St Brigid’s message: to be inspired by Jesus is to be truly satisfied – Archbishop Martin

Whenever Saint Brigid first chose to embrace the consecrated life, she was joined by seven other women.

The story is told that each of the women, after receiving the veil of religious life, chose one of the eight beatitudes of Jesus to be their motto – to represent the particular gift or ‘charism’ that they wanted to guide their life of dedication to God. 

It is a wonderful coincidence then that, as we celebrate the Feast of Saint Brigid this year on a Sunday, the set gospel reading from chapter five of Saint Matthew’s Gospel features those eight sayings of Jesus known as “the Beatitudes” which He spoke at the beginning of His famous ‘sermon on the mount’.

Jesus offered the ‘beatitudes’ to describe His way to holiness – the only pathway to true happiness. He tells us that “Happy” or “Blessed” are the poor in spirit; the gentle; those who mourn; and, those who hunger in thirst for what is right. He then singles out the merciful; the pure in heart; peacemakers; and, those who are persecuted in the cause of right.

If, like Saint Brigid and her companions, you were to select one of the beatitudes as your motto – to represent the kind of person you would like to be – which would you choose?  To be Poor in spirit?  Meek and gentle?  Someone who weeps or mourns the sin and suffering in the world?  Or, a person who hungers and thirsts for what is right?  Would you desire to be always a merciful person?  Or, to be pure in heart?  A peacemaker?  Or would you want to be known as someone willing to be persecuted in the cause of right?

Of course all eight of the beatitudes are inter-related.  They are not describing eight different types of person, but one: the perfect Christian!  They set out the essence of being the true follower of Christ.  No wonder then that our late Holy Father, Pope Francis, liked to describe the Beatitudes as the Christian’s “passport” or “identity card” – our blueprint for holiness.  If you are ever fortunate enough to meet someone who represents all eight beatitudes at once, then you have met a perfect Christian – you have met a saint!

The more I reflect on the life of Saint Brigid, the more I realise how much she represents a woman who brought the beatitudes to life!  Interestingly, when she was reflecting on which beatitude would most inspire her life of consecration to God, she chose: “Happy are the merciful”; “Blessed are the merciful – they shall have mercy shown them”.

Saint Brigid clearly wanted to model a life of mercy towards the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, those people who struggled with diseases or disabilities, the weak, the sinner, the lost.  Like Jesus, she wanted to promote their dignity at all times, to welcome them, to be with them, to accompany them.

They say she learned this beautiful quality from her Christian mother – remember, Saint Brigid lived at the very dawn of Christianity on this island; her mission was to call people away from empty paganism, from chasing after false and superficial gods and goddesses and instead to offer them Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Apparently, her pagan father couldn’t stand Brigid’s complete generosity towards the poor and the vulnerable – he felt she was going to bankrupt him by her kindness and goodness!

Saint Brigid was driven by compassion and hospitality to those whom the world tends to forget, or brush aside; she wanted her convent to be a haven of mercy for the weak – not just the materially poor, but also the poor in spirit, those who were spiritually hungering for the real food that would sustain them in life: the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, the Church of God.

She was truly “Saint Brigid of the Beatitudes”!  She, and her companions, did not want to live just one of the beatitudes; they wanted to “action” them all, and to model their lives as followers of Christ: poor in spirit, gentle, pure in heart, peacemakers, merciful, able to weep for the suffering and sinners, determined to work for what is right and just in the world even if it meant being persecuted for doing so.

Saint Brigid challenged people not to cling to the superficial and empty promises of pagan gods and goddesses; she was pointing them instead to the true God, to the Holy Spirit, to Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven!  Her clear message was to let your life be inspired by Jesus Christ and His beatitudes, and then you shall be truly satisfied: you shall inherit the earth; you shall be comforted; you shall have mercy shown you; you shall see God; you shall be called daughters and sons of God; yours will be the kingdom of heaven!

This is not an easy message.  The beatitudes of Jesus are very challenging – they turn the values of this world on their head – by saying it is the poor, the persecuted, the gentle, the humble, the pure in heart who find true happiness, rather than the rich and powerful, the strong and aggressive.  This world, often obsessed with money, power, individual freedoms and status, tries to convince us that it is those with the biggest armies, the most powerful weapons, the most money and access to celebrity, privilege and personal pleasure who are the greatest.  Jesus and Saint Brigid represent an entirely different pathway.  The way of the beatitudes; the promise of true perfection; the path to true happiness with God in eternal life.

Saint Brigid is often offered as a model for women in Ireland today.  Saint Brigid is certainly an inspiring example of the indispensable contribution that women make to the daily life and mission of the Church, and society.  Sadly, we live in a world where the personal dignity of women is too often threatened by violence, abuse, inequality, commercial surrogacy, pornography, and now by the manipulation of female images online, gender ideology, the false promise of abortion on demand and other forms of exploitation.

The voice of women – Saint Brigid’s voice – and the specific vocation and charism of women, is needed more than ever today, especially in the Church, for we struggle at times to navigate the complex, contradictory and misleading messages surrounding contemporary issues which, left unchecked, risk the “dehumanising” of human life and dignity.

Pope Saint John Paul II, in Christifideles Laici, (his Apostolic Exhortation on the vocation and mission of the lay faithful), emphasised that women exercise a special role in the mission of Christ because “women have the task of assuring the moral dimension of culture.”  He reminded us that God actually entrusted the human being to women, “precisely because the woman in virtue of her special experience of motherhood is seen to have a specific sensitivity towards the human person and all that constitutes the individual’s true welfare, beginning with the fundamental value of life.”

Saint Brigid of the Beatitudes reminds us today of the importance of promoting the specific charisms and dignity that women can bring to the Church’s mission. I am thinking especially of dialogue with contemporary society; decision-making, governance and leadership; education, catechesis and evangelisation.  The Church, and wider society, needs the particular insights and witness of women – inspired by Saint Brigid of the Beatitudes – in matters such the protection of human life; outreach to poor, vulnerable and marginalised people; the safeguarding of children, marriage and the family; quality education and spiritual formation in our schools and parishes; and best practice in care and support for those who are disabled, sick or dying.

For that reason, I wish to pay tribute today to women – pastoral and present – in Ireland and throughout the world who, like Saint Brigid, have consecrated their lives to God, and dedicated themselves generously to promoting mercy, dignity of the human person, compassion towards the poor and the sick, and many other religious gifts and charisms.

Tomorrow, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is also the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life.  Let us pray and give thanks for all women and men who have given up everything to serve God and the Church in such a selfless manner.  We pray for more vocations to the religious life, and to the priesthood, as well as for a deep sense of vocation in all the baptised – inspired by the Beatitudes!  We pray:
Saint Brigid,
You were a woman of peace.
You brought harmony where there was conflict.
You brought light to the darkness.
You brought hope to the downcast.
May the mantle of your peace
cover those who are troubled and anxious,
and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.
Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.
Strengthen what is weak within us.
Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater
wholeness in mind, body and spirit.
Amen.

