Holy Thursday, Pope Leo has celebrated the Chrism Mass and this afternoon returns in coena Domini to the cathedral of Rome after the parenthesis of the late Pope Francis. Today is a special day to remember our priests, who in these turbulent times have the obligation to be, if anything, more holy and wiser, to calm the confused People of God. They don’t have it easy, neither from above, from where they can expect little, nor from below, when so often the warmth of the faithful is lacking. They are indispensable and they are the link between a world that is dying and something new that is born; between earthly reality and eternity.
The Germans go all out.
It seems that today it is not very appropriate to delve into other topics, we have them and we count them. The president of the German Episcopal Conference has delivered to the Vatican, for its approval, the statutes of a proposal for a «Synodal Conference,» an organism that would allow Catholic laypeople to participate in the authority of the bishops. The Synodal Conference was conceived as a continuation of the heretical Synodal Way , which seeks to modify the doctrine of the Church. This structure, which grants authority to laypeople in ecclesiastical matters, clearly violates the hierarchical and sacramental nature of the Catholic Church. For this reason, some German bishops, such as Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer, and Bishop Stefan Oster, have decided not to participate further in the Synodal Assemblies. Wilmer after delivering the statutes: «In my conversation with Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O.Carm., prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, I explained the statutes, based on the work of my predecessor, Bishop Dr. Georg Bätzing, as well as the numerous preliminary conversations carried out by Bishop Dr. Franz-Josef Overbeck», «Recognition is requested in order to apply the statutes and establish a synodal conference for the Church in Germany. I am pleased and grateful that today we have taken another step on this long synodal path. Likewise, I thank the close integration of this process in Germany with the worldwide synodal movement in recent months». The Vatican must approve the statutes for the Synodal Conference to proceed. However, Vatican officials have expressed concern about the plan, stating that authority over a diocese must rest exclusively with the diocesan bishop.
The sacramental seal in the Czech Republic.
The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic rejected this Wednesday the concordat signed with the Vatican in 2024, considering that some of its points, including the secret of confession, violate the Magna Carta, an unexpected ruling that for the moment prevents the agreement from coming into force. According to public television CT24, the new concordat cannot be ratified until the unconstitutional clauses are corrected, which include the protection of the secret of confession and access to ecclesiastical archives. The Court pointed out that the clause recognizing the secret of confession grants the Catholic Church an absolute protection that does not extend to other confessions, similar to the professional secrecy privilege of lawyers, and that therefore, its inclusion violates the neutrality of the State and the principle of non-discrimination.
Another controversial point establishes that the Church’s legal entities may freely decide how to make their cultural heritage available to researchers, allowing them to limit access to their documents and archives. The Constitutional Court demands that ecclesiastical archives be publicly accessible, considering them part of the country’s cultural heritage and a fundamental source for historiography. With the text rejected today, the Czech Republic committed to respecting total freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, as well as the right to refuse military service or medical services on grounds of conscientious objection.
Among the members of Integral Human Development.
Pope Leo XIV has appointed a trio of Catholic academics and the director of an ecclesiastical center for migrants on the border between the United States and Mexico as new members of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. This office, headed by Cardinal Michael Czerny, is dedicated to the Church’s social doctrine, including issues such as justice and peace, human rights, migration, and the environment.
Among the 11 new members are Father Daniel Groody, of the Congregation of Holy Cross, vice president and associate vice rector for undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame; Meghan Clark, theologian and associate director of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University in New York; Léocadie Wabo Lushombo, professor of ethical theology at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in Berkeley; and Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute in El Paso, Texas. The Hope Border Institute has played a fundamental role in the U.S. Church’s response to the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. Earlier this year, it helped create the Catholic Immigrant Prophetic Action Project to organize a robust ecclesiastical response.
In 2022, Clark collaborated with the Dicastery’s migrants and refugees section on a project where theologians from around the world documented voices from the peripheries to inform the synod on synodality of 2021-2024. For Groody, this appointment represents a continuity with his long-standing efforts to link theology with global concerns. A professor at the University of Notre Dame, Groody has written extensively on migration and refugees, and has collaborated with policymakers and international organizations.
Three bishops were also appointed to the dicastery: Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera López of Monterrey, Mexico; Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo; and Auxiliary Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera of the Archdiocese of Cuzco, Peru. Jesuit Father Rampeoane Hlobo, director of the Jesuit Network for Justice and Ecology in Africa, and Brazilian climate scientist Carlos Nobre were also appointed members of the dicastery, which has led the dissemination and application of Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical on ecology, «Laudato Si’ , on care for our common home.»
Confessing remotely.
