Communication should be disarmed and disarming, avoiding violent and hurtful words and promoting peace. On World Communications Day, we recall the call to use the media for good, following the example of Jesus and the Pope.
June 1, 2025-Reading time: 3minutes
For the European mentality it is very difficult to understand that there are countries where carrying weapons is legal. Here we don't shoot bullets, but we do believe we have the right to shoot words. They will say that there is a great distance between one thing and the other, but I don't see them as far apart.
We all have experience that there are words that kill, there are publications in social networks that destroy people; there are journalistic articles that seek to humiliate, trample, ridicule or discredit; there are radio and television interviews that only seek to make a show, to corner and make someone sound a big "zasca". And I am not referring, obviously, to the necessary social function of the press to be a watchdog of the powers that be, denouncing injustices and the unjust, but to those who make a show out of lynching in order to gain money, influence, followers or, what is worse, for pure pleasure.
Those who act in this way take refuge in the right to freedom of expression, but, in my opinion, their reasons are as perverted as those of the rifle association when it claims the right to legitimate self-defense to promote the use of firearms from childhood. Every arms race is justified by the need to defend oneself, to arm oneself more than the enemy and, thus, we call "deterrent" the available nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the planet and devastating humanity without the need for a meteorite to fall like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.
That verbal violence can end up in physical violence in certain circumstances is known to anyone who has a little bit of street smarts. That is why it worries me that there are those who use the media, especially if they define themselves as Catholics, to insult, defame and sow discord. Do they not understand the scope of their actions, the chain reaction they provoke and the scandal they produce?
Jesus could not have been clearer when he seriously condemned this attitude, saying: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not kill,' and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you, everyone who is carried away by anger against his brother will be prosecuted. And if one calls his brother a 'fool,' he will have to stand before the Sanhedrin, and if he calls him a 'fool,' he deserves the condemnation of the gehenna of fire."
Does one really deserve hell just for calling someone an imbecile? What an exaggeration! Some of what was explained above Jesus would see when he said it, because what is in the heart is what then guides our actions.
On June 1, we celebrated the World Communications DayThe media have precisely this power to bring the Good News to the whole world, and we should use them for good, both as professionals who have a responsibility, since we have been given the trigger in the form of a keyboard, microphone or camera, and as users who have a keyboard, microphone or camera on their controllers or on their dialer bar. Let us use them for good, both as professionals who have a responsibility, since we have been given the trigger in the form of a keyboard, microphone or camera; and as users who have in their remotes or in their bookmarks bar the key to give or take away the authority of those who misuse that nuclear button.
One of the pope's first messages Leo XIVwas precisely along these lines. In his meeting with journalists who had covered the conclave, he told them: "Let us disarm communication of any prejudice, rancor, fanaticism and hatred; let us purify it of aggressiveness. No strident, forceful communication is useful, but rather a communication capable of listening, of picking up the voice of the weak who have no voice. Let us disarm words and we will contribute to disarm the earth. A disarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a way that is consistent with our human dignity.
Therefore, the Pope does not call us only to disarm our words in the sense of taking care that they do not hurt anyone, but, what is much more difficult, to make them disarming. And how is this done? Well, by not returning evil for evil, by responding with peace to those who try to start a verbal battle, by valuing the good in those who we may not like at all or who may be in our ideological antipodes... "Peace be with you all". This was the first greeting of the newly elected Pope from St. Peter's balcony. May we be able to transmit it, always, "to the ends of the earth".
Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.
Pope Leo XIV has shown his desire to lead the world and the Church towards the peace of Christ. Precisely for this reason, there have been several occasions on which he has praised the efforts made in this regard by his predecessor Francis.
In a few weeks we have already received many teachings from the new Pope, Leo XIV. In the first days, his words were carefully examined by all, to discern the keys and orientations of his pontificate.
Where will the Church be guided by the new pontiff? we wanted to know. Well, Leo XIV himself has been sufficiently explicit in this regard. His first words, from the central lodge of the Vatican on the day of his election, were followed by clarifying interventions.
We present here those first words, the homily at the Mass with the cardinals and the speech at the subsequent meeting with them and, finally, the homily at the beginning of the Petrine ministry.
The risen Christ brings peace and unity
Like an echo of those of Christ on the day of his Resurrection, the words of the new Pope released everyone's baited breath in the Vatican square (May 8, 2022): "Peace be with you all! Dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God. I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, all people, wherever you are, all peoples, all the earth.Peace be with you!"
It is not just any peace, but the peace of the Risen Christ: "....a disarmed and disarming, humble and persevering peaceThe "love of God," which comes from God, who loves us all unconditionally.
Like Francis, whom the new Pope evoked in his first blessing to Rome and the whole world, Leo XIV also wishes to bless and assure the world of God's blessing and God's love, and its need to follow Christ:
"The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as a bridge to be reached by God and by his love. Help us too, and help each other to build bridges, with dialogue, with encounter, uniting us all to be one people always in peace. Thanks to Pope Francis!".
He thanked the cardinals for electing him and proposed to "to walk (...) as a united Church, always seeking peace and justice, always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.".