A Naomh Bríd a Mhuire na nGael,
scar orainn do bhrat,
A Naomh Bríd a chroí na féile,
stiúir sinn ar an mbóthar ceart,
A Naomh Bríd gheanúil ghrástúil,
ar ár namhaid cosain sinn,
A Naomh Bríd a bhean rialta álainn,
ar uair ár mbáis glaoigh orainn.

Catholic diocese facing huge sex-abuse compo bill flags ‘financial uncertainty’

A Catholic church diocese facing a multi-million pound sex abuse compensation bill has lodged an application with a court over “material uncertainty regarding its finances” and asked for guidance on how to manage its shrinking assets.

The Diocese of Dromore has been at the centre of an abuse controversy over its handling of serial child abuser Malachy Finegan, a former priest of the diocese.

It has emerged that church authorities have made an application to the Chancery Court, which deals with various financial matters, last month.

It is understood a court hearing linked to the application was held behind closed doors on Friday.

Lawyers for the church were instructed to file an application for directions with the Chancery Court on behalf the Dioceses of Dromore Trustee “arising from material uncertainty regarding its finances”.

According to correspondence from church legal representatives, seen by the Irish News, it holds all assets of the parishes of the diocese, which includes churches, church halls, cemeteries and parochial houses.

The document confirms that since 2018, the Diocese of Dromore Trustee “has taken numerous measures to liquidate, or otherwise realise all other assets available for the benefit of the diocese, ie, assets that are not the parish assets within the Trust for the purpose of providing fair compensation to claimants for historical clerical abuse”.

The Diocese of Dromore covers parts of counties Antrim, Armagh and Down, taking in 23 parishes and 48 churches and has an estimated Catholic population of around 65,000.

While the Catholic church has been in the grip of child abuse scandals since the 1990s, it is understood to be rare for church leaders to ask the courts for financial guidance.

A former president of St Colman’s College in Newry, Finegan, who some suspect was an RUC informer, abused boys under his care and later did so as parish priest of Clonduff in Hilltown, Co Down.

It is believed that around 12 young boys were targeted at St Colman’s by Finegan, who died in 2002, while many more were physically assaulted.

In 2021 church chiefs set up a £2.5m redress scheme, with a cap of £80,000, and pledged to “exhaust” its resources if required.

Last month church authorities agreed the sale of the Bishop’s House in Newry, while the sale of the associated land remains pending.,

The contents of the house, including ornate furniture, paintings and ornaments, were also sold off last year.

Earlier this year (January 2026), five former pupils who said Finegan groomed and abused them obtained an enforcement order for damages of more than £1m.

The church has now sought guidance from the Chancery Court regarding “what further assets, if any, are available to the trustees outside the Bishop’s House and the lands…for the benefit of the diocese”.

Lawyers for the church add that “such determination may necessitate the court’s adjudication on whether the Trustee is obliged to dispose of parish assets in satisfaction of claimants’ demands or whether these assets fall outside the assets available for distribution”.

They have also questioned “what is the appropriate method for the distribution of funds now available from the sale of the Bishop’s House and in due course to make the same assessment in relation to any funds which will become available from the sale of the lands”.

In 2018 former Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey stood down over criticism of how he dealt with Finegan.

The diocese’s current apostolic administrator is Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Kevin Winters, of KRW Law, said the “rumours of the impecuniosity of the diocese have been rife for some time now”.

Mr Winters, who represents several of Finegan’s victims, added that “in some respects we aren’t surprised at the latest development”.

“As of today, we are on alert now to take steps to protect the position of victims and survivors.

“Their interests need to be at the centre of whatever legal processes are underway to realise funds.

“They need to be at the very top of the queue when it comes prioritising payments from the sale of assets.”

And he added: “we also need to guard against any hint of victim blaming when it comes to examining the dire financial status of the diocese”.

The Catholic Church referred to a letter sent by Archbishop Martin to parishioners in December informing them of the sale of the Bishop’s House.

He added: “In order to remain fully compliant with its legal duties, the Diocese has requested direction from the High Court in this past week concerning its financial position. I shall inform you of the result of this request when it becomes available.”

Plans for former St Clare's Convent in Kenmare will transform town

Unanimous approval has been voiced by councillors in Kenmare for plans on the former St Clare’s Convent, which they say will transform the town.

A family resource centre, civic offices, municipal council meeting room, and a car park with 125 spaces are to be provided under the plans.

The Sisters of St Clare, known as the Poor Clare nuns, left Kenmare in 2023 after more than a century and a half in Kenmare. 

The sisters who arrived in the 1860s had donated previous properties for schools and had set up lace-making and other industries, as well as schools. 

Their small new convent on five acres at the edge of the town was their last remaining property. 

Following approaches by the local council, it was sold at cost without ever going on the open market.

The property is to be used for community use as part of the agreement with the council.

Councillors at the meeting of Kenmare Municipal District voted unanimously to approve plans for what they said was a much-needed car park for Kenmare, as well as a family resource centre.

In his report to the meeting, municipal district manager James Nolan referred to issues raised during the public consultation process and outlined the proposed works, including the provision of 125 car parking spaces.

Provision for bus parking included in plans

There is also to be a bus parking space for five coaches as well as a minibus space.

“The long-term vision and strategy for Kenmare is to enhance its position as a tourist destination and historic town that is competitive nationally and internationally in attracting investment, talent, enterprise, and visitors,” Mr Nolan said.

Building on Kenmare’s scenic location would be a high-quality public realm environment, he said.

The council has worked with the Kenmare Family Resource Centre, which has been searching for premises. 

The resource centre provides services for the community in the greater Kenmare area, including low-cost counselling, helping youth, young children, people living in isolation, as well as migrants.

The Part 8 planning was proposed by Cllr Dan McCarthy (Ind). It was unanimously supported.

“It’s a massive move for Kenmare,” Cllr Johnny Healy-Rae (Ind) said.

This and a bypass for Kenmare would transform the town, he added.

'Beautiful plan' would benefit planned town

Chair of the Kenmare municipal district Cllr Norma Moriarty (FF) said the "beautiful plan" would benefit what was already a planned town.

However, rural regeneration development funding was refused, the meeting was told. 

Other funding streams are being sought to progress the refurbishment and 45sq m extension and car park.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage had asked if a bat survey was carried out to indicate the presence of the lesser horseshoe bat.

A survey in 2024 found no significant external roost features. And while access for bats into the interior of the roof was considered feasible through gaps in fascia and soffit, the gaps were cobwebbed over, indicating no disturbance.

“On no occasion were any species of bats seen emerging or re-entering this building during surveys,” the council found.

In 2023, a celebratory mass attracting a packed congregation was held in honour of the Sisters' rich contribution to the town.

