Let’s go with the day’s news. The Pope to the authors of «La Civiltà Cattolica», whom he received in audience on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its foundation and to whom he thanked «for the faithful and generous service they have provided to the Apostolic See for so many years». «Some have described your magazine as a window on the world, appreciating its openness, and without a doubt one of its hallmarks is its ability to address current events without fear of facing its challenges and contradictions», Leo XIV focused on «three significant areas» of the work of «La Civiltà Cattolica»: «educating people to engage intelligently and actively in the world, defending the needy, and proclaiming hope». «Your work has contributed, and continues to do so, to making the Church present in the world of culture, in tune with the teachings of the Pope and the orientations of the Holy See».
The big news of today, which is in all the media, is the Becciu trial, which began with great media uproar and was announced as the «trial of the century» of the Vatican, and which is proving increasingly counterproductive for the prosecution. The first three hearings of the appeal have been tough moments for the Promoter of Justice, Alessandro Diddi, who has been forced to endure strong setbacks that undermine his authority and redraw a case that is becoming increasingly complex. Becciu happy: «It’s a good sign, but there’s still a long way to go».
Diddi is a Roman lawyer, professor in Calabria, appointed by Pope Francis in 2019 to lead the Vatican prosecution, has approached the trial with an aggressive attitude, reluctant to respect the subtleties of the law. In recent years he has had an exceptional tool: the rescripts, the extraordinary acts with which Pope Francis corrected procedural irregularities. A parachute that allowed him to bypass objections, covering errors and gaps with the papal seal. It seems that the landscape has changed. Appeals do not admit shortcuts, and today’s ruling, as well as that of the first hearing that declared the prosecutor’s recusal admissible, have revealed a prosecution lacking solid legal foundation. Without the net of rescripts, Diddi seems to be in trouble.
The chats extracted from the judicial documents reveal a surprising reality: Chaouqui, already convicted in the Vatileaks 2 case, was behind some of the maneuvers that drove the investigation. The messages reveal contacts, pressures, and plans to build a case and break the internal power balance in the Curia. The combination of the unfavorable rulings for Diddi and the publication of the chats marks a crucial moment. The real loser is the Diddi method: the idea that the law can adapt to the urgency of a blow, counting on political support and papal ratification to cover the cracks. The latest hearings demonstrate that this era is over.
Among the many names involved in the trial is Monsignor Mauro Carlino who was perhaps one of the most unjustly exposed. He held the delicate position of secretary of the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, a position that placed him at the center of curial dynamics, but which, in the trial debate, became an easy target for accusations. Accused of extortion, abuse of power, failure to report, and even participation in a financing request to the IOR. These accusations forced Carlino to live for years under the weight of a criminal process that tarnished his name and his priestly life. Yesterday, the ruling of the Vatican tribunal was clear: Carlino did not commit any of the alleged crimes . The first-instance sentence is final and Monsignor Mauro Carlino is completely , and forever, freed from this trial. Well known and valued in his diocese of origin, Lecce, his situation has led many Italian priests to despise the Pontifical State and with good reason.
Arellano then read a partial ruling. In introducing it, he cited the ‘favor rei’ (guarantees in favor of the accused), thus emphasizing respect for the principles of due process. «The Court of Appeal, in the name of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, pursuant to Article 134 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, declares that the criminal proceedings shall not proceed because the sentence of December 16, 2023, of the Tribunal of the State of Vatican City against the aforementioned defendants has become final, limited to the charges presented». The defendants are Cardinal Becciu, Fabrizio Tirabassi, Reneé Brüllhart and Tommaso Di Ruzza, president and director of the AIF (currently ASIF), respectively, and Monsignor Mauro Carlino. The acquittal sentences in the first instance were confirmed either because «the fact does not exist» or because «it does not constitute a crime». La sentencia provisional «no afecta a todas las sentencias absolutorias dictadas en primera instancia el 16 de diciembre de 2023, sino solo a una parte de ellas, que así pasan a ser definitivas. El Tribunal de Apelación se centrará en los recursos interpuestos por las partes contra las condenas, que podrán ser confirmadas o modificadas». The prosecutor in the Vatican courtroom was not Alessandro Diddi, but Roberto Zannotti, deputy prosecutor. Diddi will not be able to participate in the trial until the Vatican Court of Cassation rules on his recusal, requested by the defense and approved by the Court of Appeal. Still to be seen if all this will result in a sentence that annuls the first-instance sentence.