The question of whether it is possible to confess online has returned to the center of the debate during the coronavirus pandemic. Official texts and clarifications provided by the Holy See rule out the possibility that a chat, a call, or a voice message can replace sacramental confession. Canon 959 states that the faithful obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance «by confessing their sins to a legitimate minister» and receiving absolution «from the same minister.» Canon 960 adds that individual and integral confession with absolution is «the only ordinary way» by which the faithful conscious of grave sin reconcile with God and the Church. The legislator describes a personal and ecclesial sacramental act, entrusted to the direct relationship between penitent and confessor. The same guidance comes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
St. John Paul II was clear in his motu proprio Misericordia Dei where he recalled that «individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary way» of reconciliation. The exception refers only to a «physical or moral impossibility,» but even in that case the Church does not substitute the sacrament with the telephone or digital means: it provides for other extraordinary forms, such as general absolution in the cases provided by law or the sincere desire to confess as soon as possible.
On March 20, 2020, Monsignor Krzysztof Nykiel, Regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, responded directly to the question of whether the telephone or email could be adequate tools for confession: «Sacramental confession cannot be done by telephone, email, or other means of communication» and «the physical presence of the penitent is required.» The same passage clarified that, through these means, the priest can offer spiritual counsel, consolation, and support, but not impart sacramental absolution. The same day, the Apostolic Penitentiary published an official Note reiterating that, «even in times of Covid-19,» the sacrament of Penance is administered «in accordance with universal canon law» and the Ordo Paenitentiae.
There is also another aspect that makes the use of digital platforms for confession completely inappropriate: the sacramental seal; every priest who hears confessions is obliged to maintain «absolute secrecy» regarding the sins confessed. The 2019 Note of the Apostolic Penitentiary on the importance of the internal forum underscores the irreducible nature of this secret and reminds the confessor that «never and for no reason» is he permitted to betray the penitent. The faithful can contact a priest by telephone or chat to ask for help, advice, discernment, or spiritual guidance. They can express their desire for reconciliation and receive guidance for an act of contrition when it is impossible for them to confess immediately. What they cannot do is transform that contact into a valid and legitimate sacramental confession.
The Bishop of Augsburg is also Catholic.
Not all German bishops are heretics and the Bishop of Augsburg, Bertram Meier, at the chrismal mass: the Church cannot do without priests. «No group of active men and women can replace a priest.» «The ministry of the priest is irreplaceable, because what Christ accomplishes through him is irreplaceable. And this ministry is, above all, the ministry of the Eucharist.» Jesus Christ does not become present through human «manipulation,» but He Himself fulfills His promise and grants His closeness, added the bishop. «God takes my life in His hands and guides me on a path that serves my salvation and that of those entrusted to me. I must and can allow something to happen to me without being able to ‘do’ it myself.»
This is also evident in the solemnity of the Eucharistic Prayer. The celebrant surrenders the power of his hands to the Holy Spirit. This does not mean arrogance or presumption, but rather renunciation of power and humility. For the priest does not acquire the right to celebrate the Eucharist through theological studies, but through ordination. «Even as a priest who stands before the congregation, I am first and foremost a recipient of the Body of Christ.» «How many times does the pastor bid farewell to the sick, impressed by their strength and thus strengthened in his own ministry?»
German nuns against the Church: I renounce.
There are those who are confused and a group of nuns launched a harsh criticism of the Church and society during Easter. Under the slogan «I renounce!», the «Religious Sisters for Human Dignity» demonstrated on Tuesday against inequality, discrimination, and political isolation. The group’s demand is linked to the rite of baptismal renewal. In response to the question «Do you renounce…?», the faithful present at the mass respond: «I renounce!». The nuns complain that despite the debates on reform, the role of women remains insufficiently defined. While the debates initiated by Pope Francis affirm that «there is no reason to prevent women from assuming leadership roles in the Church,» the issue of women’s access to ordination remains open. The result, according to the nuns, is scant. The group «Religious Sisters for Human Dignity» , founded in 2018, considers itself a voice in defense of human dignity, its members live in various religious orders, such as Benedictine, Dominican, or Franciscan convents, and combine their religious vocation with social commitment.
Bishop Grünwidl and the discriminated Austrian women.
The Archbishop of Vienna, Josef Grünwidl, advocates for changes in the Church, especially regarding the «women’s question.» «If we take seriously the results of the recent Synod , then some norms, traditions, and even canon law must change.» Specifically, Grünwidl advocates for mixed consultative bodies that include not only ordained men but also women. Three women already have voting rights on the Vienna Episcopal Council. At the same time, current canon law makes greater participation by women difficult, for example, in priestly formation. «If this question comes from the Holy Spirit and is a sign of the times, then it will prevail and become reality in the Church.»
Strickland interview with Tucker Carlson.