What is Project Spire and why is it dividing the Church of England?

The new archbishop of Canterbury has defended Project Spire, the Church of England’s £100m project to address its historical connections to transatlantic slavery.

Responding to a letter sent by 24 Conservative MPs and four Conservative peers, Dame Sarah Mullally, who wa inaugurated last week, said the church had a “calling to confront historic justice”.

Tory critics had said “it’s wrong to try and justify diverting £100m” at a time when “churches across the country are struggling to keep their doors open”.

However, Mullally said: “Project Spire does not diminish the church’s support of or investment in parish ministry or clergy … far from it, support for dioceses and parishes continues to increase.”

The issue reflects ideological divides in the wider Anglican community.

On the one hand, some feel the church has a moral obligation to redress past wrongs and that a church committed to racial justice goes to the essence of Christianity, reflecting the significant contribution of African, Asian and diaspora communities to the survival of the church.

On other hand are those who are concerned about the scale of the commitment, or are wary of the church appearing political, as well as right-leaning Anglicans who do not think it is necessary or justified.

          What is Project Spire?

Project Spire is a reparative justice initiative by the C of E to address its past links to the trade and exploitation of enslaved African peoples.

It dates back to 2019, when Church Commissioners – the body that manages the church’s assets – decided to research the origins of a predecessor endowment fund dating back to 1704 called Queen Anne’s Bounty.

The research showed the fund had links, through investments and benefactions, with transatlantic slavery. 

In response, Church Commissioners made a £100m funding commitment “to invest in a better future for all, working with and for communities affected by historic transatlantic slavery”.

How will the £100m be used?

The funding, Church Commissioners said, would be used to establish an “impact investment fund”. 

In finance, impact investing typically involves deploying capital to enterprises in the hope of achieving positive social or environmental goals as well as a financial return.

Church Commissioners hope Project Spire’s fund – known as the Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice – “will grow over time, reinvesting returns to enable it to have a positive legacy that will exist in perpetuity, and with the potential for other institutions to participate, further enabling growth”.

The church said it hoped growth in the fund “will also enable grant funding for projects focused on improving opportunities for communities adversely impacted by historic slavery”.

Under Project Spire, the church has also committed to “further research into the Church Commissioners’ history, supporting dioceses, cathedrals and parishes to research and address their past links with slavery, and sharing best practice with other organisations researching their slavery legacies”.

What stage is the project at?

Last year, Marsha de Cordova, the second church estates commissioner and Labour MP for Battersea, told the Commons that Church Commissioners was engaged in informal discussions with the Charity Commission “to consider what regulatory approvals may be required to progress this project”.

What has been happening in the meantime?

As work has continued on the technicalities of the project, Anglicans, affected communities, politicians, historians and rightwing critics have been debating its merits.

Between January and October 2023, Church Commissioners and the independent Oversight Group set up to oversee Project Spire conducted focus groups in Jamaica, Barbados, Ghana and England and rolled out a global questionnaire.

The Oversight Group’s subsequent report to the Church Commissioners’ board, in spring 2024, found “there was deep concern that the full role of the Church Commissioners and the Church of England in African chattel enslavement and its legacies had not been sufficiently exposed, acknowledged and repaired” among respondents.

It added: “An overriding and consistent belief expressed by respondents was that £100m is not enough, relative either to the scale of the Church Commissioners’ endowment or to the scale of the moral sin and crime.”

The report added: “Impact investments into Black-led businesses can generate returns that would replenish and enable funding to be deployed to relevant causes in the African diaspora.”

On the other side of the argument, last year the conservative thinktank Policy Exchange accused Project Spire of being “historically uninformed” and a “departure by the Church Commissioners from their core duties” to English parishes, while a handful of historians and General Synod members made a public call to scrap it, followed by Tory MPs urging Mullally to ditch it in December.

What else is the church doing?

Separate from Project Spire, Church Commissioners are releasing £730,000 to fund community cohesion projects in the diocese of London, including support for migrants, “theologically informed” anti-racism resources and education on church buildings’ links to transatlantic slavery for three years. 

This aims to further the goals laid out in 2021’s From Lament to Action report, which set out changes required to tackle “racial sin” and a lack of diversity in church hierarchy.

Pope received his auditor

Farewell visit or extension? 

On Saturday, Pope Leo XIV received his top auditor, Alessandro Cassinis Righini. 

The Vatican initially said this without further information. 

The 61-year-old economist has officially held the position created under Pope Francis (2013-2025) since 2021, already holding it since 2017 transitionally. 

The term of office is five years and can be extended once.

The Office of the General Auditor for Financial Affairs had Pope Francis re-established in 2014. 

It shall review the balance sheets of all the authorities and offices of the Holy See and shall report financial irregularities to the Vatican Economic Council where appropriate. 

His office works independently and reports directly to the respective pope. 

A month after his election as Pope on 8th. May 2025, Leo XIV, Cassinis Righini was received in private audience.

Pope Leo XIV: Abortion's greatest destroyer of peace

Pope Leo XIV has called abortion the "biggest destroyer of peace." 

At an audience on Saturday at the Vatican, Leo XIV quoted these words of the canonized Mother Teresa (1910-1997) in front of young politicians. 

The voice of the religious and Nobel Peace Prize winner is still prophetic today, according to the Pope. 

“No politics can put themselves at the service of the peoples if it excludes those who want to come to the world from life if it does not help those who are in material and spiritual distress.”

There can be no peace without ending the war that humanity is waging against itself, the Catholic head of the church said. "Only those who care for the little ones can really do great things." 

The young people urged Leo XIV to "honor peace when he is there, and to realize it when it is missing."

Leo XIV thanks the loyalty of the servants of the Pontifical Household and emphasizes the spiritual value of their service

Pope Leo XIV received in audience, on the morning of February 1, the Gentlemen of His Holiness, the Chamber Assistants, and the Pontifical Sediaries, to whom he expressed his gratitude for the faithful and discreet service they provide to the Successor of Peter, emphasizing that their work is not limited to protocol, but requires solid faith, a coherent life, and authentic devotion to the Church and the Pope.

The audience took place in the Vatican Apostolic Palace and was expressly dedicated to these bodies serving the Pontifical Household, whose daily task accompanies the exercise of the Petrine ministry in a silent but constant manner.

A service marked by fidelity and discretion

In his discourse, delivered in Italian, the Pontiff wished to personally thank those present for the spirit of fidelity with which they carry out their mission. He greeted the Regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, and the Vice-Regent, Father Edward Daleng, O.S.A., who are responsible for coordinating the work of these bodies.

Leo XIV highlighted that this dedication accompanies and sustains him daily in the apostolic mission, both in State visits and in audiences and meetings, whether solemn or of a more familiar nature. In this context, he summarized the meaning of their service in three verbs that, in his view, express its essence: “to prepare, to welcome, and to greet”.