He declared as a son of St. Augustine: "With you I am a Christian and for you a bishop". He added: "In this sense, we can all walk together towards the homeland that God has prepared for us.". And he especially greeted the Church in Rome, which must be missionary, a bridge-builder, with its arms open to all, like St. Peter's Square.
He has come to Rome from Chiclayo (Peru) where he spent eight years as bishop and he remembers him - and is remembered there - with affection: "where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith and given so much, so much in order to remain a faithful Church of Jesus Christ.".
He expressed his desire to walk together, both in Chiclayo and in Rome. With this he linked: "We want to be a synodal Church, a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close, especially to those who suffer.".
He ended by invoking the Virgin of Pompeii, whose invocation was celebrated on that day.
The Church, "lighthouse in the nights of the world".
The day after his election (9-V-2025), the Pope celebrated Mass Pro Ecclesia with the cardinals.
In Christ," he emphasized in his homily, "by his incarnation, the project of a mature and glorious humanity is united. "He has thus shown us a model of holy humanity that we can all imitate."and at the same time "the promise of an eternal destiny"which in itself "exceeds all our limits and capabilities".
Thus, on the one hand, the Christian project is a gift from God and, on the other hand, it is a path that corresponds to man to allow himself to be transformed. These two dimensions come together in Peter's response: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Mt 16:16); and also in that of his successors at the head of the Church, "..." (Mt 16:16); and also in that of his successors at the head of the Church, "...".beacon that illuminates the nights of the world"and this, added Leo XIV, "not so much because of the magnificence of its structures and the grandeur of its constructions - such as the monuments in which we find ourselves - but because of the sanctity of its members.".
Attitudes toward Christ
Faced with the question of Jesus-what do people say about the Son of Man (Mt 16:13)-Pope Prevost pointed out several possible answers (Jesus as a curious character to be watched, Jesus as a prophet...), then and also today, with other languages.
Christians, Leo XIV proposed, are called to bear witness to the faith like Peter, both on a personal level (through our daily conversion) and on the level of the Church, living that faith together and bringing it as Good News (cf. Lumen gentium, 1).
At this point in his homily, the Pope evoked the example of St. Ignatius of Antioch when he was on his way to Rome to be devoured by the wild beasts of the circus. He was writing to the Roman Christians, speaking of his death: "At that moment I will truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world will no longer see my body." (Letter to the Romans, IV, 1).
This, Pope Leo XIV pointed out, represents the unrenounceable commitment of those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority: "To disappear so that Christ may remain, to become small so that He may be known and glorified. (cf. Jn 3:30), spending to the end so that no one lacks the opportunity to know and love him.".
And, applying it to himself in the form of a prayer, the Pope concluded:"May God grant me this grace, today and always, with the help of the tender intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.".
In the footsteps of Vatican II and Francis
On Saturday, May 10, Leo XIV held a meeting with the College of Cardinals. In his brief address, he showed what he understood to be the essence of his ministry: "The Pope, from St. Peter to me, his unworthy successor, is a humble servant of God and of the brethren, and nothing more than this.". Because "isthe Risen One, present in our midst, who protects and guides the Church"to the "holy People of God" who have been entrusted to us together with the mission of universal horizon.
In this regard, he proposed to renew together today "our full adherence to this path, to the path that the universal Church has been following for decades in the footsteps of Vatican Council II.".
He pointed out how Pope Francis has recalled and updated the content of the Council in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium (2013). Leo XIV emphasized six fundamental notes in it: "(1) the return to the primacy of Christ in the announcement (cf. n. 11); (2) the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. n. 9); (3) growth in collegiality and in synodality (cf. n. 33); (4) attention to the 'sensus fidei'. (cf. nn. 119-120), especially in its most characteristic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cfr. 123); (5) loving care for the weak and discarded (cf. n. 53); (6) courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its different components and realities (cf. n. 84, and pastoral const. Gaudium et spes, 1-2)".
Finally, he responded to the reason for the name he has taken: Leo XIV: "There are several reasons, but the main one is because Pope Leo XIII, with the historic Encyclical Rerum novarum faced the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution and today the Church offers to all its patrimony of social doctrine to respond to another industrial revolution and to the developments of artificial intelligence, which bring new challenges in the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.".
He concluded by recalling some words of St. Paul VI at the beginning of his Petrine ministry. He wished that over the world would pass "a great flame of faith and love that enlightens all men of good will, paving the ways of reciprocal collaboration and that attracts upon humanity, the abundance of divine benevolence, the very strength of God, without whose help nothing is worth anything and nothing is holy." (First message to the whole world Qui fausto die22 June 1963).
Love and unity, leaven of reconciliation
Finally, the homily at the beginning of the Petrine ministry (May 18, 2005) was based on the famous phrase of St. Augustine: "You have made us for yourself, [Lord,] and our heart is restless until it rests in you." (Confessions, 1, 1.1). The successor of Peter confirmed that "the Lord never abandons his people, he gathers them together when they are scattered and cares for them 'like a shepherd for his flock'. (Jer 31:10)."
The desire of the cardinals gathered in conclave was to elect a pastor capable of "to safeguard the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, to look beyond it in order to face today's questions, concerns and challenges.".
