It is Saturday, we are in consistory, and this fact is the focus of much of today’s news coverage. Our hearts remain with Venezuela; the reports reaching us are terrible, and we find ourselves before a population completely abandoned by its authorities, who for decades have been plundering it. Let us proceed with the day.
Beginning of the consistory.
One hundred seventy-eight cardinals gathered in the Paul VI Hall to begin the work of the Extraordinary Consistory. After the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 a.m., the cardinals were divided into working groups: eight groups of ordinary cardinal electors—which also included nuncios and cardinals who had completed their service as ordinaries—and ten groups comprising the cardinal electors of the Roman Curia and the non-electors. A geography of balance, even before the work began. After singing the Veni Creator, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio moderated the first session and gave the floor to the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, for his greetings. Then Pope Leo XIV spoke.
The Pope structured the agenda for these days around four themes he described as “deeply interconnected”: the vision of the world in which the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel; the culture of power versus the civilization of love; the Church’s contribution to building the common good; and, finally, the implementation of the Synod. He asked the cardinals for explicit support: “I need your support: firm, explicit, and public. I need to feel supported by you as by brothers.” “I need your freedom, your frankness, and your loyalty. Sincere counsel is always an act of communion.”
Unity within the Church to achieve credibility and the necessary dialogue with other confessions and religions, particularly Islam, was another highlight of the group discussions. “In a time when the globalization of indifference makes us intolerant of others’ suffering,” each person must assume responsibility for building peace. From this perspective, all groups emphasized the centrality of faith in Christ, of the Gospel that transforms the world when we reject its mere theory, and of the Church’s original vocation, for there are situations that require God’s intervention to be addressed. In this regard, some groups also highlighted the Church’s work in the Holy Land and Eastern Europe. The debate also addressed the role of political power, “free from its toxic link with economic power.” Topics such as the family, education, the difficulty of moving beyond the logic of immediate responses, and the need for a determined effort of evangelization were discussed. Various groups underscored the role of the Holy See’s diplomacy and the Nuncios in ensuring that the Church’s voice is heard.
The culture of power.
The afternoon session of the consistory, moderated by Cardinal Siongco David, began with a remembrance of the painful situation in Venezuela and the numerous victims of the recent earthquake. The Cardinal introduced the session on the theme “The culture of power and the civilization of love,” dedicated to reflecting on Chapter V of the Magnifica Humanitas. He then gave the floor to Cardinal Fernández for his introductory address. The group discussions continued until 6:20 p.m. Pope Leo XIV, present at the beginning of the session, returned for the plenary session. At the end of the session, around 7:30 p.m., Pope Leo XIV led the closing prayer. According to the Holy See Press Office, the interventions of all groups demonstrated a deep understanding of the critical problems of the present, of the dehumanizing force of the culture of power, of its universality, of the temptation to conform to the logic of the powerful, of normalizing war and polarization, which leads to a lowering of the threshold of tolerance for violence and a dangerous simplification in the search for solutions. In addition, all groups expressed the profound and urgent responsibility to build peace and the civilization of love, through a language of listening, forgiveness, reconciliation, restorative justice, and gestures capable of moving the hearts of men and women, in dialogue with other confessions and religions, particularly Islam. Other topics addressed were politics, the family, and education. Numerous groups agreed on the need to overcome the logic of just war, since the Gospel cannot be imposed by force, and instead to defend the right to proportional defense.
A “Bergoglian” Consistory?
Some cardinals confess their discomfort regarding the groups and the limited number of speakers: “ Of course, the Pope has had problems since his speech… ” The proximity of the consecrations of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X has led the Holy See to modify its original agenda, and in the dialogue with the Lefebvrians, the Apostolic Palace decided to avoid it. The ancient liturgy is not the exclusive prerogative of Lefebvre’s followers, but is also celebrated by institutes in full communion with Rome, which since 2021 have been facing the restrictions of Traditionis custodes. This Consistory will not tell the Pope whether or not he should relax the norms with internal traditionalists, but it is a topic destined to remain extremely controversial because the closer the day of the consecrations approaches, the greater the concern among the professed members and the nuns associated with the Fraternity who wish to avoid a possible excommunication.
The regulation and prevention of abuse.
The Network against Abuse publishes the discouraging results of four years of diocesan assistance services for victims of abuse; the European Union and Protestant churches attempt to express their views on regulations and prevention. “The psychological impact suffered by the victims is devastating, as the trauma they experienced was reawakened, forcing them, during interrogations, to recount what they suffered during the abuses. This was further aggravated on this occasion by the hope for justice that never came.” “Even some of the assistance service workers themselves who collected evidence from those who, in good faith, believed they were helping, only to realize that they had not only further harmed the victims, have sought help from the association.”
This week also saw an agreement between the Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament to update European Union criminal legislation on the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of minors. There will be a greater number of offenses, harsher penalties, longer statutes of limitations, clearer rules on consent, and greater assistance to victims. And representatives of 40 Protestant churches met in Warsaw to develop protection strategies, promote dialogue within Protestant churches, and support communities with little experience in abuse prevention.
Popes, dollars, and wars.
Massimo Franco will present his book “Popes, Dollars, and Wars. The Power of the United States in the Vatican from the Taboos of the Past to Leo XIV.” In this book, Franco aims to delve into the hermetic world of the Church and the Vatican and manages to access previously unknown documents. His task begins with a meticulous investigation of the secret path to reconstruct a complete history, including the details and particularities of each account. The Vatican is a vast and complex entity. He extensively consults the Vatican Apostolic Archives (until 2019, they were called the Vatican Secret Archives). The book focuses on the transition from the pontificate of Bergoglio to that of the first American pope. We move from Pope Francis, unpopular among Americans, to Pope Leo XIV, whose behavior even Americans cannot understand. The problem with Bergoglio, a Latin American, was that he did not understand the United States nor was he understood by the United States. Because of this distance, cultural misunderstandings arose. In contrast, Prevost, the Yankee-Latino, reflects all positions and, above all, avoids any kind of division.
