Msgr. Schneider calls for the integration of the SSPX after the excommunications: "They should be accepted as they are"

Auxiliary Bishop of Astana (Kazakhstan), monsignor Athanasius Schneider, has once again defended the integration of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX) into the Church and has questioned positions that prioritize a strictly juridical interpretation of its situation over the defense of the Catholic faith. 

In an interview granted to AdVaticanum, published on October 30, the prelate maintained that it would be beneficial for the entire Church to gradually incorporate the work of the Fraternity’s priests and faithful.

His statements come four months after the episcopal consecrations celebrated in Écône on July 1 and the excommunications declared by Rome, against which the FSSPX maintains an appeal. 

The Fraternity has chosen to maintain discretion regarding the procedure, as reported when addressing the continuity of the appeal against the excommunications.

The interview was recorded in Rome on the morning when mons. Schneider celebrated a pontifical Mass in the basilica of Saint Mary Major on the occasion of the traditional pilgrimage Ad Petri Sedem.

«It would be a benefit for the entire Church»

Mons. Schneider reiterated his conviction that there are no compelling reasons to keep the Fraternity outside of full canonical integration.

«It would be a benefit for the entire Church to gradually integrate the work of these priests and faithful», he stated, according to the transcript of the interview published by LifeSiteNews.

The bishop also recalled the request that Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the FSSPX, once made to the Holy See: that the Fraternity be accepted «as it is».

This is not a new position for mons. Schneider. 

The prelate visited the Fraternity’s seminaries in 2015 at the request of the Holy See and has since publicly defended that its priests and faithful should not be considered outsiders to the Church.

In the conversation, he once again vindicated the figure of Lefebvre, whom he described as «a very holy man» and «a man of God», highlighting his actions during a difficult period for ecclesial life.

Mons. Schneider also questioned what he considers a «very narrow and legalistic» vision of the Church, in which the application of canonical norms may end up overshadowing the primary importance of preserving the Catholic faith intact.

The bishop placed the controversy in an ecclesial context that, in his view, is marked by «increasing confusion in doctrine and liturgical anarchy», along with a growing adaptation to the spirit of the world.

The exclusion of traditional pilgrims, amid the discourse on inclusion

The interview took place amid the controversy over the restrictions imposed on the Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage, whose participants were unable to enter Saint Peter’s Basilica in procession.

Mons. Schneider lamented the decision and pointed out the contradiction that, in his opinion, it entails to exclude these faithful while the Vatican insists on synodality, listening, and inclusion.

The prelate recalled that these are Catholics who recognize the Pope, pray for him and for their bishops, and wish to remain in communion with the Church.

«Precisely this group was vetoed», he stated.

The controversy had been reflected in the efforts made by Father Claude Barthe, head of the pilgrimage, before the Vatican authorities. 

The correspondence with the Vatican authorities showed the refusals received to the requests related to the celebration of the traditional Mass in Saint Peter’s.

Mons. Schneider’s words once again bring to the table the situation of the faithful linked to the liturgy prior to the reform of Paul VI, especially in light of the restrictions that continue to affect its celebration.

Mons. Schneider disagrees with Koovakad on the interreligious meeting in Assisi

Another issue addressed was the doctrinal scope of the interreligious meeting in Assisi in 1986, convened by Saint John Paul II.

Mons. Schneider questioned whether that initiative can be considered part of the ordinary magisterium of the Church. 

In his view, there is «a lack of clarity and some confusion» in the use of this concept, which he linked to the constant teaching of the faith transmitted by bishops in communion with the Roman Pontiff.

The prelate maintained that interreligious prayer constitutes «a complete novelty in the Church» and stated that it had not been permitted previously.

His position contrasts with that recently expressed by Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, who placed the 1986 Assisi meeting within the ordinary magisterium and linked its rejection to a schismatic rupture.

The discrepancy between the two prelates concerns an issue that continues to spark debate: the relationship between contemporary initiatives of interreligious dialogue and the Church’s traditional teaching on prayer and worship.

Neither sedevacantism nor absolute obedience

Mons. Schneider also rejected sedevacantism, which he described as «completely erroneous», and warned against a conception of papal authority that attributes permanent infallibility to the Pope.

The bishop recalled that papal infallibility is exercised under very specific conditions and that not all statements or decisions of the Pontiff participate in that prerogative.

At the same time, he maintained that absolute obedience to ecclesiastical authority is equally an error, because obedience cannot be separated from fidelity to revealed truth.

In this sense, he defended that, when the clarity of the faith is at stake, the faithful have the right and even the duty to respectfully warn their superiors.

Asked about Leo XIV, mons. Schneider expressed his hope that the Pontiff would fulfill the mission entrusted by Christ to Saint Peter: to confirm his brothers in the faith and strengthen the Church in the truth.

His new intervention comes while Rome keeps open the canonical consequences of the Écône consecrations and the FSSPX awaits a response to its appeal. 

In the face of that situation, mons. Schneider insists on a solution based on the gradual integration of the Fraternity, a stance he had already defended previously and which he raises again amid the tensions over the treatment given to traditional Catholics.

43 former auxiliary numeraries of Opus Dei ask Leo XIV to receive them during his trip to Argentina

The 43 former auxiliary numeraries of Opus Dei who are pursuing a criminal case in Argentina against former leaders of the prelature have requested an audience with Pope Leo XIV during his upcoming visit to the country, scheduled between November 8 and 11. 

The petition was formally submitted to the Vatican on September 15, and according to their lawyer, Sebastián Sal, it has not yet received a response.

In statements to the Argentine media outlet La Redacción, Sal explained that the request remains unanswered, “neither positive nor negative,” and noted that he does not rule out the possibility that the Holy See’s silence may ultimately be the only reply.

The petition has gained particular relevance after the Holy See Press Office announced that the Pontiff will hold meetings with survivors of abuse committed by members of the Church during his trip to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, without specifying in which countries these meetings will take place or who will participate.

The lawyer believes that an audience with the Pope would have a reparative effect for the complainants. 

Nevertheless, he pointed out that Pope Leo XIV could also send them a signal of recognition and closeness even if he ultimately does not receive them.

For her part, journalist Paula Bistagnino, author of the book Te serviré, dedicated to the testimonies of these women, expressed her confidence that the meeting could take place. 

In her view, the Pontiff has time to make a decision “until the very last minute” before leaving Argentina.

A complaint for alleged labor exploitation and human trafficking

The complainants maintain that they were incorporated into Opus Dei when they were young, in some cases with the promise of access to higher education, and that they subsequently worked for years in domestic and service tasks without receiving remuneration or having defined working hours.

According to their testimonies, they lived under a regime of strong control over their daily lives, with restrictions on contact with their families and without economic autonomy.

Bistagnino has pointed out that the women were required to sign testamentary documents to cede their future assets and that, for much of their time in the institution, they did not have their own bank accounts. 

Several of them also lack registered contributions in the Argentine social security system.

Among the practices described by the former members are also corporal penances, such as the use of the cilice and the discipline.

