The week is drawing to a close, intense as always, giving us no respite. There are always too many topics, the space is limited, and we will try to present what we see in another day.
Leo XIV at Ruini’s funeral.
It seems that Pope Leo is resuming the tradition of presiding over the funerals of cardinals who have died in Urbe. Ruini’s was held yesterday, and in his funeral homily, Leo XIV highlighted his historic relationship with John Paul II and the role of prayer in the cardinal’s life. St. Peter’s Basilica was completely filled for the farewell to Cardinal Camillo Ruini. A large crowd attended yesterday. The body was transferred to St. Peter’s for the funeral from the chapel of rest in the Chapel of Our Lady of Perseverance at the Pontifical Minor Roman Seminary, where the cardinal had lived for decades. The ceremony was celebrated by Leo XIV himself at the Altar of the Chair. Thirty-four cardinals were present. In his homily, the Pope recalled that “the Church in Italy (…) and the diocese of Rome owe him much.” Ruini “knew how to guide the people of God and his brothers in the episcopate in important and delicate moments, facing multiple challenges with enthusiasm, discernment, and courage.” He mentioned his “deep commitment to promoting the contribution of the Catholic world in the most diverse spheres of Italian religious, civil, and political life.”
All this contrasts with the virulent comments recently directed at Ruini by members of the Catholic and ecclesiastical left. Enzo Bianchi wrote that Ruini was “a cleric who caused suffering to many in the Church. He gave the Church the face of a stepmother, the face of a Church that seeks authority, influence, and a place among the powerful. But he did not have the approval of either Cardinal Martini or Pope Francis.” It is a pity that the late cardinal held his positions of greatest responsibility during the time of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, whose approval he always enjoyed. The approval of Cardinal Martini, the great loser of the 1985 ecclesiastical conference in Loreto that launched Ruini’s ecclesiastical career, was unnecessary.
In his homily, Leo XIV avoided quoting the most “politically incorrect” passages of this dense text by Ruini. After declaring himself “always a papist” and thanking Benedict XVI, Ruini confessed to being delighted with the election of Francis and having supported him immediately, but also noted that he found himself “in an uncomfortable situation, certainly not for personal reasons, but because I find it difficult to understand certain orientations that seem to reopen wounds barely healed after the Council.” These words portray the true Ruini: a statesman capable of combining, to the very end, obedience to the Successor of Peter and freedom of judgment. It is no coincidence that, in conclusion, he asks the Lord “to convince me interiorly that the Church is His and that He Himself cares for it, beyond our human understanding.”
Adherence to the Second Vatican Council.
We see it published in Italian, but the origin is our Infovaticana; we limit ourselves to reproducing the entry: “On adherence to the Second Vatican Council: a timely reading in view of the FSSPX consecrations.” The reproduced article was published in December 2011 in L’Osservatore Romano and signed by Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz Braña, then Vicar General of Opus Dei and one of the representatives appointed by the Holy See in the doctrinal discussions with the Society of St. Pius X. The text appeared a few weeks after the meeting between Benedict XVI and Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society, and at a time when debates on the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council were at the heart of the negotiations between both parties. Ocáriz addresses one of the fundamental questions of the debate: what degree of assent the teachings of the Second Vatican Council require, how its doctrinal innovations should be interpreted, and how its continuity with the Church’s previous Magisterium can be understood.
“Naturally, not all the statements contained in the conciliar documents have the same doctrinal value and, therefore, do not all require the same degree of assent. The different levels of adherence to the doctrines proposed by the Magisterium were established in the Constitution Lumen Gentium (n. 25) and later summarized in the three clauses added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in the formula of the Professio fidei published in 1989 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Saint John Paul II.”
“Only the Magisterium of the Church can offer an authentic interpretation of the conciliar texts. Therefore, in theological work that seeks to interpret conciliar passages that raise doubts or seem to present difficulties, it is necessary to take special account of the meaning given to them in subsequent interventions of the Magisterium. However, there remains a legitimate space for theological freedom, which allows us to explain in various ways how certain formulations present in the conciliar texts do not contradict Tradition and, therefore, to specify the correct meaning of certain expressions contained in these passages.”
The first conviction for financial crimes in the Vatican.
