We start the week, Holy Week, and enter dates more conducive to meditation and transcendence. These are very turbulent times and we cannot fall asleep. Current events do not disappoint either in quantity or quality, and we will remain very attentive these holy days so as not to miss anything.
The profiles of a pontificate.
Andrea Gagliarducci analyzes the situation «Just in the last week, two events have highlighted specific characteristics of the pontificate of Leo XIV: the Ordinance issued by the Court of Appeals of Vatican City, which could overturn the fate of the so-called «trial of the century» [*] ; and the convening of the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences of the world to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Amoris laetitia . These two events seem completely unrelated, and in fact they are. The first, the Order of the Court of Appeal, is not even a decision of Leo XIV, but rather a consequence of the change of pontificate, in which there is no longer a Pope who intervenes in the process and somehow determines its outcome. The second, a direct decision of the Pope, shows us something very important about how Leo XIV intends to succeed Francis».
«In a brilliant legal maneuver, regardless of what one thinks of its merits, the judges did not annul the decisions of Pope Francis. They simply declared null and void the consequences and restarted the process not from the beginning, but from the moment they took office. The judges avoided stating that Francis lacked the authority to do what he did —after all, he was the absolute ruler of the State of Vatican City—, but determined that in reality he did not achieve his objective, since the rescripts were executed incorrectly, both technically and procedurally. This does not constitute a damnatio memoriae, but it undoubtedly reopens the process. Despite its «diplomatic» caution , it is clear that the new trial could lead to completely different conclusions from those of the first instance».
«The debate on continuity or discontinuity with Pope Francis is sterile because Leo XIV himself is not interested. He will make corrections where he deems necessary, but without repudiating what happened previously. And this is evident in the convening of all the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences for the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia . The debate on Amoris laetitia revolved mainly around a note that seemed to allow divorced and remarried persons to receive communion. This issue caused considerable confusion among the faithful, since the text reaffirmed fundamental issues of the faith and had also given rise to the famous doubts of the Four Cardinals. This does not mean that the Exhortation will be rejected, but it means that it will be viewed from a different perspective. We should not expect great revolutions from Leo XIV.
The impossible justice in the Vatican.
There is no way to minimally understand the tangle that has become the framework of an impossible justice in the Vatican. The trial for the London real estate scandal has opened a new fissure in the Vatican judicial system: a direct confrontation between the Promoter of Justice and the Court of Appeal that threatens to exacerbate even more the doubts about the transparency of the procedure. The Court not only ordered the repetition of the trial, but also the full deposit of all documents from the investigation phase before April 30. However, it is possible that this requirement will not be met. Already in Infovaticana we have information on this aspect. The Promoter of Justice has decided to «reserve the right to challenge» the judicial order, heading toward a scenario of deadlock.
Luis Badilla analyzes the Becciu process.«Let us remember how much the Vatican media wrote about the ‘Becciu case’ when the order was to discredit the former Cardinal Prefect. Now, after the order of the Court of Appeal, the texts of the Vatican media are all highly technical and adhere to the 16-page sentence. No comments. No moral lessons or moralizing. No doctrinal conclusions. No editorials. From the beginning of the case, the Vatican media have been characterized by justifying and defending what seemed clearly illegal and offensive to the rights of the defense. From the beginning, the Vatican media condemned Cardinal Becciu not because he was as he was, but because Pope Francis had decided everything on his own, identifying the law with his impulses and personal designs. Now the legal analysts of Pope Francis remain silent «.
The Sardinian cardinal, former substitute of the Secretariat of State (2011-2018) and former prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints (2018-2020, the date of his «defenestration» by Pope Francis, who accused him of embezzlement, emphasizing: «You have lost my trust», was sentenced in the first instance to five years and six months for fraud and embezzlement in the context of the sale, with funds from the Secretariat of State, of the luxurious property located in London, at number 60 Sloane Avenue.
Are priestesses indispensable?
Bonny wants married men ordained now, Hollerich is going for priestesses. There are those who want to stir things up, they will die with their boots on, their few and outdated ideas are all they have. Hollerich, who is a cardinal and archbishop of Luxembourg, believes that in the West, a large majority of women support this initiative. «I cannot imagine, in the long term, how the Church could survive if half of God’s people suffered from not having access to the ordained ministry». «As a bishop, I have also learned that this is not just a demand from a few left-wing women’s associations». These are statements at a symposium held in Bonn on March 19 titled «Synodality and Praedicate Evangelium : two fundamental elements of Pope Francis’s ecclesiastical reform». «When I talk to women in the parishes, 90% share this opinion». This is something that bishops should take into account. He asks for patience and acknowledges that this is a concern within the Western Church. For women from other cultures, priestly ordination is an «artificial problem… It is also a reality that we must accept». It will take time before this issue is addressed in the same way in all cultures.
The Patriarch of Georgia.
The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia passed away at the age of ninety-three. His death brings to an end one of the longest and most significant periods in the history of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Ilia II was elected Patriarch in 1977 and led the Church for more than forty-eight years, accompanying the country through political transformations, crises, and transcendental transitions. His name remains particularly linked to the recognition of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church, definitively sanctioned in 1990 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Throughout his extensive ministry, Ilia II represented for many Georgians a spiritual figure and one of identity building; his pastoral work spanned the end of the Soviet era, Georgia’s independence, and the subsequent phases of instability, maintaining a fundamental role in the country’s social fabric. Pope Leo XIV sent a message of condolence, expressed his deep sadness, and assured his fraternal solidarity to the Holy Synod and the entire Georgian Orthodox Church. The Pope remembers Ilia II as a «devoted witness to the faith in the Risen Christ» and underscores how his ministry accompanied the Georgian people «through difficult times and profound epochal changes», preserving tradition and nurturing hope.