Greek island church held an El Greco for 150 years

In the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Hermoupolis, on the Cycladic island of Syros, there hangs a small painting on panel: tempera and gold leaf, 24.2 by 17.7 inches, showing the death of Mary surrounded by the apostles and the risen Christ. 

For roughly 150 years it was venerated as a sacred image by the faithful of Syros without anyone knowing who had made it. 

In 1983, an archaeologist named Georgios Mastoropoulos examined it closely and found, at the base of the central candelabrum in the composition, a signature. It read: Doménicos Theotokópoulos. 

The painter we know as El Greco.

How it got there

The painting was probably brought to Syros by Psarian refugees — Greeks fleeing the destruction of the island of Psara during the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s. 

Some accounts associate it with a monastery on Psara dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin. 

The complete journey of the painting, from Crete to Psara to Syros, is not fully documented — but its presence in the Syros church and its authorship are now beyond scholarly dispute. 

After the signature was found, the painting was transferred to the Byzantine Museum in Athens for conservation and then returned to the church, where it has remained ever since.

The painting itself

The Dormition of the Virgin was painted around 1565-1566, at the end of El Greco’s Cretan period — just before he left for Venice, probably around 1567. 

It is tempera and gold on panel, executed in the tradition of the Cretan school of icon painting, in which El Greco received his initial training. 

The composition follows the established Byzantine iconographic pattern closely — Mary lying on her bier, the apostles gathered in grief, Christ at the center holding her soul as a swaddled child — but already shows something that pure Byzantine painting would not contain: a loosening of the traditional austerity, a trace of Italian Renaissance influence absorbed from engravings circulating in Venetian-controlled Crete. 

The mixture is subtle and very precisely calibrated. It is the work of a young painter at the threshold of a transformation he has not yet fully undergone.

What is the Dormition of the Virgin?

The Dormition — from the Latin dormitio, sleep; in Greek, Κοίμησις της Θεοτόκου (Koimesis tis Theotokou), the "falling asleep of the God-bearer" — refers to the death of the Virgin Mary as understood in some Christian traditions. 

 

Rather than dying in the ordinary sense, Mary is said to have "fallen asleep" before being assumed body and soul into heaven. The iconographic tradition shows her at rest on her bier, surrounded by the apostles, with Christ at the center holding her soul depicted as a small swaddled child. 

 

The feast of the Dormition is celebrated on August 15 in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the same date on which the Catholic Church celebrates the Assumption, and is one of the 12 Great Feasts — Δωδεκάορτον (Dodekaorton) — of the Orthodox liturgical year.

Why it matters

The discovery of El Greco’s signature on the Syros painting was one of the most consequential moments in 20th-century art history scholarship. Before 1983, El Greco’s Cretan period was poorly documented and largely theoretical. 

The Syros painting changed that. It led directly to the authentication of three other early works — the Modena Triptych, St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child, and The Adoration of the Magi — and reshaped the entire scholarly understanding of his formation.

What the painting demonstrates is that the artist who would later produce the dramatic, elongated figures and visionary compositions of Toledo had begun his career fully embedded in the Byzantine and Cretan icon-painting tradition, while already absorbing the influence of the Italian Renaissance. 

That dual formation — Byzantine depth, Renaissance dynamism — is the key to everything El Greco would later become.

Scholars have also noted a direct compositional connection between the Syros Dormition and El Greco's masterpiece in Toledo, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586). The structure of the two paintings — the body laid out below, a heavenly scene above, figures gathered in witness — follows the same logic. 

The Byzantine iconography of the Dormition of the Theotokos that the young painter absorbed in Crete became, two decades later and half a continent away, the compositional skeleton of the painting considered his greatest achievement.

Still in use

The Dormition of the Virgin has not been moved to a museum. It remains in the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Hermoupolis, Syros, where it retains its function as an object of veneration. Generations of worshipers looked at it without knowing who had painted it. 

They continued to look at it after they found out. The painting is, in that sense, what El Greco made it to be: an icon — an object of encounter, not merely of contemplation — that happens also to be a document of one of the most extraordinary artistic journeys in the history of Western art. 

Registered sex offender was allowed to participate at South Carolina church for decades

A registered sex offender who was sentenced to prison in the 1980s after he told authorities that he had molested several boys whom he met through his religious work with Christian youth in Georgia was later allowed to participate for decades in ministry at a South Carolina church.

The Brookwood church, a southern Baptist institution in the South Carolina city of Simpsonville, only just disqualified Jerry Sidell from serving there in any capacity, after he joined it in 1999 and fulfilled various ministerial roles.

The church’s senior pastor, Bryan Jones, told congregants at a Thursday night meeting that Sidell had been “forthright” with Brookwood leaders back then about his previously pleading guilty in Georgia to the crimes of enticing a minor for indecent purposes and child molestation.

Without mentioning Sidell’s name, Jones said that church leaders implemented boundaries addressing his participation at Brookwood, which operates a preschool. Jones said those rules included a prohibition from working in or being around children or student ministries.

Sidell, 69, also could not set foot in the school or those particular ministries’ spaces, Jones said. And Sidell had to disclose his past to those in charge of any non-children or non-student ministries in which he wanted to take part, Jones told congregants, according to an audio recording of the meeting provided to the Guardian.

Yet Jones – who was named Brookwood’s senior pastor in late 2022 – also suggested that he personally had only recently learned of Sidell’s status as a registered sex offender.

Jones didn’t elaborate. But he said he reacted to that discovery by meeting Sidell and informing him that he could no longer perform with the church’s adult musical band or be a member of the small prayer group – also made up of adults – to which he belonged.

Jones also said Brookwood had enacted a new policy requiring “any” registered sex offender attending church services to enter through a specific door, check in with the institution’s security team and then sit with a designated guard. That designated guard would then escort the registered sex offender out of Brookwood after the completion of services, Jones said.

As Jones put it, he and his fellow Brookwood leaders believe in “grace and forgiveness” – but, he added, “we felt … there are consequences for actions”.

An email to the Guardian from an individual familiar with Brookwood and Sidell contended that the church specifically put those heightened rules in place in either July or August. That was after authorities in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, reported arresting a registered sex offender named Warren Spence Perry for allegedly violating his probation by working at a school and children’s daycare run by a local southern Baptist church.

