It’s Friday, we wrap up the week and nearly the month, and we face an impossible day. As the day’s news keeps coming in and is so abundant, making an initial selection is already complicated, and even more so trying to impose some logical order and present it. We’ll try once more; we leave aside topics that have already been extensively covered in Infovaticana and that make no sense to repeat.
Addictions in Latin America.
Leo XIV received the participants of a meeting on addictions in Latin America, organized by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America together with the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Pontifical Academy for Life. Also present were representatives of support, prevention, recovery and youth integration centers from Asia, Africa, Europe and America. He mentioned the strange collaboration between the OAS—which promotes Woke agendas—and CELAM. Leo XIV placed the family at the center of his speech, referring to it as the «domestic church» in Lumen Gentium: «There is no better prevention against drugs than a good family.» He recalled families marked by drug use, violence, the recruitment of minors by criminals and poverty, citing two texts from his predecessors: Novo Millennio Ineunte by Saint John Paul II, which exhorts the Church to be a «home and school of communion,» and Evangelii Gaudium by Francis, on the need to «touch human misery» and «the suffering of others.»
The Vatican in Russia.
While Bishop Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, held a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, another Catholic official landed in Moscow: CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who, according to reports, had traveled to the Russian capital to warn Russia about the dangers of supporting Iran and its activities in Europe. Moscow became the meeting point where the Vatican’s diplomatic efforts to promote peace and the interests of the United States converged. Russian television broadcast live the beginning and end of the meeting between Bishop Gallagher and Minister Lavrov. The statements at the negotiating table had been carefully prepared in advance and, presumably, agreed upon.
The meeting between Gallagher and Lavrov received wide public attention, while the one Archbishop Gallagher held with Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s advisor on international affairs, took place discreetly and confidentially. The publication of a photo of Gallagher and Ushakov shaking hands after the meeting suggests that the Holy See has viewed the outcome of the encounter positively.
A destructive war for the Church.
So says Cardinal Sarah, who seems to be raising the level of anger, regarding the restrictions on the Traditional Mass, stating that it is «neither prudent nor respectful» and that the war against traditionalist Catholics is «destructive to the Church.» In a recent interview with the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Cardinal Sarah addressed the restrictions imposed by Pope Francis on the Latin Mass through his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes and the «war» against traditionalist Catholics. «Among the effects of the liberalization of the extraordinary form is the positive influence—even I would say the correction—of possible abuses in the celebration of the ordinary form.» «Such abuses are very serious acts which, however, we can never equate with the ordinary form itself.» Many priests testify that discovering the extraordinary form has helped them celebrate Mass better. I believe Benedict XVI’s intention also included a profoundly humble and democratic attitude: ensuring its widest possible diffusion so that, over the decades, the People of God could choose the form that best suited the living out of their faith. «But everything was brought to an end by Traditionis Custodes while the Pope Emeritus was still alive.» «It did not seem to me a wise or respectful choice.» «But Benedict, a man as meek as a lamb, allowed himself to be humiliated and, thus, in silence and prayer, offered his suffering to God to better identify with Christ’s pain for his Church and to purify it.»
«Access to ritual forms recognized and existing for centuries can never be artificially limited by decrees.» «If a rite did not contribute to the faith, it would disappear on its own; if, on the contrary, it preserves and promotes it, let us not limit it, for we would be limiting the preservation and diffusion of the faith itself.» «If the hierarchy is truly capable of interpreting the signs of the present times—and not those of ’68, which still arrive too late—then opportunities for fraternal and peaceful dialogue can be opened.» «As a Church, we cannot declare war on those who devoutly participate in the Mass simply because they prefer one form over another: it is a myopic and purely ideological attitude, and therefore neither pastoral nor Christian. It is harmful and destructive to the Church.» The publication of Cardinal Sarah’s interview with Il Giornale came shortly after Pope Leo XIV suggested that Catholics who attend the Traditional Latin Mass participate less «consciously» in the sacrifice of the Mass.
Changes at Padre Pio’s hospital.
The president of the board of directors and supervisory commission of the Opera di San Pio Foundation, Maximino Caballero Ledo, proceeded in recent days to appoint the members of the Board of Directors. Gino Gumirato has been confirmed as general director and legal representative of the Foundation but is no longer a member of the board of directors of the Vatican hospital, of which he was vice president. The Board of Directors is composed of Father Lorenzo Simonelli (President, who will also be its legal representative), Pietro Grasso (Vice President, re-elected), Mauro Goletti (re-elected), Antonio Perno (current General Director of the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital) and Marcello Mustilli (re-elected). The Board of Auditors will be composed of Lorenzo Centonze, re-elected President, Simone Scettri and Enrico Calabretta. This is a first step to establish the plan for revitalization and recovery of the hospital, which the Vatican has promoted by imposing it on Caballero Ledo. Many suspect it is nothing more than a smokescreen to eventually sell the hospital and thus settle its large debts.