These statements form part of the complaints and testimonies gathered during the investigation. 

Opus Dei rejects the accusations and maintains that the version circulated about the situation of the auxiliary numeraries distorts the facts.

The women filed a complaint with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in September 2021. 

According to their representatives, they received no response. The criminal case in Argentina was opened in 2023.

Five Opus Dei leaders identified by the Prosecutor’s Office, but none have been summoned

The judicial investigation continues without the investigative statements requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office having taken place.

In October 2024, federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano and the Prosecutor’s Office for Human Trafficking and Exploitation (PROTEX) requested that four priests who had held positions of responsibility in Opus Dei in Argentina be summoned to testify.

In July 2025, the request was extended to the auxiliary vicar of the prelature, Mariano Fazio, as reported when covering the new judicial proceedings against Opus Dei leaders.

The Prosecutor’s Office counts 44 alleged victims, while 43 former auxiliary numeraries have requested a meeting with the Pope.

According to Sebastián Sal, the request for an investigative hearing was recently reiterated, but federal judge Daniel Rafecas has not yet summoned any of the five individuals identified.

The absence of summons does not equate to a ruling on the guilt or innocence of those under investigation. The accusations must be examined in the corresponding judicial proceedings, with due process guarantees and the right of defense for the individuals involved.

The Permanent Assembly for Human Rights also submitted an amicus curiae brief referring to possible practices of physical and psychological torture with a gender component.

Bistagnino has described this investigation as “the most important one in the world against Opus Dei” and has warned of the importance of the statute of limitations. 

According to her account, the only case that could still be prosecuted criminally would expire in September 2027.

The Pope is already aware of the complaints, according to the women’s lawyer

The request for an audience is not the first attempt to bring the complaints to the Vatican.

In October 2025, Pope Leo XIV received representatives of the organization Ending Clergy Abuse, which later organized an international meeting in Buenos Aires in which some of the former auxiliary numeraries participated.

During that meeting, held in December, the women publicly presented their testimonies about the living and working conditions they claim to have suffered within Opus Dei.

In March 2026, the Pontiff also received British journalist Gareth Gore, author of the book Opus, in a private audience, and Gore provided him with documentation related to the Argentine Prosecutor’s Office investigation.

According to Sebastián Sal, during that meeting Pope Leo XIV reportedly stated that he was aware of the matter and intended to take action. This is a version conveyed by the lawyer, without any public confirmation from the Holy See regarding the content of that conversation.

The lawyer also questioned the fact that the Pope has received the prelate of Opus Dei, Fernando Ocáriz, and auxiliary vicar Mariano Fazio, while the women continue to wait for an audience.

“It is striking that the Pope receives the perpetrators and does not receive the victims,” Sal declared. The statement reflects the position of the complainants’ legal representation and does not imply any criminal liability established by a court.

The petition coincides with the review of Opus Dei’s statutes

The case unfolds as the process of adapting the prelature’s statutes to the provisions approved during the pontificate of Francis continues.

The motu proprio Ad charisma tuendum, promulgated in July 2022, modified the institutional framework of Opus Dei and transferred its dependence from the Dicastery for Bishops to the Dicastery for the Clergy.

Since then, the prelature has been working on a statutory revision that must receive the approval of the Holy See.

Although this procedure is distinct from the Argentine criminal case, both matters coincide in a period of particular attention to the organization’s internal structure and the functioning of the prelature.

For the moment, no audience between Pope Leo XIV and the former auxiliary numeraries has been announced. The decision will depend on the Holy See and the schedule of the apostolic journey.

The complainants maintain their request to be heard personally by the Pontiff, while the judicial investigation remains pending the statements requested by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Satué asks the brotherhoods to welcome with joy the "gay couple" and the divorced who have remarried

The Bishop of Málaga, José Antonio Satué, has called on brotherhoods and confraternities to welcome homosexual couples and divorced and remarried persons with joy, in the lecture with which he opened the confraternal formation course of the Local Council of Brotherhoods and Confraternities of the city on Wednesday, October 28, at the Church of Santiago in Cádiz. 

According to the Diario de Cádiz, cited by the U.S. portal LifeSiteNews, the bishop listed those who should feel at home in a brotherhood: the gay couple and the large family, the university student and the prostitute, the divorced and remarried and the devout woman who prays the rosary before Mass.

The lecture was titled Recovering the Roots of Our Faith in Jesus Christ. Satué defended, according to the chronicle of Mundo Cofrade, that brotherhoods must open their doors to all without distinction, whether gay, divorced, children or devout women, and that everyone should feel welcomed, respected and loved just as they are. 

The confraternal portal summarized his intervention in a headline stating that the bishop called for welcoming gays and the divorced. 

Neither that chronicle nor the one from La Voz del Sur, which covered the lecture under the motto of brotherhoods as open doors of faith, makes any reference by the bishop to conversion or to the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality.

The bishop used an image to explain the difference between the parish and the confraternity: the priest fishes with a rod and the brotherhood with a trawl net, according to the version of the Diario de Cádiz translated by LifeSiteNews. 

That is why, he said, tensions between parish priests and confraternity members do not frighten him, because they are a sign that both are fulfilling their mission: the priest demands processes and the confraternity member asks for spaces where everyone can fit. If that tension does not exist, he added, either the priest has become a confraternity member or the confraternity member has become clericalized. 

The ecclesial place of the brother, he maintained, is the street, culture, family and the problems of the neighborhood.

Satué also insisted, according to Mundo Cofrade, that brotherhoods must transmit the Gospel without turning it into a spectacle, give priority to the liturgy, not relegate participation in the Eucharist and help the most needy, because charity is what gives them authenticity.

It is not the first time that the Bishop of Málaga has spoken in this sense. Three weeks ago he sent a message of support to the XV Meeting of LGTBIQ+ Christians, held in Chipiona between October 9 and 11 under the motto “Todos, todas, todes,” in which he told the attendees that “you have much to contribute to the Church and, at the same time, you can enrich yourselves in it”, according to the chronicle of Vida Nueva. 

In February, in an interview with Málaga Hoy, he described the blessing of same-sex persons who have a couple project as a step forward and said that the Church will have to find a way to integrate that reality into its pastoral practice.

Satué, appointed Bishop of Teruel and Albarracín by Francis in 2021, was transferred to Málaga by Leo XIV in June 2025. His words in Cádiz were addressed to the confraternity members of a diocese that is not his own, that of Cádiz and Ceuta.

The Church’s doctrine distinguishes between the welcome of persons, which no one disputes, and the approval of unions. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls for treating persons with homosexual tendencies with respect, compassion and delicacy and avoiding all signs of unjust discrimination toward them, but it calls them to chastity and states that homosexual acts cannot receive approval in any case. 

By placing the gay couple in the same list as the large family, the bishop did not make that distinction.

The Bishop of Málaga calls on confraternities to welcome the gay couple with joy in the same sentence as the family with children, without a word about conversion.

