We start the week and we’re halfway through the month of May, time flies, we’re already in the second year of Pope Leo’s pontificate and the sacred palaces are burning with all kinds of rumors. Parolin’s departure could be the first major piece after friend Edgar’s move to the discreet nunciature in Italy. This change, with the arrival of a Secretary of State from Leo, could be the beginning of real changes in the curia, which, with rare exceptions, is all unformed. Parolin’s change could make some more heads fall in the Secretariat. Pope Leo is not at all happy with the management of the confrontation with the United States and the secret agreement with China is causing problems, perhaps he is looking for another profile that offers solutions more in line with his sought-after unity.
The Two Popes.
Conversation «The Two Popes» between Marco Damilano , editorialist for Domani, and Mario Calabresi, editorial director of Chora Media, moderated by Nicola Imberti , begins with a comparison between Robert Francis Prevost and Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and then addresses the conflictive relationship between the pontiff and Donald Trump, the role of the Italian Catholic hierarchy and that of the Church in the world.
Damilano, whose new book, » We Are the Times: The Church of Francis and Leo XIII in a Fragmented World » (Mondadori, 2026), was inspired by his podcast-diary of the period between Bergoglio’s death and Prevost’s election: «I was in St. Peter’s Square on March 13, 2013, when Pope Francis was elected, and it was an extraordinary surprise, a transatlantic round trip from Europe to Argentina in a matter of minutes. And I was there on May 8, 2025, to be surprised by the first American pope with that word everyone needed, peace, ‘disarmed and disarming peace’, which was an opening of hope. A new pope is always a new beginning, in these two cases even more so». It can be said that «the revolution is irreversible, because Pope Francis said that we must not occupy spaces but open processes, which is also a lay lesson in politics. In this sense, Francis’s investment in Robert Francis Prevost was very important; he appointed him four times in a few years: first bishop in Peru, then prefect in Rome, then cardinal and finally cardinal bishop. There is a depth of processes, and here we enter into something more difficult to describe».
The conversation then turns to Trump’s attacks on the pope. While the relationship with Francis was tense, with Leo the level of conflict has increased dramatically. Is this a religious war? And does this religious fanaticism that permeates the president’s second term really represent the United States? «Trump knows nothing about religion», responds Calabresi. «But he has good judgment, he understands the underlying feelings and knows how to channel them. «He was detested by Pope Francis, but Francis was a South American pope who was not liked by the majority of American Catholics. And it was easier for Trump to say: «He is different from us». The problem arises when an American pope arrives, from the Midwest, who supports a Chicago baseball team. A person with a typically American formation, with a Sicilian grandfather, Creole ancestry on his mother’s side and who grew up in the Chicago suburbs. So when that pope speaks to newspapers in English, he is speaking to you in your own home.
The dialogue concluded with a question about the relationship between young people and the Church: after years in which it was said that the institution did not know how to speak to the world, today it seems to be a point of reference; last year, two million young people were at Tor Vergata for the Youth Jubilee . «We are betraying the younger generations in many parts of the world, who are risking their lives».
Haiti and the Vatican.
Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, Prime Minister and Head of the Executive of the Republic of Haiti, participated in the “Mass for Peace in Haiti”, celebrated by Parolin in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Haiti has maintained diplomatic relations with the Vatican since 1860. He met with Pope Leo XIV in the Apostolic Palace on May 9, 2026 amid a wave of shocking violence in the Caribbean country. According to a new report published by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), more than a thousand people died and more than five hundred were injured in just the first three months of 2026. Gangs are no longer just fighting over territory in the capital, but are systematically expanding into the most fertile rural regions forcing nearly 1.5 million people to abandon their homes.
«The Church has always been an ally when we have wanted to talk about peace» and Haiti is at a moment when it needs «to start a dialogue and heal as a people». The Vatican recognizes that the conversations addressed challenges “humanitarian, migratory and security”, making explicit reference to the “necessary contribution of the international community” to resolve them. The United Nations reports that criminal gangs are responsible for 27% of homicides and use sexual violence as a weapon of terror against populations living under their control, including group rapes of girls as young as 12 years old. Fils-Aimé is leveraging the moral influence of the Holy See to keep Haiti on the international agenda. While the international community deals with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Haiti risks becoming a forgotten crisis.
Müller and the Synod Report.
Michael Hynes in The final report of the Synod of Bishops on homosexuality leads to a «heretical relativization» of marriage. The text of the Final Report «openly accepts the heretical relativization of natural and sacramental marriage». This measure «is described as the first step toward the recognition of LGBT ideology, which advocates nothing other than a materialistic view of humanity without God, the Creator, Redeemer and Perfecter of the human race».