Five other people connected to the Pawleys Island community church and its school, about four hours away from Simpsonville by car, were later also arrested on suspicion of illegally concealing Perry’s involvement with children there.

Perry, 70, pleaded guilty in 2023 to sexually exploiting a minor three years earlier, and a proposed federal class-action lawsuit has been filed at the church and school where he had been working, as WCIV and other South Carolina news outlets have reported.

Furthermore, the individual who emailed the Guardian about Sidell accurately noted his having founded Rusty Bucket Music, a venue which – according to social media video and images – has hosted youth performers and patrons since its opening in 2019.

Videos available online suggest Brookwood leaders have had a presence at Rusty Bucket Music in the South Carolina town of Gray Court, which is adjacent to Simpsonville. Two videos show Jones and his fellow Brookwood pastor JC Thompson delivering prepared, recorded discussions of biblical scripture there.

A pair of images circulating on social media show Sidell on the stage at Rusty Bucket Music adjusting the microphone stand amid three youth performers.

Rusty Bucket Music’s website and its Facebook page had been taken down as of Friday.

A professional networking page under Sidell’s name described him as a Brookwood church musician since at least 2013. He reportedly partook in worship ministry, played the keyboard and participated in small men’s groups at Brookwood, according to the Christian church watchdog website MinistryWatch, which first reported on Sidell in late August.

The individual who corresponded with the Guardian about Sidell said the Brookwood church has about 5,000 congregants. According to the individual, “Sidell’s sex offender status was not disclosed to many of the people” who served alongside him or encountered him at the ministries in which he was involved.

As the individual put it: “Sidell kept this information extremely private.”

Sidell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Brookwood.

St. Joseph’s Redemptorists Church celebrates 150 years of the Redemptorists Community in Dundalk

St. Joseph’s Redemptorists Church are set to host a presentation by Frank O Callaghan on what Dundalk was like in 1876 they celebrate 150 years of the Redemptorists Community in Dundalk.

The event is in collaboration with the Old Dundalk Society.

The event will be held in St. Gerard’s Hall (behind St. Joseph’s church) on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th of September 2026, commencing each evening at 7.30pm.

The church are also set to host a special 150th Jubilee Mass this Sunday.

Admission to the presentation by Frank O Callaghan’s presentation is free and by ticket only.

Free admission tickets are be available from the Monastery Shop behind St. Joseph’s Church.

Disused church becomes a cultural hub in North Cork town

The evolution of the cultural centre in Newmarket is a story of dedication, blind determination, hard work, and a life legacy that will benefit the North Cork community for generations to come.

Mossy Anglund, chairman of Cultúrlann Newmarket takes up the story.

“Back in the 19th century, there was a large Church of Ireland congregation in this area, approximately 180 members, but over the years that number decreased,” he explained.

“These were people from the miliary, the judiciary, land agents and the ‘big house’. There are still many that carry surnames of times gone by as there was a lot of intermarrying, but by the 1920s the church was no longer thriving.”

Finally, in 1938, Christ Church closed around a century after it was built, and sat idle for a while until it became a secondary school, up to intercert only.

“By the 1970s, the nearby parish of Boherbue was awarded a new secondary school and the church again found itself without purpose,” said Anglund.

“It was bought by an engineering company and used as a factory for 30 years. After that it was used for storage.”

Then the Celtic Tiger came, Mossy says, “and a group of us that are interested in history asked the council for funding to restore the building, but they turned us down as we had no money of our own.”

In 1992, the group of locals set up a clan rally. The McAuliffes were the clan in the Newmarket area so they put out the word, and in 1992 they had 400 people there from all over the world.

“It was like a homecoming for all McAuliffes and was a huge success. It ran every fourth year and was held locally. They even elected a chieftain!” said Anglund.

In 2000, a breakthrough arrived in relation to the disused church in Newmarket.

A businessman from Australia by the name of John Paul McAuliffe became chieftain and he promised to do great things for the clan. He remained chieftain for many years and in 2012 he bought the church as a resource for the clan.

“At this stage, the building was completely dilapidated,” said Anglund. “The floor was in many levels of cracked concrete, the roof was completely rotted, the windows were rotted, the galleries were gone.”

John Paul bought it for €100,000, and he gave Mossy the job of co-ordinating the restoration.

“Over the next ten years, I organised the county council, the heritage people, the builders and architects, and all of it funded by John Paul from Sydney in Australia,” said Anglund.

“He loved his heritage and the Irish language and Irish music and he loved the clan.

“His daughter Julie felt the same way; she wanted to keep the Irish culture alive. When John Paul McAuliffe passed away in 2016, his ashes were brought here and his urn is on display in the main hall.

“John Paul didn’t get to see the building finished, but he saw it almost finished.”

Anglund explains that everything, from the newly cut stone for the windows to the Celtic wood carvings, was decided upon.

“And we got underfloor heating and 150 square metres of drapes made to help with heating and acoustics, but we wanted to keep it as medieval as humanly possible.

“With the backing of John Paul McAuliffe and his family, we were able, over the ten years, to bring this building up to an extraordinary level of perfection.”

Anglund says John Paul’s daughter Julie has a wonderful appreciation for art - “she picked out the lighting, and we used local contractors as much as possible.

“There was scaffolding on the inside and the outside and the whole roof had to come off and be rebuilt exactly like the original.

“We used the old photographs to guide us and used lime plastering to keep it all authentic.”

Set into the beautiful window of the church are the words (in English) ‘peaceful, honourable, eloquent, generous, truthful and loyal’.

The McAuliffe family crest of three mermaids represents the three goddesses, three holy wells, and three saints of Duhallow. Above that is the boar, which represents the McCarthys, overlords of the McAuliffes.

Anglund sent photos to John Paul every week while he was alive to keep him up to date with the progress.

“The main hall now has a top-notch sound system and lighting,” he said.

The next clan gathering in Newmarket will be in 2028. Julie will come over from Australia and organise it.

“It’ll be three days of merriment for the hundreds that will arrive,” Anglund says.

What events are held in Cultúrlann Newmarket?

