated Archbishop Ioannis of Albania on enthronement

In a heartfelt message, Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia extended warm congratulations to Archbishop Ioannis on the occasion of his enthronement as the new Primate of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania.

Writing on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Georgia and in his personal capacity, Patriarch Ilia praised the long and martyric history of the Albanian Church, noting that “Christianity spread to Albania from the earliest centuries, and the first large Christian communities appeared in the 3rd century.”

He acknowledged the legacy of the late Archbishop Anastasios and emphasized the challenges that remain: “Even now, when you have ascended this throne… there still is much to be done; but the Lord, who willed to entrust you with this responsibility, will help you in the bearing of this Cross.”

The Georgian Patriarch expressed his deep respect for the Church of Albania and the Albanian people, extending blessings for the new Archbishop’s leadership: “May God support you in the carrying out of your ministry as marked with peace, love and wisdom in our difficult times.” He concluded his message by praying for “further advancement and revival” of the Holy Church of Albania.

Read the full message:

On behalf of the Orthodox Church of Georgia and, personally, on my behalf, I once again extend my wholehearted congratulations on your appointment as the foremost hierarch of the Church of Albania.

As is well known, Christianity spread to Albania from the earliest centuries, and the first large Christian communities appeared in the 3rd century. Since that very period, the Church of Albania has been in a state of martyrdom, and even now, when you have ascended this throne, having succeeded His Beatitude Anastasios, there still is much to be done; but the Lord, who willed to entrust you with this responsibility, will help you in the bearing of this Cross and give you the strength to take further successful steps.

We deeply honor your Church, the entire Albanian people and congratulate you with love on the day of your Enthronement.

May God support you in the carrying out of your ministry as marked with peace, love and wisdom in our difficult times.

May God bless Albania and may He grant the Holy Church of Albania further advancement and revival.

Archbishop Fisichella: God's forgiveness restores our lives

The Parable of the Prodigal Son who returns home "was revealed by Jesus to allow each of us to discover how immense the love of God is." 

Moreover, that love is so different from ours, and "we need to welcome it within us, to enter into the depth of His mystery when He intends to offer the grace of reconciliation."

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, highlighted these points in his homily at the Mass for the Jubilee of the Missionaries of Mercy, celebrated this morning, 30 March, the fourth Sunday of Lent, at the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle in central Rome.

The failure of the son who strays from the Father

In the parable narrated in St. Luke's Gospel, Archbishop Fisichella explained to the Missionaries and the faithful gathered for the celebration that "Jesus could not speak of God in more human terms and with more meaningful traits," in order to give voice "to the love and mercy of the Father."

He encouraged finding common traits between ourselves and both sons. Like the first son, "sooner or later, we all ask for our inheritance," we want "to be free, autonomous, to take control of our own existence," with the consequence of failing.

Because "far from God and His house, the Church," he suggested, we end up following "a path that leads us to do useless things, to have futile thoughts, and to suffer the distance from the source of love."

The sin of the brother close to God

The second son, "very similar to all of us," Archbishop Fisichella pointed out, reacts "with anger and resentment" to the return of his brother.

Like him, for our years of faithful service, the Italian Archbishop observed, we risk confusing the gratuitousness of service and turning it into a weapon of rebellion against God.

From the Father's response, 'Son, you are always with me, and everything that is mine is yours,' the Archbishop observed, emerges our sin. "We do not understand 'the value of closeness to God.'" 

Aware of the grace of being with the Father

Addressing the priests, Archbishop Fisichella emphasized that "when we become accustomed to our ministry, everything becomes obvious, repetitive," and we fail to savor "the sense of communion with Him."

He added that if we were "aware of the grace that is given to us to be with Him every day," priestly existence would be a transparent expression of the Father’s love.

Therefore, he said, "we are called to persevere with God to share everything with Him."

Going to meet the son when he is far off

The Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization called on everyone to "embrace the paternal feelings" of the Father in the parable and "to be able to look far beyond to quickly notice the presence of those who are far away and drawing near."

He explained that we must "immediately leave the shortsightedness" of thoughts and behaviors "to open our hearts and minds, going deeper to welcome those who approach us."

And just as the Father "runs to meet the son," he added, the priest should not be sitting in the confessional, "but should know how to go to meet the son when he is still far because he has recognized his returning home."

In the embrace of the son who has sinned, he suggested, one understands "how love forgets sin, and forgiveness forces us to look directly to the future" to live it worthily. 

