It is Saturday, the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist; we are wrapping up the week and the flow of news does not stop. Another hot, heavy Roman day begins.
Pope Leo at the Virgin of the Lake.
Like most of his predecessors, Pope Leo is drawn to Castelgandolfo, and tomorrow he will celebrate the Virgin of the Lake in the church consecrated by Paul VI. He will be the first Pontiff to travel by boat across part of the lake, accompanied by about ten other vessels. “Usually some of the faithful follow the procession by swimming as well, but this year that has not been possible for security reasons.” The feast of the Virgin of the Lake is therefore deeply felt by the people of Castel Gandolfo, even though its history is relatively recent. It began during the Marian Year of 1954 at the initiative of the then parish priest, Father Dino Sella, with the aim of involving all the faithful who worked around the lake. The church was built twenty-three years later. Paul VI consecrated it forty-nine years ago, and it was visited by Saint John Paul II in 1979. Both Popes took part in the procession, but without crossing the water. The feast will continue on Sunday, 30 August, with a Mass celebrated by Father Tadeusz Rozmus in the church of the Virgin of the Lake, dedicated to the many motorcyclists who, over the weekend, ride the roads of the Castelli Romani.
Artificial and human intelligence.
Pope Leo’s address to participants in the annual congress of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences, held at Sapienza University of Rome, praised their “sincere appeal to our world, in the digital age, to maintain balance in the use of digital technologies” and reaffirmed “the irreplaceable character of human intelligence.” Following the warning also issued by Bill Gates stating that artificial intelligence poses a serious threat to employment and human life, and that addressing the risks it entails should be the “absolute global priority.” AI has exceeded expectations while the sector has ignored significant advances such as the possibility that it could escape the control of its creators. Pope Leo: “Faced with this worrying situation, it is important to develop an ethic that accompanies the use of these tools, which, unfortunately, are concentrated in the hands of major economic and technological players that the State struggles to control. We must ensure that the good of humanity is not sacrificed to private interests.” “Calling for prudence, rigorous controls and, at times, even slowing the adoption of AI does not mean opposing progress, but demonstrating responsible concern for humanity.”
Leo XIV receives the president of Iberdrola in audience
The meeting took place on the occasion of Iberdrola’s 125th anniversary this year, focused on the company’s commitment to sustainability and the environment. Ignacio Sánchez Galán, together with his chief executive Pedro Azagra, leads what is considered Europe’s largest electricity company and one of the two largest in the world by market capitalization. The chairman of Iberdrola presented the Pontiff with a copy of the book Tratos y contratos de mercaderes y tratantes, by the sixteenth-century Spanish Dominican economist and philosopher Tomás de Mercado. It is a special edition from the University of Salamanca, whose Social Council is chaired by Sánchez Galán.
Audience with Bernard Arnault.
Bernard Arnault is not only France’s richest man and owner of one of the world’s largest luxury empires. He declares himself Catholic, supports several Parisian parishes and, above all, was one of the main patrons of the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris after the 2019 fire, donating 200 million euros through his family and the LVMH group. This profile lends credibility to the audience granted to him by Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo, less than a month before the Pope’s trip to France. Today he controls roughly 75 brands, from Louis Vuitton to Dior, from Bulgari to Fendi, from Guerlain to Sephora, as well as the champagnes Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon and Veuve Clicquot, generating annual revenues of 80.8 billion euros. A family and economic empire so powerful that Le Monde has dubbed the Arnaults “France’s last royal family.” The meeting with the Pope, which took place a few days ago in the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, was made public by the businessman himself. In photographs shared on social media, he appears with his wife, Hélène Mercier-Arnault, a Canadian pianist, and their sons Alexandre and Jean; in a second image, Arnault and Leo XIV are seen smiling and conversing.
Leo XIV will arrive in France for a visit that requires a particularly complex and costly organizational structure, especially given the major public events planned in Paris. Estimates circulating in recent weeks point to a total budget that could reach 20 million euros, including the organization of large-scale events such as the Mass on the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde. There is no doubt about the possible involvement of Arnault in the organization of the visit.
The new Belgian ambassador.
On 27 August, Caroline Vermeulen presented her credentials to Pope Leo XIV, formally beginning her mandate as Belgium’s ambassador to the Holy See. Before her appointment she took part in Vienna’s Pride marches, promoted initiatives related to the LGBT community, organized a screening of the pro-transgender film Girl during Pride Month and joined International Gender Champions, a network advocating contemporary gender policies. According to her own confession: “Diversity, including gender diversity, in the professional sphere improves the quality and outcomes of teamwork. Empowering women through professional mentoring is a fundamental step toward gender equality. When we invest in women’s development and firmly oppose gender bias, we build a future in which every woman has the capacity to thrive and reach her full potential.”