And here is the result: "I was elected without any merit and, with fear and trepidation, I come to you as a brother who wants to become a servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God's love, who wants us all united in a single family.".
Leo XIV stresses:"Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission that Jesus entrusted to Peter"..
However, the question is: "How can Peter accomplish this task?" And it is answered: "The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because he has experienced in its God's infinite and unconditional love, even in the hour of failure and denial.".
In fact, the fundamental mission of strengthening unity in faith and communion, proper to the successor of Peter, is based on the love that Jesus has offered him and the "plus" of love that he asks of him in return.
In his words: "Peter is entrusted with the task of 'loving even more' and laying down his life for the flock". His ministry of Peter," he explained, "should be characterized by this oblative love, which is the reason why the Church of Rome presides in charity, for from there comes her authority. "It is never about trapping others with submission, with religious propaganda or with the means of power, but it is always and only about loving as Jesus did.".
St. Peter - continued Leo XIV - affirms that Christ is the cornerstone (Acts 4:11) and that all Christians have been constituted "living stones" to build the edifice of the Church in fraternal communion, which the Holy Spirit builds as unity in the coexistence of differences. Again a reference to St. Augustine: "All those who live in concord with the brethren and love their neighbors are those who make up the Church." (Sermon 359, 9).
And in a direct way the Pope expresses what he calls his "first great desire": a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world".. Thus it is represented in the motto of its coat of arms, which it quotes at this time: "In the one Christ we are one." (Christians are one with Christ). A unity that wishes to extend to other religious paths and to all people of good will.
"This is the missionary spirit that should animate us, without closing ourselves in our small group or feeling superior to the world; we are called to offer the love of God to all, so that this unity that does not cancel out differences, but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of each people, may be realized.".
"This is the hour of love!"exclaimed the Pope. And he summed up his message, concluding: "I am very grateful to the Pope.With the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on the love of God and a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, that proclaims the Word, that allows itself to be challenged by history, and that becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.".
Catholic Men and Women Want Marriage—So Why Aren’t They Finding Each Other?
If both Catholic men and women truly desire the same end, a faithful, value-based relationship, each party must act decisively to realize that vision and replace complaint with a renewed sense of purpose.
Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves-June 1, 2025-Reading time: 7minutes
I’ve noticed that across Catholic communities worldwide, a peculiar irony persists. Single men lament, “If only there were good, devout Catholic women I could marry” while single women sigh, “If only I could find a faithful Catholic man”. Both claim to seek intelligence, kindness, and unwavering faith. Both desire maturity, commitment, and a relationship centred on God. And yet, despite their shared goals, each insists that the other is nowhere to be found.
This paradox raises an uncomfortable question: If Catholic men are searching for Catholic wives, and Catholic women are seeking Catholic husbands, why do so many struggle to connect?
Is it a matter of men failing to take initiative, hesitating to step into leadership when it comes to pursuing marriage? Or do women hold back, waiting for an ideal that never materializes? Perhaps it’s something deeper, a reflection of broader cultural shifts, fear of commitment, or an unrealistic standard shaped by modern dating expectations.
As traditional courtship models fade and secular dating norms influence even the most devout, are Catholic singles simply struggling to bridge the gap between what they desire and how they pursue it?
The Fear of Imperfection and the Modern Catholic Dating Dilemma
A common claim I’ve heard is that Catholics take so long to commit because the Church does not allow divorce, therefore, they must find the “perfect” spouse. But this misunderstands the purpose of marriage. If one seeks to date and marry someone flawless, what then is the role of marriage itself? Marriage is not a trophy for perfect people. It is a sacrament of sanctification, a vocation where husband and wife refine and strengthen each other in holiness.
Consider the words of Blessed Karl of Austria, who turned to his wife, Empress Zita, on their wedding day and said: "Now that we are married, let us help each other get to heaven." Waiting indefinitely for someone “perfect” to appear is not discernment—it is delay and in doing so, we will wait forever.
The Paradox of High Standards and Trivial Preferences
It is right to have strong standards and values in marriage, but often, the standards people cling to are not the ones that truly matter. I recall a friend of mine from Valencia who prayed a lot for a Catholic husband, one with the right virtues, but also amusingly, with genes that would ensure their children had blue eyes. In a twist of irony, she found a man who met both requirements. Yet, the relationship didn’t work out. When she prayed and discerned further, she realized her rigid, idealized vision of “perfection” failed to account for true compatibility based on proper values.
Too often, both men and women focus on superficial preferences, aesthetic traits, social status, or fleeting personal criteria, without considering the deeper essence of a person. The result? They either reject a genuinely good match for minor, irrelevant reasons, or they settle for someone who temporarily validates them while failing to align with their true values.
Passivity: The Real Obstacle to Catholic Relationships
Many Catholics declare an ideal, a devout, thoughtful, committed partner, but then rely on arbitrary physical values, social cues, peer approval, or passive expectations instead of taking direct responsibility to realise that ideal.
It is somewhat ironic that many people dream of meeting the “ideal” partner yet do relatively little to seek that individual or to become that sort of person themselves. Instead, they rely on social media, stick to familiar circles, or hope divine intervention will somehow deliver someone meeting every criterion. Complicating matters, they often let friends’ opinions, peer-pressured timelines (“I should be engaged by 30”), or cultural expectations dictate their decisions.