Who are the Gentlemen, Chamber Assistants, and Pontifical Sediaries

The Gentlemen of His Holiness form part of the honor service of the Pontifical Household. Today mainly honorary in nature, they collaborate in solemn acts, official audiences, and liturgical celebrations, representing a historical continuity of service to the Pope and of the pontifical ceremonial.

The Chamber Assistants perform operational functions within the Apostolic Palace. Their work focuses on the practical organization of audiences, the order of access, and the proper arrangement of pontifical encounters, ensuring they take place in accordance with the established protocol.

The Pontifical Sediaries, one of the oldest bodies in direct service to the Pope, provide personal and logistical assistance during audiences, liturgical celebrations, and public acts. Traditionally responsible for carrying the sedia gestatoria, today they continue to perform tasks of direct support to the Pontiff in his daily activity.

The three bodies depend on the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and act in a coordinated manner, especially in the most relevant institutional and liturgical acts.

Protocol, faith, and coherence of life

In his address, Leo XIV recalled that the sober beauty of the pontifical protocol must be reflected in every gesture and attitude of those who serve in the Pontifical Household. Evoking the history of those who preceded them, he exhorted those present to bear witness to those values with a coherent life.

At the conclusion of the audience, Leo XIV encouraged those present to continue with commitment in the various services they perform, each according to their function, and reiterated his recognition by imparting the Apostolic Blessing, which he also extended to their families and loved ones.

- - - - -

In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!

Good morning to all, welcome!

Dear Gentlemen, Chamber Assistants, and Sediaries:

I am particularly pleased with this meeting, which—for once—is dedicated precisely to you, and allows me to address you with a word of gratitude and encouragement. I greet the Regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, and the Vice-Regent, Father Edward Daleng, O.S.A., who coordinate your service. 

To all, I express my recognition, especially for the spirit of fidelity to the Pope with which you carry it out. This dedication accompanies me and helps me daily in the apostolic mission, redounding to the benefit of all those I meet in State visits, in audiences, in the most solemn occasions as well as in the more familiar ones.6

To this end, I think that your work can be well summarized in three verbs, which safeguard its meaning and value: to prepare, to welcome, to greet.

The quality of an encounter, in fact, begins with the care that distinguishes its preparations, even in the details. Rich in history and art, the space we inhabit demands, in this regard, a service as attentive as it is humble. Following the arrangement of the environments comes the diligence of gestures of welcome and greeting that are noble but not affected, elegant but not sophisticated, in such a way that they communicate affability to anyone. Be it prince or pilgrim, patriarch or petitioner, the solicitude of the Successor of Peter remains identical toward all and loving toward each one.

The sober beauty that characterizes the pontifical protocol is reflected in each of your gestures. Thinking of the history of those who have preceded you, bear witness to their values with a coherent life, fully aware that the honor service certainly requires a particular deontology, but even before that, solid faith, and therefore a spiritual style marked by devotion to the Church and the Pope. May the actions, posture, and gazes of each day always be their luminous mirror.

While I exhort you to continue with commitment the various services in which you collaborate, each according to their own function, I confirm my recognition toward you by imparting the Apostolic Blessing, which I gladly extend to your families and loved ones. Thank you!

Rome Prosecutor's Office seeks to try priest and journalist Antonio Pelayo for alleged sexual violence against a television producer

The Spanish priest and journalist Antonio Pelayo, correspondent in Rome for decades, will sit in the dock in Italy for an alleged sexual offense following the complaint filed by a young television producer. 

The information comes from a report by El Mundo, who have had access to both the complaint and the prosecution’s indictment from the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, as well as messages exchanged between the complainant and the accused.

The report places the events in May 2025, in a context of professional contacts prior to the last conclave, and states that the first hearing of the trial has been set for May 14, 2026, by the Rome Criminal Court. 

Pelayo declined to make statements to the media on the advice of his lawyer.

What the Italian justice system is investigating

According to the prosecution’s document incorporated into the case, the accused would have performed “sexual acts” without consent during a professional meeting. 

The Public Prosecutor’s narrative describes two episodes: first, sitting on a sofa, Pelayo would have suddenly approached the complainant, grabbed him by the shoulder, kissed him between the neck and shoulder, and inserted his hand under the t-shirt, touching his back, side, and abdomen, “thus preventing the victim from moving or reacting”.

The second episode, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, would have occurred in the kitchen: Pelayo would have hugged the complainant from the front and put “both hands under the pants,” repeatedly touching his buttocks.

According to El Mundo, the Italian justice system is investigating whether Antonio Pelayo forced the complainant to submit to sexual acts without his consent, in events that the Prosecutor’s Office frames under article 609-bis of the Italian Penal Code, relating to sexual violence.

Chronology of the events and the complaint

• Late February 2025: the television producer contacts Pelayo, according to the report, in the context of informational preparation ahead of a possible conclave following Pope Francis’s hospitalization.

• May 7–8, 2025: the conclave takes place, which the report refers to as “the last,” in which the new Pope would have been elected.

• Friday, May 23, 2025: the date on which the complainant places the episode at Pelayo’s home in Rome, according to the complaint cited by Crónica.

• Saturday, May 24, 2025: Pelayo sends a first apology message to the young man, according to the messages reproduced by the media.

• Sunday, May 25, 2025: the complainant responds in writing expressing discomfort about what happened and stating that he did not want physical contact, according to the published exchange of messages.

• Monday, May 26, 2025: Pelayo insists on apologizing in a new message, according to Crónica.

• Wednesday, May 28, 2025: the complainant files the complaint at a police station in central Rome, according to the report.

The report adds that the Carabinieri opened an investigation, that Pelayo later testified in court, and that his defense requested dismissal without success.

Procedural situation

The report indicates that, following the complaint, the Carabinieri initiated an investigation and a judicial case was opened. Pelayo’s defense would have requested dismissal, without success. According to El Mundo, the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, after analyzing the evidence gathered, requested on November 6 the indictment of Pelayo for the alleged offense under article 609-bis.

Likewise, the Rome Criminal Court would have notified the parties that the first hearing will take place on May 14, 2026, the date on which Pelayo will appear as the accused.

The report identifies Ilaria Corda and Giuseppe Cascini as those responsible for the sexual offenses area of the Prosecutor’s Office who coordinated the investigation with the Carabinieri, and the lawyers Massimiliano Lecce and Federico Olivo as counsel for the prosecution/representation of the complainant.

Reactions gathered by the report

The victim makes a single statement without going into details: “For me, all the people who know the facts are accomplices,” and also claims that there is a climate of silence surrounding what happened. After the events, he went to a psychologist on the same day he filed the complaint and his company supported him; months later, at the end of 2025, the international television network for which he works assigned him outside Italy.

