Yesterday was marked by the visit of the King and Queen of England to the Vatican. In the private library of the Pontiff, the Pope greeted the English sovereign with a «welcome,» to which the King of England responded with an «excited,» contemplating a long moment, amazed by the beauty and preciousness of the place. After the private conversation, the traditional exchange of gifts took place. The King gave the Pope a large silver photograph with the image of the royalty and an icon of Saint Edward the Confessor. Leo XIV gave the sovereign a reproduction, made in the Vatican, of the mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, found in the Cathedral of Cefalù.
We have been struck by the notable symbolic enhancement of the Sistine Chapel. It is not just any place; it is the papal chapel par excellence and the heart of the Apostolic Palace. For the occasion, two precious tapestries from the series of the Acts of the Apostles, made from Raphael’s cartoons, have been placed in the chapel. They represent the Martyrdom of Saint Stephen and the Miraculous Catch. The Raphael’s cartoons for the exquisite tapestries are in the Victoria and Albert Museum; they will remain until November 4, where one can admire the two masterpieces in the very place for which they were conceived and commissioned by Pope Leo X in 1520. Both tapestries were accompanying a solemn empty papal chair, a true symbol in this encounter.
In keeping with the ambitious iconographic concept of the 15th-century frescoes, executed under Sixtus IV, and Michelangelo’s vault, created for Julius II, the Medici pope commissioned Raphael Sanzio to design the cartoons depicting the stories of the apostles Peter and Paul. The tapestry version was entrusted to the workshop of the renowned Brussels weaver Pieter Van Aelst, who supervised the weaving with threads of silk, gold, and silver. By 1515, the cartoons were completed and sent to Flanders for the making of the tapestries. In 1519, seven of the ten tapestries arrived in Rome and were exhibited in the Sistine Chapel on December 26, the feast of Saint Stephen. The opulence of the materials, the refinement of the execution, and the novelty of Raphael’s figurative language aroused general admiration, as contemporary accounts attest. The last three tapestries arrived in 1521, shortly before the death of Leo X. Raphael’s series of ten tapestries represents an absolute masterpiece of Renaissance textile art, already celebrated by Giorgio Vasari as «a work more of miracle than of human artifice. The tapestry depicting the Conversion of Saul was temporarily installed in the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
In the Sistine Chapel , under the gaze of Christ, Judge and Lord of history , Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III , accompanied by Queen Camilla , joined in prayer, renewing that desire for Christian unity that Saint John Paul II defined as «irreversible .» The opening hymn , composed by Saint Ambrose and translated into English by Saint John Henry Newman , united the two traditions in a single song. Next to the Pope, the Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York ; with the sovereigns, Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Leo Cushley . The choirs of the Sistine Chapel Choir , the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace and St. George’s Chapel , Windsor wove their voices into a single prayer.
Pope Leo XIV and Archbishop Cottrell recited together the Pauline blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us forever.” In the Regia Hall , the Pope and His Majesty participated in a meeting on environmental sustainability , introduced by Sister Alessandra Smerilli . The exchange of two Cymbidium orchids expressed the shared commitment to the care of creation. In the afternoon, in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls , Leo XIV approved the granting to King Charles III of the title of Royal Brother of Saint Paul , an ancient sign of spiritual fraternity between Rome and the English Crown. On the seat created for the occasion, an evangelical motto in Latin: Ut unum sint — “That they may be one” (Jn 17:21).
King Charles III and the queen were received in a meeting full of meaning not only because, for the first time in 500 years, the British king prayed with a pontiff, but also because of the wardrobe choices of the British queen. Camilla chose a black silk dress by Fiona Clare, combined with a mantilla veil designed by the renowned British milliner Philip Treacy, which has been featured in the most solemn occasions of the royal family for years. the queen scrupulously respected Vatican protocol. Women received in private audiences must wear a long dress with a high neck, long sleeves, and a black veil. Completing the look was a cross-shaped brooch, known as the «raspberry pip,» which belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II. The choice of black, misinterpreted as a sign of mourning, represents a form of respect and deference toward the pontiff. The exception is the so-called «privilege of white,» reserved exclusively for Catholic queens.
We are witnessing the end of the Church of England as we have known it until now. A global body of conservative Anglicans representing around 40 million members, mostly from Africa, has officially cut ties with the new pro-LGBT archbishop of Canterbury. The Anglican Communion, a global organization of around 85 million Christians who adhere to the theology and spirituality of the Church of England and at this moment has experienced a major schism. A communiqué from October 15 from the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) announced the breaking of ties with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the establishment of a new Global Anglican Communion, citing the Church of England’s «abandonment of Scripture» and its support for homosexual «blessings.»
