We have entered August, today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Angels and in the Porziuncola of Assisi they do so in a special way. Saint Francis heard his vocation there, Saint Clare consecrated herself there, and it was the place of her encounter with Sister Death. The Pope Leo XIV: “I continue to follow with concern the alarming situation in the autonomous city, asking God, through the intercession of Our Lady of Africa, that solutions of peace, stability, and justice may be found.” The official death toll has reached 72 in Ceuta, but Morocco continues to find more bodies at sea, and official Spanish sources estimate that the figure will probably exceed one hundred. One day they will realize that we are not dealing with poor minors seeking a better future in Europe, which is very legitimate given the catastrophe in their countries of origin, about which no one speaks. Immigration is being used by some and by others for their unspeakable political interests. The Church’s and official discourses’ playing around could prove costly; every day more people are realizing the sad deadly game. We do not know if today it will be possible for the long-suffering Catholic faithful of Ceuta to attend Sunday Mass normally; we fear not. It sounds like a joke that their diocese can think of nothing else than “the collections taken up this weekend in the parishes of Ceuta will be entirely allocated to the Diocesan Delegation for Migration, in order to channel this aid through the San Antonio Migrant Care Center in Ceuta. Now we place the collections in the hands of politicians defined as ‘competent services,’ when they are demonstrating their absolute incompetence, very well paid. The number of fools is infinite, and in the curia of Cádiz they seem to hold sway. What is happening in Ceuta is an act of war that no one wants to talk about. Any use of migration as a form of blackmail will have European consequences, not only Spanish.
Pope Leo to the Youth of Medjugorje.
Official message dated early July to the annual youth festival in the form of Parolin. «On the occasion of the Medjugorje Youth Festival, Pope Leo XIV extends his cordial greeting to all participants and exhorts them to return AD FONTEM, that is, to Christ, fountain of new life and authentic joy. He therefore invites them, through prayer, listening to the Word of God, and the sacraments, to rediscover the beauty of the personal encounter with the Lord, who quenches the thirst of every heart and grants the strength to begin anew always».
The Cardinal Prisoner of the Communists.
Cardinal Ernest Simoni, ninety-seven years old, returned to celebrate the Eucharist in the place where he was imprisoned and subjected to forced labor. In the former prison camp of Spaç, in northern Albania, the cardinal presided over a Mass for the eternal rest of the souls of those who suffered and died in those mining tunnels under the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. He was spiritually accompanied by a message from Pope Leo XIV, dated July 30, which was read at the conclusion of the celebration. “With deep emotion, I spiritually join His Eminence and all those gathered in the former prison camp of Spaç, where they return after so many years to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of Christ that transformed the Cross from a sign of death into a promise of life.” The text recognizes that place as “one of the most painful pages” in the history of the Albanian people. Spaç “was a place where many bore the heavy cross of injustice”: the blood of those who suffered and died there “watered that land, turning it into a silent testimony of fidelity, courage, and hope.”
Simoni, born in Troshani, near Shkodër, on October 18, 1928, entered the Franciscan college Illiricum at an early age and was ordained a priest in 1956, after secretly completing his theological studies during his military service. Labeled an “enemy of the people” by the communist regime, he was arrested on Christmas Eve 1963 while celebrating the Midnight Mass in Barbullush. Initially sentenced to death on charges of praying for U.S. President John F. Kennedy, his sentence was commuted to forced labor: eighteen years of isolation, for a total of twenty-eight years spent mainly in the mines of Spaç and later in the sewers of Shkodër. Released in 1990, after the collapse of the regime, he openly resumed his priestly ministry in Albanian villages. In 2014, his testimony, given before Pope Francis during his visit to Tirana, moved the assembly; two years later, on November 19, 2016, Francis created him a cardinal, although he was exempted from episcopal consecration due to his advanced age.
Parolin in Guatemala.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, arrived in Guatemala yesterday and today will preside over the Mass in the Metropolitan Cathedral to celebrate the 90 years of diplomatic relations that the State of Guatemala maintains with the Vatican.
Delpini in Brazil.
On July 29, Monsignor Mario Delpini turned 75, celebrating it in Brazil with his priests. He has been Archbishop of Milan since July 7, 2017, when Pope Francis chose him as the 145th successor of Saint Ambrose.
Carlo Maria Martini inaugurated the discourses to the city on December 6, 1980, with «Give voice to each one «. Since then, the meeting has become a civic ritual more than a religious one, inherited from Tettamanzi and Scola before reaching Delpini, who turned it, speech after speech, into an examination of conscience shared with the city, even more than a lesson imposed from above. The archbishop always addressed institutions with a tone of praise rather than reproach, and concluded each speech with a blessing, a gesture that returned the text from the civil register to the liturgical one from which it had begun. In his last discourse to the city, Delpini chose as an image the house built on rock, immovable even to rain and wind. It is difficult not to think that that house, ultimately, also represents his Milan of the last nine years: battered by a pandemic, by distant and recent wars, by the demographic crisis, by the weariness of rulers and ruled, but never abandoned.