The deaconesses.
On March 10, 2026, the General Secretariat of the Synod published a Report on the «Participation of women in the life and leadership of the Church,» and recognizes that «the conclusions of this study were published on December 4, 2025 in a letter from Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, president of the Commission.» Petrocchi’s letter contained no «decision»; the commission was created to study the issue of deaconesses, not to decide anything about it; and the conclusions contained in Cardinal Petrocchi’s letter are considerably more complex than a simple decision for or against deaconesses. The final document of the Synod, adopted by Pope Francis as his magisterium, stated that «the question of women’s access to the diaconal ministry remains open and discernment on the matter must continue.»
The issue has been debated in the Catholic Church for half a century. In 1973, some members of Pope Paul VI’s Commission on the Role of Women in Society and the Church unsuccessfully attempted to have it considered. In the following decades, the International Theological Commission made several attempts to address the question, with little success due to Vatican reluctance. In 2002, the Sixth International Theological Commission ruled that the matter fell under the competence of the Magisterium. Neither Pope John Paul II nor his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, insisted on the issue. Then, in 2016, three years after the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis reopened the debate. Pope Francis created two commissions on deaconesses, one in 2016 and another in 2020. After the Synod on the Amazon in October 2019, Francis announced that he would reconvene the first commission, adding several members; in April 2020, he appointed a new commission composed of ten members. The minutes of the ordinary meetings of the second commission (September 13-21, 2021 and July 11-16, 2022) remain unpublished.
The issue of deaconesses occupied a prominent place in the synodal debates, both inside and outside the assembly, and the members of the Synod on Synodality requested the reports of each commission on two occasions, since they had never been published; however, these reports were not provided. One of the first footnotes in Petrocchi’s letter links the theology of the diaconate with that of the priesthood, something that is not supported by the doctrine of the Church. This confusion between diaconate and priesthood is not found in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, nor in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nor in Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 motu proprio Omnium in Mentem. All three sources state that the diaconate is a ministry distinct from the priesthood.
Rupnik’s mosaics.
The French shrine’s decision before Leo XIV’s visit is not an isolated case: from the Vatican to the United States, the works of the former Jesuit accused of abuse have been hidden or silenced, but the debate remains open. The case of Lourdes, while the most notorious, is not an isolated case: other places have chosen to cover Rupnik’s works. Even before Lourdes, a significant measure had been taken in the United States. In July 2024, the Knights of Columbus ordered the mosaics at the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II in Washington to be covered. The decision was motivated by requests from victims and survivors of abuse, who considered that the continued display of the works was a source of further suffering. The organization specified that the covers would remain in place at least until the conclusion of the canonical process against Rupnik. The Knights of Columbus took a similar measure in the Chapel of the Holy Family at their headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut.
In recent years, a gradual removal of Rupnik’s images from the Holy See’s official channels has been observed. In June 2024, Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, sent a letter to the rectors of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia requesting that, for pastoral prudence and respect for the victims, the display and promotion of the Slovenian artist’s works in the Vatican’s institutional spaces be avoided. The letter was neither a law nor a binding decree, but it did represent an authoritative indication from the Vatican body responsible for the protection of abuse victims. Last year, Vatican News and the websites of the Dicastery for Communication removed images of Rupnik’s mosaics, which for years had illustrated numerous celebrations of the liturgical calendar and various research articles. The images were replaced or removed without official announcement, but many observers interpreted the decision as a concrete sign in the direction indicated by Cardinal O’Malley.
The lack of priests generates monsters.
Bishop Carlos Enrique Samaniego López of Texcoco issued a decree on August 10 in his diocese prohibiting laypeople who have not been instituted as acolytes from presiding over funeral rites, sacraments, liturgies of the Word and other liturgical acts reserved for ordained clergy. The decree was necessary due to «irregular practices that distort the priestly ministry and the sacred character of liturgical acts.» The diocese expressed concern about liturgical celebrations taking place in gardens, halls and other places inappropriate for worship, sometimes presided over by people who presented themselves as ordained ministers despite lacking the faculties or necessary authorization. «Furthermore, it is prohibited, as manifestly illegal, to use or wear, inside or outside liturgical acts, the alb or any ornament or sacred vestment reserved exclusively for the clergy.» Many German bishops support the development of liturgical celebrations led by laypeople and recently requested that the Vatican allow laypeople to deliver homilies during Holy Mass; the Vatican rejected their request.
Freemason Catholic funeral with bishop in France.