Only a few days after Mullally’s appointment on October 3, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba (Anglican Primate of Nigeria), whose regional church represents 18 million Christians, wrote a statement complaining that Mullally’s appointment «is devastating and ignores the current situation and the challenges facing the Anglican Communion.» Ndukuba continued by saying that Mullally’s appointment was akin to “a double danger; first, for its insensitivity to the conviction of the majority of Anglicans who cannot accept female leadership in the episcopate, and second, more troubling still, because Bishop Sarah Mullally is a firm advocate of same-sex marriage”.
The communiqué, titled “The Future Has Arrived,” stated that GAFCON encourages Anglican provinces “to amend their constitution to remove any reference to being in communion with the See of Canterbury and the Church of England” and rejects “the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and the Primates’ Meeting, which have not defended the doctrine and discipline of the Anglican Communion.” The new “Global Anglican Communion” (which will currently exclude the Church of England, the historical origin of Anglican Christianity) will function as a community of autonomous provinces, as established at the first Lambeth Conference in 1867. Member provinces will not attend meetings convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury and will cease to fund or receive funds. The schism creates two competing Anglican bodies, with significant consequences for global Anglican unity.
Pope Leo XIV received in audience the participants of the Jubilee of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem . “With all this, you demonstrate that guarding the Sepulcher of Christ does not mean simply preserving a historical-archaeological or artistic heritage, as important as that may be, but supporting a Church made of living stones, which was born around it and remains alive today, as an authentic sign of Easter hope.” The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a Catholic chivalric order, with legal personality in both canon and civil law. Its origins date back to 1099. the Milites Sancti Sepulcri . It was born linked to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher; it is the only lay institution of the Holy See charged with supporting the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Christian presence in the Holy Land: seminary, schools, charitable works, humanitarian projects, universities, and assistance to parishes. Since 2019, the Grand Master has been Cardinal Fernando Filoni . The Order is organized into lieutenancies present on several continents and counts tens of thousands of Dames and Knights.
Leo XIV recalled the pilgrim nature of the Order: born to guard the Sepulcher, care for pilgrims, and support the Church of Jerusalem. He then acknowledged the concrete and silent support offered over time to the Latin Patriarchate—from the Seminary to schools , from charitable works to training projects , including emergency interventions (pandemic and war)—, clarifying that “guarding the Sepulcher” means, above all, supporting a Church of “living stones ,” a sign of Easter hope. The «garrison» in the Holy Places must be, above all, a garrison of faith, nourished by the sacraments , the Word of God , prayer , and formation. “Today the Church entrusts you once again with the task of being guardians of the Sepulcher of Christ .”
We only mention news that is too Italian unless it can have repercussions in other latitudes. Since the Vatican is surrounded by Italy, it is logical that Italian things have special news interest; similar things happen in other places and do not receive the same media treatment. Catholic morality and human nature are undermined by the interview with the vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), another attempt to «test the truth» about transgenderism and its related issues, contradicting the Church’s doctrine. The message it conveys is the same: don’t convert, but believe in the rainbow. They should not be denied the possibility of being loved and loving, not even in intimacy, on the sexual plane. Why deny them what he called their right? To whom do these words pronounced by Monsignor Francesco Savino, vice president of the CEI for southern Italy, refer in a recent interview ? To people with a «different identity,» who identify with the so-called LGBTQ+ world.
His Excellency believes that this stance of his is «an attempt to create the truth ,» that truth which, according to his explicit reference to the Gospel (cf. Jn 8:32), makes us free. But where would this truth come from, according to which there exists the right to live sexuality indiscriminately with people of the same sex or opposite sex, outside or inside marriage, for procreation or simply for a moment of pleasure? Or what would be the foundation for affirming that homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism, transsexuality, etc. Could simply be «different» identities? Are they «dynamic human sciences and in progress»?
The fundamental principle of the creation of the human being , «male and female he created them» (Gn 1:27), which the Lord confirms in the Holy Gospel (cf. Mt 19:4), seems less decisive than the opinion of the new divinity venerated by many clerics: Science. No suspicion that human knowledge may be wrong, no doubt that science may be gravely compromised by enormous pressures of power and rivers of money. The constant teaching of the Church, which has always condemned any use of sexuality outside of marriage and its ends, and specifically the sin of sodomy as against nature ( that is , incurably contrary to the truth that sexuality is by nature destined for the union of a man and a woman, open to procreation), in Savino’s eyes has been a two-millennium denial of nothing less than human rights.