No one can remain outside the house of the Father   

Archbishop Fisichella recalled that the Father then expresses His patience for the second son, not reprimanding him, but asking him for something much more demanding: "to recognize that love changes lives; that forgiveness restores a new life; that sharing is the fruit of the generosity that has been given to us."

Finally, Archbishop Fisichella concluded, "the two sons must recognize that they are brothers" and re-enter the Father's house together, because only together "can we bring out the greatness of the Father’s love." No one can remain "outside the house of the Father," as this would lead to the "meaninglessness of life." Through full and total reconciliation, each brother can rediscover his identity as a son.

Missionaries of Mercy present at the celebration

Calling the Missionaries of Mercy "special instruments of reconciliation," he reminded them of their task of reminding everyone, as Jesus does with this parable, "how immense God’s love is" and how different it is from ours.

Moreover, he said, they are to remind that the Eucharist "is the source and wellspring of forgiveness," the festive banquet requested by the Father, in which true and full reconciliation is achieved because here the sacrifice of Christ has its highest expression.

In this context, the ministry of reconciliation, the Archbishop emphasized, "requires being Eucharistic to fully express the mystery of our faith."

"Missa Papae Francisci" concert in memory of Ennio Morricone   

On Sunday afternoon, for the Missionaries and anyone who wishes to attend, the fifth of the Jubilee Year Concerts, will take place as part of the series of 'The Jubilee Is Culture' events.

The free symphonic concert of the "Missa Papae Francisci" in memory of Italian composer Ennio Morricone, will be performed by the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra, along with the Nuovo Coro Lirico Sinfonico Romano and the "Claudio Casini" Choir of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

The performance, conducted by Maestro Gabriele Bonolis, will take place at 4:00 PM at the Church of Saints Ambrogio and Carlo al Corso on Via del Corso in the center of Rome.

Official coming together of Diocese of Elphin and Diocese of Achonry to take place today

The official coming together of the Diocese of Elphin and the Diocese of Achonry will take place later this afternoon Sunday, in Ballaghaderreen when Bishop Kevin Doran is installed as the Bishop of Achonry.

In a message ahead of the this afternoon’s events in St. Nathy’s Cathedral, Bishop Doran, who also remains Bishop of Elphin, reassured the people that each diocese would still retains its own unique identity. 

However, he again signalled that gradually over the coming years, “while respecting the culture and the history and the unique gifts of each, our two dioceses of Achonry and Elphin will become one diocese”.

Before he renewed his commitment to serve the people of two dioceses, he asked for “your prayers and your practical support in being the Bishop I am called to be".

The celebration of Mass for his Episcopal Installation will take place at 3 p.m..

His Excellency, Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Francis Duffy and Bishop Michael Duignan, will be the principal concelebrants.

Attendance will include members of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, both serving and retired, clergy of the dioceses of Achonry and Elphin, and family members and friends of Bishop Doran. Every parish in the Diocese of Achonry will have representatives present. There will be representatives from Catholic schools and various diocesan bodies and organisations in the Diocese of Achonry.

Staff and representatives from the Diocese of Elphin will be in attendance and representatives of the Church of Ireland communities will also be present.

The cathedral’s senior choir, and the cathedral’s folk group, will perform the music throughout the liturgy.

Master of Ceremonies will be Father Martin Henry.

Catholic man stops desecration of Eucharist by consuming Host at Kansas satanic event

A courageous Catholic man stopped satanists from further desecrating the Eucharist as part of their “black mass” outside the Kansas State Capitol on Friday by disrupting them and consuming the sacred Host.

Stewart proceeded to violently attack the man, repeatedly punching him while he was on the ground covering his head. Another satanist then began to drag the brave man away before police intervened.

Though Stewart falsely claimed to the media that the man tackled him, the video shows that never happened.

Stewart, 42, was later arrested after entering the Kansas capitol and punching a much younger, smaller man in the face twice after he tried to take his booklet while Stewart attempted to dedicate the building to the devil, which police had forbade him from doing.

Another man “could be heard praying, ‘Sancta María, Mater Dei,’ while holding the crucifix around his neck as close to Stewart as possible,” according to the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), a traditional Catholic organization.

Stewart was jailed on “suspicion of disorderly conduct” and unlawful assembly, before being released on $1,000 bond. Two other satanists were also arrested.

The blasphemous event, organized the Kansas-based “Satanic Grotto,” was met with a massive Catholic counter-demonstration led by TFP that featured hundreds of local Catholics and others from across the country, including Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Florida, and Missouri.

TFP had previously collected more than 95,000 signatures urging Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to prevent the “black mass” from taking place within the capitol as initially planned. 

