Empezamos el día, es viernes, la semana va concluyendo y la intensidad informativa se mantiene. Empezamos agradeciendo a todos los que han citado a esta Specola por la primicia ofrecida ayer sobre el comisario de los Heraldos del Evangelio. Lo que está pasando con los Heraldos , y con decenas de órdenes y congregaciones comisariadas, es de vergüenza y clama al cielo. Un Vaticano, una Santa Sede, un gobierno que actúa así demuestra un sectarismo insuperable que merece un comisariamiento general para depurar responsabilidades y asumir los enormes daños que se están causando a instituciones y personas. El tiempo en un gentil caballero, y está poniendo las cosas en su sitio, el valiente informe publicado por los Heraldos podría ser firmado por decenas de instituciones que están sufriendo lo mismo. Que personajes impresentables , como el Tucho y la Branbilla, se permitan con incompresible respaldo pontificio semejantes injusticias no tiene nombre, vamos, tener lo tiene, pero por respeto a nuestros lectores, lo dejamos ‘in pectore’. Infovaticana ha facilitado toda la información sobre el caso, Cardinal Damasceno resigns as Pontifical Commissioner of the Heralds of the Gospel, Cardinal Damasceno: Pressures, silences and maneuvers in the case of the Heralds of the Gospel. We thank our many Brazilian readers for their messages of support. We regret not being able to offer our Specola in your beautiful language. We are certain that something much more important than a language unites us. Thank you for following us and for your contributions.
Pope Leo XIV traveled yesterday to Assisi to meet with Italian bishops and visit the relics of St. Francis, accompanied by rain and cold. It was St. John Paul II who named St. Francis of Assisi as patron of ecology in 1979. His first stop was the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi: «It is a blessing to be in this sacred place today. We are approaching the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis; this occasion allows us to prepare to celebrate this great saint, humble and poor, while the world seeks signs of hope». “His testimony continues to speak to us today, inviting us to keep hope alive and to look to the future with confidence”. Pope Leo XIV went to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) where he met with the bishops of the CEI, who are celebrating their 81st general assembly. At the end of the meeting with the CEI bishops, Pope Leo XIV traveled to the city of Montefalco, where he celebrated Mass in the monastery of the Augustinian nuns, devoted to the figure of St. Clare of Montefalco (1268-1308), also known as St. Clare of the Cross; he lunched with the nuns.
What will the Church in Italy be like in the Prebost era? We are experiencing the loss of authority of the Italian episcopate, as well as the backlash from Pope Francis’s animosity toward Italy. The Pope closed the 81st general assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference where almost two hundred bishops gathered. Leo XIV stated that «it is positive to respect the norm of 75 years for the completion of bishops’ service in dioceses, and only in the case of cardinals can the continuation of their ministry be considered, possibly for another two years». He does not like exceptions based on personal preferences, as has occurred during the last twelve years. A non-minor issue in Italy affects diocesan mergers . Reducing the number of Italian dioceses was an old obsession of Pope Francis. The process was launched in 2019 and has encountered the inevitable problems in a country so attached to territorial identities. «The challenges of evangelization and the changes of the last decades, which affect demographic, cultural and ecclesial spheres», he said, «require us not to go back on the issue of diocesan mergers». It seems that this plan, which his predecessor predicted would take fifteen years, will therefore continue under the new pontificate.
Pope Leo XIV met on Wednesday in the Vatican with the governor of his home state, Illinois, J.B. Pritzker known as «The Land of Lincoln». “It was an honor to meet with Pope Leo XIV —son of Illinois— to express the pride and reverence of the people of this great state”. “As the first American pope, from Illinois and defender of the poor and disadvantaged, Pope Leo XIV is a true inspiration for people of all religions. His message of hope, unity, compassion and peace resonates in his home state of Illinois and around the world”. Among other gifts, the American mild beers “ Da Pope ” from Burning Bush Breweries. The Democratic governor now faces the decision to promulgate or veto the assisted suicide law , recently passed in Illinois. The bishops of Illinois in a statement from October 31, ask that “instead of signing this bill, we ask the governor to expand and improve palliative care programs” that “represent a compassionate and morally acceptable alternative to assisted suicide”.