“Concerts, Irish trad music sessions on the first Friday of every month, a rambling house (a circle where everyone has a turn to tell a story or sing a song) on the first Saturday of every month, and they travel from everywhere for this,” said Anglund.

“Social dancing every month, with sets and waltzing, small bands, classes during the week including art and yoga, tai chi, local functions and meetings about local ongoings, and everyone has tea and food and a chat afterwards as we have the fully kitted out kitchen.”

He adds: “One day, we had five different things going on at the same time!

“We have an Alzheimer’s meeting, and the children from the Boherbue school do concerts here.

“We show movies on the big screen and we have creative writing for teens on Wednesdays.”

This Saturday, September 19, the venue will host a variety show and, on October 9, there will be a concert by Kerry ballad, folk and rebel band Dreams Of Freedom.

“We’re currently doing a digital archive in one of the balconies of all the local areas on our own server,” added Anglund. “On the other balcony, we have a history library, with all the books from the area.”

He says this building is a cultural venture, not a commercial one, and is here to foster our Gaelic heritage. It is run by a committee of eight people.

From the building’s beginnings as a place of worship, to becoming a centre of excellence for the arts and the community, the locals and the clan will ensure that this wonderful place will go from strength to strength.

Evangelist cleared over distributing 'distressing' Gospel tract in Soho

A 72-year-old Christian evangelist has been found not guilty at the City of London Magistrates’ Court after being prosecuted for distributing a Gospel tract in Soho.

Richard Johnson was prosecuted under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986 after distributing copies of an illustrated tract, “Doom Town,” in April 2025.

The tract retells the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah and applies an evangelical Christian message about sin, judgment, repentance and salvation.

Johnson travelled to Old Compton Street in Soho, handing out the tracts, but two people said they were distressed by its treatment of homosexuality and LGBT issues.

One complainant told the court that Soho should be regarded as a “safe space” for LGBT people, arguing that the area ought to be protected from messages viewed as hostile to that community, creating what Johnson’s legal team described as a de facto “gay buffer zone”. 

It’s believed to be the first time the Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS) has pursued a prosecution of this kind on the basis of such a geographical “safe space” argument.

Johnson’s barrister, Michael Phillips, argued that the same rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression apply in Soho as in every other part of London, and that the criminal law cannot create areas where lawful speech is judged by a different standard simply because it is unpopular with a particular audience.

Following a one-day trial on 4 September 2026, the magistrates acquitted Johnson of all charges. The court concluded that, although they judged the material to be offensive and had caused upset, the prosecution had not proved all the elements of the criminal offence – in this case the high threshold required before freedom of expression can be restricted.

In his evidence, Johnson said he had been sexually abused at boarding school as a child and later engaged in same-sex sexual activity for many years. He later married and became a born-again Christian. 

After leaving his former bisexual lifestyle, he said he wanted to tell others of the miracle in his life and the peace he had found and so began evangelising.

Since 2007, Mr Johnson has distributed Christian literature throughout England and Europe. He estimates that he has handed out well over 100,000 Gospel tracts, has had many positive conversations and has seen around ten people become Christians through his evangelism. Before this prosecution, he said he had never been arrested or warned by police for distributing tracts.

Tim Dieppe from Christian Concern told Premier he should never have been prosecuted and that it was “shocking” that the Crown Prosecution Service had pursued a criminal case “merely for handing out tracts in that area calling people to repent and find forgiveness and freedom in Jesus”.

He said the case reasserts the freedom of Christians to preach the gospel on the streets of Britain, adding “we've won dozens and dozens of cases of street preachers where they've been arrested and sometimes prosecuted, and very nearly every single case we've got them cleared. We really need the police to learn a lesson about this: they should be protecting free speech and not arresting people because people complain about them. People have the right to say what they think and to preach the gospel.

“So it's a very encouraging result for freedom of speech and for the freedom of Christians in particular to preach the gospel wherever they want to in this country without fear”.

Pope's Alma Mater to unveil first-ever Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal recipient

Villanova University will hold a press conference on September 14 to announce the inaugural recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal. 

The event, taking place in the Sala San Pio X of the Vatican, will also highlight the upcoming 2026 Villanova University International Sustainability Conference, “Responding to the Cries of the Earth and the Poor.”

Villanova University will hold a press conference on Monday, September 14, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. CEST (6:00 to 7:30 a.m. ET), to announce the inaugural recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal.

The event, taking place in the Sala San Pio X (S. Pio X Hall) of the Vatican, will also highlight the upcoming 2026 Villanova University International Sustainability Conference, “Responding to the Cries of the Earth and the Poor.” 

Representatives from Villanova University and the Holy See will come together to discuss the Medal and the conference, which will focus on some of today’s most pressing environmental and social challenges.

Taking part in the event will be Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, President of Villanova University; and Manuela Priesemuth-Payan, PhD, Villanova Faculty Director for Ethics and Social Responsibility, Villanova School of Business. 

The press conference will be moderated by Alessandro Gisotti, Vice Director Editorial of the Dicastery for Communication.

During the event, Villanova University will unveil the vision behind the new Medal and reveal the identity of its inaugural recipient. 

It will also preview the upcoming 2026 Villanova University International Sustainability Conference, "Responding to the Cries of the Earth and the Poor." Pope Leo XIV will officially present the Medal on October 13 at Borgo Laudato Si’ in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, during the Conference.

About the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal

The Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal is intended as an enduring recognition of individuals from any field or discipline whose leadership reflects a holistic approach to sustainability. 

Laureates are selected for work that integrates care for the environment, social justice, protection of vulnerable communities, and responsible economic stewardship.

Presented every two years during the Villanova University International Sustainability Conference, the Medal seeks to inspire leadership, encourage innovation and promote collaboration in building a more just and sustainable world.

Villanova University, an Augustinian Catholic institution, shares a special connection with the Holy Father. Pope Leo XIV, then Robert Prevost, earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova in 1977, and the University later awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 2014.

About the 2026 Villanova University International Sustainability Conference

The 2026 Villanova University International Sustainability Conference, “Responding to the Cries of the Earth and the Poor”, will bring together approximately 300 academics, researchers, Church representatives, foundations, and leaders from the public and private sectors in Rome from Oct. 12–15. 