In response to public outcry, Kelly revoked the Satanic Grotto’s permit to hold their gathering inside the building, though she allowed them to convene outside.

According to TFP, the satanists “cursed and blasphemed non-stop, taking every opportunity to offend the dignity of Our Lord.” 

But the Catholics countered them with shouts of “Christ is King” and 15 decades of the Holy Rosary, singing Marian and patriotic hymns in between decades, according to the TFP.

“The stirring sound of bagpipes and drums added energy and enthusiasm to the prayers,” the group noted. “After the rosary, the crowd prayed the Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, asking God to protect the state of Kansas from demonic influence.”

Catholic protesters held signs with messages such as “Stop Blasphemy Now,” “Satan Has No Rights,” and “Christ is King and His Mother is Queen.” TFP volunteers wore red standards and banners, and four members dressed in ceremonial habit carried a large statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, strongly condemned the “black mass,” which he decried as “hate speech.” 

He also reconsecrated Kansas to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary at a Mass for Expectant Parents on Tuesday’s Solemnity of the Annunciation. 

On Friday, the archbishop led a Eucharistic Holy Hour and celebrated a packed Mass at Assumption Church north of the capitol building in response to the satanic event.

The Kansas legislature and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach additionally denounced the blasphemous demonstration.

Pakistani Christian brutally stabbed at work after refusing to convert to Islam

A Christian man in Pakistan was stabbed by his supervisor at work and hospitalized with severe injuries last week after refusing to renounce his faith and convert to Islam.

The 22-year-old man, Waqas Masih, faced pressure to become a Muslim for more than a month but steadfastly resisted, according to his father, the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reported.

On March 21, Masih’ supervisor, Zohaib Iftikhar, called him into a private meeting at the paper factory where he worked in Sharaqpur and slashed his neck with a box cutter due to his refusal to renounce Christianity.

Masih suffered serious neck injuries and is being treated in a hospital in Lahore. His condition is reportedly critical but stable.

Iftikhar has since been arrested, and the incident is being investigated as an attempted murder.

Iftikhar also accused Masih of “desecrating” pages of the Quran, a common tactic used by Pakistani Muslims to persecute Christians. Masih denied the allegations, as did the owner of the factory, according to Voice of the Martyrs.

A Pakistani Capuchin priest, Father Lazar Aslam, visited Masih in the hospital and told ACN, “I prayed for his speedy recovery and for the well-being of his entire family. The attack on Waqas Masih is a harsh reminder of the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan and the urgent need for social change to promote tolerance and protect the rights of all citizens.”

“We humbly call on the international community to pray for the victims and their families, as well as to raise awareness of the difficult situation for marginalized communities in Pakistan, ensuring that their voices are heard and their rights protected,” he continued.

“Sadly, making false accusations of blasphemy and harassing vulnerable minority communities has become a disturbing trend in Pakistan,” the priest noted. “We urge state institutions and responsible individuals to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents and ensure the protection of minority rights.”

Masih’s family is Pentecostal Christian, according to UCA News.

Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country, is notorious for widespread anti-Christian discrimination. “Blasphemy” against Islam is punishable by death.

More than 2,000 people in Pakistan “have been accused of blasphemy” since 1987, and 40 are currently facing the death penalty, a United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report from December 2023 stated.

Pope Francis ‘very lively’ as he continues recovery after Vatican return, doctors say

POPE FRANCIS HAS shown “a truly surprising improvement” since returning to the Vatican to convalesce after surviving a life-threatening bout with double-pneumonia, the doctor who coordinated the pontiff’s five-week hospital stay said.

“I find him very lively,” Dr Sergio Alfieri said after visiting the pope at his apartment in the Santa Marta Domus on Wednesday, three days after his release from Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

“I believe that he will return if not to 100%, 90% of where he was before.”

Francis appeared frail and weak as he greeted a crowd of well-wishers from a hospital balcony on Sunday.

His voice was waning as he praised a woman in the crowd for bringing yellow flowers.

He was able to only partially lift his arm to bless the people and he gasped for air as he was wheeled back inside.

Alfieri said the pope’s voice was regaining strength, and that his reliance on supplemental oxygen has decreased.

The limited mobility of his arm was due to an unspecified trauma he sustained before being taken to hospital, and that will take time to heal, Alfieri said.

The 88-year-old pope was taken to hospital on February 14 after a long bout with bronchitis that left him breathless at times, and which quickly developed into double pneumonia and revealed a polymicrobial (viral, bacterial and fungal) respiratory infection.

Throughout the ordeal, doctors emphasised the complexity of his condition, given his age, lack of mobility requiring a wheelchair, and the removal of part of a lung as a young man.