During her four years in Vienna, from 2022 to 2026, Vermeulen participated as a member of the Diplomats for Equality contingent and as Belgium’s ambassador in the city’s LGBT Pride marches on 17 June 2023, “for the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community,” and on 14 June 2026. The diplomatic group brought together several representatives accredited in Austria in support of causes related to the LGBT collective. On 17 May 2026, while Vermeulen was Belgium’s ambassador in Vienna, the Belgian diplomatic mission joined a statement by Diplomats for Equality Vienna on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. The statement affirmed the equality and dignity of LGBTI persons. On 21 June 2024, Vermeulen and Carl Hallergård, then EU ambassador to the international organizations in Vienna, promoted the screening of the Belgian film Girl during the so-called “Pride Month.” The Holy See Press Office published Vermeulen’s biographical information and confirmed her audience with Pope Leo XIV, but omitted any uncomfortable details.
The diplomacy of appearances.
It is striking that on an official visit the Holy See’s highest diplomatic representative appears in casual clothes while his Orthodox colleagues are dressed as their office and tradition require. Did no one explain to him, before he left, that he was going to Russia and not for a coffee in a bar? We will be told that form does not matter, that clothes do not matter, that symbols do not matter, forgetting that substance, in order to take form, also needs external accidents. The only person who seems out of place in front of an Orthodox Patriarch dressed as such is the one who represents the Pope; some questions are legitimate for us to ask. At these levels improvisation is not an option; we understand that the situation is complicated, but when you do not know what to say, at least dress properly.
The baseball.
The news was announced by the United States Embassy to the Holy See, which reported on a meeting between Ambassador Brian Burch and President Trump, Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio this week to explore new forms of collaboration that promote world peace and religious freedom. The ambassador presented his interlocutors with a baseball signed by Pope Leo XIV, signed on 4 July during the Holy Father’s visit to the Embassy, as a gesture of friendship on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States. A four-way summit with the President, Vance, Rubio and Ambassador Burch discussed ways to improve relations with the Vatican, with an eye on the Catholic vote in the midterm elections. But Trump, unlike the others, does not even appear in photographs. The baseball signed by Pope Leo XIV was delivered to the President as “a gift of friendship,” a true apple of concord.
The death of King Harald V.
King Harald V of Norway died yesterday at the age of 89; he had been on the throne since 1991. Following his death, he was succeeded by his son Haakon, who took the royal name Haakon VIII. Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolence to the new sovereign. In the message, the Pontiff expressed his deep sorrow at the death of Harald V and offered his condolences to Haakon VIII, the Royal Family and the entire Norwegian nation. Leo XIV recalled the “many years of dedicated service to the Kingdom” of the late sovereign and assured his prayers for his eternal rest, invoking “the blessings of comfort and peace of Almighty God” upon the Norwegian people and all who mourn the king’s passing.
Changes in Paraguay.
News is rarely made by the small country that now has its first cardinal, whose mandate Pope Leo has extended by two years and to whom he has appointed an auxiliary. It is Gabriel Escobar, for a post that had been vacant since 2000; since 2013 he has been apostolic vicar of the Paraguayan Chaco. The new auxiliary bishop of Asunción is a Salesian priest with a broad career and has always been critical of the Government in his public statements. In March of this year, during a homily at a Sunday Mass in the Chaco, he harshly questioned the country’s economic and social situation: “Yes, they force us to live a war economy; I would say we have been living it for some time.” The last auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese was Adalberto Martínez Flores (1997-2000), now archbishop of Asunción and a cardinal. Other auxiliary bishops were, in descending order, Monsignors Ricardo Valenzuela, Claudio Giménez, Pastor Cuquejo and Jorge Livieres Banks. In view of expectations of succession, the official communiqué recalls that appointment as auxiliary bishop does not entail the right of succession to the archiepiscopal see.
What happened on 13 May 1981?
It is 13 May 1981. It is shortly after 5:00 p.m. and St. Peter’s Square is packed with the faithful who have come for the general audience. John Paul II crosses the square in his white Jeep, approaching the barriers to greet the crowd. He has already completed the first lap and is on the second when, near the Mobile post office, a man opens fire from behind the barriers. This is the attack that forms the central axis of “13 May 1981: Operation Pope,” the documentary broadcast on Rai 2.
To understand the clues about the instigators that characterized the mystery of the assassination, we must go back to the context of the Cold War. John Paul II was the first Polish pope in history. His origins took on particular importance precisely because Poland was part of the Soviet bloc. The possibility that the USSR might consider Wojtyła a political threat is one of the elements on which the subsequent Soviet-Bulgarian lead was built, but the geopolitical context alone does not prove the existence of an order originating in Moscow.
Pope Leo does not want Rupnik mosaics.
According to the bishop of Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV personally ordered the Vatican to stop using works of art created by Rupnik. During the pontificate of Pope Francis, Rupnik’s work continued to be exhibited in the Vatican and around the world, despite the credible accusations against the artist. Vatican news websites used Rupnik’s images for many years to commemorate liturgical feasts. Paolo Ruffini, defended the continued use of Rupnik’s mosaics, dismissing concerns by stating: “We are not talking about the abuse of minors.”