In 2021 came the first-instance conviction; for the first time, the Holy See had imposed a penalty on the director of the IOR, the so-called “Vatican Bank,” for a financial crime committed within its walls. The convicted man, Caloia, succeeded Msgr. Paul Marcinkus at the head of the IOR, an institution he presided over for twenty years, from 1989 to 2009.
The case brought before the judges concerns the sale of 29 properties belonging to the Vatican Bank and its subsidiary Sgir (Società per gestione di immobiliare Roma). According to the prosecution, during the sale the defendants unlawfully appropriated sums amounting to more than 57 million euros, of which 16 million were embezzled. In the first instance, the Tribunal, although it considered the embezzled sums to amount to 31 million euros, imposed prison sentences of between 8 years and 11 months and a fine of 12.5 million euros on the defendants (Caloia and his lawyer Liuzzo), and 5 years and 2 months in prison and a fine of 8,000 euros on Lamberto Liuzzo, in addition to the confiscation of 16.8 million euros and compensation for damages to the civil parties.
The Pope in Peru in November.
The Holy See has not yet officially announced the itinerary, but the planned stops include Lima, Callao, Pucallpa, Cusco, and Chiclayo. Pope Leo XIV, a Peruvian citizen, received the President of Peru, José María Balcázar, in a private audience at the Vatican. Peruvian President José María Balcázar, during an informal press conference at the Vatican after his meeting with Pope Leo XIV, confirmed that the Pope’s visit to the Andean country will take place in the first half of November 2026. The cities he will visit will be Lima, Callao, Chiclayo, Pucallpa, and Cusco. He also revealed that there is a high probability of including Puno and Iquitos in the itinerary. Until the official announcement of the program, the cities mentioned so far are under evaluation and cannot be considered confirmed.
Digital archive of Causes of Saints.
The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has activated a new computer system for the management and consultation of canonization and beatification processes. The platform brings together in a single digital archive the historical and procedural documentation relating to candidates for canonization, making accessible data that previously was only available locally or in the archives of Rome. The initiative seeks to centralize the workflows of the dioceses, standardizing the procedures for collecting testimonies and documents necessary to initiate the diocesan process. The system tracks the progress of the steps required by canon law, from the declaration of Servant of God to the recognition of the miracle. Access to the restricted sections of the platform remains limited to the postulators and experts designated by the dicastery, to ensure the confidentiality of the investigations and the protection of the personal data of the witnesses involved in the trials. Among the data made available, financial information will not be included; unfortunately, it would be a good time to dispel all doubt from processes so delicate that they affect the devotion of the people of God and the delicate infallibility of the Pope. Holiness requires total transparency and leaves no room for doubts that are too worldly in matters so holy.
The Vatican’s global financial empire.
An article today analyzes this impression in a very superficial way, going little beyond commonplaces. A tiny state, the size of a park, with economic power capable of moving millions of euros. The Vatican is perhaps the most enigmatic financial entity on the planet. Beyond its religious dimension, it hides an economic machinery that has survived wars, crises, and global changes. It is not only a religious center, but a state with its own finances, international investments, and a non-traditional economic structure. Its economic model is based on diverse revenues: donations, patrimonial investments, stamp sales, museum admissions, and an international investment portfolio. Its economy has not been free of controversy. Scandals such as the Banco Ambrosiano case or money-laundering cases have generated and continue to generate doubts about its transparency.
Nobel Prize for Pope Leo.
Why not award the Nobel Peace Prize to a pope? L’Espresso has nominated Pope Leo XVI. Politics is not the prerogative of those who hold institutional positions, but we are all political, and therefore we must fight against those who seek to exclude from this power, first magistrates, another journalist, and now even popes. An authoritarian attempt is brewing to turn politics—that is, the power to influence the very nature of the society in which we live—into the exclusive domain of institutional power. If we want to save democracy, we must do the opposite: continually raise the level of power of the new forms of participatory democracy that are developing in local communities, which can enrich everyone’s capacity to “participate in politics,” a capacity that is not limited to those who become deputies or ministers.
“The Pope in Spain has awakened Europe”
Interview with Cardinal Artime, who accompanied Pope Leo on his entire recent trip to Spain. “I think what the Pope said in Spain applies to all of Europe.” “I think everyone in the world, believers and non-believers alike, longs for depth, authenticity, and interiority: even more so those who recognize the gift of God’s presence.”