Alfieri repeated that he did not think the pope would make it after a severe respiratory crisis a week after being taken to hospital, and he informed the pope that a “decisive” treatment necessary to save him would put his organs at risk.

The doctor preferred to describe the treatment as “decisive”, and not aggressive, and emphasised that no extraordinary, life-extending measures were ever taken.

The incident was one of several critical moments when the pope’s life hung in the balance, Alfieri said.

While Francis beat the double pneumonia in the hospital, he is continuing to receive treat the fungal infection, which is expected to take months to resolve.

The pope is also receiving physical, respiratory and speech therapy. Doctors have ordered him to rest for at least two months and to avoid crowds.

Memo discovered on Vatican ransom payment in missing ‘Vatican Girl’ case

Confidential documents from forty years ago that have been discovered suggest that at the time of the 1983 disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, Italian security officials believed the Vatican might already have paid a ransom to secure her release, even though a senior Vatican official denied it.

The documents have been unearthed as part of a bipartisan probe in the Italian parliament into both the case of Orlandi, the so-called “Vatican girl” whose fate has become the premier contemporary Vatican mystery story, and that of Mirella Gregori, another Italian teenager who vanished around the same time.

Stirring additional controversy is the fact that the documents apparently come from an Italian state archive on the Orlandi case which was originally classified as “empty” when parliamentary investigators first inquired about it, but which now has produced these two memoranda which were published on Friday by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

The discovery of the documents has also generated new questions about whether similar materials may be gathering dust in the Vatican’s own archives, despite repeated denials from Vatican spokespersons that such a file exists.

The first of the newly discovered memoranda is dated 27 July 1983, roughly one month after Orlandi disappeared on June 22. It appears to be a set of investigatory notes for the files of the Italian security service, which at the time was known by the acronym Sismi. 

In brief, the memo says that Sismi had heard from the Italian carabinieri, or military police, several points regarding the Orlandi probe.

• That Orlandi’s father, Ercole Orlandi, was in possession of “very important” information from the Vatican. At the time, Orlandi was a minor official in the Prefecture of the Papal Household.
  

• That it was not true there had been no contact between the kidnappers and the family and the Vatican between June 22 and July 5, when anonymous phone calls began arriving at the family home.
  

• That a ransom payment had already been made.
  

• That the original group of kidnappers had already sold Orlandi to another criminal gang.
  

• That the Italian ambassador to the Vatican at the time had written a confidential report on the case which had been addressed to senior officials.

The second document carries the date of 12 August 1983, meaning roughly two weeks after the first. It too appears to be a set of notes for the investigation’s files in Sismi, and it begins with the statement that the day before, 11 August 1983, a meeting had been held in the Vatican with senior Italian investigators.

The memorandum says that because Italian Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the Vatican’s Secretary of State at the time of the disappearance, was not available, the group had been received by then-Archbishop Eduardo Martínez Somalo, the sostituto, or “substitute”, effectively the Pope’s chief of staff.

According to the memo, Martínez Somalo did the following:

• Denied that the Vatican had paid any ransom in the Orlandi case.
  

• Cast suspicion upon a Bulgarian exile in Italy at the time named Theodor Hlebaroff, who had requested political asylum from the Vatican for his anti-Communist views and who allegedly frequented the Pontifical Institute for Sacred Music in Rome’s Piazza Navona where Orlandi disappeared after a flute lesson. Martínez Somalo supposedly told the group that Hlebaroff had expressed “grave threats” against the Vatican.
  

• Gave investigators information on a bank account linked to Hlebaroff.

The memo states that investigators then filed a request for help from Sismi officers in tracking down Hlebaroff, but does not provide any information about the success of those efforts. (Pietro Orlandi, the brother of Emanuela who has devoted his life to seeking the truth about his sister, has claimed that “Hlebaroff” is a fake, saying that Bulgarian birth records show no one by that name.)

Laura Sgrò, the attorney for the Orlandi family, argued that the memorandum suggests the Vatican must have matching records of such meetings, which it has never disclosed to investigators.

“We’ve never doubted that a file exists in the Vatican on the kidnapping of Emanuela Orlandi, which is the reason we asked for it loudly in 2017,” she said. “It’s too bad that here we are in 2025, we’re still talking about it, but we’ve never seen it.”

“Now I hope that the Vatican will make it available immediately to the Procurator of Rome and the parliamentary commission of investigation, with an eye towards collaboration in the search for the truth,” she said.

Over the years, spokespersons have said repeatedly that exhaustive reviews of Vatican archivers has turned up no such materials.