In the end, personal standards get tangled in a desire to please everyone else, resulting in inaction cloaked in high-minded rhetoric.
By contrast, biblical scholar Kimberly Hahn offers a glimpse of proactive courage in her book Rome Sweet Home, where she describes meeting her future husband, Scott Hahnwhile both were volunteering at a freshman dance. “I was involved in the Orientation Board, and Scott was a Resident Assistant”, she writes, “For these reasons we were both involved in the freshman dance. I noticed him at the dance, and I thought, ‘He’s too handsome to go over and talk to.’ Then I thought, ‘No, he isn’t. I can go and talk to him.’ So I went over and started talking to him”. Confronting that momentary apprehension led to a conversation that ultimately paved the way for their marriage.
Yet many people remain hesitant to step out of their comfort zones, waiting for explicit social cues, flirting, validation from friends, or unmistakable signals of interest before making a move. Without that encouragement, they linger in indecision, unsure whether to reveal genuine attraction. Heightened by self-consciousness and fear of rejection, this doubt often translates into half-hearted attempts or complete inaction. Ironically, while lamenting the apparent shortage of good Catholic men or women, they overlook how their own passivity perpetuates that scarcity.
Even when they do encounter someone who aligns with most of their values, they often fixate on minor imperfections which are trivial deal-breakers that overshadow meaningful compatibility. Some become so preoccupied with surface-level concerns that they neglect deeper discernment. Others, in contrast, settle for partners who momentarily validate their insecurities rather than those who genuinely share their convictions.
Ultimately, the challenge is not a lack of faithful, marriage-minded Catholics, it is a reluctance to take the risks necessary to build real relationships.
The Biblical Model: Actively Seeking a Spouse
Contrary to the passive approach many take today, Scripture presents marriage-seekers who were proactive, intentional, and bold while at the same time, having faith and trusting in God. Abraham’s servant is ordered to actively seek a wife for Isaac. He prays, discerns, and approaches Rebecca and she accepts the proposal without even meeting or seeing Isaac, fully trusting on the servant’s word and God’s plan (Genesis 24).
Jacob fell in love with Rachel at first sight and immediately took action, rolling away a stone from a well to impress her and then he worked for 14 years just to marry her (Genesis 29:9-30).
Ruth boldly followed the advice of Naomi and approached Boaz at the threshing floor, signaling her availability for marriage. She respectfully asked him to be her kinsman-redeemer, taking a courageous step in pursuit of marriage (Ruth 3:1-11). This shows that women, too, can take initiative in finding a pious spouse while respecting cultural and moral boundaries.
Additionally, Abigail boldly speaks to David displaying her confidence, wisdom and intelligence and thus impresses him in the process, later becoming his wife (1 Samuel 25). Tobias does not let fear stop him from marrying Sarah, despite her tragic past, he prays, trusts, and acts (Tobit 6-8).
Marriage Is a Moral and Social Reflection of Our Convictions
Make no mistakes, values matter. I would argue that our choice in who we date and marry is in a sense, the sum of our individual convictions and values. A person will always be attracted to someone who reflects the deepest vision of themselves, a disposition who matches their own, a vibe that resonates with theirs. The surrender of which, permits them to experience a sense of self-esteem. No one wants to be attached to someone who they consider inferior to themselves, in whatever arbitrary standards or objective values they hold dear. A person who is proudly certain of his own value, will want the highest type of spouse they can find, the person who is worth admiring, the strongest, the “hardest to conquer” so to speak, because it is only the company of such an individual, will one find a sense of achievement.
Attaching oneself to an individual one does not find worthy of themselves, only leads to a sense of long-term resentment. Hence why there is a need for both individuals in a relationship to respect each other on a fundamental level, to look at the essence of the person they are with and accept that essence.
I will make a bold statement; show me the person you romantically prefer, and I will show you your character. If we say that people are the measure of those, they surround themselves with, are they not also the measure of the people they date and marry? The things we love disclose who and what we are.
Additionally, while it is important to find people with the right values and beliefs as yours, it is equally important that you value yourself appropriately. An individual who doesn’t value themselves cannot truly value someone else in a romantic sense. For instance, if they lack humility, they won’t fully recognize that virtue in others and might even dismiss it as cowardice or weakness. If pride inflates their ego, then anything that redirects attention away from them feels like a personal slight.
Put simply, the way we view others reflects our own virtues. A person with healthy self-esteem can offer genuine love precisely because they stand firm in consistent, uncompromising values. Conversely, someone whose self-esteem shifts with every breeze cannot be expected to stay true to another when they’re not even true to themselves. To truly grant love to those we cherish, we must stay in tune with our own character and principles.
No More Excuses—Replace Passivity with Conviction
Too many Catholics treat finding a spouse differently from other goals. If we want to become humble, we practice humility. If we want to grow in charity, we serve others. But if we want to find a spouse… we sit back and wait?
