The nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square is already being set up, the obelisk is surrounded by workers preparing, as every year, the Christmas decorations. Given the dimensions of the square, it has to be necessarily large to look like something, let’s hope we don’t have another controversy like in previous years, everything points to it being a quiet year. Pope Leo during the inauguration of the San Martino clinic in the Vatican, confirmed the continuity as personal physician, of who was the personal physician of his predecessor, Pope Francis, the Dr. Luigi Carbone. Pope Leo XIV has encouraged the organizers and participants of the 27th Congress Catholics and Public Life, organized by the Catholic Association of Propagandists (ACdP) and the San Pablo CEU University Foundation, in Spain, to «build with renewed hope bridges of peace, dialogue and charity».
Pope Leo XIV inaugurated the new Academic Year of the Pontifical Lateran University, not only to commemorate the 253rd anniversary of the University’s foundation, but also because the Pontiff wanted to publicly and emotionally highlight the special bond that unites him to this institution: «my University»: «Of course, I am glad to come and inaugurate it because it is my university and I must start with it ». The Pope intertwined two fundamental threads: the history of the Lateran and the mission that awaits it today. The Lateran, he reiterated, does not have a charismatic founder to safeguard , like other ecclesiastical universities. Its identity is different: «Its particular orientation is the magisterium of the Pontiff».
«We need competent laypeople and priests «, is a passage that touches a sensitive nerve. For decades, especially after the Second Vatican Council, study was perceived as a marginal or even «wasted» occupation for a priest, almost as if theological study distracted him from the «true» pastoral work. This myopic vision has caused damage: it has marginalized the most capable priests , made them suspicious and even, at times, obstructed them. This phenomenon affects not only dioceses, but also ecclesial movements, where it is still not uncommon today to see young priests who, after years of rigorous study and recognized results, become objects of distrust.
Culture , when it is solid, frees us ; and it is precisely this interior freedom that frightens those who prefer docile consciences that are easily manipulable, and opaque power administrations. The result, today, is evident: in many dioceses, they are forced to appoint lay chancellors not due to a lack of clergy, but because for sixty years, a sector of the episcopate has preferred to surround itself with tribunals and repeat mantras about pastoral care , instead of involving its presbyterate in study. Shepherds who have chosen ideology over discernment, neurotic authority over paternity. In this context, the Pope’s emphasis resonates as a warning : without culture, there is no adult Church, and without trained priests, there is no true pastoral care. The common good. Universities must train women and men capable of vision, justice and generosity. Capable, he said, of «building a new world», not just talking about it.
Audience with the Augustinian nuns participating in the Ordinary Federal Assembly of the Federation of Augustinian Monasteries of Italy. Pope Leo XIII recalled that his founder, St. Augustine, reflected in his book Confessions on the joy granted “to those who serve the Lord out of pure love”; he praised the “silent and hidden love” of cloistered nuns, who, he said, are free from the slavery of the attention that society pays to external appearances. He invited the nuns to embrace “the cloistered life with enthusiasm”, which, he assured them, will bring them “peace and consolation, and to those who knock on the doors of their monasteries, a message of hope more eloquent than a thousand words”. “In a society so focused on external appearances, where sometimes people do not hesitate to violate respect and the feelings of others in search of prominence and applause, may your example of silent and hidden love help others to rediscover the value of everyday and discreet charity, centered on the essence of mutual love and free from the slavery of appearances”.
Pope’s reflection to the participants in the conference sponsored by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Mysticism is «one of the most beautiful dimensions of the experience of faith», founded on «an intimate union of love with God» and directed «to the building up of the entire Church». The Pope thanked them for highlighting and contributing to the discernment of what he calls «one of the most beautiful dimensions of the experience of faith», at whose heart is «the awareness of the intimate union of love with God», which «manifests itself in the fruits it produces, according to the Lord’s word: “There is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor is there a bad tree that bears good fruit…”». As is customary, the Pope calls for «balance» : not to promote causes based solely on extraordinary manifestations («What matters most and what must be emphasized most in the examination of candidates for holiness is their full and constant conformity to the will of God, revealed in the Sacred Scriptures and in the living apostolic Tradition»), but neither to penalize them a priori, adhering to «a humble discernment in accordance with the doctrine of the Church».