The two points on which the cardinal focuses are: «distrust in the central principles of Catholic doctrine, which are confused with a time-limited system of thought, instead of recognizing them as the integral and complete transmission of God’s revelation to present and future generations». And «its attempt to align with prevailing ideologies through a supposed «paradigm shift from rigid dogmatism to a pastoral approach on a human scale» in order to gain recognition from its followers». They do not openly deny the revealed truths. But they ignore them and, along with them, build their own home of a comfortable and worldly Christianity. By ignoring or neglecting the Catholic tradition, one arrives at the sophistically exaggerated assertion that sin does not consist in conscious and voluntary acts against God’s commandments, but rather in the refusal to show an all-encompassing mercy toward those who cannot or will not fulfill them.
The liturgical or private blessing ( benedictio = approval), by which we are blessed in Christ, is a prayer of the Church that trusts in God’s help and assistance for people, so that they may be promoted in all that is good, and in no way constitutes a confirmation of a life opposed to God in sin. Human weakness cannot be an excuse, because the Holy Spirit helps us with his grace, which God does not deny to those who sincerely ask for it (cf. Rom 8,26).
It is not the transformation of the Church into a philanthropic movement with a socio-religious imprint that will lead the secularized peoples of de-Christianized Western back into the open arms of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who is the «Light of the Nations». The true disciples of Jesus do not seek the approval of men nor the false blessings of «the rulers of this world» (cf. 1 Cor 2,6). Indeed, out of love and truth, «the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ […] has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens» ( Ef 1,3).
Strickland and the Synod Report on Homosexuality.
The Repression of Catholics in China.
The secret agreements of 2018 between the Holy See and China are causing greater repression against Catholics. Should we continue on the failed path of Francis and Parolin or resume the stance of John Paul II and Benedict XVI? For now, the new Pontiff keeps his intentions secret and this could be another point of disagreement with Parolin who defends the pacts to the hilt.
Benedict XVI appointed cardinal the bishop of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen, a staunch defender of religious freedom, still persecuted today despite being over ninety years old. Beijing’s immediate reaction was to remind him not to interfere in political matters. The 2007 letter to Chinese Catholics is another example of how the Catholic Church knows how to prudently maintain its position against interferences: Benedict XVI, for his part, addressed the faithful directly, not the Chinese authorities. Ratzinger denounced openly that «in many concrete cases, if not almost always, the recognition process involves bodies that force the people involved to adopt attitudes, perform gestures and assume commitments contrary to the dictates of their Catholic conscience».
The pontificate of Francis and the arrival of Parolin as Secretary of State have led the Holy See to adopt a much more conciliatory policy toward Beijing, and the 2018 provisional agreement is a symbol of that. The Holy See, at the urging of Francis and Parolin, has opted for a policy of «small steps» with this agreement, which remains secret but whose content is known: it provides for the appointment of bishops by the Pope from candidates favored by the Chinese Communist Party. The situation of Catholics in China has not improved: at least seven underground bishops continue to be persecuted, with selective detentions during holidays to prevent the faithful from participating in their celebrations. The strange thing is that this persecution against them began after 2018 following the signing of the agreement.
Human Rights Watch stated that «ten years after the start of Xi Jinping’s sinicization campaign, and almost eight years after the 2018 agreement between the Holy See and China, Catholics in China face increasing repression that violates their religious freedoms». After the agreement, the trial of Cardinal Zen also took place, who to this day must request permission from government authorities to leave the country.
In 2020, the rift between the Trump administration and the Holy See occurred precisely because of China, after Mike Pompeo publicly urged the Vatican not to renew the agreement with that country. It is not far-fetched to think that Trump could also provoke the Holy See on this matter. Pope Leo XIV remains silent on China and has not revealed his true intentions regarding a file that will inevitably become one of the most important of his pontificate. It is difficult to completely close the door to Beijing, but the warning of the Second Vatican Council remains valid: «Charity and kindness must not, in any way, make us indifferent to the Truth and the good».
The Sodalitium of Christian Life.
Bertomeu, who is in Peru to receive new complaints against the Sodalitium in an open period from May 4 to 22, mentioned that the investigation process carried out by the Vatican against the abuses committed can become a model to address other similar cases in transnational religious organizations that span different strata of the curia. The commissioner arrived in the country to receive complaints and advance reparations. However, the first complainant of the Sodalitium stated that everything is a “lie” because those responsible remain in their positions and the economic reparation “seeks to silence”.