Catholic men and women who truly prize devotion, intelligence, kindness, and commitment must be prepared to seek those qualities with intention. That may mean venturing beyond familiar circles, joining communities that foster these virtues, or simply starting conversations with people who share the same ideals.
After all, love reflects our deepest convictions and moral values. If two people claim to embrace Catholic devotion and virtue, yet do nothing to find or nurture it, they risk undermining the very principles they profess.
For those who claim they “can’t find anyone devout, caring, or serious”, a closer look at their own efforts is warranted. Have they genuinely acted in a way that aligns with the high standards they set? Are they emotionally ready to recognize and prioritize these values in others? Have they participated in events or discussions that cultivate these traits, or are they simply waiting for someone else to take the first step?
The familiar “if only” refrain can sometimes mask a deeper fear—of rejection, judgment, or vulnerability. Yet facing those fears head-on is a necessary part of wholehearted commitment; without that courage, the ideals of devotion and virtue can never truly come to life.
Faith in its fullest sense demands living out conviction, repairing emotional wounds, and staying open to the unexpected people who might be exactly who you’ve prayed for all along. This is not a responsibility you can pin on someone else.
The second we stop waiting for others to break the cycle and take ownership of our own words and deeds, we align principle with practice, preserving moral fiber and rejecting hypocrisy. If both Catholic men and women truly desire the same end, a faithful, value-driven relationship, each side must act decisively to make that vision real. Replace complaint with a renewed sense of purpose. In doing so, we cultivate the very integrity we claim to hold dear.
Dr. Mariolina Ceriotti Migliarese explains that women have two essential and complementary dimensions: the erotic dimension, which strengthens the feminine identity and the couple's relationship, and the maternal dimension, which is fully realized in the dedication to the children.
Italian doctor Mariolina Ceriotti Migliares speaks in his book "Erotic and maternal"The two dimensions of the woman. Both are interpenetrating and have their purpose. The erotic one is fundamental for a balanced self-esteem and in the couple relationship for a complementary relationship between man and woman. The psychiatrist explains that these dimensions are born from the proper gaze of the male, starting with his father and brothers, and are developed in dealing with other men.
Esperanza Ruiz, in the April issue of La Antorcha, develops this idea: "Women are built on the reference to a father. The eclipse of the father figure weakens us profoundly. A father is the first man who pronounces our name and the pull we take to orient the heart. The child who feels loved and important to the father becomes aware of her value and chases away fears.
There is no deeper femininity than that which has been cared for as a treasure, which has received confidence and which has been accompanied in the falls". Thus when it comes to a dating relationship the attraction is mutual between the man and the woman, because there is a defined femininity and masculinity that leads to a union not only corporal but also spiritual.
At the same time, the woman in her relationship with her children exercises her maternity, which is a sign of tenderness and unlimited dedication for someone born from her womb. Curiously, it develops thanks to the other dimension, that is to say, it is the result of the attraction between man and woman. This leads the woman to show a special beauty and freshness during pregnancy.
Jaume Vives says about this moment in the same April issue of La Antorcha: "Pregnancy which, in a very beautiful way, Teresa Pueyo compares to the Eucharist -saving all distances-, becomes today not a miracle that gives life and shows us the footprint of the Creator but an obstacle that must be circumvented or neutralized so that it does not affect us".
Ana Iris Simón, the famous and suggestive writer and journalist -mother of two children- indicated in an accurate column entitled "Real motherhood" in ELLE, one of the keys to understand it: "Although even turning parenting into a mourners' competition has its merits: as the message you receive from the networks is that it is a valley of tears, when you experience it, you realize that it is not so bad. And that real motherhood is wearing a nursing bra with traces of vomit, dark circles under your eyes up to your feet and a bag full of paints, Lego pieces and half-eaten sandwiches. But it is also - and above all - the joy and fulfillment of living so that others may live".
Before and after giving birth, she develops this facet that cannot be supplanted by anyone -not even by Artificial Intelligence-, since it is necessary for the offspring to develop as a person. Many times this maternal dimension is conceived as a limitation of freedom by misunderstood feminism, although it is not, because it is an act of free and generous surrender, which we all appreciate, since a good mother is devoted to her children.
Therefore both dimensions, erotic and maternal, are ways of giving oneself to the other, the problem comes when the roles are confused. Dr. Ceriotti explains that these dimensions are complementary and warns us of the danger of pouring one of the two dimensions into the wrong person.
In other words, it tells us about two increasingly common psychopathologies: mothers who treat their husbands as sons or mothers who treat their sons as husbands.
If in a marriage the relationship is maternalistic and not one of attraction, there will be no fullness or complementarity between man and woman and this will cause dysfunctionalities that will have repercussions in the family. And vice versa, eroticizing the relationship with your child, looking for affection for your husband in your child, leads to tyrannical children who "dethrone" the father.
Both realities are increasingly frequent and often undetected. So it is important that we consider what are the relationships with those in my family, so that we strengthen healthy ties and heal those that are not.
With the public manifestation of the first Christian community and its rapid growth, Roman persecutions against outward manifestations of faith arose. Reports speak of thousands executed or condemned.