The Vatican judicial system, structured around an absolute monarchy dressed as a theocracy, is complicated to understand. Outside the boundaries of the Vatican, a procedural error so serious in a trial of this magnitude would have been considered unforgivable. In the Vatican, however, Diddi doesn’t even feel the need to resign, now a large part of that castle is crumbling due to a procedural error. The Vatican has become the wild west, with no respect for the priesthood and minimal justice. A process qualified as “historic” reveals itself as a fragile house of cards.
The image that emerges is that of a complex mosaic: alongside several convictions, there is a long sequence of acquittals. The Promoter of Justice and the Vatican Gendarmerie itself carried the action to the point of violating the sanctity of the Apostolic Palace to carry out investigative activities that, in the end, brought to light facts devoid of legal relevance . Their inexperience, turned into false zeal, led them even to challenge conduct that could never have constituted a crime.
Interesting conference «Cinema in the global pontificate of Pius XII. New sources from the Vatican archives». The initiative explored the relationship between the Holy See and the media, particularly cinema, during the pontificate of Pope Eugene Pacelli (1939-1958). The ‘fake’ monsignor reappears, Dario Edoardo Viganò: «The opening of the archive collections on Pope Pacelli has helped us overcome the temptation to create scoops and to ‘tribunalize’ history, which has marked the historiographical and media debate on the pontiff». The two scheduled sessions addressed topics such as Catholic censorship, movie theaters, newsreels, and the film «Pastor Angelicus». The conference concluded with a roundtable on the value of the new sources and their digital use. Among the first results of the project is the documentary «The Cinema of Pius XII between War and Silence», presented last June at the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See.
The German synodal way continues on its path and at the end of the autumn plenary assembly held today in Fulda, the president of the German Episcopal Conference, Georg Bätzing: «I categorically reject the insinuation that in Germany we are practicing episcopal disobedience to Rome or embarking on a conflictual path with it». In April, the German Catholic bishops published guidelines on blessings, including those for same-sex couples. Bätzing assures that they were drawn up in close collaboration with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Vatican. About his meeting with Pope Leo XIV he states that the Pontiff, like his predecessor Francis, wanted to welcome everyone, regardless of their identity. This does not quite match what the Pope stated in his interview affirming that the blessing rituals for «people who love each other» published in some northern European countries «clearly violated the document Fiducia Supplicans, approved by Pope Francis». Bätzing: «The criticisms to which the Pope refers in the interview are directed at the publication of liturgical forms for formal blessing rituals. This is precisely what the German bishops have deliberately refrained from doing». All the protagonists of the German case speak in the interview genre forgetting that they are the ones who govern and must decide. What is stated in an interview does not make law, it is carried away by the wind and creates nothing more than confusion among the faithful who deserve to live their faith with tranquility and clarity; for the moment, we don’t have it and everyone continues on their own.
Cardinal François Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio, in his latest book, Réparation (Fayard), addresses the wounds of our time and points out the path of rebirth that passes through the Gospel and the human heart. In an interview with France Catholique, he invites us not to let ourselves be caught by pessimism or sterile fatalism: Christians, he reminds us, are children of the Resurrection , called to a creative attitude, capable of building bonds and restoring solidity to a lost society. His reflection on: the distancing from God, the spiritual thirst of young people, the role of education, the centrality of the Sacred Heart, and the need for a kingdom of Christ that frees consciences. «When we observe society, we cannot help but notice that it is wounded… but not lost! There is hope in reparation. And the Church has a role to play through its own ingenuity and heritage, and thanks to its ability to discern faults and difficulties in the light of the Gospel. A Christian cannot limit himself to criticizing and complaining, because Christians are children of the Resurrection. They do not live with a sad and fatalistic logic towards society, but with an active and creative attitude, capable of finding ways out of stalemates». «It is a fact: society has distanced itself from God. In the 1960s and 1970s, people dreamed of a better world, of peace and love … But for the children and grandchildren of that generation, everything has become much more complicated and difficult. Sixty years ago, people shouted: «Neither God nor master!». God had been eliminated. But have we become more evolved and peaceful? I don’t think so. After years in which, pardon the expression, we «ate the priests», today we live in a critical situation, without a compass, without values or principles».