As for the accused, the report states that Pelayo declined to make statements when contacted by telephone, on the recommendation of his lawyer. It also mentions messages attributed to Pelayo after the reported episode, in which he repeatedly apologizes and expresses shame, according to the published text.

Antonio Pelayo: brief biography (according to El Mundo)

Antonio Pelayo Bombín was born in Valladolid in January 1944. He entered the seminary at age 11 and trained at Comillas with the Jesuits; he completed minor seminary, Philosophy, and Theology before being ordained a priest.

His journalistic beginnings, according to the profile outlined in the report, include the newspaper Ya, collaborations with a film magazine (Cinestudio), and film reviews in Vida Nueva. In 1976 he moved to Paris as a correspondent and in January 1986 he relocated to Rome to cover Italian life and the Holy See.

The media adds that, during his four decades in Rome, he has covered five conclaves and that currently he is a correspondent for Antena 3 and “dean of the Vaticanists.”

Finally, the report indicates that Pelayo has served as an advisor to the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See since 2005 in a “voluntary and unpaid” capacity, but that, according to sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pelayo “currently does not exercise” his function as voluntary advisor at the Spanish embassy to the Holy See, while the evolution of the case is being followed.

Leo XIV postpones his move to the Apostolic Palace and returns the free apartments to the cardinals

The move of Pope Leo XIV to the Apostolic Palace will not take place in January as planned, but will be delayed at least until February due to the ongoing adaptation works in the pontifical residence. 

This is reported by the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, citing Vatican sources and statements from the Holy See’s spokesperson, Matteo Bruni.

As Bruni explained, the Pontiff has decided to use as housing the spaces traditionally destined for his predecessors, both for his personal residence and for the work of his closest collaborators. 

Among them is the attic located above the Third Loggia, where the small apartments of the papal secretaries were previously located and which could now become the Pope’s direct residence.

Since his arrival at the Vatican in 2023, the Apostolic Palace will be Leo XIV’s third residence. 

He currently lives in the Palace of the Holy Office, in the apartment he already occupied when he was elected Pope. It is a 250-square-meter dwelling located on the third floor of staircase C, right above the office of the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with views of both St. Peter’s dome and via di Porta Cavalleggeri.

Before settling there, the then Cardinal Prevost resided for nearly two years in an apartment located on via di Porta Angelica, outside the Vatican extraterritorial zone. 

According to Il Giornale, that former Roman home of the Pope is now occupied by Antonio Avati, brother and producer of the well-known film director Pupi Avati. 

The filmmaker recounted that they discovered the origin of the property by chance upon finding receipts in Prevost’s name and does not rule out bringing this story to the cinema, describing the experience as a “spiritual embrace” at a delicate moment for his family.

But the most relevant movement occurs in the Vatican real estate sphere. 

According to the information published by Il Giornale, starting tomorrow a decree will come into effect that repeals the rescript of February 13, 2023, promoted by Pope Francis, through which free or reduced-price accommodations for cardinals, dicastery heads, presidents, and active secretaries had been eliminated.

With the new provision, these categories will once again be able to enjoy, under a free loan regime, dwellings belonging to the Holy See’s patrimony. 

A decision that, according to various internal sources, seeks to mark a change in style and close a stage considered by many as excessively populist.

Leo XIV’s remarks to Doctrine office give subtle signals

Pope Leo XIV addressed the participants in the plenary session of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Thursday of last week, and his remarks for the occasion reward careful attention.

Gently and without fanfare, without spectacle, in terms humane and genuinely solicitous of the department’s work, Leo set not so much a new agenda as a new – old – course for the office, after a two-year adventure inaugurated when Francis named Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández to lead the dicastery.

“I am well aware of the valuable service you perform,” Leo said, “with the aim – as the Constitution Praedicate Evangelium states – to ‘help the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world by promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic teaching on faith and morals … by drawing upon the deposit of faith and seeking an ever deeper understanding of it in the face of new questions’.”

That one sentence essentially restored the doctrine dicastery to factory settings.

Often described as the “doctrinal watchdog” of the Vatican and historically styled La Suprema, the office now officially called the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has for centuries policed doctrine and exercised oversight over all the departments of the Roman curia.

Under Pope Francis, however, the office saw itself sidelined.

It is no secret that Francis liked to do things his way, torpedoes be damned, and he liked to keep the high prelates who were supposed to constitute his inner circle of official advisors very much at arm’s length from his counsels and even in the dark about his plans.

John L. Allen Jr. even likened Francis to US President Donald Trump, noting their common preference for informal “kitchen cabinet” advisors and inveterate practice of what Allen called a “keep-’em-guessing” style of governance.

Fernández was for many years a member of the kitchen cabinet, frequently exercising the role of papal ghostwriter and serving as Francis’s theological eminence grise during the first decade of the Francis pontificate.

“Close observers are well aware,” Allen wrote in 2017, “that when it comes to theological matters, Francis relies much more on Argentine Archbishop Victor Fernández, an old friend who heads the Pontifical Catholic University in Buenos Aires, than whoever happens to be running the CDF [Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith].”

In 2023, however, Francis made Fernández prefect of the DDF (formerly known as the CDF), a move that didn’t take Fernández out of the kitchen cabinet so much as it did further obscure the already blurry lines between official and unofficial modes and orders in Vatican operations.

Francis also took another unusual step – highly unusual, to be perfectly frank – of outlining Fernández’s mission profile for him in a private letter Francis caused to be published.

In a nutshell, Francis told Fernández he wanted the DDF prefect to focus on fostering theological dialogue and leave the watchdog work well enough alone. “The Dicastery over which you will preside in other times came to use immoral methods,” Francis wrote.

“Those were times,” Francis wrote, “when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, possible doctrinal errors were pursued.”

“What I expect from you is certainly something very different,” Francis continued. Under Fernández, the DDF would still “guard the teaching that flows from the faith in order to ‘to give reasons for our hope’,” Francis also wrote, “but not as an enemy who critiques and condemns.”

That part about guarding the teaching of the Church in order to “give reasons for our hope” was a reference to the 1^st Letter of St. Peter, and the part about doing it “not as an enemy who critiques and condemns” came straight from Francis’s 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, in the drafting of which Fernández had something of a hand.

Observers including this one wondered aloud at the time what good a doctrine office unbothered with doctrine could possibly do.

Even Pope Leo’s restoration of the DDF to factory settings he accomplished by citing the plain text of Pope Francis’s own curial reform law.

One other remark the new pontiff made in the address is also worth flagging.

“I would like to mention, Leo said, “another service of yours, for which I am grateful and which I commend to your care: That of welcoming and accompanying, with every kindness and judgement, the Bishops and Superiors General called to deal with cases of crimes reserved to the Dicastery.”

“This is a very delicate area of ministry,” Leo said, “in which it is essential to ensure that the requirements of justice, truth and charity are always honored and respected.”