Jerónimo Leal-May 31, 2025-Reading time: 5minutes
Each of the Roman persecutions against Christians was different from others. Long before the advent of Christianity, the Roman state authorities realized the danger of the invasion of exotic divinities. The remedy was to prohibit the introduction of new cults, including private ones.
Thousands were accused, executed or sentenced to life imprisonment. As for the number, some speak of ten persecutions. But this is a symbolic number related to the Apocalypse. Moreover, they were mixed with times of peace.
Measures against the new cults were various, but the best known is the Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus (186 BC). Reports of ritual murders, poisonings and inheritances by a secret society involved more than seven thousand accused, executed or sentenced to life imprisonment. The cause was always to prevent the corruption of good customs and the disturbance of public order.
The imperial cult, closely linked to persecution
The imperial cult will be closely linked to the persecution. Augustus, who had given this cult its official form, allowed the veneration of his genius (a kind of divine double) as a sign of loyalty. During the first century the line of Augustus was maintained, except for tyrannical excesses, such as Domitian who claimed the title of Dominus.
The deceased princes suffer apotheosis, through a decree of the Senate, which excludes the tyrants condemning their memory, as in the case of Nero. In the second century, the apotheosis in the life of the emperors and the family becomes automatic, for example with Antoninus Pius and Faustina.
During the third century the worship of the emperor is added and with Aurelian (270-275). He identifies himself (Dominus et Deus) with the Sun god and is represented with the radiata diadem and the mantle of golden buckles. Diocletian, at the gates of the fourth century, is considered the adopted son of Jupiter and his colleague Maximian of Hercules, beginning a double line of Jovian and Herculian emperors.
Background
For the nascent Church, the antecedents of the persecution are the revolt against the Christians of Jerusalem in the years 32-34, who had to flee to Antioch and other places. And during the empire of Claudius, around the year 49, the expulsion of the Jews from Rome, and along with them also the Christians. None of these moments is still organized persecution, because they are sporadic events. It is necessary to wait until the year 64 in which Nero, after the fire of Rome, makes persecute the Christians with the accusation of having been the cause.
The accusation of causing the fire in Rome
According to some historians, this accusation came from the Roman people. But we have a text by Tacitus († 120 A.D.) in which it is affirmed that Nero, in order to put an end to the rumors, presented as guilty those whom the vulgar called Christians. He began by arresting those who openly confessed their faith, and then, by denunciations, a huge crowd. And they were convicted on the charge of hatred of mankind.
Nero had offered his gardens for a spectacle in which Christians, covered with the skins of wild beasts, were torn to pieces by dogs. Or nailed to crosses, at nightfall, they were burned so as to serve as illumination during the night.
Torture of Christians at the Vatican
The emperor himself was involved mixed with the plebs, in the garb of a charioteer or riding in a chariot. For this reason, says Tacitus, "even if they were guilty and deserved the maximum punishments, they provoked compassion, at the idea that they perished not for the public good, but to satisfy the cruelty of one alone".
The fire that burned almost all of Rome started in the Circus Maximus, which was completely destroyed. This explains why the torture of Christians was carried out in the Vatican, since at that time there was no other suitable place to carry it out.
High-profile and common characters
Some give the number of ten persecutions, but it is known, this is a symbolic number related to the Apocalypse.
The certain thing is that in the persecutions they are going to die important personages as also common people: under Nero (year 64), Peter and Paul; with Domitian (90), John; under Trajan (98-117), Ignatius of Antioch; with Marcus Aurelius (161-180), Justin; under Commodus (180), the Scillitan martyrs. Under Septimius Severus (193-211), Perpetua and Felicity; under Maximian Thracian (235-238), Pontianus pope; under Decius (249-251) they are very numerous; under Valerian (253-260), Lawrence and Cyprian.
Finally, with Diocletian (248-305), we will have four successive edicts, which will provoke countless victims. Each of the persecutions has its own motivations and characteristics.
Origin and motivations
Tertullian speaks of the origin of the persecutions by Nero. His statement is controversial and divides scholars between those who oppose it and those who defend the existence of a general law of persecution against Christianity. Perhaps, the only way to explain that there have been persecutions with local and occasional character, as happened in Lyon, is the existence of coercitio, or intervention by force. A force decreed by the proconsuls, to try to calm the public opinion that had entered into effervescence.
This view is balanced, as it combines three possible factors. There have been accusations of crimes punishable by common law, interventions by the forces of public order and the survival of ancient decrees of Nero and Domitian. Be that as it may, Tertullian affirms that fame, rumors, ran among the people of the street with alarming news about the private behavior of Christians.
Main accusations: sacrilege and lèse-majesté
The causes and accusations of the people against Christians are sacrilege and lèse majesté. In reality it is all disorder and revolt against authority. Any word against the Felicitas temporum which the imperial inscriptions, medals and coins proclaim, and of which they are proud. Participation in illicit meetings in which the public tranquility is agitated.
But they are more an excuse that does not explain the ferocity of some persecutions, in which Christians were tortured with whips, wild beasts, the iron chair, where the bodies were roasted....
Triple accusation and slander: incest, ritual infanticide and cannibalism
The accusations against the Christians originally came from the vulgar and were articulated in a triple denunciation: incest, ritual infanticide and cannibalism. There is evidence that the three were not united at the beginning of the persecutions, but were born separately and coincided in the same accusation from the polemic work of Fronton against the Christians (162-166).
