The pontificate of Pope Francis is fading away, time is inflexible, it does not forgive, and we are getting used to the ordinary life of Pope Leo XIV. Yesterday Monday, Pope Leo XIV went to Castel Gandolfo to rest, it is expected that he will return to the Apostolic Palace tonight, which once again welcomes a Pontiff. It is Tuesday and we see another day seeking to highlight the most interesting things and present them briefly.
Leo XIV with ITA Airways.
Audience with representatives of the Italian state airline, the airline that transports the pontiffs on their international trips, Pope Leo XIV expressed concern about the military use of airplanes. Leo XIV asks that the aircraft «always be carriers of peace, never of war.» «This is not progress, it is a setback!» Leo XIV placed the papal flights in the context of the Church’s mission in the current world and highlighted that the routes of the aircraft on apostolic journeys represent «one of the most eloquent symbols of the mission of the successors of Peter in the contemporary era.» Referring to his own role during these missions, he emphasized that «the Pope presents himself to all as a messenger of peace» and wishes that the routes traveled by plane should always function as bridges of dialogue, encounter, and fraternity between countries and cultures.
The visit of Pope Leo XIV to Cameroon.
«That all may be one» is the motto of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Cameroon. Andrew Fuanya Nkea, Archbishop of Bamenda: «The Church has no intention of politicizing the Pope’s visit. It is a pastoral visit. The Pope, as universal pastor, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff, comes to visit his flock». «I am enormously pleased to have this opportunity to meet with the press before the Holy Father’s visit… For us, it was excellent news to learn that the Holy Father will come to Bamenda during the first year of his pontificate». «When I attended the investiture of the new Pope, I brought two letters. The first was a letter of congratulations on his election and investiture. The second was a letter of invitation for him to come to Cameroon». «None of us expected it… However, he chose Cameroon as one of the first places he wanted to visit». Responding to journalists’ questions, the archbishop concluded: «Do not expect the Pope to come here to give instructions to another sovereign head of state. He comes here as a pastor. Pastors do not have police force. They proclaim the Gospel of peace, justice, love, and unity. If this moves you, accept it. If it does not move you, leave it. When he comes here and preaches as a pastor, he will preach to all. Surely some hearts will be moved, but we do not expect the Pope to leave the Vatican to come to Cameroon to give instructions to the Cameroonian government on what to do in their country».
Does the Vatican cover for pedophiles with prescription?
Extensive article by Federica Tourn, published on her page on Substack in three parts, respectively on February 27, March 6, and March 11, in which she describes how the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith saved the « beggar of love » Don Valentino Salvoldi, priest of the diocese of Bergamo, despite dozens of testimonies of sexual abuses against him , and how the Church continues to be its own judge while the victims have no right to be informed of the procedures that concern them. Finally, a conversation with Stefano Schiavon, victim of Don Valentino Salvoldi: dozens of testimonies failed to convince the Vatican to lift the statute of limitations on the case of the Bergamo priest. The case against Don Valentino Salvoldi, responsible for sexually abusing at least 21 children, including several minors, was dismissed both criminally and ecclesiastically. On September 3, 2024, prosecutor Elena Torresin, deputy prosecutor of the Udine Court, had already ruled not to proceed against the priest, who was then eighty years old, because the crimes had prescribed. This decision was later confirmed in 2025 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which decided «not to suspend the prescription».
Pope Francis has reiterated on several occasions that the Church has no legal recourse for child abuse cases and that the statute of limitations is always waived in such cases, but the judges of the Dicastery, headed by Prefect Tucho Fernández, must have little memory. Moreover, even Pope Francis’ exhortation to «zero tolerance» in the face of abuse has remained a statement of intent, which has no real intention of being put into practice. Pope Leo also returned to the theme of abuse and the lack of attention to victims in early January, in the closing speech of the first extraordinary consistory of his pontificate, held before 170 cardinals: «Abuse in itself causes a deep wound that may last a lifetime; but often the scandal in the Church arises because the door has been closed and the victims have not been welcomed with the closeness of authentic pastors.»