The remark echoed others Leo made on Monday of last week to the judges of the Roman Rota, which deals mostly with marriage nullity cases.

Leo focused his remarks to the judges of the Rota on the close connection between the “truth of justice” and the “virtue of charity.”

“These are not two opposing principles,” Leo said, “nor are they values to be balanced according to purely pragmatic criteria, but two intrinsically united dimensions that find their deepest harmony in the very mystery of God, who is Love and Truth.”

“In fact,” Leo said, “misunderstood compassion, even if apparently motivated by pastoral zeal, risks obscuring the necessary dimension of ascertaining the truth proper to the judicial office.”

“This can happen not only in cases of matrimonial nullity,” Leo said, “but also in any type of proceeding, undermining its rigor and fairness.”

Leo has spoken to Crux of the need to protect the procedural rights of the accused in abuse cases and of the need to achieve justice more speedily, as well as of the need to give victims of abuse sustained and genuinely compassionate care.

Observers across the spectrum of opinion in the Church agree that securing justice in abuse cases is integral to the task of caring for victims, and justice depends not only on procedural rigor and regularity but also on procedural transparency.

Without procedural transparency, it is impossible to ascertain the extent to which processes have been rigorous and regular. It is also impossible – or at least far more difficult than it ought to be – for a body of criminal jurisprudence to develop.

The case that remains the proverbial elephant in the room is that of Father Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit and disgraced celebrity artist accused of the serial sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse of dozens of adult victims over several decades, who very nearly escaped prosecution when the DDF ruled the charges against him statute-barred.

Only after an intervention from Cardinal Sean O’Malley – then the head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, styling itself the Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons – and incandescent global outrage at the news Rupnik had been welcomed to serve as a priest of a diocese in his native Slovenia, did Pope Francis see fit to waive the statute of limitations and allow a trial to proceed.

That was in October of 2023.

In October of last year, the Vatican announced that judges had finally been empaneled to hear the case against Rupnik, but the judges were not named and there was no word on what sort of process Rupnik would face or on what specific charges.

Jurists, reform advocates, and the faithful have long noted that justice done in the dark is no justice at all, and it is universally accepted as a maxim that justice delayed is justice denied.

Pope voices ‘great concern’ over rising Cuba-U.S. tensions

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday voiced "great concern” over news of rising tensions between Cuba and the United States of America, urging leaders to pursue “sincere and effective” dialogue to avoid violence and further suffering for the Cuban people.

His appeal, delivered after he recited the Angelus from the Apostolic Palace, came after Donald Trump’s administration issued an executive order late Thursday intensifying economic pressure on the island, including the possibility of imposing tariffs on countries that supply crude oil to Cuba. 

The order describes Cuba’s posture toward the U.S. as hostile and calls it a “national threat."

The pope explicitly aligned himself with an appeal from Cuba’s bishops and called on those responsible to choose dialogue over escalation: “I join the message of the Cuban bishops, inviting all those responsible to promote a sincere and effective dialogue, to avoid violence and any action that could increase the sufferings of the dear Cuban people.”

He then entrusted the Cuban people to the patroness of the island: “May the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre assist and protect all the children of that beloved land!”

Beatitudes as God’s lights “in the half-light of history”

Earlier in his Angelus reflection, the pope focused on the Gospel Beatitudes, calling them “lights that the Lord kindles in the half-light of history,” revealing God’s saving plan carried out through Christ “by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

He said Christ gives the disciples a “new law” written in hearts rather than on stone—one that “renews our life and makes it good, even when to the world it seems failed and wretched.” Only God, he said, can truly call the poor and afflicted blessed, satisfy those who seek peace and justice, and give joy to the meek, merciful, and pure of heart.

“In persecution, God is the source of redemption; in falsehood, he is the anchor of truth,” the pope said, adding that Jesus therefore proclaims: “Rejoice and be glad!”

Prayers for disaster victims, peace appeal ahead of Olympics

After the Angelus, the pope said he was praying for victims of a landslide at a mine in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He asked prayers as well for the dead and those suffering due to storms that recently struck Portugal and southern Italy, and he noted the severe flooding affecting Mozambique.

Marking Italy’s National Day of Civilian Victims of Wars and Conflicts in the World, the pope lamented the ongoing toll of armed actions that violate morality and law, and said victims will be truly honored when this “intolerable injustice” ends.

Looking ahead to the Winter Olympics in 2026 Winter Olympics, Leo offered good wishes to organizers and athletes and expressed hope that the ancient Olympic truce tradition might prompt “concrete gestures of détente and dialogue” by those in authority.

Pope welcomes new Marian mosaic, St. Rose of Lima statue in Vatican Gardens

The Vatican Gardens welcomed a new Marian mosaic and a statue of St. Rose of Lima, both created by young artists from Peru — in a ceremony that clearly delighted Pope Leo XIV — an American-born pope that holds Peru in “a special place” in his heart.

Calling the ceremony “a joyous occasion” as rain fell on the Vatican, the pope said that the donation of the Peruvian bishops — unveiled on the occasion of their ad limina visit — “renews the deep bonds of faith and friendship that unite Peru — a country so dear to me — with the Holy See.”

Peru’s ambassador to the Holy See invited Pope Leo to come to Peru during the ceremony.

During the Jan. 31 event, Jorge Fernando Ponce San Román, shared the “infinite gratitude of all the people of Peru to our Pope Leo XIV for this new expression of affection” — by placing the mosaic and statue of Peru’s beloved saint in the Vatican Gardens.

“I also want to reiterate that this land, sanctified, as the pope called it, awaits you, Holy Father, with hope, with faith,” he said.

Peru forever represented in the Vatican Gardens

Bishop Carlos Enrique García Camader of Lurín and president of the Peruvian bishops’ conference, said that the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Vatican Gardens “will forever represent our people, our Peruvian people, who are deeply Marian.” She, the bishop said, “in her various advocations, will represent what Peru is: an unwavering faith, a firm hope, and a people marked by charity.”

Speaking about the sculpture of St. Rose of Lima, he described her as “a worthy daughter of St. Dominic, but also a worthy representative of Peru. We can say that Latin America is protected here in the Vatican Gardens by the luminous expression of these two images.”

“Gathered in this beautiful place, where everything speaks to us of the Creator and the beauty of creation, I wish to express my gratitude first and foremost to the artists who created these works and to all those who made it possible for us to enjoy this happy occasion today,” Pope Leo said in the Vatican Gardens, which historical walls are decorated with many mosaics.

Don Bosco Family of Artisans created the works

The creation of the two works was entrusted to the Don Bosco Family of Artisans, a community of young artists from the Peruvian Andes, trained in art and religious research by Father Ugo De Censi, a Salesian priest that spent 70 years in the Andes, creating, among other church works, artisan schools for underprivileged young people. 

Young Peruvian artist, Edwin Morales, created the sculpture, from the white travertine marble of Huancayo, Peru.