We always have to be very attentive, they try to bend us over on issues that seem secondary and are not. On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, in the Holy See Press Office, there will be the press conference presenting the international conference «Raising Hope for Climate Justice», promoted by the Laudato Si’ Movement on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. Present: Jaime Spengler Archbishop of Porto Alegre, president of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference and of CELAM; Lorna Gold, executive director of the Laudato Si’ Movement; Alessandra Smerilli F.M.A., secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor of California and President of the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative; Taina Talia. Minister of Internal Affairs, Climate Change and Environment of Tuvalu.
The proof that these issues are not indifferent is that in the rainbow publications they are delighted with the Vatican’s decision to choose Art Smith , renowned international American chef and openly gay, to direct the new restaurant in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo, a project inspired by the ecological principles of the encyclical Laudato Si’ . Art Smith worked as personal chef for the governors of Florida, Bob Graham and Jeb Bush, and, until 2007, for Oprah Winfrey . Hu vida privada y su activismo LGBT lo que lo han convertido en una voz importante para la comunidad queer y más allá. Junto con su ‘marido’ Jesús Salgueiro , es el fundador de la ONG Common Threads «which promotes a family environment in which children learn to value each other and develop universal understanding and mutual acceptance, focusing on community health through cooking and nutrition classes». With his ‘husband’, the painter Jesús Salgueiro they have adopted and raised five children , blessed by Pope Francis , with an engraved plaque. They present themselves as an example of inclusion and rainbow families .
The new Vatican restaurant now seeks to combine fine dining with environmental sustainability, following the principles of the encyclical Laudato Si’ . Located in the heart of the gardens of Castel Gandolfo , it will be a place where gastronomic quality is combined with attention to the environment and a sustainable supply chain. Smith was appointed during the time of the late Pope Francis, a decision ratified by Leo XIV. In the rainbow media, it is interpreted as a ‘blessing’ to the so-called homosexual marriage and the adoption of children. Sooner or later we will see if the Vatican clears up and stops confusing the faithful who have remained to put money and little more. They will never tell us what the transformation of the pontifical farm into the showy borgo has cost, it is the best-kept secret, another scandal that rests in the drawers and that will eventually come out.
Eulogio López in hispanidad treated the theme of unity with great lucidity. «Around what? Teutonic blasphemy? For that, better that they continue away». «Pope Leo XIV, not without reason, has launched as the programmatic principle of his pontificate the unity of the Church, which, it is true, is in the midst of schisms, heresies, and somewhat tacky but very heated battles. Well, it doesn’t seem that is what the German bishops are seeking. In any case, unity around what? Around the degenerate German Catholic hierarchy, turned today into a playground? The concept of unity implies that we all must walk towards the same center, like in a spider web».
«The Church is a tree, with roots -the essential- from which a trunk and branches come out. The branches cannot move away from the trunk or the roots: this is Christian unity. Which, moving from the image to reality, means that the Vatican must demand from all bishops and separated brothers, the return to the fold, the return to the roots, not change the roots because the farthest leaves don’t like them. Unity inward, not outward. The idea of unity in the Church, of Leo XIV, is good and necessary, but there is already someone trying to manipulate it. And of course, it must be that of unity in truth. And what is truth?, Pilate asked. It is very clear: truth is what Christ dictates».
Unity is only possible in truth. The thing comes from afar and truth in serious matters and already the immortal Cicero: «Truth is corrupted as much by lying as by silence»; and the cited Aristotle: «It is not enough to say only the truth, but it is necessary to show the cause of the falsehood».
«And you, who do you say that I am?».
Good reading.