This «overcoming» of the Church’s teaching, which now should recognize that God created them as men, women, and LGBTQ+ , and that all have the right to use their sexuality as they see fit, is compared by His Excellency to nothing less than the development of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. «Dogma is the culmination of a dynamic path of knowledge… Consider the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary: it was a culmination; there is a path called diachronic, that is, historical, that is, evolutionary, that is, dynamic.» But the comparison is a «theological crime,» which reveals the abysmal ignorance of Archbishop Savino or his bad faith. Because in the first case, we have gone from a profound theological debate on a subject on which the Church had not yet spoken to an ex cathedra declaration of the supreme Magisterium; in the second case, however, the clear and consistent teaching of the Church on the truth and meaning of human sexuality is invalidated, introducing a declaration that contradicts it. Contradiction is not development, but adulteration. Because the problem is certainly not the affirmation of the dignity of each person, but the slippage from ontological dignity to the approval of acts that radically contradict the meaning of sexuality and are contrary to that same dignity.
A student replied that abortion is not a ritual. For Carlson, it is clear: «Are you kidding? They had an abortion truck outside the Democratic Convention. In 2024, Planned Parenthood set up a mobile van a few blocks from the Democratic National Convention, offering abortions and vasectomies. It was not directly linked to the Democratic National Committee, but was created to target attendees at the conference in Chicago. The student also said that people use religion to argue against so-called “LGBTQ rights” and “trans rights,” in addition to abortion. «It’s so obvious that it’s a rite of child sacrifice,» Carlson said. He continued to criticize the «perverse and joyful enthusiasm» for abortion, referencing the «shout your abortion» movement.
He stated that his views have changed on the “bodily autonomy” argument, particularly after seeing the hypocrisy of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Abortion, he said, is about “the thrill people feel from killing.” «I’ve seen it when people plan wars,» he says people get excited and feel «euphoric» about «extinguishing lives,» also referencing drone strike videos. People feel this way because «it makes them God.» “And that’s the worst thing there is.” “Killing makes people feel powerful. Killing your own child makes you feel (powerful).” Carlson defended the importance of incorporating Christian views of justice into our laws and highlighted that slavery was abolished in England thanks to Christianity. Recently, Carlson has begun to vigorously defend the rights of the unborn, and during an interview with Alex Jones, he also said that abortion amounts to human sacrifice.
Others who seem to have it clear are in Japan, and these are not very Christian by tradition. Japan remains one of the few developed countries in the world that has not legalized “homosexual marriage,” despite growing support for it in the secularized nation. Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, the first woman to lead the country’s government, opposes “homosexual marriage.” She said during a campaign debate last month that she is against «homosexual marriage,» but claims that someone in a homosexual relationship «is fine.» In 2023, she said that legalizing “homosexual marriage” is an “extremely difficult issue,” citing an article in Japan’s constitution that states marriage requires “the mutual consent of both sexes.” Japan is more broken than it may seem, and around 70% of Japanese support «homosexual marriage,» according to a 2023 Pew survey, the highest acceptance rate of all Asian countries surveyed. Several cities and localities in Japan issue partnership certificates for homosexual relationships. Japan remains one of the few developed countries in the world, along with countries like Italy, South Korea, and the Czech Republic, that have not legalized so-called “homosexual marriage.”
The Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, His Holiness Aram I, spoke in Toronto to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his tenure as Catholicos. He warned that Armenia is entering a dangerous situation, describing a nation at risk of losing its strength, unity, and moral foundation. Both the homeland and the diaspora, he affirmed, face an identity and survival crisis. “Today, the Armenian nation finds itself at a fatal crossroads. The homeland is heading toward self-destruction, and the diaspora toward self-destruction. This danger must be addressed through a united and pan-Armenian effort.” “We need new leaders, new approaches, and new mindsets to get out of the stagnation. We cannot live egocentric lives; we must open our eyes and see where our people and our homeland are heading.» «When the same people hold the same positions with the same mentality, both the position and those who hold it wear out.» The World Council of Churches (WCC) has expressed its vigorous condemnation of the Armenian authorities, denouncing what it describes as growing state pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church and the arrests of clergy across the country.
«Why do you not know how to discover for yourselves what is right?»
Good reading.