Cardinal Parolin: The Pope has never stopped governing the Church

Pope Francis has slowed down, as his health recovery has required, but “the governance of the Church is in his hands,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin explained in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper. 

The Cardinal Secretary of State recalled how the Pope’s hospitalization and now his convalescence have changed the duration and amount of attention he can dedicate, but there has been no interruption in his ability to deal with issues that required a decision by him or direction from him. 

In the interview Cardinal Parolin speaks about the functioning of the Holy See, noting that while “the Pope has never stopped governing the Church, not even during his hospitalization at Gemelli,” it is also true that there are “many more routine matters on which the collaborators of the Curia can proceed without consulting him, based on instructions already given earlier and existing rules.”

On behalf of the Pope

The matters presented to the Pope during this period, Cardinal Parolin clarifies, are solely the “issues on which he alone can and must decide”; for the rest, there is an “authority” that the Vatican dicasteries, which “work on behalf of the Pope,” can exercise by making decisions “following the guidelines” outlined by Pope Francis, something that also happens “in normal times.”

One such circumstance, Cardinal Parolin cited, regards canonizations: “It is the Pope who pronounces the formula, but this, if necessary, can be delegated to a collaborator who pronounces it in the Pope’s name.” 

Thus, he continues, if the Pope were to authorize Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, he could “read the formula on his behalf, in case the Pope is unable to do so at that time.”

All of this, Cardinal Parolin notes, “will also depend on how the Holy Father feels during those days.” 

Now, the important thing for Pope Francis, he says, “is that he can rest and get better” for the two months prescribed by the doctors with the hope that this “reduced period of activity” compared to his previous pace “will help him fully resume his ministry.”

Erbil archbishop named in federal lawsuit targeting Iraqi mob

An Iraqi-American woman has named Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda in a federal lawsuit in the United States over claims about his personal, political, and business ties to what is essentially the Iraqi mafia.

For years, Warda has been a point of reference not only within his Chaldean Catholic community, but for Iraqi Christians generally, especially in the wake of the violent persecution and mass displacement unleashed by ISIS in 2014.

Amid the ISIS-induced mass displacement and the ongoing effort to rebuild after the liberation of the Nineveh Plain in 2017, Warda gained a reputation as an avid entrepreneur and one of the strongest defenders of one of the world’s most persecuted Christian minorities.

This reputation has also won him strong ties in Washington, developing a strong relationship with United States Republican Congressman Chris Smith, who visited camps for the displaced in Erbil in December 2016 and later spearheaded a bill to support Iraq’s beleaguered Christian minority.

Supporters would say there are perhaps few people who have done as much as Warda for Iraqi Christians, however, he is now facing allegations of terrorism and bribery related to his association with the Hanna family.

Under the microscope, in particular, are his ties to brothers Nizar, Nameer and Ramez Hanna Abdo Nasri, who are generally seen as Iraqi mobsters due to the illicit nature of how they amassed their wealth.

Warda specifically has been named in a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, along with other judicial and political actors, by real estate developer Sara Saleem, who has accused Warda of interfering in an ongoing criminal case against the Hanna brothers in Iraq.

Saleem has accused the Hanna’s of aiding and abetting in her kidnapping and has said they swindled her out of millions of dollars, as well as half of her company. She has provided documentation for some of her claims that Crux has seen.

Warda in a statement earlier this year said he “categorically denies and rejects these false and defamatory allegations and will contest them vigorously in the appropriate forums.”

Hanna brothers

Featured by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in a June 2022 report, the Hanna brothers, particularly Nizar, are real estate tycoons who fund shopping malls, residential complexes and high-rise office buildings in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The family began its financial rise in the 1990s, when Iraq was crippled by international sanctions and most basic goods were banned from importation, opening the door to a broad smuggling network for moving products in and out of Iraq.

Cigarettes were the most profitable commodity, and, according to OCCRP, the Hanna’s in the late 1980s forged ties among political elites and monopolized the smuggling of black-market tobacco, building an operation that spans throughout the Middle East and the funds from which are allegedly funneled to organized crime rings, corrupt politicians, and local militias.

Though the brothers have since shifted away from cigarettes, the infrastructure they developed in the 1990s and 2000s still exits, with OCCRP reporting that there are six illegal cigarette factories operating in Iraq, three of which are linked to the Hannas.

Today, in large part thanks to their role in the black market cigarette trade, the Hannas sit at the apex of a financial empire that has now expanded into pharmaceuticals, liquor imports, and swank real estate developments.