Pope Leo XIV invites us to pray for the deceased with our hope placed in eternal life

Pope Leo XIV presided over the Holy Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed this Monday, November 2, at the monumental Verano Cemetery in Rome, where he recalled that death does not break the communion between Christians and their deceased loved ones. 

In his homily, the Pontiff highlighted the importance of suffrage prayer, presented the Beatitudes as the path to eternal life, and prayed especially for those who have lost family members due to war.

During the celebration, which took place at 4:00 p.m. at the monumental entrance of the cemetery, Leo XIV recalled that Christians are called to live with the hope of the resurrection and trust in the promises of Christ. “With the prayer of suffrage we accompany our loved ones toward full communion with the Lord,” he affirmed.

The Holy Father also evoked Saint Francis of Assisi, on the eighth centenary of his death, and his teaching on the need to face the end of earthly life in friendship with God.

Below, we reproduce the complete homily of Leo XIV published by the Holy See:

Dear brothers and sisters:

We have gathered to celebrate the Eucharist in this place of prayer and memory, of affection and hope. We offer it in suffrage for the faithful departed, in particular for those who rest here and for those whom each of us carries in our hearts.

Commemorating the faithful departed on the day after the Solemnity of All Saints directs our prayer. We turn to the heavenly Father so that the life of holiness and beatitude, already enjoyed by so many of his sons and daughters, may envelop the souls of those who sleep the sleep of peace.

Our faith is illuminated by the Word that has been proclaimed and that increases our trust in the hands of God. These —the Book of Wisdom reminds us— are capable of effectively guarding the souls of the just: “No torment will ever touch them” (Wis 3:1). This is the promise of salvation that, especially on this day, becomes the heart of the supplication we raise to the Lord of life for all the faithful departed.

May his fatherly and sure hands guard them eternally, so that they may fully enjoy that reciprocal and vital belonging that the Lord promises to his people in the Book of Revelation: “They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Rev 21:3). Our prayer intercedes so that this eternal communion of life may be realized, promised by the Good Shepherd to his sheep, who will never perish and no one will snatch them from his hand (cf. Jn 10:28).

Dear brothers and sisters, we have heard the Gospel of the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12). These are like the self-portrait of Jesus, which he himself places at the disposal of his disciples when he proclaims: “Blessed are you!” (v. 11). The Beatitudes are the path of full and fulfilled life, already now and for eternity. When we hear them proclaimed in the liturgy —we know— it is the risen Lord who speaks to us. And this announcement of salvation that the Beatitudes are resounds with particular spiritual force in a cemetery, which is like a threshold between the here and the hereafter, between earthly existence and what awaits us beyond. The risen Jesus tells us: blessed are those who live according to this path, because theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Among the eight Beatitudes of the Gospel of Matthew, there is one that touches us in a particular way today: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Mt 5:4). At this moment we want to pray for those who have recently lost a loved one; in particular, for those from whom they have been taken by the absurd violence of war. May the tears of so many mothers, so many children, so many elderly touch the consciences of those who have the power to silence the weapons!

On the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, the memory arises spontaneously of the “beatitude” that he added to the Canticle of the Creatures when he understood that his end was near: “Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are those whom death will find in your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm.”

Dear brothers and sisters, faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed is not interrupted, but transformed. With the prayer of suffrage we accompany our loved ones toward full communion with the Lord, that communion which we already truly taste here, in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Animated by this faith full of hope, let us continue our earthly journey, awaiting the day when He will wipe away every tear, when “death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away” (Rev 21:4).

When Irish Christians were harsh & cold (Contribution)

THE film “The Lost Children of Tuam” is a powerful insight into the way we were in this country during the 20th Century, a way which was profoundly unsettling, hypocritical and, ironically, deeply unChristian. 

If the essence of Christianity is a compassionate frame of mind (and I strongly believe it is) then many of us during that unpleasant, nasty period of our history were in fact anti-Christian. 

It is a frequent irony in the history of all nations (as far as I can see) that those who strut and preen themselves on their piety are in fact unkind, harsh and rule-bound.

The Mother and Baby and County Homes of Ireland ran from 1922 (around the foundation of the Irish Free State) until 1998, when the last home (Bessborough) finally closed. 

We had no sooner finally got rid of the British Empire from our lives, when we instituted a bleak, inflexible and heartless version of Catholicism into our lives. 

In other words we replaced one dislikeable form of rule with another (thankfully we didn’t descend into the full-blown authoritarianism of Spain or Portugal, but our instincts were undoubtedly dubious).

During this period, Irish society treated pregnancy outside of marriage as a severe moral disgrace. 

Unwed mothers faced intense judgment from society and rejection from their own families. 

Single mothers were routinely denied financial aid, employment, or backing from the child's father, leaving them destitute and with few alternatives. These single mothers were sometimes wild and unruly, but there was no excuse for treating them the way we did. 

The 18 Mother and Baby and County institutions were set up and funded through a combination of local authorities, the Irish government, and Catholic religious orders (who managed the day-to-day operations) to isolate "fallen women" and manage illegitimate births. 

During the 76-year period of their existence nearly 56,000 to 60,000 women and tens of thousands of children spent time in these institutions. They were characterized by overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate medical facilities, and harsh, unsupportive environments. 

According to an Oireachtas report on the matter, “Women faced severe emotional abuse, stigma, and denigration, particularly during childbirth.” 

About 9,000 children died in the 18 homes, representing an overall infant mortality rate of roughly 15%. In certain homes and peak periods, death rates were drastically higher—for example, reaching up to 75% in Bessborough in 1943 and 62% in Bethany in 1943. 

Common causes included infectious diseases, malnutrition, and congenital debility. Mothers faced immense psychological, social, and institutional pressure to surrender their children for adoption. By 1967, adoption peaked at 97% of births categorized as "illegitimate.” 

The October 2020 Final Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation stated that there was “little evidence" of formal physical force in every single adoption, but added that mothers had no realistic alternatives and little control over the fate of their children.

The Sean Ross Abbey Mother and Baby Home in Roscrea operated from 1932 to 1970 and was run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. 

During its existence 6,414 women and 6,079 children were admitted to the facility. The home suffered from severe overcrowding, and high infant mortality rates were driven by epidemics including measles, whooping cough, viral pneumonia, diphtheria, and typhoid (with 1,090 infant deaths recorded over its history, including deaths from conditions like marasmus). 

Following legal changes in the 1950s, the home became a major hub for forced or coerced adoptions, sending hundreds of children away, including hundreds adopted by families in the United States. 

The home features in the oscar-nominated film “Philomena.” Survivors and campaigners have continuously pushed for investigations into the unmarked graves at the site's "Angels Plot" in Sean Ross. They seek the full accounting and excavations of the children who died there. They have called for a tank to be unearthed which they believe might contain human remains, a situation which is reminiscent of the Tuam Home as depicted in “The Lost Children of Tuam.”