In the last months of the pontificate of the late Pope Francis, more than questionable decisions were rushed. A wind of change is blowing within the sacred walls of the Holy See. In just a few days, two of the most emblematic basilicas in Rome have seen their administrative structure redefined. Following the signing of the motu proprio by Pope Leo XIV , what is perceived is not only a desire for control, but also a clear message of efficiency and transparency in the administration of the Church’s most symbolic institutions. The Fabric of St. Peter officially passes under the direct supervision of the Council for the Economy . In the motu proprio «On the norms applicable to the Fabric of St. Peter», Pope Leo XIV orders that the Fabric submit to strict norms for acts of extraordinary administration, putting an end to the autonomy recently granted. We suppose the surprise of many of our readers upon learning that it was exempt from controls. «From now on, the Fabric is subject to the control and supervision established for the entities indicated in the list attached to the statute of the Council for the Economy». Nor is the form of publication normal, in the most traditional way, nailed to the bulletin board in the courtyard of St. Damasus. The other basilica affected is St. Mary Major . Leo XIV establishes that the Chapter also come under the control of the Council for the Economy.
According to the nuncio in England and Wales, it seems that Pope Leo XIV will not modify the legislation of his predecessor but will grant the bishops of England and Wales permission to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in their dioceses. According to a post on X made by Mark Lambert, English Catholic apologist, the Apostolic Nuncio in Great Britain informed the English bishops at their plenary assembly on Thursday that Pope Leo XIV will grant dispensations for the Traditional Latin Mass. Pope Leo XIII says that any bishop who requests a dispensation for the Traditional Latin Mass will be granted it. Another source “confirmed that it is true, but with some nuances” regarding what was posted. The Episcopal Conference of England and Wales has neither confirmed nor denied the information. There are already bishops in at least three dioceses, Hexham and Newcastle, Clifton and Northampton, that have implementations of the Traditional Mass in Latin approved by the Vatican. In addition, the London Oratory and the Church of St. Mary on Cadogan Street have been celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass since 2021 with the permission of the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols. So far, Pope Leo XIII has not been clear regarding his stance on the Traditional Latin Mass.
There are those who want to stir up trouble and the new bishop of the Diocese of Austin has asked his priests no longer to use kneelers for the reception of Holy Communion. Bishop Daniel García “asks that the use of a kneeler for Holy Communion be discontinued”, wrote Vicar General James Misko in a letter dated November 12 addressed to the pastors of the diocese, denounced as a “sinister memorandum”. He gives three reasons as the basis for the decision, including the fact that the “norm” is to receive Holy Communion standing in the United States, as determined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The use of kneelers ( prie-dieus ) during Holy Communion “could confuse the faithful” about this norm, while communicating that kneeling to receive the Eucharist is “more appropriate”. According to the directive, placing a kneeler near the place of distribution of Holy Communion could also “exert undue pressure on the communicant” to kneel. It asks that they explain to communicants who have difficulty getting up without a railing after kneeling that “they are not offending God by not kneeling” and that the priest recommends that they receive Communion standing.
The case of the Heralds of the Gospel continues to boil, which, finally after eight years of arbitrary commissariat, receiving all sorts of canonical grievances and injustices, decide to bring to light everything they have suffered at the hands of the Dicastery during these years. The silence has been broken with the book “The Commissariat of the Heralds of the Gospel” and which is already having a surprising repercussion in Catholic media. In its first chapter, they narrate the background of this entire process, showing the great contrast between the reception that previous Popes gave to the institution and the one given by the late Pope Francis. What could have caused such an abrupt change on the part of the Dicastery afterward, to the point of launching an implacable intervention without concrete motives against the Heralds, who were doing nothing other than their usual apostolate with total support from ecclesiastical and civil authorities?