Don Mazzi has died.
Very well known in Italy for his dedication to drug addicts, and founder of the Exodus Foundation. The funeral will be held today in Sant’Ambrogio, after the closing of the funeral chapel in Exodus; he was 96 years old and from Verona. A great devotee of Pope Francis and defender of the «unresolved causes» in the Church: «The issue of women, that of divorce, that of abortion: they have been raised, but they have not yet been fully clarified. He even went so far as to say that he would do things ‘to a certain extent.’ It would not be fair to force him to say and do things he has not done. We will see if the next Pope will have the courage to continue with the ‘Francis method’.»
Synodality and Democracy.
In his Christmas address of 2020 to the Roman Curia, Pope Francis set out his vision of the controversial relationship between synodality and democracy. He explained the opposition between the two principles: “Without the grace of the Holy Spirit, even if one begins to think of the Church in a synodal key, it, instead of referring to communion with the presence of the Holy Spirit, will be interpreted as any democratic assembly, composed of majorities and minorities. Like a parliament, for example: this is not synodality. Only the presence of the Holy Spirit makes the difference.”
Democracy is understood here in a purely formal sense. However, when the fundamental core of the faith is at stake, there is no room for democratic coexistence.
It is true that many issues relating to the organization and structure of the Church can be regulated democratically. Not all issues are matters of faith or inseparable matters. But when it comes to matters of faith, in the end only the bishops decide; and even they do not simply by majority, but in unity with the college of bishops, visibly represented by the Pope.”
Karl Lehmann in 1971 published his essay «Zur dogmatischen Legitimation einer Demokratisierung der Kirche» . According to Lehmann’s analysis, democracy is “inspired by the heritage of Christian ideas” Lehmann comments on the example of the Dominican Order. For more than 800 years, its members have practiced a form of democratic life, both formally and ethically. The democratic constitution of the Dominicans has a double orientation: ad intra , in relation to the community life of the members of the Order among themselves, and ad extra , in relation to the common pastoral, socio-political, and scientific mission.
The Squatters of the Esquilino.
Housing is a serious problem in Europe and our governments announce the construction of thousands of social housing units, but they are never carried out; Rome, the diocese of the Pope, is no exception. On the night of July 29 to 30, due to a small fire, the Spin Time Labs building, located at Via Santa Croce, Gerusalemme 55, in the Esquilino neighborhood, was evacuated. The building was declared temporarily uninhabitable and judicially seized, preventing the return of the 400 residents who occupied it. Since August 1, with the support of the Department of Civil Protection of Rome and Municipality I, as well as numerous associations and local administrations, tents, canteens, and temporary emergency accommodations have been set up in the vicinity of Spin Time for many of the residents of the center. The most vulnerable, children and the elderly, have been housed in more suitable facilities or with family and friends.
The story is well known: the building, former headquarters of INPDAP, was abandoned in 2000 and put up for sale. In 2013, it was occupied by Azione , the movement for the right to housing, and since then it has sheltered 150 families, more than 400 people. In December 2025, the Court of Rome issued a ruling ordering the Ministry of the Interior to pay more than 21 million euros to the owner for not evicting the occupants.
A look at the school for future Apostolic Nuncios.
It is one of the least known institutions of the Holy See. Located in the heart of Rome, in Piazza della Minerva, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy trains the future diplomatic representatives of the Pope throughout the world. This year it celebrates the 325th anniversary of its foundation. Founded in 1701, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy has trained generations of priests destined for the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Salvatore Pennacchio , president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy since 2023: “Since 1701, more than two thousand ecclesiastics have passed through this house, and among its alumni, we have five popes, the last of whom was Pope Paul VI, who is a saint, and eight secretaries of state. […] This demonstrates how the important formation offered by this academy is at the service of the Pope, the Supreme Pontiffs, the Holy See, and the representatives throughout the world.”
The priests who enter the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy do not gain access through competitive examinations; everything begins with an ecclesiastical recommendation. “In this academy there is no entrance examination as in civil careers; here, candidates are recommended by bishops from all over the world. This year, 37 priests with at least two years of pastoral experience, averaging 30 years of age, enter the academy and are currently attending the courses. Of these 37, 11 will leave.” Currently, the students come from 28 countries , from Australia to Latin America, from Africa to Europe. Their presence reflects the universality of the Church and the global character of papal diplomacy. The formation of future apostolic nuncios is not merely diplomatic. It includes studies, languages, spiritual life, and pastoral service. The fundamental thing is that they do not abandon their apostolic zeal, so on weekends they are assigned to parishes, hospitals, and prisons where they can develop and exercise their pastoral ministry.” The Pope Leo XIV visited the academy and followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, in particular Leo XIII , a former student of the Academy, who inspired both the name chosen by the new Pontiff and his first encyclical.
The Allies and the Holy See.
«…you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus».
Happy reading.