According to Meliton of Sardis, the accusations had already begun with Claudius and Nero, that is to say, from the earliest times. With total certainty there have been calumnies, in the times of Pliny, with the accusation of cannibalism.
The cause of this type of accusations was the voices heard about the Eucharistic banquet and the communion of the body and blood of Christ. To this was added the reserved character of the cult: the more one tried to conceal it, the more suspicions were generated once the word was spread.
Envy, grudges, imaginations...
The accusation of incest was probably due to the appellative of brothers with which the first Christians were called. As for the authors of these calumnies, it cannot be ruled out that, once the first voice was spread, envy or resentment made the members of some mystical sects participate in the accusations.
In different authors of Christian antiquity we find a description - imagined, of course - of a Christian ceremony: a hungry dog, which is tied to a heavy candelabra, is thrown some leftover food; the dog rushes after them throwing the candelabra to the ground and consequently turning off the light, at which point incest takes place among all those present.
Each pursuit was different
Two facts should be emphasized: one is that each persecution is different from the others and we cannot judge them all in the same way; the other is that there has not been continuous persecution, but mixed with times of peace.
And the news came from pagan and Christian material: Tacitus, Pliny, Trajan, the Apologies, the Acts of the martyrs (which were the object of public and liturgical reading), the writings of some historians. Martyrdom was immediately seen from their perspective of the highest imitation of Jesus Christ.
Violence and religious fact
Author: José Carlos Martín de la Hoz (ed.)
EditorialRialp : Rialp
Year: 2025
Number of pages : 400
Language: English
The authorJerónimo Leal
Pontifical University of Santa Croce, 'The Roman persecutions', in AA.VV, "Violence and religious fact"edited by José Carlos Martín de la Hoz (Rialp, 2025).
The historic Orthodox monastery of Santa Catalinalocated at the foot of Mt. Sinai and founded in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, has officially passed into the hands of the Egyptian state following a controversial ruling handed down on May 28 by the Ismailia court. This decision puts an end to more than 1,500 years of autonomy of what is one of the oldest functioning Christian monasteries in the world.
The judicial resolution orders the confiscation of all the assets of the monastery - including properties, libraries, relics and priceless manuscripts and icons - and establishes that its management will pass entirely to the State. The twenty monks who make up the community are restricted access to some areas, being allowed to stay only for liturgical purposes and under conditions imposed by the civil authorities.
A spiritual and cultural heritage under threat
Santa Catalina, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been a symbol of coexistence and interreligious respect for centuries. Traditionally considered a vakuf -The site, a sacred place respected by Islam, had enjoyed the protection of Bedouin communities and the Egyptian state itself, even in times of political turmoil.
However, for years, the monastery has been the target of legal actions promoted by various instances of the Egyptian state apparatus. Some analysts attribute this offensive to radical sectors of the so-called "deep state", especially since the era of the Muslim Brotherhood, and point to the inability of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to contain these pressures.
Although officials such as archaeologist Abdel Rahim Rihan have defended the ruling as an action aimed at "enhancing the heritage for the benefit of the world and the monks themselves", the religious community denounces a "de facto expulsion" and a direct threat to the survival of the site as a spiritual center.
Reactions and diplomatic impact
The impact of the sentence has already crossed borders. Greece has reacted harshly to what it considers an attack against a symbol of Hellenism and Orthodoxy. The Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens, Ieronymos, expressed his indignation: "I do not want and I cannot believe that today Hellenism and Orthodoxy are experiencing another historical 'conquest'. This spiritual beacon is now facing a question of survival."
Both the Greek Government and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople expressed their profound rejection of the decision, which they describe as unacceptable and worrying for the future of the emblematic religious enclave.
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis immediately communicated with his Egyptian counterpart to express Greece's official position. "There is no room for deviation from the common understanding of both sides, expressed by the leaders of the two countries in the framework of the recent High Cooperation Council held in Athens," the minister stressed, referring to bilateral commitments on respect for cultural and religious heritage.
For his part, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the highest spiritual authority of the Orthodox Church, expressed his dismay at what he considers an attack on the historical regime of protection of the monastery. "The Ecumenical Patriarchate was informed with painful surprise that the competent court of Egypt has called into question the property regime of the historic Holy Monastery of Sinai," he lamented in a statement.
The monastic community has announced the launch of an international awareness and information campaign aimed at Churches, religious communities and international organizations, with the aim of reversing the measure. The geopolitical context adds even more tension: Egypt is currently immersed in the regional crisis arising from the conflict in Palestine and the presence of jihadist groups in the Sinai Peninsula, some of which have directly threatened the monastery in the past.
With this expropriation, not only is a thousand-year-old tradition of monastic autonomy broken, but a far-reaching diplomatic and ecclesial wound is reopened. The future of St. Catherine, the spiritual jewel of Eastern Christianity, is now in question.
Transhumanism seeks to replace humans someday, experts say
It is a very topical term: transhumanism. On line, on television, in the press, it appears repeatedly, intriguingly and vaguely threatening. So what is it, and how does it look through the prism of philosophy, science and theology? Because it seems to pursue a kind of digital immortality through human-machine fusion.