A deal gone wrong

In 2014, the Hanna brothers struck a deal with Saleem, a dual US-Iraqi citizen now based in Virginia and whose Iraqi company Al-Saqr Al-Jarih competes for and is regularly awarded the most significant construction contracts in Iraq.

As part of her 2014 agreement with Nizar, Nameer and Ramez Hanna, which Crux has seen, Saleem arranged for the transfer of $100 million from the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) to finance the construction of the Safat Project in Basra, a joint venture in which the money was to be repaid by the Hanna’s and Saleem would relinquish 50 percent of her company’s shares to the brothers without compensation, with the promise that they would complete and expand the Safat project through their own means.

However, shortly after signing the deal and receiving the $100 million loan, Saleem claims she began to receive threats from Iraqi government officials demanding that she donate money to support certain individuals. When she refused, she said she was threatened with “big trouble” and physical harm.

In September of that year, Saleem said she was kidnapped by militants who surrounded her vehicle, hit her, and imprisoned her in a house in Baghdad, demanding to know demanding to access to the $100 million she had received from TBI. Saleem said she was in captivity for three months before escaping.

She has since pursued legal action against the Hannas, and in a July 2023 ruling which Crux has seen, the brothers were sentenced to three years imprisonment after the Alkhark Baghdad Federal Court of Appeal found them guilty of defrauding both TBI and Saleem of $100 million.

However, an Iraqi court ordered a retrial of the case in November 2024, and the date was set for Dec. 8, 2024. The Hannas were then released on a bail of $33,000 each, and subsequently flew to Lebanon, and from there, to London.

Saleem is currently awaiting a ruling on an appeal from Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council. The Hannas are expected to be acquitted, with Saleem and her legal team accusing Iraqi courts of corruption and of “rigging” the process.

Saleem has pinned part of the blame on Warda and other Christian leaders in Iraq, including Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East Ignatius Joseph III Yonan; Mar Georges III Younan, Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East; and Bishop Athanasios Toma Dawud of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the UK.

It is common in Iraq, where local leadership is often lacking and deemed untrustworthy, for church leaders to take up prominent roles in local communities, becoming points of reference akin to a governor or a mayor for towns or regional areas, and therefore developing a working relationship with everyone.

Saleem has accused Warda, in particular, of intervening on the Hanna’s behalf through a bribe to the prime minister, and she also claims she was pressured by Warda personally to drop her complaint against the Hannas.

Her legal team on Feb. 13 filed a lawsuit in Virginia against the Iraqi judge Faiq Zidan, Warda, and a series of senior government officials under the United States Anti-Terrorism and Torture Victims Protection Acts, accusing them of “brutal acts of extortion, kidnapping, torture, and attempted murder.”

Most of her claims against Warda are he-said-she-said, however, Saleem has said a series of exchanges with Warda on WhatsApp in March 2023, which Crux has seen, were intended to pressure her to water down her legal complaint.

She said Warda contacted her regarding her attempts to reach a settlement with the Hanna brothers, before they were sentenced. After a phone conversation, she sent him a copy of a settlement proposal, which he then forwarded to the brothers.

In response, Warda sent her an audio note in which he advises her to take out a portion saying that the Hannas had acted on the loan without her knowledge, saying this portion would be turned against her, “because you claim that a sum of money was withdrawn in your name and you didn’t know what was going on.”

“It is my impression that this is an exaggeration,” he said in the audio message, saying he thought that claim would be used against her.

Saleem claims this was a veiled attempt by Warda to water down her complaint, an instinct she has said was reinforced by a subsequent phone conversation in which she felt pressured by Warda to settle for less money.

In her lawsuit filed in a Virginia court this year, dated Feb. 13, 2025, and which Crux has seen, Saleem includes Warda among the individuals she is suing on grounds that they maintain “worldwide networks of trade and smuggling that do business in the United States.”

Interecclesial tensions

Saleem’s inclusion of Warda in her lawsuit comes amid ongoing tensions within the Chaldean Catholic Church, the largest of Iraq’s various Christian communities.

Warda in the past has faced questions over his ties with political elites such as Rayan al-Kildani, the leader of an Iranian-funded Babylon Brigades’ militia, and its political wing, the Babylon Movement party.

Al-Kildani, who was sanctioned by the U.S. government for human rights violations in 2019, is a Chaldean Catholic at odds with Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, who has accused al-Kildani of sectarianism warmongering. Sako has accused Warda of befriending al-Kildani to boost his profile and status.

