This afternoon Pope Leo XIV is making a pastoral visit to Pavia and Sant’Angelo Lodigiano. A very Augustinian visit, with many brief encounters and veneration of the relics of St. Augustine. The departure from the Vatican is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the return at 9 p.m. We are looking at a very busy Saturday.
The 44 years of priesthood of Leo XIV.
Leo XIV and synodality.
In a private audience with the participants of the Borgo Dialogues at the Vatican on June 19, the Pope praised their work as a commitment to the “ecological, social and economic transformation of the world.” “Their dialogues have been structured around the synodal vision of the Catholic Church, listening from the grassroots and fostering global unity.” In his speech, the Pope drew extensively on his recent encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas. “Faced with the temptation to build the ‘Tower of Babel,’ which represents the idolatry of profit at the expense of the most vulnerable and increases the risk of dehumanization, we are called to contribute to the building of the New Jerusalem, the civilization of love, in which love is the sole guiding principle of economic, political and cultural life.”
The failure of Casa Sollievo.
There is a fact that no one can hide behind ritual formulas, reassuring declarations or superficial applause: if the Pope is forced to appoint a Steering and Supervisory Commission to directly oversee the future of Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, it means something is wrong. The creation of the Commission is a failure, not only for the Church that appointed it, but above all for the Director General. An implicit rejection of those who should have guaranteed the stability, sustainability and prospects of one of the most important projects born from the charism of Padre Pio. It confirms that Rome no longer trusts mere assurances and intends to personally verify what is happening inside the Foundation. The messages sound dramatic: «This hospital will not be sold». «They will have to step over my body». «We need peace and time». «We must secure the accounts».
The situation is far more worrying than anyone has admitted so far, no one feels the need to swear that a hospital will not be sold unless there is fear that someone might consider it. No one requests the cooperation of creditors if the financial situation is not extremely critical. No one appoints a papal commission to examine the accounts, assets and organization of the hospital if everything is going according to plan. The key is to understand who allowed this crisis to reach such proportions that it requires extraordinary oversight by the Holy See. More than a decade ago, COSEA, the commission for the reform of the Curia, already warned of the situation and no solution has been put in place.
Weekly information on abuses.
Always interesting is the weekly summary that Federica Tourn offers us of the most relevant news on abuses. This week it focuses on the new statutes of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which confirm that it only has an advisory role in matters of abuse, while convictions for pedophilia are multiplying throughout Italy. «The new statutes of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors are significantly more structured than those adopted in 2015. Among the main changes are the creation of a permanent Executive Council, a body of regional consultants and a clearer distinction between territorial working groups and study groups. The number of members has also increased from eighteen to twenty-three, and the mandate has been extended from three to five years. The text also introduces a five-year strategic plan to guide the organization’s activities.»
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Czech Episcopal Conference and the association Someone Will Believe You, establishing a joint commitment to protect vulnerable people within the Church, support victims of abuse and develop prevention strategies and a sensitive approach toward those who have suffered abuse by clergy or pastoral workers.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors met with the international association of abuse victims ECA Global, Ending Clergy Abuse, on June 15 and 16. ECA called for the adoption of a universal canon law of zero tolerance for clerical abuse, in line with what the Vatican has already approved in the United States, with clear norms, accountability and permanent removal from ministry of clerical personnel when abuse has been admitted or proven through an appropriate process in accordance with canon law.
Father Efisio Schirru has been re-elected provincial superior of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy in Cagliari. The priest, who denies all charges, is accused of sexual abuse: a young man accuses him of violence that occurred in 2000, when Schirru was a parish priest in Rome. A canonical investigation against him is pending. Sister Ignatia Zäzilia Schaubmair received the Cross of Merit in Tyrol in 1972. The state of Tyrol will now revoke the honor (posthumously, as the nun has died) following the emergence of new information documenting accusations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse against girls interned at the Martinsbühel girls’ boarding school in Zirl, where she was director and superior of the Benedictine nuns for more than twenty years.
The testament of Camillo Ruini.
It has now been published in full and you can find it on Infovaticana. The publication comes amid the risk that it may be used partially, with cuts, amendments or paraphrases, especially in the delicate and serious passages related to the Second Vatican Council and Pope Francis. Ruini finished drafting his testament on June 3, 2016, just three years after the election of Pope Francis, shortly after the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, but long before the document on human fraternity in Abu Dhabi, the procession with the Pachamama, the Synod on Synodality and the declaration Fiducia supplicans; and yet, he had already understood the gravity of the situation.