The commissioner adorns and acknowledges that » Pope Leo XIV personally asked that the process of liquidation of the Sodalitium of Christian Life continue and conclude, following the line marked by Pope Francis». He revealed this Friday that Pope Leo XIV contacted him a few hours after his election to ask him to continue the process started by Francis against the organization until its final stage. “A few hours later he was already in touch with me to tell me that he wanted what had started with Francis to continue and end. Therefore, he not only did not abrogate the decision taken by Francis, but he wanted the process of liquidation of the Sodalitium’s spiritual families to continue. And moreover, as Francis wanted”. “Pope Francis also realized that everything stemmed from a false charism. Therefore, the founder was not a founder as such, but a guru, the closest thing to a guru and, therefore, everything founded by him had to be suppressed. And this was the decision of Pope Francis, which Pope Leo, as soon as he was elected, confirmed and wanted to continue”.
Regarding the current process, the envoy confirmed that in five days of work at the Nunciature they have received complaints from more than a hundred victims, although he estimated that they could be double. “These days I am seeing very lamentable situations. I have seen people with empty eyes, lost people, who don’t even know where to start to explain all the trauma that belonging to an organization that was declared sectarian at the time has caused them, which is also a point of novelty in the Church”. “My duty is to remind what remains of the Sodalitium that they have a duty of justice and that, with their money, they have to pay, because there are victims who accuse them for the time they were in their organizations”. Bertomeu highlighted that the case process is unprecedented, as it consists of a special and personal diplomatic mission of the pope to carry out the investigations above the dicasteries and deliver a report to the same pontiff, so that he can refer it to the corresponding Vatican instances in which sanctions are decided.
The first complainant of the Sodalitium, José Enrique Escardó, considered that the Catholic Church maintains “a deception in the process of suppression and reparation”, since “we victims have not received it and the aggressors remain in their place”. “The priests have not been reduced to the lay state (including the still bishop Eguren) and the consecrated laity continue to give lessons in Christianity as if nothing had happened”. Putting a price on suffering is revictimizing and “considering that repairing is paying is a maneuver that only aims at the silence of the victims”.
Christianity Disappearing in the Holy Land.
In statements to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, published by the organization, Benedictine abbot Nikodemus Schnabel expressed his fear that the Holy Land could become «a kind of ‘Christian Disneyland'», where the holy places remain active but indigenous Christian life disappears. Christianity risks disappearing completely from the Holy Land amid war. He also drew attention to the concrete dangers of emigration and growing hostility toward indigenous Christians, while Church leaders throughout the Middle East report an accelerated demographic collapse in some of the world’s oldest Christian communities.
Church for Sale in Germany.
Another case among many that is news today. It is a large temple that hosts four congregations that speak their mother tongue celebrate Mass in the church, but feel undervalued. Due to the planned sale of St. Anthony’s Church in Münster, the Diocese is forced to issue a second clarification. According to the diocesan press office, letters have been sent to representatives of the Polish, Spanish-speaking, Tamil and Eritrean communities within the Diocese of Münster. The parishioners who habitually use it are upset by the decision of St. Joseph’s parish in Münster-Süd to cede St. Anthony’s Church. The diocese has committed to doing everything possible to ensure that binding and «appropriate» decisions are made during the summer regarding which churches the parishes will be able to celebrate services in and shape their vibrant community life starting in October. According to the diocese, conversations are already underway with several parishes in Münster to determine which churches and parish halls are suitable. «The diocese will not make a unilateral decision. We prefer to analyze the specific possibilities with you and examine the options jointly».
From Hollywood to the Altar.
And we’re ending with a very positive news story . Scott-Vincent Borba , a Hollywood makeup celebrity soon to be ordained a priest . «I renounce everything the world can offer me for Jesus». The ordination will take place on May 23 and goes from being a millionaire businessman in the cosmetics world to Catholic priest . The founder of the famous cosmetics brand elf will be ordained a priest soon in the Diocese of Fresno, California. He is 52 years old, has been for years one of the most recognizable faces of the American beauty industry. During his years of success, Borba frequented the Hollywood high society , living among luxury cars, villas and exclusive parties.
He became famous as «star esthetician» but behind the economic and social success, he claimed to feel deeply empty . In an interview, recalling a decisive moment at a party in Los Angeles: «I felt completely miserable. Working, partying, starting over and dying. I said: ‘God, this is not the life that I believe you created for me. I can only change if you help me ‘» . From there, he began a process of conversion that led him to gradually abandon the world of entertainment and business. I no longer wanted to stay home, everything reminded me of the sin I had committed. It was superficial. I was leading a perverse life « . «God told me: ‘Renounce everything ‘» .
In 2021, at 48 years old, he took another decisive step by definitively abandoning his business activities and entering the seminary and St. Patrick’s University. «With everything the world can give me, I would give it a million times more just to be united with Jesus» .
«…the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God».
Good reading.