Amid a heated ongoing back-and-forth dispute between the two, Warda has issued various statements appearing to back al-Kildani, leading to a growing feud between Warda and Sako as the latter prepares to retire, and Warda is seen as a favorite to take his place as patriarch.

The tension between Sako and Warda has reportedly kept Sako in office, refusing to retire as internal divisions continue to foment in the Chaldean church.

As this feud continues to play out, Warda now faces the added pressure of a federal lawsuit and increased questions about his relationships as the Chaldean church struggles to plan a vision for its future in Iraq.

A knowledgeable source close to the archdiocese has denied the allegations against Warda, labelling the charges as “nonsensical fabrications.”

'As Archbishop there are no excuses': Justin Welby admits failure to act on church abuse allegations

In his first interview since resigning as Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has told the BBC he failed to address abuse allegations within the Church of England because the issue’s scale was "absolutely overwhelming."

Welby resigned in November after an independent review revealed he did not act decisively on reports about John Smyth, the most prolific serial abuser linked to the denomination.

Reflecting on his time in office, the 68-year-old explained to Laura Kuenssberg that the growing volume of cases made it difficult to manage. "Every day, more cases were coming across the desk… it was just another case," he said. "It was overwhelming… but the reality is I got it wrong. As Archbishop, there are no excuses."

One of Smyth’s victims, Graham, who reported the abuse in 2013, criticised Welby for not addressing the issue sooner. "No one should be too busy to deal with a safeguarding disclosure," he told the BBC. "The Archbishop has never answered why there weren’t huge red flags when told about horrific abuse."

The Makin Review, led by safeguarding expert Keith Makin, found that Smyth’s abuse of over 100 victims was covered up within the Church for decades. 

Smyth, a barrister and Christian charity leader, abused boys in the 1970s and 80s, and by 2013, the Church, including Welby, was aware of his actions. 

The review concluded that Welby should have reported the case to authorities, which could have led to Smyth facing justice earlier.

Smyth died in 2018 without ever being held accountable. The review found Welby lacked sufficient curiosity about the allegations when presented with them in 2013 and suggested it was unlikely he had not known before then, though Welby denies any prior knowledge.

Though he initially resisted calls to step down, Welby later took responsibility for his failure to act, stating he resigned "in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse".

In the interview, Welby also reflected on the pressures faced by public figures, saying that society often has a "rush to judgement" and expects perfection. "If you want perfect leaders, you won’t have any leaders," he remarked.

Pope Francis hopes for closer ties with Orthodox Church of Albania

The Holy See sent a delegation to the enthronement of His Beatitude Joan as Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania, which took place in Tirana on Saturday.

Archbishop Flavio Pace, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity led the delegation, accompanied by Msgr. Andrea Palmieri, Undersecretary of the same Dicastery, and Msgr. Ionuţ Paul Strejac, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Apostolic Nunciature in Tirana.

Pope Francis sent a letter to Archbishop Joan to extend his “fraternal greetings in the love of Christ.”

“In expressing my spiritual closeness,” wrote the Pope, “I assure you of my prayers that God the Father, source of all good, will grant you the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit as you guide the flock entrusted to your care.”

He recalled Archbishop Joan’s predecessor, His Beatitude Anastas, whose apostolic zeal “left a deep and lasting legacy on Albania.”

“Anastas distinguished himself by his commitment to the peaceful coexistence of men and women belonging to different Churches and religious traditions,” said the Pope, “and he contributed significantly to the improvement of relations between our Churches.”

Pope Francis went on to invite Archbishop Joan to continue to foster dialogue as a way to overcome divisions and seek full communion among Christians.

“In these difficult times marked by war and violence,” he said, “it is ever more urgent that Christians bear credible witness to unity, so that the world may fully embrace the Gospel message of fraternal solidarity and peace.”

The Pope noted that Christians bear responsibility for showing the world the “real communion, if alas not yet complete, that already unites us.”

“It is my heartfelt hope,” wrote Pope Francis, “that under your paternal guidance, relations between the Church of Albania and the Catholic Church will develop further, seeking new forms of fruitful cooperation in proclaiming the Gospel, serving those most in need and renewing our commitment to resolving the issues that still separate us through the dialogue of charity and truth.”

In conclusion, the Pope assured Archbishop Joan of his prayers for his ministry and extended to him “a fraternal embrace in Christ our Lord.”

Justin Welby was too ‘overwhelmed’ by scale of abuse in C of E to take action

Justin Welby, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has said his failure to take effective action over a serial sadistic abuser was because he was “overwhelmed” by the scale of the abuse crisis in the Church of England.