The testament was knowingly cited by Pope Leo XIV in the homily delivered during the funeral celebration, so it had already been officially in the possession of the Holy See, we imagine through the Secretariat of State, for more than a day. The Pope omitted any reference to the most critical passages of the testament. It is very suspicious that the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, as well as the other Vatican media, have not yet published it.
The spiritual testament of Cardinal Camillo Ruini portrays a man who still considers himself a “papalist,” but who does not hide the discomfort he experienced during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Regarding Pope Francis, Ruini states that he welcomed his election and supported him from the beginning. However, in his testament, he also admits having had personal difficulties in understanding some of the decisions of his pontificate. “I must confess,” the cardinal wrote ten years ago, “that I find myself in a state of unease, certainly not for personal reasons, but because I find it difficult to understand certain orientations that seem to reopen wounds that had barely healed after the Council.”
Zuppi successor of Ruini.
Zuppi has commented on his predecessor in the Italian Episcopal Conference: “Cardinal Ruini cannot be understood without his connection to the parish, to the communities, to the students.” “The cardinal governed and loved the Church, the Italian Church, beginning with his parish in Reggio Emilia with a great parish priest (Monsignor Gilberto Baroni, bishop of Reggio Emilia), who was also of Bolognese origin. He grew up with him and established a bond of pastoral care with him.” Ruini was “a man of great governance, of great culture, of great role in the Church and in the City of Men, in civil society.” An exponent of that Church “that interpreted the vision of ‘Be not afraid’ of St. John Paul II.”
Letter from Viganò to Leo XIV
Comments Americo Mascarucci on the letter from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to Pope Leo XIV, in which he requests a clarifying meeting that could lead to the revocation of the excommunication imposed on the former nuncio to the United States under the pontificate of Pope Francis, cannot go unanswered. «The Pope cannot ignore it, since, in the first year of his pontificate, he worked to reunify the Church and overcome the divisions of the Bergoglian era. Viganò’s positions, whether one likes them or not, reflect those of many Catholics who have seen the Church bend to the agenda of the new world order and, above all, have witnessed an unprecedented attack on the millennial tradition by a modernist sect based in Germany that has notably influenced the pontificate of Bergoglio through the agenda of Kasper and that is also trying to influence Leo XIV.»
«And today, those same Catholics believe it is necessary to correct a synodal path marked by dangerous modernist tendencies that risk Lutheranizing Catholicism, as Cardinal Marx intended. Archbishop Viganò is not an ordinary man; he is a former apostolic nuncio, as well as an efficient and scrupulous administrator, who during his time in the Governatorate of the Vatican of the Holy See demonstrated great professionalism and reliability, healing the disastrous finances of the Vatican. He was sent to the United States as apostolic nuncio precisely because of his inflexible and upright character, which led him to confront the powers that be and prevented him from compromising.»
«Viganò adopted questionable positions, such as questioning the legitimacy of recent pontiffs, accusing Benedict XVI of modernism and, perhaps, being overly critical of the Second Vatican Council, which he considered solely negative and destructive to the faith. However, his courage, coherence and, above all, fidelity to the tradition of the Church are undeniable. Bergoglio’s hostility toward him probably originates from his harsh criticism of the Argentine pontiff’s management of events related to Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, and from his denunciation of the cover-up he enjoyed within the American Democratic world, broad sectors of the Church and modernist circles. Despite his scandalous and immoral sexual conduct, McCarrick has notably influenced a large part of the American episcopate, beginning with the same ultraprogressive cardinals created by Francis, such as Cupich and Tobin.»
«It is likely that Viganò will have to reconsider several of his positions, but with Leo XIV there is a real possibility of resolving his disagreement and creating the conditions for his return to the Church. The fact that Viganò has expressed his intention to meet with Leo XIV clearly demonstrates that the archbishop recognizes him as a leader with authority and credibility, leaving the door open to his recognition as the legitimate successor of Peter.» «It is not a matter of welcoming Viganò with open arms at all costs and pretending that nothing has happened, but of understanding the reasons for his distancing from the Church he served for so many years and not ruling out in advance the conditions for welcoming him, and the many faithful who follow him, into the bosom of Peter.»
The excommunication of Viganò.