I think Archbishop Eamon Martin, leader of the Irish Catholic Church, was correct when he said it would be wrong if religious congregations were left to carry the sole blame for the Homes; and he was right to emphasise that the entire culture and society of the time supported or condoned the system. 

The crucial point is that pregnant women were frequently rejected, hidden, or sent away by their own families and local communities who prioritized social respectability over the welfare of the mother and child.

In a very interesting article in “The Irish Catholic”, David Quinn made the point that many people unfairly demonise the Bon Secours nuns for what happened in the Tuam Home.

“The nuns did not kill the babies or deliberately neglect them to death,” he writes. He said it’s important to also factor in the prevailing poverty of the era and the fact the Home was “badly under-resourced by Galway County Council.” 

Some years ago the State ordered a dig at the Tuam site to find the bodies of the 800 children. 

The dig is still underway and periodically issues reports. The most recent report, last July, said another 99 bodies had been found, all in coffins. 

The underground structure / septic tank hasn’t yet been investigated, but it will be and we know that bodies will also be found there. 

At this stage, it looks likely that the majority of the bodies were buried in coffins.

'Historic day' in UK as Philomena's Law comes into effect

In Britain, Philomena's Law comes into effect last Friday.

Named after campaigner Philomena Lee, the law stops people in Britain losing social welfare entitlements and other state supports if they receive a payment from the Irish Government's mother and baby homes redress scheme.

Up to 13,000 people living in Britain may be eligible to claim under the scheme, but so far only about a thousand have done so.

At the London Irish Centre in Camden, a small group gathered this morning to mark the successful passage of Philomena's law, which came into effect today - just a year and a half after beginning life as a private members bill, promoted by Labour MP Liam Conlon.

The law's aim is to correct a manifest injustice: survivors of Ireland's mother and baby homes could get financial redress under an Irish scheme, but many in the UK have been reluctant to take it because it would have counted towards their means tested income.

And that could have cost them social welfare and other state supports like care home payments - leaving them worse off.

Mr Conlon described the change as "massive" and "a historic day".

"It's the first time ever in British law that a payment from a foreign government has been ring-fenced, and it's all been about the 13,000 survivors of Ireland's mother and baby homes living in Britain.

"They received a long-awaited apology and then access to a redress scheme but were being penalised if they accepted that payment in Britain while receiving means-tested benefits.

"We have campaigned really hard for the last 18 months and I am so pleased that it's now law as of today."

The law is named after Philomena Lee, originally from Limerick, whose story of the forced adoption of her son from a convent was turned into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.

Her daughter and fellow campaigner Jane Libberton was in Camden for the event marking the laws start, and said: "I think its amazing. I think its a really good thing because i hope it allows more people to actually claim for the redress scheme.

"I don't think that many have, and I think a lot of people also don't know about it - that's part of the problem.

"So by Philomena's law coming in I hope they can publicize it for people to know that they can claim."

'Lasting legacy'

Philomena herself has recently moved into a care home, but Ms Libberton says she is delighted by the new law.

She said: "I spoke to her about it yesterday. She's 93 now and is getting a bit frailer, but she was absolutely delighted.

"It's just a shame she cant be here herself - she would love to have been. But it's a lasting legacy for her and her story - and many other people and their stories as well."

Mr Conlon says the movie was a big help in trying to build cross party support for his bill in the House of Commons and beyond.

"I think people in Britain, when you're trying to talk to them about this story, may not have heard of mother and baby homes, but they've all heard of Philomena Lee and the film Philomena," he said.

"People really connected with that and it helped to build support, build cross-party support and connect with the public.

"We've had an overwhelming level of support for this and it's really helped us get to where we are today."

Getting to this point happened rather quickly by Westminster standards.

Mr Conlon was only elected to the House of commons in 2024, winning his seat in Beckenham and Penge in greater London at the General Election that year.

He tabled Philomena's Law as a private members' bill in March of last year, getting ten minutes to introduce the bill to the House.

It helped greatly that he was able to garner cross party support for the bill.

Then the campaigning started in earnest with Irish community groups contacting MPs up and down the country.

"We didn't think we'd get it through this quickly when we introduced it to Parliament last March.

"It's been a testament to the Irish community in Britain, who have come together and worked really hard.

"MPs from across the political spectrum also came together to work on this, as did Pat McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whose parents are from Donegal and who really understood the issue.

"When I went to see him, he immediately got it. He helped push it through and get us to where we are today."

In March of this year the then UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the bill, as did Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

At a meeting in Cork the two leaders agreed to reciprocal measures, ringfencing the Irish redress scheme payments from British welfare law, and agreeing the same principle should apply to any similar British payments to people living in Ireland.

The original Irish legislation in the Redress Scheme for the Mother and Baby Homes already ringfenced redress payments from Irish welfare rules, so the same issues did not arise in Ireland.

In April the UK Department of Work and Pensions under Mr McFadden issued an advisory to national and local civil servants to disregard redress Scheme payments from calculations for welfare entitlements while legislation was pending.

Adopted as Government legislation, regulations to formally change the law were tabled in the Commons in September, and came into force today, Friday, 30 October.

For Irish community groups in Britain, the priority now is to tell people who may be eligible for the Redress Scheme about the change in the law that means they won't risk losing more than they gain.

Irish in Britain, an organisation that links Irish groups in the UK and which campaigned in favour of Philomena's law, said the Irish redress scheme is only open to new claims for another two and a half years, so there is an urgency in getting the message about the new law out to the community, especially in Scotland where there has been a notable lack of uptake of the scheme.

Rosa Gilbert, Policy and Research manager with Irish in Britain said: " Now that we have this law, the message is to ensure that survivors based in Britain apply to the scheme.

"They can come to places such as the London Irish Centre or phone the national freephone helpline to get support with their application.

"The payment scheme is about halfway through its lifespan, so there are only another two and a half years left for people to apply.

"The message is for people to come forward now. With their benefits now ring-fenced, they can apply without fearing that their housing benefit, pension credit or other means-tested benefits will be cut off."

And she pointed out that it is not just people who are currently claiming benefits that will benefit from the change in the law: " Even though it may appear that this only affects a small proportion of those who are eligible to apply to the scheme, anyone could need to rely on means-tested benefits in the future, whether that's for social care or other forms of support.

"This legislation therefore ensures that it is not only people currently claiming benefits who will benefit from it.

"It will also protect people who may need to claim benefits at some point in the future, with these compensation payments remaining ring-fenced".

Ms Gilbert also called on the Irish Government to publicise the change in the law to the Irish in Britain.

"In terms of reaching people who might not normally come forward to Irish centres, or who may not be part of an established Irish community, it is really important that the Irish Government carries out a public information campaign", she said.

"That means getting information onto radio programmes, into newspapers and through statutory services and GP surgeries, wherever people are likely to come across it.

"In particular, there needs to be a focus on reaching survivors of mother-and-baby homes and ensuring they are aware of the scheme, because lack of awareness is often the first hurdle people face in accessing it."

Mr Conlon agreed with the need for outreach, especially to those who are not connected to organised Irish networks in Britain.