The Conference is presented with the support of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education (Centro di Alta Formazione Laudato si').

Grounded in the convergence of ecological degradation and social inequality, the conference will foster interdisciplinary collaboration and explore how research, ethics and lived experience can contribute to more just and sustainable communities. 

On Oct. 13, participants will gather for a morning program and lunch at the Augustinianum in Rome before traveling to Borgo Laudato si’ in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo for a visit and the inaugural presentation of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal.

Former priest serving sentence on sex charges dies at Maine correctional facility

Ronald Paquin, 83, died Friday afternoon at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, according to a press release from the Maine Department of Corrections.

Paquin, a Massachusetts priest who was defrocked for child sexual abuse, was portrayed in the movie “Spotlight.”

In 2019, he began serving a 20-year sentence – with all but 16 years suspended, followed by three years of probation – for gross sexual misconduct after sexually abusing an altar boy during trips to Maine in the 1980s.

He had already served more than 10 years in prison in Massachusetts for sexually abusing an altar boy there.

Paquin’s death was attended by medical personnel, according to the press release

The Attorney General’s Office and the Medical Examiner were notified of Paquin’s death, which is consistent with corrections department policy.

Andorran PM says abortion to be legal by April, with or without Vatican approval

The Andorran Prime Minister has announced a plan to decriminalize abortion in the microstate by April next year “whether the Holy See likes it or not,” despite a Catholic bishop serving as co-head of state.

Xavier Espot, the Andorran PM, announced the plan in a Sept. 8 interview, saying that after years of tense talks with the Vatican the government on the issue of abortion dialogue with the Holy See will continue but “with our sights set on the upcoming parliamentary session and, therefore, with the assurance that we can pass legislation to decriminalize abortion.”

The country’s government has been in negotiations with the Holy See for years in an attempt to secure at least tacit approval for decriminalizing abortion, as the country’s co-head of state is the Bishop of Urgell, Bishop Josep Lluís Serrano Pentinat, the territory of which covers Andorra.

Andorra has an unusual political arrangement, with two co-princes serving as heads of state: the president of France and the Bishop of Urgell. As a result, legalizing any measure contrary to Catholic teaching can involve delicate political and ecclesial tensions, as a change in the law could theoretically involve the bishop.

The Urgell diocese, which dates back to the fifth century, serves around 212,000 Catholics from its center in La Seu d’Urgell, a town in Spanish Catalonia.

By law, only one of the country’s two co-princes needs to sign legislation for it to become law, a step usually left to the French president — the other Andorran co-prince — on contentious matters.

“What the government must gain as a result of this dialogue is the deep conviction that whatever we do, whether the Holy See likes it or not will not jeopardize our institutional system,” Espot added in the interview.

While Espot said again that the government wishes to pass the reform before the April 2027 elections, he did not specify a date for its approval or the specific scope of the law.

The text of the proposed law is not public. However, Andorran media has speculated that it would not be a far-reaching decriminalization: it would remove criminal penalties for women who procure abortions in Andorra, while abortion would technically remain illegal, and healthcare professionals could still be liable to criminal penalties for performing abortions.

While the negotiations between the government and the Vatican under Pope Francis were progressing, the process cooled after the former pope’s death.

In June, the Andorran minister of institutional relations, Ladislau Baró, said that the proposal to decriminalize abortion in the country is finished but thorny negotiations with the Holy See could delay the bill.

In recent years, the Church has appeared to signal tacit acceptance of efforts to decriminalize abortion in Andorra, on the condition that the Bishop of Urgell would be exempted from formally sanctioning the measure as co-prince.

Espot said in March 2025 that the law had been “discreetly” negotiated with the Vatican.

 La Vanguardia reported in 2024 that Andorran officials were negotiating with the Vatican on a change to national policy on abortion, and claimed that the Holy See had quietly approved the decriminalization plan that year with Pope Francis’ authorization.

The outlet also reported that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with Espot in 2023, together with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s foreign minister, to work toward a compromise on the matter.

Parolin visited Andorra in September 2023 amid rumors that Bishop Joan-Enric Vives, then-Bishop of Urgell, might abdicate as co-prince rather than sign an abortion bill into law, although Parolin ruled out the possibility.

The Vatican secretary of state said in a press conference at the time that the issue of abortion in Andorra was a “very delicate, very complex question that we need to face with a lot of discretion and a lot of wisdom.”

In his first public appearance as Bishop of Urgel on May 31, Serrano said that “there should be dialogue and support for those who suffer… [especially] women in a difficult position” due to abortion.

This was seen by many as a marked change of tone from his predecessor, Joan-Enric Vives, who had threatened to abdicate if abortion was legalized in the country.

Vives had also rejected the possibility of signing any bill that would go against Catholic teaching into law, saying that “when the Andorran people ask for a Catholic bishop to be their Head of State, they know what it implies.”

However, once the Church’s position became public, an uproar among Catholics in Andorra and Spain led the Andorran government to backtrack on its plans — and the Church to adopt a firmer stance.

Baró, the government minister for institutional relations, said in the interview that the “technical and philosophical part [of the bill] is written and ready.”

However, he mentioned that the approval of the bill hinges upon negotiations with the Holy See, as the government has the goal of decriminalizing abortion while maintaining the country’s institutional stability.

“It’s not like the Holy See decides upon this topic, the decision is conducted by the Consell General,” Baró said, referring to the country’s legislative power, “and the government must evaluate if the text is adjusted to these goals before presenting the bill,” he added.

Baró also said that he felt they were “very close” to finding an acceptable balance.

The debate around abortion was reignited in April, after French president and Andorran co-prince Emmanuel Macron visited the principate and said in a speech that “many Andorrans reclaim” the issue of decriminalization of abortion, and that “a dialogue was set in motion” to move forward with the proposal “within the respect of the institutions, everyone’s conscience, and tradition.”

The president of the Andorran government and one of the main supporters of the legislation, Xavier Espot, said after meeting with Macron that he thought it was necessary to move forward with decriminalizing abortion “with realism, with prudence, and with ambition” but said there wasn’t a specific timetable to decriminalize the practice.