Viganò posted on X: «The real reason for the threat of excommunication of the SSPX is not the consecration of new bishops without the pontifical mandate, but the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (as in my case). (…) These statements to journalists in Castel Gandolfo confirm that excommunication from the conciliar and synodal Church is a badge of Catholic orthodoxy. If Prevost were the leader of the Church of England, or of a Calvinist sect, or of a Pentecostal movement, or of an Amazonian cult, would he speak differently? No. The only voice he cannot make his own is that of the “pre-conciliar” Church, that is, the one and true Apostolic Catholic Roman Church, to which he does not claim to belong. And at the same time, Prevost claims that anyone who declares himself Catholic and rejects the Second Vatican Council is in schism with him.»
Everything at the discretion of the ‘ordinary’.
The governance of many parishes has gradually shifted over the years from a structure based on stability to one based on the discretion of the ordinary. This is a change that canon law expressly prohibits and that several bishops practice with ease. Many faithful are unaware that these are not “legal discretions” for canonists, but authentic forms of abuse: not only of the law, which is clearly violated here, but also of the conscience of priests.
There are bishops who make these appointments out of spite, who attack the priest who does not agree with them. The appointment as parish priest only occurs if the bishop decides to support it; otherwise, he “grabs him by the neck” with the appointment of administrator, knowing that this gives him less power and that he can remove him whenever he wants. And then there are bishops who arrive in a diocese—perhaps in their first term, very young, as happened during the pontificate of Francis—and delight in moving parish priests: not based on the true skills and talents of each one, but simply to rotate them. These last thirteen years are a period in which canon law is not only unknown to newly appointed bishops, but is directly condemned.
The Code is very clear, and in canon 519 it defines the parish priest as the legitimate pastor of the parish entrusted to him. Canon 522 establishes that he enjoys stability and is therefore appointed for an indefinite period. In Italy, the Episcopal Conference has established that, when a parish priest is appointed for a fixed term, the mandate lasts nine years (CEI resolution no. 17 of September 6, 1984, implementing canon 522). However, the rule is an indefinite appointment: a fixed term is already the exception, not the norm. A community must know that it is entrusted to someone in a non-occasional way, and the ministry of the priest must remain rooted in a territory and a community, not subject to the discretionary revocation of authority.
Rome has ruled on this matter, and it has done so unequivocally. In 2020, the Congregation for the Clergy published the Instruction “The pastoral conversion of the parish community at the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church” (dated June 29 and published July 20, 2020). Number 75 of the Instruction recalls that the parish administrator is “an essentially transitory office,” exercised while awaiting the appointment of a new parish priest. It then explains that it is illegitimate for the diocesan bishop to appoint an administrator and keep him in office for a prolonged period, longer than a year, or even permanently, without providing for the appointment of a parish priest. The same document, addressing the regrouping and suppression of parishes, states that the mere shortage of diocesan clergy, the general financial situation of the diocese or other conditions that are likely to be reversed in the short term do not constitute sufficient grounds. The most common justification—“we are very few”—is not enough, according to Rome, to legitimize the distortion of the parish structure.
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, with the response Prot. no. 18748 of October 21, 2025 — «the parish administrator, although he temporarily exercises the same duties and rights as the parish priest in accordance with canon 540, §1, cannot be considered equivalent to the parish priest at the institutional level».
In the case of Italy, the number of diocesan priests has fallen from 38,209 in 1990 to 31,793 in 2020. The number of priests under thirty years of age has plummeted: there were 1,708 in 2000, 599 in 2020, a decrease of 60%. Ordinations continue to decline, from 436 in 2013 to 323 in 2023. In 2020, out of 25,595 parishes, there were 15,133 parish priests: just over half, with an average of 1.7 parishes per priest.
The Holy See should verify the actions of those bishops who continue to subject their clergy to power games that are, to say the least, worrying. Several priests are forced to request a sabbatical year or to seek psychological support outside the ecclesiastical sphere, humiliated by their bishop and exhausted by a climate of rivalry, gossip and abuse that, far from being extinguished, is fueled from above. Behind what appears to be a technical problem lies a silent but profound transformation; and hidden are the vengeances and reprisals of bishops who act like teenagers with decisions that are destined to impact the life of communities and the ministry of priests for years.
The just war and Catholic pacifism.