“Today’s Spain is certainly not the same as 50 years ago, when I was a teenager. But I don’t think it is worse than then: it has simply changed in many aspects: great values are still maintained, but there are also many deficiencies and weaknesses. Likewise, the new generations do not have a single ‘style’; there are many young people and even adults with different sensibilities. In this sense, I want to highlight a very appreciated aspect of the Pope’s visit: respect.”
“I think everything the Pope said in Spain applies to all of Europe. In particular, the call to communion, to listening, to mutual respect, to a return to a society of great values, and not to fear our Christian roots. I think Europe has an important message to convey to the world if it acts with justice, solidarity, and the great values that founded it. Losing all this means limiting itself to economic agreements; Europe was not founded for that.
Scandal or revolution.
Frank Wright and Father Charles Murr connect the dots: This is not a scandal. It is a revolution. The Church is being replaced by a new religion, rainbow flags, Islamic brotherhood, and protection of cartels. And the faithful are waking up. The question is whether the hierarchy will be held accountable before the entire system collapses. You can watch the program at https://www.lifesitenews.com/episodes/pope-leo-sspx-and-the-battle-for-catholic-identity/
Extremely interesting topics. An archbishop celebrates a Mass for LGBT activists while an assistant wears a T-shirt with the image of Jesus in rainbow colors. The same prelate feels “greater goodness” in a mosque than in his own church. And beneath the surface of these scandals lies a deeper rot: the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, supposedly run by a priest protected by the Cardinal Archbishop of Mexico City, is accused of hiring cartel members as security personnel and diverting 90% of donations.
According to reports, Father Efraín Hernández Díaz, protected by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, charged each parish a monthly fee, “like the mafia in Brooklyn.” He is said to have handed over 15,000 dollars a month and two vehicles valued at one million dollars each to the archbishop. He is accused of having changed the security system of the Basilica, not contracting it with a legitimate company, but with members of the Guadalajara Cartel. When the council of priests asked the federal government to investigate, they claimed that the cardinal protected him. He fled to Spain and returned without consequences.
Another unfounded accusation against priests.
A mere insinuation of abuse is enough to embitter and destroy the life of a good priest. The Civil Court of Padua declared Gianbruno Cecchin unreliable and ordered him to pay fifty thousand euros to each of the two priests for the defamation suffered. In 2020, the man had filed a complaint and written to the bishop and the Pope. The two priests were accused six years ago of alleged sexual abuses that occurred thirty years earlier, when they were educators at the diocesan seminary of Treviso.
The priests had filed the civil lawsuit two years ago, and the judge has considered that the man’s accusations are neither reliable nor well-founded. The diocese of Treviso recalls the unanimous signing of a letter of solidarity toward the two priests, “signed by many priests and laity,” and specifies that it has very much in mind the issue of abuses, to the point that five years ago it created a service for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults.
The Church remains in Gaza.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family, of the Incarnate Word, remains in Gaza and describes a dramatic reality that risks being forgotten. Today in the Gaza Strip, the population lives literally in nothing. More than 80% of the buildings are destroyed, and the sewers out of service force children to play among the rubble and wastewater, while the health emergency worsens every day. Thanks to the support of Pro Terra Sancta and our benefactors, the parish has become an oasis of peace and solidarity for all. The school has been reopened with enormous effort, and today it welcomes 460 Christian and Muslim students. The children study sitting three or four to a desk, without notebooks or pencils, but with an incredible desire for the future. The water cistern under the church continues to quench the thirst of thousands of people in the neighborhood without ever running dry. Father Gabriel and his community have decided to stay in Gaza to break the circle of hatred and revenge, becoming a point of reference for humanitarian aid in the Holy Land. But they cannot do it alone. We will never understand how the ineffable Satué, the pontifical commissioner of the Incarnate Word, dares to block the priestly ordinations of the institute. With this unjust and inexplicable decision, he is depriving the Church of priests like Romanelli. May God reward Romanelli and confound Satué and his henchmen.
If the priests are holy, we are saved.
Taken from a prayer of the Servant of God, the scientist Enrico Medi, it is one of the most beautiful and moving spiritual poems ever conceived by the human mind. It is addressed to priests, to whom the scientist directs a heartfelt plea after praising their greatness and sacredness; it sounds better in Italian, but the idea is perfectly understood.
“ Priests, I am not a priest, and I have never been worthy of being one.
How does one live after celebrating Mass?
“…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Good reading.