Last year, the government was also preparing a companion bill that would maintain the country’s ban on performing abortions while providing public funding for women who travel to France or Spain to abort, La Veu Lliure reported. However, the bill has not been part of recent discussions on the subject.

In an Aug. 2025 address to French politicians, Pope Leo XIV said that “Christianity cannot be reduced to a simple private devotion, because it implies a way of living in society imprinted by love for God and for one’s neighbour who, in Christ, is no longer an enemy but a brother.”

“I am well aware that the openly Christian commitment of a public official is not easy,” the pope added, “Neither do I ignore the pressure, the party directives, the “ideological colonizations”, to use an apt expression of Pope Francis, to which politicians are subjected. They must have the courage to say at times, “no, I cannot!”, when the truth is at stake. Here too, only union with Jesus – the crucified Jesus! – will give you this courage to suffer in his name.”

At the end of his September 2025 visit to Belgium, Pope Francis announced he’d open the beatification cause of King Baudoin of Belgium.

In 1990, Baudoin refused to sign a law that would legalize abortion until 12 weeks of pregnancy in Belgium, saying in a message to the country’s PM that he “[feared] that this law will contribute to a palpable diminution of respect for the lives of the weakest among us,” throwing the country into a constitutional crisis.

After significant pushback, Baudouin wrote a message saying: “To those who may be shocked by my decision, I ask them: Is it right that I am the only Belgian citizen to be forced to act against his conscience in such a crucial area? Is the freedom of conscience sacred for everyone except for the king?”

Ultimately, the Belgian government worked out a compromise in which Baudouin declared himself unfit to rule while the government passed the law and then restored him as king a few days later.

SSPX priest decries ban from Assisi basilica while ‘false cults’ are welcomed

Father Gabriele d’Avino, the Superior of the Society of Saint Pius X’s (SSPX) District of Italy, sharply criticized the order being denied entry to St. Francis Basilica at the conclusion of its annual pilgrimage just weeks before representatives of “false cults” will be permitted to enter the same basilica to commemorate the infamous 1986 Assisi meeting.

During September 6 remarks after Society members completed their roughly 15-mile walking pilgrimage from Bevagna to the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi before reciting the Creed, Fr. d’Avino noted that Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Protestants, and others do not profess the true faith and yet have been invited to an October 27 event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Assisi meeting in which representatives from these false religions, led by Pope John Paul II, prayed for peace.

The priest stressed that the same hierarchy that allowed this interreligious event prevented them from entering the basilica and forced them to profess the Creed outside.

“(A)ll of these (false religions) — and their representatives — deny our Lord Jesus Christ; they deny His Church as the sole ark of salvation; and all of them — or their representatives — will be permitted on October 27 to pray publicly in this city of Assisi to commemorate, as you know, the 40th anniversary of the interreligious meeting that took place in 1986, presided over by none other than John Paul II, and which was in turn commemorated 25 years later, in 2011, by Benedict XVI — and which is being repeated — a disastrous event — once again this year,” the district superior said.

“The members and representatives of all these false cults will pray publicly in the churches of the city of Assisi. And as you well know, the reason we find ourselves in this courtyard is that the authorities of this basilica behind me and the Bishop of Assisi have decreed that the Society of St. Pius X is not permitted to pray publicly to the true God. We are, however, permitted to pray in the Basilica, in small groups and in private,” he added.

The priest continued:

This is the principle, as you know, of religious freedom. The truth in one’s own heart is acceptable, but the truth professed publicly is not. Since we, however, reject the principle of religious freedom, none of this concerns us, so we will not enter in small groups; we will not enter privately to pray; we will remain out here on the churchyard, and with a smile we will accept the injustice that the Lord permits even for our edification, and we will naturally also pray for those who raise their hands against the one Mediator, against the one Savior, effectively denying Jesus’ right to reign even in society and, of course, in the Church itself.

Since the Society’s July consecration of four new bishops without a papal mandate and its subsequent “excommunication” by the Vatican, the order has been banned from holding official events at several churches across multiple countries.

In August, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes notably banned the SSPX from celebrating Masses, sacraments, and public prayers within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. The bishop has also openly welcomed Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. Last year, a joint Muslim-Catholic pilgrimage to Lourdes was organized by an ecumenical group called “Together with Mary.”

Earlier this month, the pro-LGBT Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl of Graz-Seckau likewise barred the SSPX from the Basilica of Mariazell for its annual public Rosary this fall despite a much more accommodating history with homosexual and Muslim groups.

Bishop Wiesemann bids farewell with festive service

The long-time bishop of Speyer, Karl-Heinz Wiesemann, said goodbye on Sunday with an emotional and festively designed service in the Speyer Cathedral. 

"When I see how many have come to this beautiful cathedral today, I get very wistful about my heart," Wiesemann said. 

The people of the Palatinate would always have made it easy for him through their great commitment, their critical accompaniment and their goodwill. He is very grateful for that.

In his farewell sermon, Wiesemann called for resisting all temptations of today's right-wing populism and right-wing extremism. 

In the time marked by great uncertainty, it was necessary to resist any glorification of a supposedly better past. This backward-lookingness is self-destructive, Wiesemann said.

Appeal against abuse of power

The bishop urged those responsible in the Church to continue to work on sexualized violence and abuse of power. Never should the mistakes of the past be ignored, covert or denied.

The encounters and conversations with those affected by abuse had personally shaken and changed him deeply, Wiesemann said. "It was experiences of shameful disempowerment and abysmal impotence." Any form of abuse of power must be prevented in the Church and society.

Catholics from all over the diocese and representatives from politics, society and the church had come to the fully occupied Speyer Cathedral. Among them the Palatinate Church President Dorothee Wüst, the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference Heiner Wilmer and other Catholic bishops.

Wilmer paid tribute to Wiesemann as a "great shepherd." Firmly rooted in the ecclesial tradition, Wiesemann has thought theology further and "set the tone in the sometimes heated debates in such a way that a new, surprising chord could be heard". 

Wiesemann's decision to resign deserves respect, Wilmer said. His letter to believers and employees of the diocese testifies to a person "who remains deeply a God-seeker and knows about his own limits."