He said: "Because of the potential to be penalised for accepting compensation in Britain, people haven't been coming forward to claim it.

"We've heard stories of people who came forward, made an application and then pressed pause.

"What's really good is that we now know, from speaking to groups like the London Irish Centre, that there are people already benefiting from this legislation.

"What we need to do now is contact thousands more survivors who are eligible, let them know about it and support them through the process.

"That's exactly what we're going to be doing."

The London Irish Centre in Camden operates a Freephone Line for callers within the UK only, on 0800 519 5519. the line is open from 10 am to 4 pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays.

Archbishop Richard Alarcón Urrutia of Cusco has died

The Archbishop of Cusco in Peru, Richard Alarcón Urrutia, passed away on Friday, October 30, at the age of 74, following a long illness.

The Archdiocese of Cusco announced his death in a statement published on social media, expressing its “profound sadness” at his passing.

His death comes just days before Pope Leo XIV’s arrival in the Peruvian city on November 15, a visit for which the archbishop had been making preparations.

Deep sorrow expressed by the Coadjutor Archbishop of Cusco

Archbishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera, who was appointed by Pope Leo XIV as Coadjutor Archbishop of Cusco on August 29, expressed his “deep sorrow at the sad passing.”

He joined Archbishop Alarcón Urrutia’s family and loved ones in mourning “this irreparable loss” and offered prayers “that God, in His infinite mercy, may welcome him into His Kingdom and grant him eternal rest.”

Archbishop Alarcón Urrutia’s health had suddenly deteriorated in recent days. His body is lying in state at Cusco’s Cathedral, where hundreds of faithful are gathering to pay their final respects to the Archbishop, according to the archdiocese’s statement.

Archbishop Alarcón Urrutia was born in Lima on April 10, 1952. He entered the Franciscan Order in 1969, was ordained a priest in 1976, and received episcopal ordination in 2001.

On October 27, 2014, Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of Cusco, a position he began on January 3, 2015.

His funeral will take place this Sunday, November 1, at the city's cathedral.

The Peruvian Bishops' Conference joins in prayer

“With great sorrow, but with hope in the Resurrection, the Peruvian Bishops' Conference announces to all the People of God the sad passing of Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cusco, who departed for the House of the Heavenly Father on Friday, October 30,” the statement released by the Peruvian Bishops' Conference read.

The Conference said it “joins in prayer” with the Archdiocese of Cusco, the Coadjutor Archbishop Estrada Herrera, as well as the clergy, religious men and women, the faithful, and his family, “asking the Lord of Life to welcome into His Kingdom of light and peace the man who was a dedicated servant of His Church.”

Theme for World Mission Day 2027: ‘The love of Christ sends us forth'

“The love of Christ sends us forth” is the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV for the 101st World Mission Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday, 24 October 2027.  

According to a press release by the Dicastery for Evangelisation’s Section for the First Evangelisation and New Particular Churches, “It speaks to the very heart of the Christian mission: the love of Christ, when received and lived out, becomes the driving force for proclaiming the Gospel and being a neighbour to everyone.”

The statement recalls that in his Message for World Mission Day 2026, the Pope recalled: “If unity is the condition of mission, love is its essence.”  

Indeed, it adds, “the Church’s mission arises from the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ, is nourished by our encounter with Him, and takes the form of a concrete witness to fraternity, closeness and service. Christ’s love does not leave us indifferent, but urges us to go beyond ourselves, to reach out to others and, above all, to reach out to those who are lonely, poor or suffering.”

In preparation for World Mission Day 2027, Pope Leo’s Message will be published at the start of next year, and it will guide the reflection, outreach and missionary formation of Christian communities.

Families demand Catholic secondary school in Aberdeen

The number of Catholics in Aberdeen has nearly doubled in the past 25 years and eleven Aberdeen schools are over subscribed. More than 1,000 families have signed a petition requesting a Catholic secondary school.

Yet the city council voted against opening a Catholic secondary school in 2024 and 2025. 

Now, the prospect is due for discussion at a meeting of the full SNP/Labour majority council in December. It will be the third time the council votes on the measure, despite the fact that Aberdeen city school rolls show that 11 primary and secondary schools are over-subscribed while a further 15 now operate at 90 per cent capacity.

“There are now more Catholics in Aberdeen than in Dundee, which has 10 Catholic primary and two Catholic secondary schools”, said John Murray, who is the Catholic Church representative on the Education and Children’s Services Committee of Aberdeen City Council.

He told The Tablet numbers of Catholics in the city on Scotland’s north-east coast had nearly doubled since 2001. Figures for the 2001 census showed that 11,919 Catholics lived in Aberdeen. By the 2022 census, that figure had increased to 19,239.

“There’s a large Polish community in Aberdeen. There’s a large number of Nigerians and also loads of Scots brought up in south-west Scotland where Catholic schools are what you have”, said Murray.

The idea for the secondary school was “parent-led,” he told The Tablet:  “When Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen was making synodal visits to all the parishes and meeting the parishioners, a lot of people said to him why is there no Catholic secondary school?”

“The fundamental thing is that the vast majority of families in Scotland whether Catholics or non-Catholics, Muslims or non-believers  can send their child into a Catholic Secondary School. Aberdeen County Council are denying this to Aberdeen families”, said Murray. “The law obliges the local authority to provide a Catholic school if it can be shown there’s a need for one.

He added: “Two years ago, the council surveyed the people of Aberdeen about the future of the city’s three Catholic primary schools. It also asked people if they would support a Catholic secondary school. Hundreds responded ‘yes’, but the council failed to ask the respondents how many children they had”.

Asked why the council has opposed the opening of a Catholic secondary school, Murray replied: “I don’t know. All we have been asking the council is that they agree to set up a working group with representatives of the council and from the Catholic Church to discuss the possibility”.

A private convent school for girls run by the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart closed in 1964. A decade later, St Peter’s closed its secondary school to operate only as a Catholic primary school.

Armagh sets out six-year plan to strengthen parish life

The Archdiocese of Armagh has outlined a six-year plan to strengthen parish life, including proposals for new regional youth and family hubs, changes to sacramental preparation and initiatives to encourage young people to remain involved with the Church after Confirmation.

The proposals, covering 2026 – 2032, build upon the Archdiocese’s Congress on Youth, Family and Faith from earlier this year, along with Archbishop Eamon Martin’s pastoral letter from earlier this month, ‘Go, Rebuild My Church’.

The plan brings together 14 proposals under five missionary pathways: faith formation, liturgy, youth and family outreach, evangelisation and prayer.

Among the proposals are regional ‘Youth and Family Belonging Hubs’ which would bring young people and families together across parish boundaries, alongside a new post-Confirmation discipleship and leadership programme. Other proposals include a family-centred approach to sacramental preparation, further formation for clergy and lay ministers, and a diocesan strategy for digital evangelisation.

The Archdiocese also acknowledged the difficulties facing parishes, including “fewer active clergy, changing patterns of participation and differing levels of local capacity”.