Bishop Joseph Strickland told Tucker Carlson in an interview published on Monday that the deaths of civilians in Gaza constitute «a holocaust of our time.» When Carlson asked why he had intervened in the expulsion of Carrie Prejean Boller from President Trump’s Religious Freedom Commission, Strickland said he felt called to speak out against what he considered unfair treatment of Boller, after she herself challenged him to do so. Strickland: «As you said, I believe they fired Carrie because they didn’t like the truth she was saying. The truth about Gaza, which many consider taboo. The death of innocents there is simply horrible.» «It is a true holocaust of our time.» Strickland agreed with Carlson that the commission opposed the «agenda» of political Zionism and the idea that «Christians must adopt» this ideology. The bishop commented that he contacted Boller to «offer her support and consolation» after her dismissal from the Religious Freedom Commission. During the conversation, Boller asked him to express his support publicly.
United States and Spanish euthanasia.
The Trump administration has ordered its embassy in Spain to investigate how the tragic euthanasia death of a 25-year-old group rape victim was allowed to occur. The New York Post obtained a State Department cable tasking the U.S. Embassy in Madrid with determining how Spanish authorities handled the multiple sexual assault cases against Noelia Castillo, who committed suicide via euthanasia last week. In 2022, she survived a suicide attempt by jumping from a five-story building that left her paralyzed from the waist down. U.S. officials should communicate to the Spanish government that the administration has «serious concerns» regarding «numerous systemic violations of human rights» that preceded her death. The cable referred to «allegations that Ms. Castillo was sexually assaulted repeatedly while under state custody» and that, reportedly, «she expressed reluctance to undergo euthanasia in her final hours.»
The State Department also expressed concern over Spain’s permissive attitude toward migrants, based on accusations that the perpetrators, who remain at large, were «of migrant origin.» «Mass and illegal migration is a human rights concern, and Spain’s facilitation of mass and illegal migration represents a dangerous threat to the rights and freedoms of Spanish citizens, as well as to regional and global security in general.»
The Spanish government does not seem to have taken the message well and in a Wednesday post on X , Spanish Health Minister Mónica García told President Trump to stop meddling in everything. «In the United States, thousands of people die each year without health insurance, while Trump supports and perpetrates human rights violations between Gaza and Iran.» «Spain is a serious country, with a solid health system and a rights framework that protects and cares for all people, including those who choose to request assistance to die with dignity in legally regulated contexts, evaluated by clinical committees and endorsed by the courts.»
JD Vance recounts his conversion.
Vice President JD Vance announced that his book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith , will be published on June 16. «I’ve been writing this book for a long time and I feel honored to finally be able to share the full story with all of you.» «The story of how I recovered my faith, of course, only happened because I had lost it in the first place.» «The interesting question I plan to address in this book, and on my mind, is why I strayed from the path. Why the Christian faith of my youth did not take proper root.» «I’m glad to have returned to the Church. I learned a lot along the way. But if you believe as I do, you know that I have been fortunate and have experienced God’s grace.» «To sum up this book: I am a Christian, and I converted to Christianity because I believe the teachings of Jesus Christ are true.» «But I didn’t always think that way, and by sharing my experience, I hope to be of help to others—Catholics, Protestants, or of any other faith—who seek reconciliation with God.»
Explosion of Easter Baptisms also in the United States.
For Catholics, young and old, who are completing their first year in the Church, it has been a year of continuous learning and maturing in the faith, combined with new experiences and blessings, including the opportunity to guide others toward the Catholic faith. An article today recounts the first-year experience of converts. «The fact that you can go anywhere in the world and the Mass is the same is really cool, and it’s proof of how well thought out and revised this Church is. It’s been fantastic to be on tour without missing a beat.» «It’s amazing to see someone experience something you’re passionate about. It’s like a movie… you love a movie so much and you want to show it to someone to make sure they like it too.» «When I go to Catholic Mass, I truly feel the presence of the Lord. I know it’s the truth, so why would I look for anything else?» «I am so convinced of the truth, and that comforts me so much.» «It literally changed my life completely. I am very happy to be Catholic.»
The chaos of the Anglican schism.
For more than a century, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been considered primus inter pares , the «first among equals,» and the head of the Anglican Communion. This predominant role represented a historical milestone of unity for Anglicans worldwide. However, recent events within global Anglicanism raise serious doubts about whether the Church of England can continue to play that role in the life of what was once known as the Anglican Communion. One of the most evident signs of this change is the absence of sixteen (out of forty-two) Anglican primates at the enthronement of Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Four could not attend due to exceptional circumstances. The other twelve represent more than 75 percent of the world’s Anglicans. Their absence is no small matter.
Due to trends that repudiated the historic orthodox Christian teaching on sex and marriage in the early years of this century, the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) protested in its Jerusalem Declaration: «We reject the authority of any churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and urge them to repent and return to the Lord.» In a statement that highlights the magnitude of Canterbury’s failure as a center of unity, former Archbishop Rowan Williams admitted recently: «Honestly, I don’t know if the communion will survive.»
