Leo XIV writes in a Letter to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy: “On the occasion of the 325th anniversary of its foundation, together with you, I give thanks to the Lord for the long and fruitful history of this meritorious Institution placed at the service of the Successor of Peter”. It summarizes a brief history of papal diplomacy: «In 1701, by order of Pope Clement XI, a most praiseworthy mission was begun, whose spirit was preserved and its growth guided by many of my predecessors, accompanying its development in the light of the needs that the Church and diplomacy have expressed over the centuries.». The diplomacy is an evangelical vocation: «I hope that this auspicious anniversary inspires in the students a renewed commitment to persevere in their educational path, remembering that the diplomatic service is not a profession, but a pastoral vocation: it is the evangelical art of encounter, which seeks paths of reconciliation where people raise walls and distrust. Our diplomacy, in fact, is born of the Gospel: it is not tactics, but reflective charity; it does not seek winners or losers, it does not build barriers, but rebuilds authentic bonds».
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy was originally the Academy of Noble Ecclesiastics, one of several Roman colleges dedicated to the training of clerics destined for ecclesiastical life, though not necessarily priestly. During the pontificate of Pope Pius VI (1775-1799), its objective was to train noble ecclesiastics who came to Rome to perfect their theological and legal studies, and between the 18th and 19th centuries, it was considered a training center for the ecclesiastical elite aspiring to a career in the Roman Curia. Over time it became a nursery of papal diplomats and Pope Pius IX, in the regulation issued in 1850, specified that its purpose was ‘to train young ecclesiastics both for the diplomatic service of the Holy See and for administrative service in the Curia and in the Papal State’. With the decline of temporal power in 1870, the possibility of employment in the state administration disappeared, leaving only the diplomatic career open. The pontificate of Pope Leo XIII (1876-1903) introduced important innovations in the Academy.
One of the hottest topics that Leo XIV inherited from Francis is the German one. The Jubilee Year and the Conclave have not stopped what Cardinal Gerhard Müller has called the «process of Protestantization» of the Catholic Church in Germany. Rome has so far remained stagnant in the face of the continuous progress from the other side of the Rhine, but now the thorny issues are returning to the forefront. In the coming hours, the Pope is expected to receive Monsignor Nikola Eterović, Apostolic Nuncio in Berlin. It is inevitable that the conversation will be dominated by the imminent vote of the German Episcopal Conference on the Statute of the Synodal Conference. This is a project, already approved by the all-powerful Central Committee of German Catholics, which will create a permanent body in which the laity will be on equal footing with the bishops. This Synodal Conference will have decision-making power and will be able to introduce changes in doctrine by majority vote, forcing the situation. Whoever disagrees will have to justify it publicly and, as if that were not enough, the Conference will assume the financial management of the opulent German Church.
The apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium of Pope Francis on the reform of the Roman Curia grants the Dicastery for the Clergy the authority to dispense administratively from the clerical state, a normalization of special faculties created by Benedict in 2009 for priests who have abandoned the ministry or have been involved in “gravely scandalous behavior”. Some have expressed concern that the procedure has been applied too broadly and liberally, and others have expressed concern that the Dicastery for the Clergy, which already has little staff, is too overburdened to handle cases quickly. Since these faculties are special extensions of papal power, outside the established competence of the departments, they expire with the death of the pope and have not yet been confirmed by Pope Leo, remaining in suspense since the death of Pope Francis last year.
The dicastery itself made a proposal to Pope Leo in which it would lose the authority to pursue such laicizations altogether, or see the process limited to cases of long-term abandonment of the ministry: “The idea is that an administrative procedure for laicization can be used only in very specific cases, such as abandonment of the ministry, while most laicizations [unsolicited] would be carried out by canonical tribunals”. “The administrative procedure was susceptible to abuse”. “It did not offer enough guarantees to the priest, the dicastery has too much work, and an administrative decision of this kind is unappealable when the Pope approves it in forma specifica . But popes do not usually have time to read the details of each case, which is problematic”. “The solution would not be, of course, to bring all cases to Rome. But the tools are there: France already has a national canonical penal tribunal, and I think it has been a mostly positive experience”. “Pope Leo studied canon law and was a canonical judge during his stay in Peru, so that changes things. When talking to him about canon law, it is noticeable that he understands these problems from a personal perspective; there is no need to explain much”.
Yesterday Prince Albert II of Monaco, nicknamed the «Green Prince», on a visit to the Vatican was received in audience by Pope Leo XIV. The prince and the pontiff share a common sensitivity toward the environment. His Prince Albert II Foundation for the Environment is particularly concerned with the protection of the oceans and the sea, continuing the work of his ancestor Albert I in the early 20th century (he founded the Monaco Oceanographic Museum). Last June, at the urging of Prince Albert II, Monaco also hosted the first edition of the Blue Economy and Finance Forum.
Letter from Davide Prosperi, president of the Communion and Liberation Fraternity, and Alberto Brugnoli, president of the Memores Domini Association, sent to the entire movement after the private audience with Pope Leo XIV on January 12. «The Holy Father, with great affection, expressed his full confidence in us and confirmed us in the review process we are carrying out: already today, he told us, important signs of the maturation that the movement has reached in recent years are appreciated». «The Pope showed his deep knowledge and esteem for our experience, expressing special gratitude to Father Giussani and for what he, through the charism that God wanted to give him, managed to generate for the good of the entire Church and the world». The Pontiff “encouraged us with affectionate paternity to take further steps on this same path, exhorting us to work in close collaboration with the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life”.
The Vatican Secretary of State, Parolin in the context of a meeting in Rome organized by Catholic Action for Pier Giorgio Frassati. «In Venezuela we tried to avoid bloodshed, now we hope for democratization. Greenland? Force solutions are unacceptable» and expressed the Holy See’s concern for the great uncertainty in Venezuela. «We have always supported a peaceful solution. We too face a reality». He recalled the attempts with the United States to offer Maduro a way out: «We tried—as was published in some newspapers—to find a solution that would avoid bloodshed, reaching an agreement with Maduro and other representatives: it was not possible». On Trump’s territorial ambitions in Greenland: «Everyone believes they can only resolve difficulties and assert their positions through force. This is unacceptable; it will lead more and more to conflicts, to wars within the international community». «We cannot resort to forced solutions. We must recover the spirit of multilateralism that characterized the post-war years and which, unfortunately, is being lost».
What is meant by realism, the relationship between truth and freedom, and how we are affected by language manipulation. Based on the Pope’s speech to the diplomatic corps, here are the key themes of Stefano Chiappalone’s interview with Stefano Fontana and Guido Vignelli. We continue with comments on Leo XIV’s speech to the diplomatic corps which «is of great importance because it contains a structural framework on how we must think and act». An organic vision that has its cornerstone, precisely, in realism. But what does this term mean? «It means that truth exists, and not just interpretations of truth. It means that nature exists, and not just history». «Nature should not be understood as trees, water, etc., but as the order of things, starting with human nature, the human person in its essence, what man is». This also has inevitable implications for the Church. Consider the relationship, often inverted today, between doctrine and pastoral care: «If truth exists, if the order of things exists, both in the sense of real things and revealed truths, then doctrine exists, which prevails over pastoral care, which, ultimately, is a practice that finds its orientation in doctrine». According to Fontana, the conceptual framework provided by Leo XIV in this speech «is substantially in line with Benedict XVI».