The conflict in the Middle East has revived the debate on the “just war” among Catholics, and, especially in Europe, a radical pacifism prevails within the Church, which in fact denies the existence of original sin and exposes the weakest to attacks. Curiously, in this debate, there is great difficulty in starting from the four conditions established by the Catechism of the Catholic Church for legitimate armed defense, the only conditions under which a war can be justified: “that the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations be lasting, grave, and certain; that all other means of putting an end to it have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; that there be serious prospects of success; and that the use of arms not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.”
John Paul II expressed in his message for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2000: actions to disarm the aggressor “must be limited in time and precise in their objectives, carried out with full respect for international law, guaranteed by an authority recognized at the supranational level and, in no case, left to the mere logic of arms” (no. 11). Subsequently, Benedict XVI, in his speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations on April 18, 2008, reiterated the concept, referring to the “responsibility to protect: the right to use force for purposes of legitimate defense is associated with the duty to protect and assist innocent victims who cannot defend themselves from aggression.” John Paul II during his trip to Ireland in 1979. “Violence is a lie, because it is contrary to the truth of our faith, to the truth of our humanity. Violence destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, life and freedom of human beings.”
Trevi is dyed with rainbow colors.
At Rome Pride, the Ministry of Culture grants sponsorship to a gender and queer initiative that now seems to be distancing itself: “The initiative was not approved.” But the event is not canceled. While one ministry, the Ministry of Education, has declared war on LGBT propaganda with its informed consent law, another ministry, on the other hand, tolerates it. On the program, in addition to the scenic effect that appears on the poster with the Trevi Fountain dyed in rainbow colors, there are also some completely questionable events, especially for a government that had promised not to give in to the propagandistic logic of gender and homosexuality.
The Cathedral of the Dormition bombed.
During a bombing in Kiev, the roof of the Cathedral of the Dormition, belonging to the Monastery of the Caves, one of the most sacred Orthodox churches, caught fire. Since it is a place of great importance for all Christendom, and especially for the Orthodox world, the indignation was immediate and forceful. The Russian Ministry of Defense quickly denied any responsibility, stating: “According to confirmed information, the buildings of the Pechersk Monastery in Kiev were hit by a missile from the American-made Patriot air defense system. One of the reasons for the malfunction of the system could be the supply of expired missiles to the Kiev regime by Western countries. The Russian armed forces do not plan or carry out attacks on civilian infrastructure.” It is advisable to also read the Ukrainian source, according to which it was not a faulty Patriot missile, but two Shahed drones. And the Iranian Shahed drones (Geran 2 in the Russian version) are equipped with a thermobaric warhead, made with fuel, perfectly compatible with the fire that occurred.
Thus Spoke Not Zarathustra.
Interview with Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, author of Thus Spoke Not Zarathustra. We live in a sick society; we feel lost and stripped of our identity. The society has become sick since it denied free will and progressively replaced it with scientific determinism. The teachings of Socrates, Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas have fallen into oblivion, while the thought of Nietzsche and Sartre is known and disseminated, limiting itself to trying to resolve the effects and thus losing the capacity to seek and understand the causes of everything, the meaning of life and essential values.
«Giacomo Leopardi attributed the loss of morality to the progress of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment also reduced man to “matter,” which resulted in ignorance of natural laws. Undoubtedly, anthropocentrism, in which man places himself in the place of God (theocentrism), arising in the humanist-Renaissance period, contributed to convincing people to satisfy their own needs through appropriate technical research and ever-increasing consumerism. This form of materialism has driven progressive secularization, highly immanent and scarcely transcendent. From metaphysics, man passes to a technocratic and individualistic utilitarianism, perhaps even encouraged by certain theologians who, in order not to lose worldly consensus, have even managed to reconcile biological evolution with the necessary moral evolution.»
«The decline in birth rates is sold as a higher quality of life without children, while euthanasia appears as a lamentable solution for a life unworthy of being lived. The absence of children generates poverty and the indescribable risk of considering life as “of zero value”; euthanasia confirms that the value of life is always and only “zero.” The family is hated as much as life itself because it does something intolerable: it creates, raises and educates children in a subjective way, not homogeneously, but according to the needs, character, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses of each individual. The family competes with the State in educational and professional investments. It cares for sick family members and the elderly, and does so with care and affection. The State does not seem to appreciate this competition much, perhaps for the same reason that it expelled the nursing nuns from hospitals or the teaching nuns from kindergartens.»
«…do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.»
Good reading.