Loredana Cannata has been detained in the Vatican . The actress and contestant in the latest edition of «the island of the famous» jumped the barrier that separates the faithful from the pontiff during the general audience of Pope Leo XIV held on Wednesday. She knelt with a sign in her hand: «Pope Leo, help us abolish bullfighting». She was detained by the gendarmerie and the Swiss: «It’s true, I jumped the fence, which is prohibited, but sometimes it is necessary to cross the line to generate a debate and try to bring the limits of the legal closer to those of the permissible». The actress acknowledges her mistake for which she was « banned for life from the Vatican ». «I would like to tell him that the Church should prohibit bullfighting, because, unfortunately, it is still too linked to this violent practice in which tens of thousands of innocent bulls are tortured and killed». «Many priests, bishops and even cardinals support and bless bullfighting, which is often celebrated during Catholic saints’ festivals».
This morning we have an audience with a Ukrainian delegation: «These are women who have endured tortures and sufferings». «They have shown extraordinary strength and determination, managing to overcome terrible experiences and save themselves and their loved ones». «Each one of them brings a unique story of suffering and struggle for freedom and dignity; each one can tell the story of her return to her homeland». The ambassador states that «These testimonies will be presented to the Pope this morning and will form part of the evidentiary material for the international tribunal that will judge murderers and war criminals, as happened in Nuremberg».
In the Sacred Palaces, the announcement of an award for Riccardo Muti is considered imminent. It is expected that Leo XIV himself will present the award to the former musical director of La Scala. This comes after his open criticisms of the decline of sacred music and the disinterest of Pope Francis’s pontificate in the subject. Has the music in the Vatican changed? Muti had recently made some frank comments about the previous pontificate. «With him, I believe little music is done in the Vatican, not like in the times of John Paul II and Benedict XVI», in an interview with Aldo Cazzullo about a year ago . «I told him: «Your Holiness, do not forget how much the Church has done for music over the centuries». I got no response». In that interview, Muti also confessed his admiration for Benedict XVI, whom he considered one of the most intelligent people he had ever known. After the election of Pope Leo, Muti reiterated his opinion: «Nothing has been done to recover the great sacred music of the Renaissance and Gregorian chant in churches, where strumming and shameful texts still reign», he commented again to Cazzullo , but he also expressed his confidence in the new Pontiff: «It gives me hope for the return of sacred music to the church». In 2012, he received the Ratzinger Prize, awarded by the homonymous Foundation, granted for «his commitment to the rich repertoire that expresses the faith of the Church in music». The esteem that the maestro felt for Ratzinger was such that, after his death at the end of 2023, he shared one of his most endearing memories, saying that for him «music was the voice of God».
In the most recent of his improvised press conferences upon leaving Castelgandolfo he was asked about the statement by the U.S. bishops last week condemning the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people”. Leo’s response was unconditional support for the U.S. bishops, calling it “a very important statement” that he “appreciates very much”. “We must seek ways to treat people with humanity, with the dignity they deserve». “I think the bishops have been very clear in what they said, and I invite all Americans to listen”. To date, the White House has not commented directly on the bishops’ remarks or the Pope’s on the issue, nor has the administration commented directly on the Pope’s previous statements on the same.
Marco Tosatti returns to activity on his blog Stilum Curiae after a few days off due to hospital intervention. He offers us one of the interesting articles by Joachim Heimerl: Let us fight for the traditional Mass and for the traditional faith! «There are few things worth fighting for. It is debatable whether certain state systems or modern ideologies belong to these categories, even if most bishops and the Pope support them». «No one can be Catholic if they disagree with the traditional faith and the traditional Mass, if they reject them or, like Pope Francis, if they even oppose them, and it is this contradiction in itself that is slowly destroying the “new Church”. Who would have imagined that in the Catholic Church “eternal” did not mean “forever”? Can the most sacred really reside in the discretion of a person and their high office? What value would the sacred have then?
«My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves».
Good reading.