Leo XIV’s decisions do not represent a betrayal of Bergoglio, but rather a further justification for challenging American Catholic conservatism: he is not demonized, but welcomed to prevent the extremism of the religious right. In this way, Catholic traditionalism is respected and American conservatives and their values are not ridiculed. Bergoglio’s papacy can be defined as visionary and prophetic, but it was founded on a flawed system, superimposed on traditional ecclesiastical institutions, now delegitimized. Now, with Prevost’s papacy, it is essential to restore the unity and governance of the Church.
The United States did not have much relevance in the Vatican until 1915, when only two American cardinals arrived at the Holy See after the pope’s election. From 1922 onward, the number of American cardinals increased to three. Pope Pius XI’s strategic vision was crucial. He understood that the center of gravity of the world economy was shifting toward the United States, and hence the decision to send a Vatican official to that country to negotiate and understand how the money arrived, and thus understand the network of exchange between the Church and the United States regarding sensitive information on the economy, social movements, and the evolution of wars.
The question remains whether Prevost, with all the difficulties and Vatican currents surrounding him, will be able to avoid being trapped by them, as happened with previous popes. Franco emphasizes that Bergoglio’s legacy does not lie in his concern for the poor, with its contradictory implications, but in his concern for the excluded. The same can be said of the issue of immigration, which must be protected, but in terms of human rights, and regulated.
Slanders against Cardinal Becciu.
The Vatican Court of Appeals has fully upheld the sentence handed down on October 29, 2025, by the Vatican Tribunal against Nicola Giampaolo, found guilty of the crime of slander against Cardinal Angelo Becciu and Father Bogusław Stanisław Turek, CSMA, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The sentence of three years and six months in prison and compensation for damages to the civil parties was confirmed. Nicola Giampaolo, during a radio program, accused the cardinal of having requested sums of money to support certain causes of beatification, with special reference to that of Aldo Moro.
These statements received immediate media coverage, despite the fact that the cause of beatification itself had been interrupted by the Moro family and the accusations had not been confirmed by the courts. The Vatican judges reiterate that those accusations constituted the crime of defamation.
The decision of the Court of Appeals is part of a story that the editor’s blog of Korazym.org has followed from the beginning, documenting its judicial and media developments. The cardinal Becciu’s defense attorney: “Cardinal Becciu has suffered enormously because of these unfounded accusations. Today’s sentence clearly reflects their defamatory nature, as was fully established in the first-instance sentence, which today was fully upheld by the appeals judges regarding these facts. This sentence puts an end to a paradoxical matter in which Cardinal Becciu was unjustly involved, becoming the target of serious slanders.”
Cardinal Aguiar has lost the ‘oremus.’
Medical studies among the Amish.
There are no children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autoimmune diseases, PANDAS, PANS, or epilepsy. There are no cases of cancer, diabetes, or asthma. The U.S. government has studied the Amish for decades, but has never made public the conclusions of its investigations. The reason is that the report would demonstrate that NOT following the government’s health guidelines leads to BETTER health: “All these vaccines are harming our children. It is not just the COVID-19 vaccines.” The Amish communities are the perfect control group for applying a placebo. They live in close contact with nature, outdoors and under the sun, consume whole foods with a single ingredient, free of chemicals, reject government interference, and have robust immune systems by avoiding harmful vaccines.
Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein
Interview with Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein in the newspaper Liechtensteiner Vaterland in which he explains his motivations for rejecting the abortion law: “I do not believe it is a question of proportionality. In matters as fundamental as the protection of life, a head of state must take a clear stance and assume his responsibilities, even if that is the most difficult path.” You have the official statement on the website of the Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein (Princely House of Liechtenstein). We recall the recent stance of Prince Albert II of Monaco against the greater decriminalization of the practice of voluntary termination of pregnancy in the Principality of Monaco and, in April 1990, the act of temporary abdication of King Baudouin of Belgium so as not to be obliged to sign the law legalizing abortion.
At the beginning of February, a committee presented the popular initiative “Deadline Solution for Liechtenstein.” Abortion during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy should be completely decriminalized, the ban on doctors providing information should be abolished, and costs should be covered by health insurance. Last week, the Landtag declared the proposal constitutional. The promoters must now collect at least 1,000 signatures in six weeks for a referendum to be held, but the Prince has the absolute right of veto.
“When a State has two sovereigns, they may have divergent opinions. However, they often manage to reach an agreement.” “With a regulation based on deadlines, the State evades, during the established period, its responsibility to recognize the fetus’s right to protection. I do not know if ‘harm’ is the right word, but from my point of view, it is incorrect. For me, it is a principled commitment to the protection of life, not a ban on abortion. Both under the term-based regulation and under our current indication-based regulation, abortion is permitted in certain situations.” “The current legislation in Liechtenstein clearly establishes that the termination of pregnancy is not considered a normal or desirable solution and, therefore, takes into account the protection of the life of the fetus.” “In principle, health insurance is intended to treat diseases. Pregnancy is not a disease. The termination of pregnancy is the conscious cessation of biological life, not a therapeutic process. Whether this should be co-financed by the community or not is a socio-political decision. Our neighboring countries have adopted different approaches.”
“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.”
Good reading.