In the face of the winds coming from the United States that are a harbinger of a fundamental change in society, European politicians begin to entrench themselves. The creation of a totalitarian European neocentralism is approaching. In just a few days, Ursula von der Leyen has leaked drafts of plans and advances of proposals that demonstrate her desire to create European secret services. The Justice Commissioner, Michael McGrath, and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen, have presented the project called « European Democracy Shield », which will serve to spy on us and silence us. The combined effect of both proposals reveals the true intention of these new tools, which, under the pretext of limiting and combating disinformation, seek to muzzle and restrict anyone who dissents from the relativist doctrines professed in Brussels. We have crossed the red line; the ambitions of the von der Leyen Commission recall the centralized communist state of the 20th century and its horrible ramifications, from the Stasi to the KGB. The narratives of Orwell, Huxley and even Benson seem pale watercolors compared to what could happen in Europe. The silence surrounding these proposals is deeply worrying. Is it complicity or simple cowardice?
Normally we wake up to news about abuses, today we tell one in reverse. A woman fell in love with a priest and, after several incidents of sexual harassment, even tried to kill him. According to various statements, the woman frequently provoked the man, even during Communion. The incident in question occurred in Lower Salento. A 51-year-old woman, after falling in love with a priest, had a series of alarming behaviors. First, she followed him everywhere, even to the church , dressed with the sole intention of provoking him. The harassment lasted approximately two years. The woman tried to make advances on the man on several occasions and seeing that her insinuations were never reciprocated, the 51-year-old woman tried to run over the priest with her car . After several warnings and a restraining order, which included an electronic ankle bracelet, the judge in Lecce, Giulia Proto, ordered, during the preliminary investigation, that the woman be tried immediately. She faces harassment charges stemming from the incident. The hearing will be held in February 2026.
And we’re wrapping up with a bit of fresh air. Thank God we have bishops who speak clearly, one of them is the merciful Joseph Strickland who addresses the «Dear Catholic faithful». «These words came to my mind upon waking up this morning. They are words I should have spoken to break the silence after my intervention at the meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) . I address them now to Pope Leo XIII, to the bishops and to all who call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ. How long will you waver between two masters? If you believe that Christ is the Lord, follow him! If the world is your master, go to it! But no longer profane his sanctuary by betraying the Cross».
«Bishops, enough games! Enough lies! Enough ignoring the most vulnerable! A huge load awaits them: one for Pope Leo, a truckload for the Curia in the Vatican and cargo ships full for the vast majority of the successors of the Apostles. How dare I utter these words, how dare I judge these princes of the Church? No, brothers, how dare they harm the little ones again and again? You harm the little ones when you turn the Sacred Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Holy Mass, into an ornament, a bargaining chip for your worldly intrigues, a platform to spew heresies and flirt with the world. You harm the children when you receive couples trapped in sin, displaying their sad and disordered lives, and instead of calling them to repentance in Jesus Christ, you converse with them about trivialities and they congratulate you for your kindness. You even receive them in the sacred sanctuary and cover the filth of their sin with a veil of blessing».
«You harm the little ones when you spend hours in meetings discussing a word or a phrase, while the world sinks them deeper into darkness and despair. The little ones cry out: ‘Where is the hope?’, and they are ignored. You harm the most vulnerable when anarchy is encouraged and violations, murders and attacks by ruthless criminals who cross borders without control are overlooked. Some of these children are caught in these mass migrations and are trampled in their search for a better life. Some see their homes and villages invaded because the shepherds say ‘we must welcome the stranger’ and then let marauders and criminals act with total impunity. We must all seek Jesus Christ as Lord and heed his call to repentance. We must reject the depravities of the world and bring the light of truth to all dark corners. We must reject the anarchy that turns a blind eye to sin. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord. We must be shepherds».
«Will not God do justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay over them?».
Good reading.