Ecclesiastical authorities, at all levels, continue to keep sealed the drawers containing documents on cases of sexual violence and are eager to close the thorny practices, so that they can continue undisturbed. The first thing to emphasize is that if we knew the story of an abusive priest, it was certainly not thanks to any transparency on the part of the Church, but solely to the courage of the victims, who reported it to the justice system and the press. The Church of Leo XIV, in perfect continuity with that of Francis, pronounces many beautiful words about pedophilia and then does the opposite.
We are surrounded by cases in which the file is closed, even by virtue of the age limit reached, no ecclesiastical charge or function is conferred on him and the victims are informed that «the procedure in question has concluded largely and completely, and with great kindness they take advantage of «this last opportunity» to wish them all the best. The case has prescribed and nothing more can be demanded of the Church, much less the expulsion of the priest from the clerical state. As Leo XIV said on January 8, 2026, closing the extraordinary consistory: «Often, the scandal in the Church arises because the door has been closed and the victims have not been welcomed, accompanied by the closeness of authentic pastors». It is an eternal contradiction and the church’s bodies pretend to be scandalized by what they do. This same scheme is followed in the case of the victims of Chiclayo that directly affects Pope Leo, there are not many hopes that this can change.
Nuns against the Vatican.
» Nuns vs the Vatican» , is a documentary made by Lorena Luciano and Filippo Piscopo about abuses against nuns, which particularly narrates the story of Gloria Branciani, victim of Marko Rupnik, now it will be presented at the Bari International Film and Television Festival 2026 on March 26. The film has already been presented in the United States, Canada, Greece, and Slovenia, exposing the silence and systematic cover-up of sexual abuses by ecclesiastical institutions. A silence that reaches the Vatican. The face of Gloria Branciani, the first to have the courage to report Rupnik, but also the first to speak openly dominates the poster of Nuns against the Vatican because she is the central figure both in the path of the rebellion of the mistreated nuns.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith awaits the outcome of Rupnik’s trial, a process reopened two and a half years ago that, between shame, delays, and secrecy, struggles to get started despite two popes committing to conclude it. What the Church fears to say has already been confirmed by the evidence, and the film illustrates it perfectly. Rupnik is not the protagonist of the film; rather, his absence is the protagonist: he never speaks, never gives his version of the facts and, in fact, avoids confrontation, as he has always done in recent years, since he was publicly accused of abusing several nuns in December 2022.
In defense of idolatry.
There are many idols, also idols, that populate the collective imagination in these turbulent times. As always happens, reality surprises us and we live times of the Mother Earth «pachamama», Pope Francis was accused of idolatry for the presence of the idol in the Vatican, in the gardens and in the basilica itself. Now Leo XIV is also in the spotlight: images from his missionary era have come to light that, no matter how much they try to downplay them, the more we know, the worse it is. Prevost already had command in the field and was forty years old, the setting is an encounter in which the secretary for religious, Errázuriz, was present, who did not attend, undoubtedly he was smarter than the others, but he also did not prevent the pagan adoration. Above all was his career that did not prosper in the Vatican, as he would have wished, and ended up in his native Chile, in 1996 to Valparaíso and in 1998 to Santiago, the cardinalate was late, it came in 2001. The last phase of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II is known as that of the vacant see, and the 2001 consistory with 44 new cardinals changed history. On that February 21, 2001, in addition to the future Pope Francis, several members of the so-called ‘St. Gallen group’ were created cardinals. Karl Lehmann, Walter Kasper, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Maradiaga, Hummes, McCarrick, Errazuriz, Re, Egan… In March 2019 Errázuriz was summoned to testify before the Chilean prosecutor’s office as charged with alleged cover-up of at least ten cases of sexual abuse against minors, including those linked to the Karadima case.
There are attacks of idolatry, which is not a minor thing, and now we have defenders, one of them a former Peruvian bishop, is Reinhold Nann. Bishop of German origin and in the photos of a 1995 congress, which are circulating: «I perceive no worship of Pachamama as a goddess neither in Prevost nor in any of those present». He compares the act to the veneration of saints: «Respecting the earth as a «being with soul» means continuing to recognize it as a creature of God. Pachamama is the earth, or rather, the soul of the earth. Therefore, we can speak to it as we speak to the saints. We can kneel before it as we do before the saints, as long as we consider it a creature and not a goddess». The self-moving Nann is from the Archdiocese of Freiburg, was Prelate of the Territorial Prelature of Caravelí in Peru from 2017 to 2024, who resigned for reasons initially alleging «health reasons», the following year he had renounced his clerical functions and contracted civil marriage in Peru.