Leo is “very determined” and in June 2025 it was reported that the Vatican had quietly removed from its official website images of Rupnik mosaics. The Vatican Press Office made no comment on who ordered the change. Despite the censorship Pope Leo has imposed on Rupnik’s artistic work, he has not taken steps to excommunicate or laicize him after his automatic excommunication in 2020 was quickly revoked by Pope Francis.
Pope Francis invited Rupnik to deliver a Lenten homily to the Curia in March 2020, just weeks after judges of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) had ruled “unanimously” that Rupnik had incurred automatic excommunication for absolving a sexual accomplice in confession. The Pope was accused of intervening in favor of Rupnik by lifting “within hours” the excommunication Rupnik had received for that offense. The preliminary investigations against Rupnik were archived in October 2022 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith because Pope Francis did not lift the statute of limitations.
For now everything is confusion and it was reported in July that five judges—whose existence we do not know—had acquitted Rupnik of all charges of “violence” in his alleged acts of sexual abuse. Days later, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, issued a statement declaring that “information regarding any decision taken by the judges handling the case of the Reverend Marko Ivan Rupnik is totally unfounded.” “The evaluation of the case is still ongoing, and the panel is examining the documentation received from the affected dioceses, the Jesuits, the persons involved and the press.” Laura Sgrò, who represents several of Rupnik’s victims, recently lamented that Rupnik’s trial was held in secret and that the victims were not given the opportunity to be heard during it.
“The Capital Schism.”
“The Capital Schism” is an essay by Carlo Maria Viganò that addresses the unprecedented crisis currently facing the Catholic Church, raising crucial questions about the relationship between the divine institution of the Papacy and whoever occupies the Chair of Peter. The author analyzes the paradox of an ecclesiastical hierarchy that, since the Second Vatican Council, has drastically distanced itself from Tradition in order to embrace modernist, synodal and globalist trends. The essay clarifies the fundamental difference between the Papacy as a divine institution and an unbreakable rock, and the person of the Pope, who may act as a faithful custodian or, by divine permission, as an obstacle and adversary of that institution. The capital schism examines the profound separation between the Petrine office and the one who exercises it, a “masterstroke” by which the conciliar and synodal revolution has subverted legitimate authority to serve ends contrary to those willed by Our Lord Jesus Christ. This work denounces the intellectual, philosophical and theological impoverishment of seminaries and teaching bodies, contaminated at their root by modernism and incapable of professing the integral Catholic faith. The text justifies resistance to illicit mandates and defends the position of those—such as the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X—who safeguard the Traditional Latin Mass and Catholic doctrine, even in the face of the Hierarchy itself. The author shows how the betrayal of those who occupy the Chair of Peter and the apostasy within the Church must be interpreted from an eschatological perspective. Available on Amazon in digital and print formats in Italian, English, French, Spanish and German.
Pope Francis and the popular movements.
Juan Grabois presented the book “Francis: Messages to the Popular Movements,” whose preparation and compilation were carried out by activist Sergio Job. Grabois called for reaffirming Francis’s legacy in the face of “a moment of enormous dehumanization.” The book includes a foreword by Rossi, an introduction by Job and an epilogue by the former presidential candidate. Cardinal Rossi of Córdoba was present and referred to the teachings left by Francis: “One of the deepest teachings he left us is that in the face of a world that discards, organizing is a way to recover dignity. In the face of indifference, encountering the other is a profoundly human act, and in the face of the wounds of our times, it is never enough to look from afar. One must approach and touch the wound and commit oneself. That is the Francis this book invites us to know.” “Can we build a society in which no one is discarded? Francis chose to face those questions head-on and did so from a conception of the Church that did not want to remain closed in on itself, but to walk with the people,” and he defined him as “the Francis of open doors, the Francis of the peripheries, the Francis of the three T’s.”
Grabois recalled how the bond between Jorge Bergoglio and the popular organizations was built: “The bond of Francis, of Jorge Bergoglio, with the popular movements arises from an encounter. That encounter was with the cardboard collectors, with the seamstresses who were victims of trafficking, and that encounter was a lesson for Francis.” “From that encounter springs his inspiration. The slogan land, roof and work was a slogan he took from the popular movements and said: ‘You came to plant a flag here in the Vatican; land, roof and work are sacred rights and the challenge is to make them an effective reality.’”
“This book contains Francis’s interventions with the popular movements and it is important to note that Leo gives it continuity. It did not die with Francis. Some wanted this part of Francis to go to the grave with him. Leo also courageously recovers the encounter with popular movements. He gave a wonderful speech and then issued his encyclical sharply critical of the direction in which we are heading in a technologically advanced civilization but without heart, without ethical principles and without recognition of the dignity of the poorest.” “When Francis tells us that we must be guardians of social justice, he gives us a mandate.”
The presentation in Córdoba is part of a broader tour that Grabois has been building since the death of Francis, which occurred on 21 April 2025. Appointed consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 2015, he was incorporated in 2021 as a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He was one of the organizers of the World Meetings of Popular Movements in the Vatican and in Bolivia. His mandate in the Dicastery ended in 2025. Pope Leo will arrive in Argentina and the momentum must be used to sell something.
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Enjoy your reading.