Lenin Álvarez Medina, responsible for the mosaics of the Virgin Mary, spoke during the ceremony. Originally from Cajamarca, Peru, he remembered Father Ugo as one who changed his life.

He “profoundly impacted my life and the lives of thousands of young people in Italy and South America,” he said of the priest that died in 2018 after founding several seminaries and artistic schools in the region.

“These workshops … have been serving communities in Peru and other countries in the region for over 50 years,” Álvarez said before the mosaics and the sculpture were unveiled. 

Ancestral techniques applied to devotion

Turning to the pope, he said, “Soon you will be able to admire the beautiful sculpture of our beloved St. Rose, the first saint of the Americas, who lovingly holds the Child Jesus in her arms. He offers her a ring and a bouquet of roses, representing the mystical betrothal. At her feet rests an anchor, a symbol of hope and a historical reminder of her defense against pirates,” the artist explained on behalf of Morales, the sculptor. 

Explaining teamwork behind the mosaic, Álvarez recounted that Italian artists from Fabbrica di San Pietro in the Vatican — same that recently made headlines for completing the official mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV, installed in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls — arrived in Peru in 2009 to pass on their knowledge on the art of mosaic making. 

“They taught us their ancestral techniques, thus sowing the seed from which we can see the fruits today,” Álvarez said, explaining that the mosaic “represents Peru’s devotion to our Mother, Virgin Mary.”

The rich mosaic’s central image of the Immaculate Virgin is surrounded by “seven of the most representative Marian devotions of Peru,” the artist pointed out, “intertwined with the national colors as a symbol of national unity.”

Themes of holiness at Vatican Gardens

The work was crafted with Venetian enamel, stone and gold by nine Chinese artisans. 

“Reaching the Vatican Gardens is, for us, the artisans of Don Bosco, an immense gift. Father Ugo had always dreamed that his children would achieve this. That the path of art could take them far, and now they have crossed the ocean. Ultimately, these works demonstrate that art is a gift from God, and as such, it comes from him and returns to him,” the artist said.

“The two figures … remind us of the theme of holiness,” the pope said, speaking at the end of the ceremony of the two works unveiled, that he blessed and sprinkled with holy water.

“These beautiful images we contemplate today remind us of the greatness of the vocation to which God calls us, that is, the universal call to holiness. I encourage you to be, with God’s grace, witnesses and examples of that holiness in today’s world,” the pope said.

Bishop García added that the figures — that both the pope, clergy, pilgrims and tourists can now admire in the Holy See’s iconic gardens — remind people that “holiness flourished from the very beginning in the Americas and continues to flourish.”

St. Rose, Peru’s beloved saint

Speaking of Peru’s beloved saint — the first canonized saint of the Western Hemisphere and a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic, who refused to marry and cared for homeless children, the elderly, and the sick — Bishop  García said, “Rose’s witness should continue to enlighten each of us before a people wounded by violence, hunger, indifference, hired killers, and so many other things we see today.”

The power of the Gospel, he stressed, “works with particular fruitfulness through the simple and the humble.”

He said that the gifts to the Vatican Gardens are an expression of Peruvian Church’s communion with the pope and the universal Church.

“This communion is strengthened by the closeness of a pope who knows how to listen, welcome, and reshape, who walks with the people of God. He demonstrated this in our land, day after day, and whose missionary heart has always understood and loved the soul of our Peruvian people.”

Pope Leo’s second homeland

Peru is Pope Leo’s second homeland and a large part of the pontiff’s life. He spent over a decade working in the country as an Augustinian missionary until he was elected by his order to serve as prior provincial and then prior general in Chicago between 1999-2013. 

He returned to Peru when the late Pope Francis appointed him in 2014 to be apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo and named him the diocese’s bishop the following year. 

He moved to Rome when he started leading the Dicastery for Bishops in 2023 and was made a cardinal, before his election to the papacy in 2025.

Labor standoff at LA’s Loyola Marymount University a battle over Catholic teaching

While the social teaching of the Catholic Church — including that of several popes — has long supported the philosophy of labor unions in the private and public sector, such an imprimatur hasn’t always extended in practice to the Church’s own institutions.

At Jesuit-run Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, a group of non-tenure track professors currently accuse its administration of union busting in violation of Catholic social teaching, while the administration charges it has the right to invoke a religious exemption to bargaining with a “third party” labor union in order to protect the school’s “distinctive Catholic mission” and ensure the school can financially continue to serve students for generations to come.

OSV News spoke to representatives of both parties — as well as the Catholic Labor Network — to learn where the situation currently stands.

Arik Greenberg, clinical assistant professor of interreligious dialogue in the Department of Theological Studies, who has taught at LMU since 2003 — has been involved with the movement to unionize non-tenure track LMU professors since 2011. He was one of the founders of the initial unsuccessful union drive in 2013.

“We spent the next 10 years playing by the university administration’s rules,” Greenberg told OSV News. “We did what they asked, to just give them a chance to make things better, to show they can treat us better, and we are, in fact, a family — and that we don’t need a union, a ‘third party.'”

“I’m using a lot of scare quotes here,” he continued, “that we don’t need a ‘third party’ — big bad union speak — they’ll negotiate directly with us. And they’ll try to find what it is we need, and take it under advisement. And really, very little has changed in the last 10 years.”

Labor negotiations start, then stall

In June 2024, LMU union organizers tried again — this time winning their drive to join Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721, with 90% in favor. The bargaining unit includes nearly 400 faculty members who teach in LMU’s Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the College of Communication and Fine Arts, and the School of Film and Television.

“They started bargaining with us — actively negotiating with us — in December of 2024,” explained Greenberg. 

Until Sept. 12, 2025 — when negotiations stopped. 

On that date, LMU invoked a religious exemption from federal statutes governing collective bargaining for private sector employees. 

Since then, both sides have been at a stalemate.

“They still are claiming the religious exemption and that it is fully, legally supportable,” Greenberg said. “And they are still refusing to deal with our union or to acknowledge its existence directly.”

LMU invokes Catholic mission, defending decision

On the pages LMU published profiling the dispute, the institution defends its action by stating  “invocation of the religious exemption is lawful, grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and consistent with Supreme Court and NLRB precedent. This right cannot be waived and may be exercised at any point.”

“The Board reached this decision to protect LMU’s Catholic mission, its students, and its long-term sustainability,” Griff McNerney, LMU’s senior director of media and public relations, told OSV News in an e-mailed statement. “After months of discernment, trustees concluded that direct partnership with faculty — without SEIU’s involvement — would enable faster, more mission-aligned progress toward shared goals.”

 McNerney noted, “From December 2024 to Summer 2025, LMU reviewed 39 proposals and made counterproposals, none of which were accepted by the union.”

In November, LMU published a plan outlining “key actions” to be implemented for the 2026 academic year: more full-time positions; multi-year curricular planning; multi-year term faculty contracts; and year-long part-time faculty contracts.