“Our response, however, cannot be limited to managing those pressures or maintaining existing structures,” the proposals document states. “The Congress calls us to look again at how we encounter Christ, grow in faith, pray and worship together, accompany young people and families, and share the Gospel with others.”

The accompanying reflection guide emphasises that the plans must extend beyond existing parish communities, seeking to reach those who have become less connected with the Church.

“The five pathways are not separate projects, but different expressions of the one baptismal calling we share,” it states. “Through prayer, formation, welcome, accompaniment and mission, each of us is invited to play a part in renewing the life of the Church and carrying the Gospel beyond ourselves.”

Five regional gatherings will take place across the Archdiocese in November, when parish, school and community representatives will consider how the proposals might be put into practice.

Communities are being encouraged to identify one or two priorities suited to their local circumstances, with the Archdiocese stressing that the proposals are “not presented as a finished programme”, but rather a starting point for further discussion and implementation.

Notre Dame residence rector cleared of anonymous online abuse allegations

The University of Notre Dame has cleared and rehired a former residence rector of anonymous online sexual assault allegations, as her civil defamation case against her unknown accusers proceeds in an Indiana court.

The university provided OSV News with a statement from Karen Kennedy, associate vice president of residential life, who said a "thorough investigation" had determined "there was no evidence to support that any of the alleged misconduct occurred."

Kennedy's statement was shared in an email to residents of McGlinn Hall, one of the campus' women's residences, the university told OSV News.

Elizabeth Greenop — who had been removed as McGlinn's rector and placed on leave in August pending a university investigation — will now serve as an assistant director of residential life, according to that office's website and an Oct. 29 article by the school's independent newspaper, The Observer.

Greenop had been the subject of several graphic sexual assault accusations posted in June and July to shareyourstory.notredame, an Instagram account not affiliated with the university.

Following professional news standards, OSV News did not disclose Greenop's name in its initial coverage due to the uncorroborated nature of the anonymous, social media-based allegations.

Greenop's name and association with the matter became public record due to her August filing of a civil suit in St. Joseph County, Indiana, Superior Court.

The suit holds that the allegations made by the 10 defendants — referenced as "Jane" and "John Doe(s)" —  constitute both defamation and a false-light invasion of privacy, a charge similar to defamation.

In her affidavit, Greenop had denied all the claims made in the allegations, noting she had "not been arrested for or charged with any crime in connection" with them.

Without naming Greenop, Kennedy said in her statement that "the rector in question was fully and thoroughly cooperative throughout the entire investigation, which included significant efforts to identify individuals with any knowledge relevant to the alleged misconduct as well as any misconduct involving the types that were alleged."

Kennedy said the investigation "also included numerous interviews with members of the residence hall community," adding that "at no point did anyone interviewed identify themselves as being subject to the alleged misconduct or as being aware of anyone else who had been subject to such misconduct."

On Oct. 9, Greenop won a court order allowing her to subpoena social media giant Meta to identify those behind anonymous Instagram posts accusing her of sexual assault.

She can now demand that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, provide "documents and records sufficient to identify" the individuals behind both the allegations and the Instagram account that published the claims.

The administrator of the shareyourstory.notredame Instagram account declined comment to OSV News regarding the lawsuit and the results of the university investigation.

‘Document fatigue’ from Vatican is making it hard on local Churches (Opinion)

“Beatings will continue until morale improves.”

That’s a cynical phrase passed around offices worldwide, and it’s one I thought about when reading Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández’s interview with the Spanish Catholic website, Religión Confidencial.

In the interview, Fernández discussed Venite ad me, the 25,000-word document issued by Fernández’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on October 22, a week ago.

The book-sized set of “considerations” from the DDF looks at how the passing on of the Faith has changed, saying the Church is experiencing an “epochal change.”

Most of the English-language press focused on InfoVaticana’s write-up of the Spanish-language interview in Religión Confidencial.

InfoVaticana’s piece carried a headline saying Fernández “admits scant impact of Venite ad me.”

Some early reporting of Fernandez’s remarks suggested the cardinal blamed conservatives, who were ignoring it because of their obsession with sex.

That was a little unfair.

He actually criticized both conservatives and progressives, saying liberals are mostly concerned with “structural change and dialogue with society” while conservatives are kept “up at night [by] the transmission of sexual morality.”

That may still be an awfully tidy take on complex situations, but it is certainly is fairer than the gloss of the remark that blames only or primarily conservatives.

In any case, the cardinal said he was not surprised the new Vatican document didn’t get much attention.

“I was realistic,” he said.

“Although many bishops’ conferences responded in the consultation before the document, to help with the analysis,” the prefect said, “a document that asks for progress in local implementation is something more demanding.”

The Synodality promoted by Pope Francis in 2013’s Evangelii Gaudium called for a “sound decentralization.” During his pontificate, he called for the Roman curia to be at the service of the bishops.

Less than a week after its release, Fernández was already lamenting the lack of interest. That was awfully early to criticize conferences for not taking it up.

Bishops’ conferences meet only a couple or a few times a year, and those in the northern hemisphere usually enter their fall meetings in November.

The cardinal told Religión Confidencial that he is “persisting” in his efforts to have his new document addressed.

“For that reason, we have sought assistance from the Secretariat of State to ask the episcopal conferences to make an effort toward receiving and implementing it,” Fernández said.

“Hopefully,” he said, “through this approach, we will achieve something. We shall see.”

This urgency wasn’t enough to have a Vatican press conference to answer any questions, though. The cardinal said such a thing would be “counterproductive” since journalists would want to ask him about “other topics.”

Yes, many bishops are holding their conference meetings in the coming month (although some had them before Venite was issued last week).

These bishops will be talking about particular issues facing their churches, from forms of persecution in various countries to founding schools and charities, and even – yes – how to better proclaim the Gospel.

Bishops are still digesting Pope Leo’s encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, released on May 25, which sets out the governing principles of his pontificate, especially regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI), for the Catholic world.

However, Fernández says Venite Ad Me should be on the docket and is calling on the Secretariat of State to push the issue.

Since his appointment in 2023, the head of the doctrine dicastery has written and released a slew of documents: Fiducia Supplicans, which covered blessings and caused controversy in its advice for blessing homosexual couples; Dignitas Infinita, which was on human dignity, and caused complaints from both progressives and conservatives about its discussion of gender theory; Mater Populi Fidelis, which caused controversy over its statements on various Marian titles; Una Caro, which discusses monogamy in marriage, which caused some controversy for its emphasis on Western problems of separation and divorce, as opposed to the polygamy in the developing world which was asked for by the African bishops; and Fernández co-signed the Note about the anniversary of the Vatican II document on interreligious affairs.

That’s a long sentence.

In the age of a “decentralized” Synodal Church, the cardinal is – less than a week after its publication – calling on the Secretariat of State to ask the bishops to address a document which describes itself as a non-binding text of “Considerations” that are up for “further analysis and development.”

