Cool morning in Rome, the square is welcoming the numerous faithful who are gathering for the usual Wednesday audience, surrounding the obelisk, and the nativity scene space that is still being set up.
It’s already a routine, almost every week Pope Leo XIV heads to Castelgandolfo. Yesterday he resumed the usual assault by journalists upon his departure, it seems he’s learning not to get wet and that makes this encounter lose its interest and it’s no longer just inadvisable because it’s dangerous but also because it’s useless. Leo XIV comes here every Tuesday after a very active weekend: «A bit of sports, a bit of reading, a bit of work. Every day there’s correspondence, phone calls, certain matters that are perhaps more important, more urgent, a bit of tennis, a bit of swimming.» «I think human beings really need to take good care of themselves. Everyone should do a bit of activity for the body and the soul, all together. For me, that’s very good.» It’s «a rest that helps a lot.»
He then explained that he wishes to travel to the United States and Peru, and also addressed the topic of migration: a comment on the November 13 statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on migrants and asylum seekers. For the first time in years, the U.S. bishops published a pastoral letter in which they reject mass deportations, expressing their concern about the situation in the country and reiterating that national security and the protection of human dignity are not incompatible. The Pope expressed his gratitude for the bishops’ statement, calling it «very important.» «I would like to invite, especially all Catholics, but also people of good will, to listen carefully to what they have said. I think we must seek ways to treat people with humanity, treating them with the dignity they deserve.» «If someone is illegally in the United States, there are legal avenues. There are courts. There is a judicial system. I think there are many problems in the system. No one has said that the United States should have open borders.» «I think every country has the right to determine who, how, and when people enter.» «When people live a proper life, and many do for 10, 15, or 20 years… they are treated in a way that is, to say the least, extremely disrespectful, and there have been cases of violence.» «The bishops were very clear in what they said. I invite all Americans to listen to them.»
He was asked about a possible trip to «his» Latin America, starting with Peru: «During the Jubilee Year, we continue with our daily activities, and next year we will plan something.» «I’ve always liked to travel, the problem is coordinating my agenda with all my commitments.» The possible destinations he suggested could be Fátima, Guadalupe in Mexico, and then Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, «obviously.»
On Ukraine, the Pope was asked about ceding territories to Russia to end the war: «This is something they must decide; Ukraine’s constitution is very clear. The problem is that there is no ceasefire; they don’t reach a point where they can dialogue and seek a solution. Unfortunately, people die every day. I think we must insist on peace, starting with this ceasefire, and then dialogue.»
On Nigeria: «I think in Nigeria and other areas there is a real danger to Christians, but to everyone, Christians and Muslims have been massacred. Terrorism is a problem that has to do with the war economy for control of the lands they possess. Unfortunately, many Christians are killed and I think it is very important to seek ways for the government and all peoples to promote authentic religious freedom.»
The Pope was asked about the case of the Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta, Rafael Zornoza, accused of sexual abuses in the 1990s. «Every case has a clearly established protocol, the bishop himself had to respond and insists on his innocence. An investigation has been opened and we must let it take its course; according to the results, there will be consequences.» Addressing the victims, the Pope first expressed his hope that «they find a safe place where they can speak, where they can present their cases.» «It is also important to respect the processes that take time, but we have already spoken about the need to follow the steps indicated by the judicial system, in this case, by the Church.» Inevitably, every time the abuse issue is referenced, the situation of the abused women from Chiclayo comes to mind, a case that directly splashes Pope Leo XIV and that would be very convenient to resolve as soon as possible. It is not possible for a Pope to be ‘blackmailed’ in his decisions.
The image of the Pontiff leaving his summer residence to move to St. Peter’s (and vice versa) is almost a ritual. Castel Gandolfo , located about 25 kilometers from Rome, offers altitude, pure air, and a healthier landscape than the center of the capital. The stay is not just a break from the climate, but an opportunity to work in a more relaxed environment, away from the frantic pace of meetings and official ceremonies typical of daily life in the Vatican. The transfer to Castel Gandolfo, without interrupting his pastoral activity, allows the Pontiff to regain greater serenity and concentration. The noble families of the city chose the hills of this area as summer residences, to the point that they are dotted with patrician villas, gardens, and places of worship. The real turning point occurred in the 17th century, when Pope Urban VIII Barberini chose Castel Gandolfo as the official summer residence of the pontiffs. The architect Carlo Maderno was commissioned to transform the palace of the Savelli family into a papal residence: thus the Apostolic Palace was born, an elegant Baroque complex overlooking the lake, surrounded by gardens and lush vegetation. For the popes, summer is never really a vacation, but Castel Gandolfo manages to restore a certain serenity that even a pontiff has the right to seek.
The churches are increasingly empty, populated exclusively by frescoes, statues of the Virgin and the saints, and the Stations of the Cross. Only the distant echo of the pastors’ voices remains, who vainly try to preach to an ever-decreasing number of faithful. For Leo XIV, this is the recipe for the faithful to return to church starting with the centrality of the Bible and a return to Tradition. The call to the diplomats of the Pontifical Representations: «be priests in love with Christ and transmit that love.»