“Their demands — not just the initial proposals but likely settled amounts — would have required the equivalent of an 18% tuition hike, 300 layoffs, and cuts to core student programs,” McNerney’s reply to OSV News continued. 

“Such outcomes would erode affordability, diminish academic quality, and jeopardize LMU’s Catholic educational mission. Faced with this, the Board discerned that invoking the religious exemption and engaging faculty directly was the responsible and mission-faithful path forward.”

LMU projections disputed 

But Greenberg rejected that conclusion and the basis of LMU’s projections.

“They had a PowerPoint presentation detailing what it would cost if they were to give us everything in our economic proposal … and it was really riddled with errors,” he said.

Greenberg said numbers were inflated by a larger bargaining unit than exists, as well as the use of requested benefits by every member of the unit.

“One of the older members of our bargaining unit joked, ‘I’m going to take fertility treatments now every year, at the age of 75?'” shared Greenberg. “So it was preposterous, the kind of numbers they’d put together — which in their mind, justified the claim it would have signaled an 18% increase in student tuition; triggered hundreds of layoffs; and bankrupted the school.”

Los Angeles is an expensive locale. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considered $84,850 per year for a one-person household as the “low income” threshold, or 80% of the area median income, in 2025.

“In the past, I know of at least one (non-tenure track) faculty member who was on food stamps and sold her blood plasma twice a week,” Greenberg recalled. “That was during our first union efforts back in 2013.”

Unions a minority in US Catholic institutions

The Catholic Labor Network identified more than 600 Catholic institutions that bargain with unions representing some or most of their employees.

Among American Catholic institutions, however, there are 181 colleges; 600 hospitals and 1,600 long-term care or other care facilities; 196 particular churches (dioceses, eparchies and ordinariates); and 5,832 secondary schools. 

Thus — just counting those sectors — less than 10% are unionized, a figure reflective of American labor overall. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the proportion of American wage and salary workers belonging to unions was 9.9% in 2024. 

Chuck Hendricks, president of the Catholic Labor Network and director of National Contracts and Internal Support for Unite Here International Union, said he was “amazed” by LMU’s response. 

“Particularly from the Jesuits, as their reaction was not so much one of taking a look at it from a Catholic social doctrine point of view, and was much more one from a business perspective. The reaction and the emails we received basically all reference they understood Catholic social teachings,” Hendricks continued, “but that the proposals from the staff were economically untenable.”

Jesuits West defend LMU direct engagement

Jesuit Father Sean Carroll, provincial of the Jesuits West Province, said in a statement to OSV News that, “While Catholic social teaching has consistently affirmed the rights of workers to organize, the Church also acknowledges the importance of prudence in applying these principles. Loyola Marymount University has determined the best way forward is through direct engagement.”

“Like any institution,” he continued, “LMU must balance many priorities, including its responsibility to remain financially viable so that it can continue to serve students and provide jobs for several thousand employees. I am consoled to know that the LMU Board, which includes among its leadership eleven religious members, together with President Poon, is committed to working with faculty and staff. My hope,” Father Carroll concluded, “is that direct dialogue can lead to a resolution that upholds the dignity of workers while ensuring that LMU’s mission will continue for years to come.”

The right to unionize and seek workplace equity — and to strike, if necessary — is fundamental to Catholic social teaching. Popes since Pope Leo XIII, who recommended a revival of associations for workers to “unite their forces” in “Rerum Novarum,” have strongly expounded on unionized labor topics, in both official and unofficial pronouncements.

Catholic teaching on labor and right to unions

In his 1991 encyclical, “Centesimus Annus,” commemorating the 100th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum,” St. John Paul II taught that trade unions and other workers’ organizations “defend workers’ rights and protect their interests as persons, while fulfilling a vital cultural role, so as to enable workers to participate more fully and honorably in the life of their nation and to assist them along the path of development.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops‘ 1986 teaching “Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy” also states: “The church fully supports the right of workers to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions.”

In 2022, Pope Francis succinctly declared “there are no free workers without trade unions.”

In October, Pope Leo XIV met a delegation of Chicago labor leaders, telling them, “This delegation represents thousands of workers, whose skills enhance the common good and help to create a society where all can flourish. It is important work and I commend all you for your contributions in this regard.”

Dialogue with any labor union not envisioned

“I was surprised that — instead of engaging in dialogue with members of their community — LMU chose to say, ‘We can’t afford this proposal. So we are going to take away your rights,'” said Hendricks, referring to the religious exemption from collective bargaining. “That’s not Catholic. That’s also not community-minded. That’s not in the spirit of the Jesuits — an order that does so much publicly around supporting the oppressed and the marginalized and those on the periphery.”

But LMU characterizes the situation differently.

“(Catholic social teaching) is not a mandate to bargain at all costs nor with SEIU; it emphasizes how we pursue justice as much as what we pursue,” continued McNerney’s statement. “LMU chooses direct partnership with faculty over ongoing conflict because it better reflects our mission, our Ignatian commitment to cura personalis (personal care) and our responsibility to students, families, and the broader community. Other Catholic universities, including Marquette, Boston College, Duquesne, St. Leo, and others have made similar discernments and invoked their religious exemption.”

Asked if LMU would view the situation differently if they were dealing with an exclusively Catholic labor union, McNerney replied, “LMU does not comment on speculative scenarios. LMU has already made commitments to our faculty that are backed with real action, including improving compensation with immediate raises. LMU deeply values the contributions of our faculty and remains committed to supporting an environment where academic excellence and student success thrive.”

Labor strike still possible

Greenberg, who was frustrated by expenses for the Dec. 9 inauguration of LMU President Thomas Poon — arguing, “They spent millions” on what “seemed like a coronation” — said the faculty do not want to strike, but may.

“I would say the nuclear option is a strike — and we do not want to strike, for a variety of reasons. We care about the student’s well-being, which the administration keeps saying we don’t,” he said. “Why are we working at this school for peanuts, if not for the love of our students? Yet, you have these upper-level administrators making six-figure to seven-figure salaries, claiming they love the students more than we do.”

If a strike is launched, however, it’s unclear whether they will have the same level of labor protections as prior to the second Trump administration. 

“We are not certain we will have protection from being fired if we were to engage in an unfair labor practice strike, which previously would have been a protected activity,” Greenberg explained. “The (LMU) administration has indicated through a variety of channels that, if we do go on strike, they will start firing people. So we definitely are afraid.”

Ultimately, Hendricks said, he hopes negotiations can resume.

“There’s no document from the Church that says, ‘You must meet X, Y, and Z proposal to be a just employer,'” Hendricks observed. “The question is: ‘Do you recognize the inherent rights of people to bargain?’ If you do … then you don’t stop talking to find a solution. And that’s what I would say is the most disappointing thing of all.”