Archbishop Antoine Hérouard of Dijon presided over the funeral of François Patriat, former minister and French senator, on August 25 at the collegiate church of Notre-Dame in Semur-en-Auxois, Côte-d’Or. Patriat, a historic ally of French President Emmanuel Macron, died on August 19 at the age of 83. His membership in Freemasonry had been made public before his death. The Masonic publication 450.fm identified Patriat as a «Brother» and described him as a political figure who «passed to the Eternal Orient,» thus confirming his membership in Freemasonry. In 2023, Le Monde reported that Patriat accompanied Macron during his first visit to the Grand Orient in 2016. Macron delivered an extensive funeral eulogy in the collegiate church, recalling the political support Patriat had long provided for his secular and progressive vision of society, characterized by the promotion of assisted suicide, gender ideology and restrictions on religious freedom of expression, incompatible with the moral framework of Catholic doctrine. «Whenever I turned around, François was there.» Patriat’s funeral attracted considerable attention within the French Church because it contrasts sharply with two directives issued by Italian bishops—including the Pope’s cardinal vicar for the diocese of Rome—regarding funerals of public figures who were also members of Masonic lodges.
Martin at the University of Notre Dame.
Martin, SJ, has been invited to deliver the annual Rev. Bernie Clark, CSC, lecture on Catholic social tradition at the University of Notre Dame. His rejection of Catholic doctrine is scandalous and risks leading Catholics into practices harmful on a physical, psychological and spiritual level. He should not deliver a lecture on Catholic Social Tradition at a university that identifies as Catholic and to which parents send their children expecting a Catholic formation. Father Martin’s dissent from Catholic doctrine on homosexuality is extensive and constant. Next month he will lead a pilgrimage on the history of LGBTQ Catholicism in New York City. «New York is a historic place for LGBTQ Catholics and LGBTQ people in general, so we are pleased to make our second pilgrimage, following in the footsteps of our pilgrimage to Rome last year, where we can share the historical and spiritual riches of the place that Outreach considers its home.»
Last month, Martin called for the ordination of homosexual priests. Addressing the issue, he said: «Based on my experience with many holy and healthy homosexual priests over the past 40 years,» celibate gay men should be ordained. Earlier this year, he expressed support for a report from the Vatican Study Group indicating that a faction within the Vatican might be gradually moving toward full acceptance of homosexual «relationships.» Martin stated that the report represents «a historic step forward» because it presents homosexual «relationships» in a positive light.
Abortion is a tragedy.
A long and documented article today reminds us of some important things in the path followed for the decriminalization of abortion in Italy, very parallel to that of many neighboring countries. A single statement on television was enough to reopen one of the most delicate and controversial debates in Italian society. «Abortion is not a right, abortion is a tragedy,» stated journalist Massimo De Manzoni during the 4 di Sera newscast on Rete 4, while commenting on Roberto Vannacci’s political program Futuro Nazionale. The reaction in the studio was immediate. Presenter Alessandra Viero pointed out that recognizing how painful and difficult the decision to terminate a pregnancy can be for a woman does not exclude considering the possibility of choosing whether or not to continue with it as a right. De Manzoni responded by inviting readers to read Law No. 194 of May 22, 1978: «It never mentions rights,» he argued, adding that the law was also designed to prevent abortion.
Italian law states: «The State guarantees the right to conscious and responsible procreation, recognizes the social value of motherhood and protects human life from its beginning.» It continues: «Voluntary termination of pregnancy, as defined in this law, is not a contraceptive method.» It commits the State, the Regions and local authorities to promote the services and initiatives «necessary to prevent abortion from being used for the purpose of limiting the birth rate.»
The situation becomes even more relevant when examining the European Court of Human Rights. In the Grand Chamber judgment A, B and C v. Ireland, of December 16, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg recognized that decisions regarding pregnancy fall within the scope of private life protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, in paragraph 214, it made an unequivocal clarification: «Article 8 cannot […] be interpreted as conferring a right to abortion.»
Then there is a historical fact that today is almost forgotten. The discourse that abortion is not a positive achievement was not exclusive to the Catholic world or the political right. The communists defended Law 194, but not because they considered abortion desirable: «It is not because we are in favor of abortion, but, on the contrary, because we consider it an evil.» Posters from the extinct Italian Communist Party: «Abortion is already a drama. We don’t want it to become a tragedy.» Even those who politically defended Law 194 refused to present abortion as something good or a civic achievement.
Pope Francis has insisted several times on a particularly interesting aspect of the current debate: according to him, the issue of abortion cannot be limited to religion. On August 26, 2018, during the meeting with journalists on the return flight from the Apostolic Journey to Ireland, he said: «The problem of abortion is not a religious problem.» And he added: «It is an anthropological problem, it is a human problem.» «Abortion is more than a problem, abortion is murder.» «Women have the right to life: to their own life, to the life of their children.»
Saint John Paul II had already directly addressed the terminological question that is once again current. In the encyclical Evangelium vitae, of March 25, 1995, he wrote: «Claiming the right to abortion […] and recognizing it legally amounts to attributing to human freedom […] an absolute power over others and against others.»
«Lord, Lord, open to us!»
Good reading.