It really does seem he really does want the bishops to get on it (but he only says so in a small Spanish-language news organization).

“Is this Synodality?” is a fair question. “Is this a ‘healthy decentralization’?” is another.

The Synod on Synodality’s implementation phase has its next major assembly in 2028, and the Vatican has called on bishops to play a bigger role in how the Catholic Church is governed.

It is still two years away, and the Holy See is already causing document fatigue, which seems to demonstrate a top-down view of a process that it has proclaimed will be bottom-up.

Rome’s actions seem to be in competition with its words – and as long as the bishops don’t follow them, the beatings … er … documents are likely to keep coming.

Franciscans leave Toulouse after more than four centuries due to a lack of vocations

The Franciscan community of Tolosa (Gipuzkoa) bid farewell to the town last Sunday, October 25, ending more than four centuries of religious, pastoral, and cultural presence. 

The lack of vocations and generational renewal has forced the last three friars to leave the historic Convent of San Francisco and move to Zarautz. 

Their departure also marks a change for the monumental complex, whose acquisition has been agreed upon by the Town Council, which plans to dedicate the church to cultural activities.

The final farewell Mass was celebrated in the Church of San Francisco and was presided over by the Bishop of San Sebastián, Fernando Prado Ayuso. 

The diocese had announced the celebration, which brought together numerous faithful and neighbors to thank the community for its work, deeply tied to the town’s history.

The lack of vocations forces the closure of a historic community

The departure of the Franciscans is due to the decline in the number of religious and the inability to ensure the community’s continuity.

The last three friars assigned to Tolosa, Juan José Muniain, José Luis Agirretxe, and Florentino Arruti, will move to the Franciscan convent in Zarautz, where the order will concentrate part of its members.

Muniain, who has spent 38 years in Tolosa, explained in statements reported by Radio San Sebastián that the decision was not due to financial difficulties or specific problems within the community, but rather to the lack of new vocations.

“We have no vocations. There are no replacements, and we cannot maintain all the houses,” the friar acknowledged.

The decision is part of a broader reorganization process of Franciscan communities, which are facing a progressive reduction in the number of friars.

During the farewell Mass, the Franciscan provincial, Joxe Mari Arregi, also explained that the lack of religious forces communities to concentrate. According to figures released on the occasion of the farewell, while in 1960 there were 140 friars in Arantzazu, today only about 80 remain, spread across the various convents of the religious province.

The departure from Tolosa thus reflects a reality affecting numerous religious congregations in Spain: the aging of their members and the absence of enough vocations to keep historic houses open.

More than four centuries of Franciscan presence in Tolosa

The history of the Franciscans in Tolosa dates back to the 16th century. According to the Town Council of Tolosa, the presence of the order began in 1587, although other historical references place its first steps a few years earlier.

In 1577, Pedro Mendizorrotz, a resident of Ibarra, requested authorization to establish a Franciscan convent and offered land for its construction. The religious complex was built over the following decades and became one of the main spiritual and cultural landmarks of the town.

The Church of San Francisco, whose construction was completed at the end of the 16th century, preserves a notable artistic heritage, especially its Renaissance main altarpiece, created by Ambrosio Bengoetxea at the beginning of the 17th century.

The Franciscan presence endured numerous historical events, including wars, the disentailment, and various fires that affected the convent.

In 1814, a fire destroyed much of the complex, although the church survived. During the 19th century, political and military circumstances forced the religious to temporarily abandon their facilities, which were even used as barracks, a hospital, and a warehouse.

The community returned permanently in 1915, when the convent that remained in operation until this year was built.

An important religious, educational, and cultural role

The influence of the Franciscans in Tolosa went far beyond liturgical activity.

For centuries, the community participated in the religious and educational formation of generations of townspeople. Among its historic initiatives was the Colegio de San José, founded in the 17th century, which contributed to the education and intellectual life of the town.

The friars also played a significant role in promoting the Basque language and culture, especially during the 20th century.

The convent was linked to various cultural and publishing initiatives, including the journal Jakin, a reference publication in the Basque cultural sphere that developed part of its trajectory in connection with the Franciscan community.

The Town Council has expressly recognized this contribution and highlighted that the religious served thousands of residents, both in spiritual life and in promoting the local language and traditions.

In its October 23 statement, the council recalled that the church and convent were for centuries places of gathering and refuge for generations of Tolosa’s inhabitants, both in times of hardship and during community celebrations.

The Town Council will acquire the church and convent for new uses

The departure of the religious will also bring an important change in the future of the monumental complex of San Francisco.

The Town Council of Tolosa and the Franciscan Province of Arantzazu have reached an agreement for the church and convent to become municipal property, after nearly a year of negotiations.

The council has committed to preserving the artistic and architectural value of the complex and to making its facilities available to the public.

However, the future of the church will no longer be primarily tied to its religious function.

The mayor of Tolosa, Andu Martínez de Rituerto, explained in an interview with Radio San Sebastián on October 26 that the municipal intention is to convert the Church of San Francisco into a cultural space.

Although the activities it will host have not yet been specified, the Town Council is considering possibilities such as concerts, conferences, or other cultural initiatives.

The mayor even mentioned European examples of former churches transformed into libraries or cultural facilities, although he did not announce a final decision on such a model for Tolosa.

One of the main constraints will be the preservation of the church’s artistic heritage, especially its main altarpiece, whose historical value requires specific protection measures.

Regarding the convent, the Town Council had initially considered allocating it to social housing. However, the building’s architectural features could make that transformation difficult, so its use as a cultural facility is also being considered.

For now, the final economic conditions of the operation and the precise timeline for adapting the buildings have not been publicly disclosed.

Another religious community disappears from Tolosa

The farewell to the Franciscans adds to other recent closures of religious communities in the town.

In 2023, the Poor Clares also left Tolosa, as part of a reorganization process caused by the aging and decline of their communities.

The departure of the Franciscans now leaves without a stable presence an order that for centuries contributed to the spiritual, educational, and cultural life of the town.

The Town Council wanted to bid farewell to the religious with a public recognition and adopted their traditional Franciscan greeting, “Peace and All Good,” to wish them well in their new stage.

The preservation of the church and convent will allow an important part of Tolosa’s historical heritage to be maintained. 

However, the closure of the community marks the disappearance of a religious presence that had accompanied generations of the faithful and raises a broader question about the future of historic convents and churches in light of the vocational crisis affecting numerous congregations in Spain.

New York archbishop joins religious sisters in suing state over assisted suicide law

New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks this week joined a lawsuit alongside several orders of religious sisters, suing to stop the state from forcing Catholics to adhere to its newly created suicide regime.

The archbishop added his name to a lawsuit that includes Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres, the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, and the Little Sisters of the Poor. 

Hicks’ addition to the suit was announced by the religious liberty law firm Becket on Oct. 30.

The New York Archdiocese joins the suit after it was launched in July of this year by Catholic objectors to the state’s new suicide law. 