Open handling of depression

The 66-year-old Wiesemann had resigned as bishop in mid-August for health reasons. 

Previously, Wiesemann had openly reported on his depressive illness. He no longer has the strength to lead the traditional diocese. He also referred to the cases of abuse and sexualized violence in the diocese of Speyer, which would have deeply shaken him.

Wiesemann had been a bishop in Speyer since 2008. When the pope will appoint a successor is currently unclear. Experience has shown that this can take several months.

Vatican vegetable garden goes 100% organic

A vegetable garden and orchard inside the Vatican walls, which historically provided food for the pope’s household, is now cultivated using exclusively organic farming techniques.

The private garden covers almost a tenth of an acre of cultivable land inside the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery property, where Pope Benedict XVI lived during his retirement and now reside cloistered Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.

Sometimes known as “the pope’s garden,” the vegetable plot “has always been a defining feature of the Vatican Gardens because, in fact, the Vatican Gardens were originally created primarily for that purpose — to provide sustenance for the [Apostolic] Palace,” Stefano Giampaolo, a forestry expert and head of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Vatican, told EWTN News.

Giampaolo explained that now the plot is more accurately understood as the vegetable garden of the Vatican Gardens — an area that covers roughly half of Vatican City at 57 acres.

The Benedictine nuns at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who pray for the pope, eat the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden and use them to make jams and other food preserves. The excess produce is given to a Vatican soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.

The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Giampaolo said.

The challenges of organic

According to Gilberto Bianchi, the gardener responsible for the orchard and vegetable patch since 2008, the Vatican has a “desire to respect nature” in how it cares for the plants and trees on its land.

But it’s far from easy.

“Clearly, running a completely organic vegetable garden presents challenges, partly because insects are aggressive, and we use natural predators in the soil to control them,” Bianchi said. “No chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used.”

He added that soil drainage and water conservation are also challenges.

“This type of soil drains very well, so to conserve water, we add coconut fiber to retain moisture. And it’s watered with a drip irrigation system specifically to target the plants and avoid wasting water,” he said.

Part of an organic agriculture also means respecting the seasons, he said. “Right now, the winter crops are being planted, while the summer crops are being harvested.”

The end-of-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while the fall and winter crop has broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins.

According to Vatican Media, the garden also includes garlic, basil, and a Peruvian variety of chili peppers known for its intensity. Kiwi plants were also added recently at the request of the Argentinian nuns.

Next to the garden is a small orchard of around 15 citrus trees, some of which are 150 years old.

“At this time, we’re planting savoy cabbage,” Bianchi said. “In short, whatever is in season. … So whatever is planted is because nature dictates it at that moment. The plants are grown from seed. We don’t use lab-grown plants.”

A historic collection of gardens

Bianchi, who has worked for more than three decades in the Vatican Gardens, “is the one with the most expertise in this field, and he is now passing that knowledge on to a new gardener,” Giampaolo said.

The expert gardener is part of a team of around 35 gardeners and administrators who oversee the Vatican’s green spaces and provide the flower arrangements for papal ceremonies.

“People expect to see a single garden, but in reality, as the name suggests, they are the Vatican Gardens — a collection of gardens,” Giampaolo said.

The Gardens date to the mid-13th century, when Pope Nicolas III moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, had the city state’s walls built, and ordered the creation of a lawn, orchard, and “viridarium” — a Roman-style garden with flowerbeds and a fountain.

Today, Giampaolo said, “there are countless different species, both trees and flowers. This is because, over time, the gardens have been enriched by donations and the search for specific botanical material, to the point of becoming a true botanical garden.”

“Visitors are often struck by the diversity of the spaces — so many different gardens contained within this small area.”

Ultimately, he said, the gardeners hope to one day eliminate all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from their care of the entire Vatican territory.

“It’s a process — the transformation of all the Gardens into organic ones,” he said.

Uniform change for girls 'attack on the independence of Christian schools'

A Stormont rule change stating that all schools must give girls the choice of wearing trousers or skirts has been branded an attack on independent Christian education.

New province-wide guidelines from Stormont state that no school will be allowed to mandate female pupils wear skirts, with the option of trousers extending to PE and Games kits as well as standard uniforms.

Announced by Education Minister Paul Givan, the guidelines come into force next September when the 2027-28 academic year starts.

The move has earned a frosty reception among independent Christian schools, however, with one figure stating the change particularly rankles as they don’t get any money from Stormont but have to obey its new rules.

Rev Darryl Abernethy is administrator of Portadown Independent Christian School. He told the News Letter that the Department of Education is “interfering in something that they don’t put a penny towards”.

He said: “We understand that they have the right to set down policy as standard in state schools, but we in the independent sector have a traditional Christian view of the differences between male and female that God has made. They are interfering with expressions of that view, even though they are not funding us.”

Mr Givan’s decision came “as a bolt out of the blue”, he added, as although an Alliance motion on similar grounds was making its way through the Assembly, the DUP minister’s announcement is a reversal of his position on the policy last year.

“We are bitterly disappointed that it includes Christian schools,” Rev Abernethy said. “We acknowledge we’re a very small part of education in Northern Ireland, but we feel it’s an attack on our independence. We are now being dictated to in terms of our uniform policy.”

It’s understood the TUV’s Timothy Gaston plans to probe the impact on independent schools through the Assembly.

Announcing the uniform move today, Mr Givan said the change had come after he spent the last few months listening to young people.

“The message is clear,” he said. “Girls want the choice to wear trousers as part of their school uniform.

“There is always a balance to be struck between the autonomy of schools to determine their uniform policy and the level of prescription in departmental guidelines.

“However, this issue really matters to many young people. After careful consideration, I have, therefore acted to remove any uncertainty for pupils, parents and schools.”

Both the UUP and Sinn Fein gave a guarded welcome to the new rule, arguing that although it will benefit female pupils it still amounts to a U-turn from Mr Givan that should have happened some time ago.

Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows described the change as “a common sense outcome” that offers girls the same clothing choices women enjoy in the workplace, adding the minister’s “change of heart is welcome, even if overdue”.

“The minister could and should have resolved this through school uniform guidance [last year],” he said. “Instead, he resisted.