In his first interview since resigning last November, Welby said: “Every day more cases were coming across the desk that had been in the past, hadn’t been dealt with adequately, and this was just, it was another case. It was an absolutely overwhelming few weeks.”

This was not an excuse, but a reason for his failures, he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg. “The reality is I got it wrong. As archbishop there are no excuses.”

He also said there was a “rush to judgment” of public leaders.

“There is an absence of forgiveness; we don’t treat our leaders as human. We expect them to be perfect. If you want perfect leaders, you won’t have any leaders.”

Welby became the first archbishop in more than 1,000 years to quit after an independent review found that he should have taken more robust action over allegations of abuse by John Smyth. His resignation, announced days after the review was published in November, plunged the C of E into crisis.

About 130 boys are believed to have been victims of Smyth, a powerful barrister who died in 2018. An independent review by Keith Makin into the abuse concluded Smyth could have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally reported it to police a decade ago.

Welby and other senior figures in the C of E were told of allegations that Smyth had abused dozens of boys who attended evangelical Christian holiday camps, beating them viciously in his garden shed.

Welby had volunteered at the holiday camps in the late 1970s but said he was unaware of the allegations at the time. The Makin review said Welby was informed of the abuse allegations in 2013 but failed to take action, and that it was “unlikely” he would have been unaware of rumours surrounding Smyth when he was volunteering at the camps.

The review said: “[Welby] may not have known of the extreme seriousness of the abuse but it is most probable that he would have had at least a level of knowledge that John Smyth was of some concern.”
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In his resignation statement, Welby said: “It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.”

One of Smyth’s victims, known as Graham, who reported the abuse allegation in 2013, told the BBC: “The archbishop suggests he was just too busy. No one should be too busy to deal with a safeguarding disclosure. The archbishop has never answered why there were not enormous red flags when told about horrific abuse.”

Welby’s successor as archbishop of Canterbury is expected to be announced in the autumn after a lengthy and opaque selection process led by the UK’s former spy chief, Lord Evans of Weardale.

Pope Francis unleashes a historic attack on the Trump administration

The Pope, head of the Catholic Church, issued a rebuke of Donald Trump's mass deportation plan, stating that it removes the migrants of their inherent dignity as people and "will end badly."

Usually one to abstain from commenting directly on the internal politics of individual countries, Francis made his new remarks in a letter addressing U.S. bishops.

In it, he invoked the Bible's Book of Exodus and said that God is "always close, incarnate, migrant and refugee" and pointed out that Jesus Christ was "expelled from his own land" when his family fled to Egypt and had to "take refuge in a society and a culture foreign to his own."

Putting fake Christians to shame, Pope Francis went on to state that Jesus loved "everyone with a universal love" and taught us to see  the"dignity of every human being, without exception."

"Thus, all the Christian faithful and people of good will are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa," the pope wrote.

He then turned his pen towards addressing the United States directly.

"I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations," wrote Pope Francis.

"The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality," he continued.

"At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival."

"That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness," wrote the pope.

It was the next part of the letter that has really infuriated MAGA supporters. Recently, Vice President J.D. Vance — who was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic Church in 2019 — attacked the Church's compassionate teachings on immigration.

Proving that he either doesn't understand Catholic theology or would prefer to cherrypick what he likes and doesn't, Vance butchered a medieval concept known as "ordo amoris" or the "order of love."

"As an American leader, but also just as an American citizen, your compassion belongs first to your fellow citizens," Vance told Fox News. "That doesn’t mean you hate people from outside of your own borders, but there’s this old-school [concept] — and I think it’s a very Christian concept, by the way — that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world."

Of course, the idea that one should love those closest to you doesn't mean that you shouldn't love people from other countries. 

Vance shamelessly twisted the meaning to suit his party's xenophobic views. St. Augustine, who pioneered the concept that Vance was referencing, certainly didn't advocate for an authoritarian mass migration program.

In his letter, Pope Francis wrote that "Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups," a direct and blunt rebuke of Vance's claims.

"In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings!" the pope continued. 

"The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the 'Good Samaritan', that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception."

Francis warned against deploying "an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of truth."

He went on to urge the bishops in the United States to continue working "closely with migrants and refugees, proclaiming Jesus Christ" and "promoting fundamental human rights."

"God will richly reward all that you do for the protection and defense of those who are considered less valuable, less important or less human!" he added.

Pope Francis then turned his attention to the entire Catholic Church, urging its followers "not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters."

He concluded by calling for all of us to work towards a "a society that is more fraternal, inclusive and respectful of the dignity of all." 

In other words, we need to build a world where MAGA is not the law of the land.