The Apostolic Library and De Gasperi.
Study day promoted by the Vatican Apostolic Library in the Sistine Hall. Parolin opens and all the house staff participate. These are moments to make oneself noticed, time passes and the thousand positions are not secure. We assume it will end with the publication of the speakers’ interventions. We do not doubt the interest of the central figure: De Gasperi, and the environment in which he lived. That this meeting takes place in such solemn scenery, the Sistine Hall, and with the entire staff in attendance, seems to have other interests.
Caritas for Muslim families.
That’s what we’re left with, plus they adorn themselves by saying that «the invitation will be extended to Catholic families and the bishop delighted: «We need signs of peace». Muslim families living in poverty and who have already received help from the local Caritas organization were invited to a restaurant in the Ferrovia neighborhood, in Foggia, to celebrate the end of Ramadan. The menu includes tea, vegetable brioche, chicken tajine with lemon and olives, Moroccan bread, and couscous with beef and vegetables. To finish, mango cheesecake. Archbishop Giorgio Ferretti of Foggia-Bovino was present: «This lunch aims above all to be a sign of human fraternity, as Pope Francis would have expressed in the famous Abu Dhabi Document. Many men, women, and children living in our province desire to live in peace and work». To the surprise of the local Catholics, a similar initiative will be organized for Catholic families this Holy Week. Khady Sene, director of Caritas Foggia-Bovino, recalls the spirit of «welcoming without prejudice» that inspires Caritas’ service.
The permanent committee of the Italian bishops.
The Italian bishops met in Rome from March 23 to 25 for the spring session of the Permanent Episcopal Council. Zuppi outlines the line of action: a vibrant presence, capable of communion and mission, far from the logic of power but capable of prophetically intervening in the public debate to spread a culture of legality and solidarity, deeply rooted in the wounds of contemporary history. Italy is too small for Zuppi and he does not fully accept that his white dreams have not come true. It seems to him that Pope Leo has no appeal and is irrelevant, no one takes his interventions seriously, not so his longed-for Francis. Zuppi again calls for a ceasefire and recalls the martyrdom of Father Pierre Al-Rahi, murdered in Israeli attacks in Lebanon. He is the pastor who «chose to remain with his community until the end, giving testimony with his life and blood of his fidelity to the Gospel».
The words of Cardinal Zuppi also allude to other dramatic events, beyond wars, such as the brain drain from Italy, the 142,000 Italians who will emigrate abroad by 2025, the poverty rate, migration, and the tragedies in the Mediterranean that plague the news almost daily and to which we must continue to give adequate responses. Zuppi emphasizes dialogue and one of the most urgent tasks for the Church today: «to preserve and promote a style capable of encounter, listening, social friendship, patience, humility, and interior freedom» The bishops will discuss the reception of the text «Initiation into Christian life in childhood and the identity of godparents». Likewise, the revision of the regulations of the Scientific and Organizing Committee of the Catholic Social Weeks in Italy and the approval of the Message for the 76th National Day of Thanksgiving, to be held on November 8, are on the agenda. Finally, information will be shared on the next National Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in 2027.
The relics of St. Francis of Assisi.
And we are finishing. It is always gratifying to note that the saints always triumph, even much more after they are dead. The first prolonged public exposition (of one month’s duration) of the mortal remains of St. Francis concluded. The celebration of the rite of reburial, on Sunday, March 22, officially closed the one-month exposition in the lower church of the Basilica of Assisi. After placing the display case inside the gilded bronze urn, the documentation required by canon law was also inserted. The coffin was closed and the metal urn was sealed, it was inserted into the stone sarcophagus located in the pillar under the main altar and the metal grating that closes it was sealed. More than 370,000 pilgrims from all over the world have venerated the remains of St. Francis in Assisi.
«You are of this world; I am not of this world.»
Good reading.