“I listened to girls and supported change from the outset.”

Sinn Fein’s Cathy Mason said the change is “an important win for girls” but also an “embarrassing U-turn” by Mr Givan.

“Girls should have the right to wear trousers to school,” she said. “It should never have been controversial and should not have taken this long.”

Emma Bonino, radical Italian politician who stood up to Vatican, dies aged 78

Emma Bonino, the radical Italian politician who led campaigns to legalise abortion and divorce against the objections of the Vatican, has died aged 78.

“Today we lose not only our leader but also one of the most clear-sighted, courageous and free figures in the political history of our country,” the small party she founded, More Europe, said on Facebook on Friday.

Bonino served as a European commissioner and as foreign minister in Italy but was best known as a militant feminist dedicated to political and humanitarian causes. “Her life was a long struggle against everything that denies freedom: against clandestine abortion, world hunger, the stranglehold of party politics, female genital mutilation, punitive justice, genocide, and every form of authoritarianism,” her party said.

A former member of Italy’s Radical party, Bonino commanded respect across the political sphere. Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, paid tribute to her, saying that although their “backgrounds and perspectives differed, that never prevented me from acknowledging her significance and her role in our nation’s public life”.

Even after the Radicals’ political star faded, Bonino remained a key political figure and human rights campaigner active in Italy for more than five decades. With her sharp wit and cutting insights, she appeared frequently on Italian TV. After a cancer diagnosis in 2015, she would appear in public wearing colourful headscarves.

Bonino first got involved in Italian politics after she became pregnant aged 26 and had an abortion, even though it was illegal at that time. “I decided that never, never, never again should anyone have to suffer this humiliation,” she said.

She went on to hand herself in to the police, turning her private “offence” into a ⁠public act of defiance. The arrest ⁠made headlines, fuelling a campaign that eventually ​led to the legalisation of abortion in 1978. It also launched Bonino into parliament with the Radical party, a small but relentless force for civil rights.

During her 50-year political career, Bonino served as foreign minister, trade minister and EU affairs minister in Italian centre-left governments of the 2000s and 2010s. She remained an outspoken supporter of Europe and the rights of refugees and migrants.

“You can look at the fights I have waged with this point of view: I support a democratic liberal order and believe in the centrality of the individual, his rights but also his responsibilities,” she told the Guardian in 2018.

Over the years, Bonino cultivated a deep friendship with the late Pope Francis, despite their conflicting views on key ethical issues, including abortion and euthanasia. Bonino said that during their conversations Francis always encouraged her to bring forward her humanitarian battles, defending those most in need.

When asked what battles she still needed to fight, Bonino would say: “Many, too many. Human rights, world hunger, free scientific research … Ten lives won’t be enough.”

Bonino is survived by her siblings, Domenica and Giovanni, and their children.

Land deal with diocese for Carrick plan

A land transfer agreement between Monaghan County Council and the St Macartan’s Diocesan Trust, which manages land and assets for the Roman Catholic diocese of Clogher, has the potential to deliver “a massive economic boost” for the town of Carrickmacross, Cllr P J O’Hanlon (FF) told Monday’s meeting of the Council.

The meeting gave formal approval to the exchange, which will see the local authority acquire 0.6 hectares of land from the diocese at the town’s Convent Avenue, valued at €30,000, and dispose of a 0.8-hectare plot with a €25,000 valuation on the Ardee Road to the church body, and pay the diocese €5,000 to compensate for the valuation differential.

Elected members heard how land acquisition will allow the Council to enhance the linkages between the Convent Lands, for which a development master plan is in place, and the town centre. Director of Services for Planning and Economic Development, Cathal Flynn, recommended the approval of the transfer to the elected members.

Proposing the approval, Cllr O’Hanlon paid tribute to Council Chief Executive Robert Burns for taking on board the potential significance of this development when he met South Monaghan elected representatives at the beginning of his tenure.

“He knew the lie of the land in Carrickmacross and how important this move was,” praised Cllr O’Hanlon, adding: “We were promised this for a long time but it never happened. Now it has, and it will be a massive boost to the town economy and will benefit the St Louis Secondary School as well.”

The FF representative said the linkage will bring footfall to Carrick’s Main Street and help sustain the economic vibrancy of the heart of the town. He thought the deal represents “a very good news story” for Carrickmacross.

Seconding Cllr O’Hanlon’s proposal, Cllr Peter Conlon (FG) said that this development would never have happened without the Council’s impetus and drive. It will feed into plans for the Convent Avenue area of the town and open up the grounds of the convent for public activities, forming a key element in the master plan for the Convent Lands area, he added.

Noting that the transfer has been unanimously agreed at Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District level, Cllr Colm Carthy (SF) said linking the Convent Lands to Main Street will widen the scope of the master plan for the area and also direct pedestrian access from Main Street to the proposed site of the new Carrickmacross swimming pool.

Swimming pool

Cllr Carthy was told at the meeting that it is hoped to appoint Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects as the design team for the swimming pool project this month, after which arrangements will be made for engagement between the designers and the elected Council members.

The local authority is currently awaiting the submission of insurances.

Bishop Ger Nash: “Forgiveness is the glue that holds the Synodal Pathway together”

“The Church needs priests so that the Eucharist may nourish the whole Body, and she needs a fully involved laity so that the Body may carry Christ into every corner of the world” – Bishop Nash

Homily 

There is an old humorous story about tourists who stop somewhere in a rural place, a bit lost. They are looking for directions back to the main road and civilisation.  

One of the locals is giving them a very confused set of directions involving a lot of ‘right turns here’ and ‘left turns there’.  And they were not getting any of it. Finally, in exasperation, the local says, “If I were you, I wouldn’t start from here!”

We would all love to be starting from somewhere else. Every time we wish things were different with ourselves, our community, our Church, we are in fact thinking: this is not a good place to start from. But the call of the Gospel, the essence of our Faith, is that right now we are where God intends us to be.

God’s journey does not begin in some mythical ideal land, but in the messy reality of what it means to be alive today, to be fully human today, to be Christian today. I use the word “messy” deliberately, because it contains not just the discomfort of our failures, but the wonderful possibility of what we can create for the future, working with God.