Which «Anglican Communion» are you referring to?
The Anglican Communion currently has approximately 85 million members in 165 countries and is organized into more than 40 autonomous provinces. Historically, this network of churches developed from the Church of England after the English Reformation and expanded globally thanks to Britain’s colonial presence and missionary work. During the last century, the demographic center of Anglicanism has shifted considerably toward Africa and some parts of Asia. This has been accentuated especially as the British center has become increasingly liberal, while the African periphery has persisted in a conservatism increasingly hostile to Canterbury.
The «Anglican family,» to use the terminology of the message, is now in complete disarray, even on the brink of collapse. And Mullally’s rise to the throne is no coincidence in this situation. In 1930, the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops approved the limited use of contraceptives, marking a significant change in moral doctrine. In the following decades, other changes occurred: many Anglican provinces began ordaining women and, in 2014, the Church of England approved the appointment of women bishops. In 2015, the Episcopal Church of the United States legalized same-sex marriage, making it mandatory in 2018. Conservative provinces, especially in Africa, have rejected these changes. Churches such as the Anglican Church in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania have maintained their traditional teachings on marriage and do not allow women to serve as bishops in their jurisdictions. Tensions resurfaced in 2025, when Cherry Vann was elected Archbishop of Wales. She became the first woman archbishop in the Anglican Churches of the United Kingdom and the first openly lesbian bishop living with her partner to hold the position of primate within the Anglican Communion.
A fragment of the letter from Pope Leo XIV quotes the Joint Declaration of October 5, 2016: «Despite great advances, our immediate predecessors, Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby, frankly recognized that ‘new circumstances have generated new disagreements between us.'» The text of the Declaration specifies: these disagreements refer «in particular to the ordination of women and to more recent issues related to human sexuality.» We are left with Leo XIV’s indefinite statement: «You assume these responsibilities at a delicate moment in the history of the Anglican family.»
Toward a universal religion.
And all this where is it going? Being able to peek «behind the scenes» of real power: this is the goal that Pierre Virion set out to achieve during a conference, succeeding fully. The image obtained is undoubtedly one of an interweaving between the planet’s centers of economic power and the submerged world of initiatory esotericism and Secret Societies. The common goal for which these joint forces have been working for at least three centuries is no mystery: «World government is inevitable. It will arise in one of the following ways. Either as a World Empire, with mass slavery imposed by the victory of a Third World War, or it may take the form of a World Federal Republic, established through the gradual integration of the United Nations» (cf. GA Borghese, Foundations of the World Republic, 1953). But this «empire» is unattainable if first what it has not been able to destroy over the centuries, the Catholic Church, is not made adogmatic (without dogmas) and finally absorbed by the Universal Religion that is to be established. As we see today, this is already happening. In New York, the «Friends of the Meditation Room» regularly hold a long meeting in the UN Meditation Room. At the center of this Temple, a beam of light shines on gleaming gold. On April 24, 1957, when the Meditation Room was reopened, Dag-Hammarskjöld, the last UN Secretary-General, described this pagan stone as an altar to the «universal religion.» He said that «the altar is the symbol of the god of all things.»
St. John Paul II the Great.
And we conclude, April 2 is a date that many believers remember with emotion. It is the day, in 2005, when Pope John Paul II passed away, one of the most beloved and influential pontiffs in modern history. His death, which occurred on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, marked the end of a pontificate that lasted more than twenty-six years, and whose memory endures in the hearts of millions.
Elected pope in 1978, he was the first non-Italian pontiff in more than four centuries. His pontificate transformed the Catholic Church through a new style: tireless travels, encounters with diverse peoples and cultures, and dialogue with young people and families. John Paul II visited more than a hundred countries, turning the papacy into a truly global presence. The essence of his message was simple and direct: «Be not afraid. Open, open wide the doors to Christ.» It was an invitation addressed not only to believers, but to all humanity: faith not as a closure, but as an opening to hope.
Among the most impactful moments of his public life is the 1981 assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square , in which he was seriously injured. He survived and performed an act that shocked the entire world: he met with his aggressor and forgave him. That act of mercy became one of the most powerful symbols of his pontificate. In the last years of his life, the Pope also showed the world fragility. Illness and suffering did not lead him to withdraw from public life; John Paul II chose to live that harsh trial before the eyes of all, transforming it into a testimony of faith and human dignity.
The night of April 2, 2005 , when the news of his death spread, thousands of people spontaneously gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Today the Church remembers him as Saint John Paul II , proclaimed a saint in 2014. Each anniversary of his death is an opportunity to hear again that voice that, for more than a quarter of a century, urged the world not to be afraid and to believe that hope can be stronger than fear and violence.
«Do you understand what I have done to you?»
Good reading.