The Catholic plaintiffs in that suit argued that the state’s assisted suicide rules would force them to participate in the process of helping suicidal patients kill themselves, a violation of core Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, a federal court ordered that the state could not enforce the suicide rules against the Catholic objectors while the suit itself played out.

Hicks said on Oct. 30 that Catholics “are guided by the compassion of Jesus to serve those of every background who are in need of healing.”

“We refuse to allow New York to force us to harm the very ones we’ve been called to care for,” he said.

Hicks is the latest Catholic prelate to join the legal fight against assisted suicide in the U.S. A total of four bishops and dozens of religious sisters have sued the governments of New York and Illinois after the states enacted assisted suicide programs.

In addition to the New York ruling, the Catholic objectors in Illinois — which include the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Springfield — have secured victories at federal court, with a judge ordering the state to hold off on enforcing suicide rules against them while the suits play out.

In New York, the Catholic healthcare ministry ArchCare also joined the lawsuit against the state. Among ArchCare’s facilities is Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, which offers hospice care for those with six months or less to live.

Becket describes the Calvary facility as “the only fully-accredited acute care hospital in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the palliative care of adult patients with life-limiting illnesses.”

Brendan Hoban: National Synodal Assembly, Gormanston, Co Meath (Contribution)

Just over a week or so ago 300 delegates from all corners of Ireland gathered in the North West Hotel in Gormanston, County Meath for the Irish National Synodal Assembly (Editor : it is actually called the CityNorth Hotel). 

The task was to consider the latest stage in a reform programme that is intended to give direction and purpose to the Catholic Church as inspired by Pope Francis.

Effectively, the reform is re-setting the Church on a synodal pathway – in short, revisiting and reactivating the long-neglected vision of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) of ‘a People’s Church’. 

In simple terms, it recaptures a way of being church that is more effective, more purposeful and more ‘user friendly’ in responding to the challenge that modernity represents for Catholicism today.

The importance word here is ‘SYNODALITY’, meaning a shared responsibility for all the baptised in the future of their Church: in governance; in discerning change; in employing strategies of active listening; in consensus in decision-making; in being transparent and accountable; in courageously naming difficult truths and in employing participative structures in every possible way.

Its intention is to move The Catholic Church now in its third millennium into the modern world and making it ‘more fit for purpose’.

Inevitably, the prospect of this ‘church revolution in approach and in resetting’ has divided Catholic opinion and the Gormanston Synod was the latest of three similar gatherings – the first in Athlone in 2022, the second in Kilkenny in 2025 and now Meath in 2026 – to devise what Francis called ‘a new way of being church for the third millennium’.

Finding our place in the modern world and devising a future to pay due respect to the teachings of Jesus Christ can seem like turning around a huge ocean-going liner in a busy sea and setting a new course and direction. 

It takes time and effort to secure unity without necessarily demanding uniformity and at the same time making space to ensure that no one, despite the challenge of different perspectives, is swept overboard. Inevitably too, some are, in Maggie Thatcher’s phrase, ‘not for turning’ and insist on clinging to the wreckage rather that in shaping a different church.

On entering the mammoth North West Hotel over a week or so ago, that perspective was clear. For all the world like a great liner parked awkwardly in a sea of green fields, the hotel evinced a conviction of being part of a different world. 

However, on entering this new and exotic space, a more homely reminder of things past was a veritable mountain of the latest edition of the Irish Catholic newspaper free, on offer to the 300 delegates. 

At first sight, it appeared a predictable publicity campaign to increase that paper’s circulation. On closer examination, it seemed much more than that – as if it had definitively thrown its weight against the Synodal Pathway in that pages 2 and 3 were exclusively devoted to a long article rubbishing synodality. 

Fr Andrew McMahon, a parish priest in the North of Ireland, decreed that Synodality was ‘significantly out of sync with the reality of Church life here’; it was failing ‘to offer the Church a realistic programme going forward’; and its claims were ‘likely dependent for its delivery on an ever-expanding bureaucracy’. 

It is of course easy to dismiss untested ambitions for reform and easy too to fuel fears and phobias as with McMahon’s comment – ‘the potential for harm to children, youth and others by the promotion of LGBT plus ideologies’. 

McMahon (and the Irish Catholic) adopt a presumptive judgement that the jury is still out on Synodality. They’re wrong.

In the words of theologian, Eamonn Conway, in his impressive book, Changing to be Faithful, ‘the Church is now convinced that synodality is the means by which questions and issues are faithfully addressed and the means which best enable discernment consistent with what God wants of his church at this time’. 

With synodality, Conway writes, the People of God both accept ‘change and remain faithful’. It is possible, indeed necessary to embrace both stances.

Anyone adopting the McMahon/Irish Catholic thesis that synodality is still merely an option (or a choice or a suggestion to be still debated), would be disabused of such a perspective if they attended the Gormanston synod. There the Bishop of Meath, Tom Deenihan, described the synodal pathway as ‘a springtime for the Church’ and ‘a new phase in the acceptance of Vatican Two’. 

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, in an upbeat and positive address, indicated that the Irish bishops who had already walked ‘the synodal path with the people, religious and clergy (of Ireland) were meeting next week and looked forward to reflecting on today’s assembly’ as  ‘the church needs to act to benefit all those who have been excluded, abused, wounded and hurt.’ 

And it is now abundantly clear that most Irish Catholics – though not most priests – are happy to respond to the living tradition of a synodal church – to move in order to remain faithful.

There is absolutely no doubt now about the attitude of the Irish Church to synodality. The presence of Pope Francis seemed to hover over the Gormanston event as did the comfort of Pope Leo’s persistent endorsement of Francis’s vision of a synodal church. The implementation phase of the synod continues unabated and has overtaken any and every presumption of a divided jury. 

And not least because at the end of the General Assembly (Synod on Synodality) in Rome in October 2024, the church has accepted that Pope Francis used a formula of words that made the Final Document magisterial – in that he ruled that synodality is now here to stay.

The maturity that attends this choice was very evident in the Gormanston gathering where respect for divergent views was honoured and critical comments were welcomed. 

Gormanston saw the emergence of a flush of groups and entities – mainly conservative Catholics attempting to control or manage the Synodal Pathway – some of whose legitimate attendance as Catholics may be open to question. 

However, as an understanding grows of the new reality that synodality is effectively now part of the teaching of the church, synodal gatherings will be less driven by political considerations and by efforts to ignore or oppose or limit or undo its remit. 

It will simply represent what Eamonn Conway calls ‘an operative culture whereby all the People of God fulfil their particular and distinctive role and responsibility in discerning how best the Church can fulfil its mission’. And where mischief-making can be named for what it is.

There is now no other way.

It is clear that the synodal journey of the Irish Catholic Church, inspired by the prophetic vision of Pope Francis and the uncompromising endorsement of Pope Leo had attracted the full support of the Irish bishops and Irish Catholics. 

And, despite inevitable and predictable pushback, it has again moved firmly towards a clear validation of synodality as the future focus of the Irish Catholic Church.