The president of the commission investigating the cases of Emanuela Orlandi and Mirella Gregori De Priamo: «We need a specialized body for missing persons.» «With today’s tools, perhaps the case of Emanuela Orlandi would have had a different outcome.» De Priamo also announced the discovery, thanks to the investigations of the Carabinieri Special Operations Group, of an unpublished note signed by Emanuela. In the note, she mentioned a film club on Via Cassia. «Emanuela writes about this place and a play performed there just over a month before her disappearance.» «We are dealing with a very old case that has attracted a lot of media attention. We need to eliminate everything that has emerged over the years and work meticulously.»
Europe is getting old and the elderly are very expensive and a nuisance, the ideologues of the moment have decided that euthanasia must be promoted. It’s already known that once abortion is approved, it’s only a matter of years before euthanasia arrives as a natural evolution; if the life of a human being in its initial state can be destroyed, there are no reasons to legally protect a sick person or an elderly one. In Germany, there is intense coverage of the deaths of two twins with a deliberate strategy to foster cultural acceptance of assisted suicide, legal in Germany since 2020. Alice and Ellen Kessler, who achieved fame in the 50s and 60s as an artistic duo, have died at 89 by joint assisted suicide in Grünwald, Germany. The twins joined the German Society for a Humane Death more than a year ago, apparently already planning their suicide: «The decisive factor was probably the desire to die together on a specific date.» «Their desire to die was thoughtful, long-standing, and free of any psychiatric crisis.» Their ashes will be buried in the same urn with their mother and their dog. The pair was very famous in Italy, where they were known as pioneers of indecency, being the first dancers to show thighs on screen, and later posing nude for photos in the Italian edition of Playboy in 1976.
Less than three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to «annihilate» Islamic terrorists in Nigeria, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations describes the ongoing massacre of Christians in the country as a «genocide disguised as chaos.» «This is not random violence, Nigeria is… a vibrant mosaic of cultures and religions, but it is under siege.» It is the first time a U.S. government official has used the term «genocide» to describe the situation in Nigeria, a country that hosts approximately 93 million Christians.
Trump referred to the situation in Nigeria as a «massacre» while declaring it a «country of particular concern,» because it perpetrates or tolerates «particularly severe violations of religious freedom,» like those in China, Pakistan, and North Korea. After Waltz’s speech, rapper Nicki Minaj took the podium to express her concern. Previously, she had praised Trump’s social media posts condemning the murders. Waltz referred to the ongoing persecution suffered by Christians in the country: «Jihadist groups like Boko Haram… continue to unleash selective violence, targeted specifically at these Christian communities» and condemned the country’s leaders for not «curbing these atrocities.»
A report from the 2025 Global Christian Relief (GCR) Red List concluded that Nigeria is the most dangerous place in the world for Christians: «This is an attempt at genocide much greater than what is happening in Gaza. They are literally trying to exterminate the Christian population of an entire country.» Surprisingly, Parolin, downplayed the influence that Islam has had on the attacks, claiming that the violence «is not a religious conflict, but rather social; for example, disputes between herders and farmers. We must also recognize that many Muslims in Nigeria are victims of this same intolerance.» «It is about extremist groups that make no distinctions when pursuing their objectives. They use violence against anyone they consider an opponent.»
And we end with an interesting article on monastic life so unknown to society and even in the life of the Church. In recent decades, many monastic communities have experienced profound transformations, often born from sincere needs: liturgical renewal, dialogue with the contemporary world, inculturation, and awareness of their own fragilities. The pressures of the present threaten the very nature of consecrated life, diverting its focus from the Mystery to a purely human horizon. The tendency—both inside and outside monasteries—to interpret faith as a reflection of individual experience is increasingly evident. The critical point is not modern sensitivity, but the absence of transcendence: when the divine is interpreted through the prism of our categories, the verticality that has constituted the soul of monasticism for centuries is lost.
In the last fifty years, religious communities have undertaken bold reforms, often necessary. However, this long period of renewal has also left shadows: some valuable elements of the tradition have been abandoned too hastily, while the rush to adopt new forms of expression has threatened to obscure the essential question of the purpose of the monastic path. The enthusiastic impulse for renewal has been replaced by precariousness. In many monasteries, precariousness has become not a phase, but a permanent state transforming some communities into places mired in their own decay. Monasteries that no longer await new life, but protect the peace of their last members; religious houses that perceive themselves not as forges of future generations, but as refuges for a peaceful death. The tranquility becomes a subtle form of surrender and it is forgotten that the monastery exists to remind the world that God is real, not to ensure a good death.
If the world no longer speaks of God, even monks run the risk of forgetting to speak of Him, or worse, of stopping expecting anything from Him. The most radical fracture is metaphysical: the disappearance of the idea of holiness, of a God who transcends the world and transfigures it. A new form of relativism is brewing that does not deny norms, but adapts them to one’s own feelings. Monastic life is no longer an ascent to the Most High, but rather an attempt to humanize heaven. The result? A progressive loss of appeal. Where there is no height, there are no vocations. The contemporary world is marked by doubts and anxieties proper to an era. Precisely here emerges the essential task of monastic life: to be a living sursum corda, an existential witness that reminds everyone that hope is not a concept, but an experience. The future of monasteries does not depend on the number of members or survival strategies, but on returning to the heart, to the source, to the conviction that Christianity lives thanks to women and men who do not look to themselves, but toward God.
«He called ten of his servants, gave them ten talents, and said to them: ‘Do business with them until I return.'»
Good reading.