It is the very nature of the Incarnation that God chose to enter a messy world, a real world, bringing with Him the greatest treasure of all: the promise that all lives will ultimately make sense, and that there is a level of deep meaning which we can achieve in communion with one another.

The readings for today’s Eucharist are the regular readings for this 24th Sunday of the Church’s year.  Their theme is forgiveness, and the way in which it is portrayed as the lifeblood of Christian life, and indeed of any meaningful life. Fear and self-righteousness gradually harden the heart, sealing it against others; but genuine forgiveness grows from the humble recognition that we all stand equally in need of God’s mercy, and that none of us can claim superiority before God.

When we are a forgiving and have forgiven people, we understand that we are starting from where we are, not from some mythical ideal place where there is no hurt or misunderstanding. We are starting from a real place. Forgiveness creates true communion, transforming wounds, misunderstandings and divisions into living opportunities for deeper reconciliation, healing and shared growth.

Over the past five years, the Catholic Church has been on a journey of Synodality, prompted by the late Pope Francis and now emphasised again by his successor, Pope Leo XIV. Synodality is not a strategy or a solution; it is a way of being together as God’s people. It is our human attempt to answer the question, “What does God want of the Church at this time?” This time, this era, this messy but interesting place, is where God intends us to start. And it starts with forgiveness of ourselves and others, so that we can truly understand that God is a God of Forgiveness.

The Synodal Pathway calls us to listen attentively, discern together and walk side by side. This journey is only possible when we deliberately let go of resentment or fear and choose the daily practice of mutual forgiveness. Forgiveness is the glue that holds the Synodal Pathway together, keeping the journey open when listening becomes difficult, when discernment reveals uncomfortable truths, and when the temptation arises to withdraw or dominate.

An emerging Church of co-responsible action depends on relationships of genuine trust, where the freedom of forgiveness allows people to participate fully, take necessary risks, make honest mistakes and begin again together in shared hope.

On this very day, forty-five years ago, Bishop Laurence Forristal was installed as Bishop of Ossory, having already been an auxiliary Bishop in Dublin. We are in a very different Ireland and a very different Church from 13 September 1981. Much has changed, and needed to change, in society, in Church and in life; but what matters to us today, on 13 September 2026, is where we can go from here: ‘What new way of being God’s people with each other are we invited to explore?’

Starting today, the question has also been broadened for us as parishioners as to how we can be God’s people across diocesan boundaries – boundaries that have remained impermeable since the year 1111 AD. It will be a key task of discernment in the immediate future to see how the many varied tasks of Church can best be carried out by working together. I feel that the best growth will be in collaboration in everyday tasks, rather than an attempt to start at the top.

The establishment of lay ministry in many dioceses in Ireland is already under way, and both Ossory and Ferns are at different stages in this project. Gradually, as the years roll on, it will be possible to imagine committed, trained and commissioned lay people across both dioceses, collaborating in work, building supportive networks together, and working with clergy and other diocesan staff to bring the Good News to all: young and old, local and the stranger. 

One of the many skills that will be needed for this journey is the one that today’s readings emphasise: the ability to forgive and overlook the small irritations that other people cause, and to recognise that we are already a forgiven people. This is the insight that the servant in today’s Gospel did not possess.

A few moments ago, I mentioned the forty-five-year gap since the installation of Bishop Forristal in this Cathedral. But I also want to mention some shorter gaps. The date on the Bull which was read at the start of this ceremony is 29 July, which is also the date ten years ago when Bishop Séamus Freeman retired, and it is now just over five years since I was ordained in Saint Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy. A shorter span of time, but much has happened in that gap – not least that five years ago we were still dealing with Covid-19 and the aftermath of the pandemic.  

And even though it was a traumatic and disconcerting time, we have almost forgotten the experience of lockdown to which we adapted. But the world changed then and continues to change now, and we are all called by our Baptism to offer the Gospel into that changing world.

As we enter into a journey of change, the words that link our Dioceses of Ferns and Ossory at this point are: ‘in persona episcopi‘. This role will require from me not just a new set of skills, but a rearrangement and a delegation of work on a large scale. As that work is delegated, it will have an impact on the lives, work and ministry of many people in both dioceses.  

The capacity and the skills needed by us all for the task ahead are not taught in colleges or classrooms. These come from the experience of walking the journey, starting with the real, trusting that God is at work even now in the world and in His people; and they are honed by the forgiveness of people who gently bring us back to the centre ground of reality.

There’s that word again: ‘forgiveness’, invisible as the air we breathe, but just as vital. The stories of forgiveness we read today are rooted in ownership and being deprived of it. Like Bull McCabe in the play and movie The Field, we often look at our lives, our grievances, or our hard-earned attachments and declare: ‘It’s my field. It’s my child  I nursed it. I nourished it. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!’ 

We frequently claim ownership over our past, fiercely guarding our grudges because we feel we have earned the right to them through sheer struggle.

But Christ calls us to a radical letting go. True forgiveness requires us to open those clenched hands, release our rigid grip on the ‘fields’ of our habits, and realise that healing begins only when we surrender our entitlement to God’s grace. 

Some of the resistance to change that is experienced as we move along the Synodal Path arises from what I think I own, or what I think I am owed, which roles are mine and mine alone, and what belongs to others. No role within the Church should exist for the sole benefit of the holder, or be exercised without consultation or collaboration. 

It is consistent with the Synodal Path that the Church worldwide insists that every role in the Church is one to be held in communion with people, and to draw everyone into a relationship with Christ.

At this time, the Church that we are laying the foundations of, in the Dioceses of Ossory and Ferns, will be a collaborative Church. The Church needs priests so that the Eucharist may nourish the whole Body, and she needs a fully involved laity so that the Body may carry Christ into every corner of the world. Forgiveness frees us from ranking one gift as some sort of add-on. The labour of the baptised is not just a useful but secondary activity that ultimately depends on the presence of a priest to become truly ecclesial. In reality, clergy and lay faithful walk the path to heaven as fellow pilgrims: each essential, each complementary, each loved by the Lord who calls us all.

We are where we are by God’s grace; let us set out together. Amen.