OSV / Omnes-May 30, 2025-Reading time: 4minutes
- Kimberley Heatherington (OSV News)
Transhumanism is an extremely topical term. It appears repeatedly, with intrigue, and also with a certain threat. What exactly is transhumanism? Because it gives the impression that it pursues a sort of digital immortality, with an anti-human ideology.
A May 15 discussion from the Institute for Human Ecology at The Catholic University of America in Washington offered immediate insight with the title "Transhumanism: The Ultimate Heresy?"
The panelists were scholar Jan Bentz, professor and tutor at Blackfriars Studium in Oxford, England. Wael Taji Miller, editor of the Axioma Center, the first faith-based Christian think tank in Hungary. And Legionary of Christ Father Michael Baggot, professor of theology and bioethics currently teaching at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome.
Transhumanism, not just new technology
Each argued, through the expertise of their respective disciplines, in this direction. Transhumanism is not simply a technological project, but rather a modernist heresy that seeks to replace the human person with a machine-enhanced, artificially engineered being.
And if that sounds like the stuff of science fiction - it still is to a large extent - but that doesn't mean it's not an eventual threat to human dignity that Catholics can comfortably ignore.
As a kind of ideological twin to transhumanism, said Jan Bentz, utopianism sees man as self-sufficient and independent of the divine and rejects any permanence of human nature. It confuses progress with redemption, and substitutes metaphysics, questions about reality and existence, for ideology.
"Utopianism," Bentz proposed, "is the obstinate post-Christian denial of man's fallen condition, and the rejection of the historical, social and moral limits that must be recognized in any just political order." Or it is also, he continued, "an obstinate confusion of temporal progress with eschatological redemption (end times)."
A kind of religion without religion
In short, it is a kind of religion without the religion. Indeed, as the panel's own description succinctly noted, "the modern transhumanist movement is presented as the next stage in human evolution. An inevitable leap toward superintelligence, immortality, and transcendence of biological limitations."
"However, beneath the veneer of technological optimism lies an ideology. profoundly anti-humanAn attempt to reject nature, morality and the created order in favor of a utopia of self-deification".
But why is the idea of utopia, which we are perhaps conditioned to think of as a positive good, an equivalent of happiness, a heresy?
"Utopia is a perennial heresy, because ... it attempts to realize the city of God on earth," Bentz simply said. "It attempts to establish paradise on earth. Most utopian rhetoric thrives on this central idea: the utopian and the transhumanist will rarely talk about the negative side effects," he added. "And the collateral damage that comes with their political agenda and even their ideological or philosophical agenda. They will talk about the positives, but not the negatives."
Transhumanism, obsessed with death
Wael Taji Miller, who is also a cognitive neuroscientist, pointed to the transhumanist obsession with death as a kind of defect, a genetic flaw or malfunction mistakenly written into human existence.
"Somehow, in this fear of death that transhumanists seem to embody, consciously and unconsciously, there seems to be this desire to leave the rest of us behind," Miller said. "We will be left behind, and they will achieve transcendence, transcendence of the only kind that really matters to them, which is the escape from death."
And how to do that? "Surely, if the body fails, we can transfer our consciousness to some flesh machine or flesh carrier, repeating this process each time the new body fails. Or maybe even better," Miller said, taking the role of a transhumanist. "We could simply transfer our consciousness to machines of some kind, upload it to the cloud."
It is not a project that Miller endorses.
Not 'no' but 'why'?
"Coming at this from a neuroscience perspective, my answer to this proposition is not 'no,' but 'why?' Neither I nor any credible scientist in the field has succeeded in demonstrating that consciousness itself is transferable," he said. "It is illusory speculation - that is, utopianism - (and) its pursuit, in and of itself, can have very dangerous consequences."
Transhumanism, Miller pointed out, seeks to attain perfection without repentance; to be saved without a doctrine of salvation; and to live forever.
"For me," Miller said, "the way to perfection is through salvation, not through information." The perceived social failure of religion, said Father Michael Baggot, has encouraged some to embrace transhumanism.
For many, religion is "old-fashioned."
"For many, religion is an antiquated set of myths, dreams that have not been fulfilled," he observed. "But, ironically, we find quite often, a kind of quasi-religious tendency or thrust in many secular transhumanists today."
While its ideology seems to share some of the same goals and projects as religion, transhumanism actually claims to progress, rather than offering unfulfilled dreams of a better world.
Transhumanism, Father Baggot said, ultimately hopes to remedy "the perennial difficulties of human nature": aging, disease, suffering and death.
And as they pursue a kind of digital immortality, a posthumanity through large-scale liberation from the limits of the body, transhumanists counsel patience.
Human-machine fusion
"For now," Father Baggot said, they propose that "we need to be content with our meager efforts to extend, little by little, this life, until finally, we can achieve that kind of breakthrough of human-machine fusion, and that exponential explosion of intelligence that will bring about this great liberation from all the weakness and frailty of the body."
But again, there is irony. "Transhumanists have a keen sense of the consequences of sin. Unfortunately, they have lost all sense of the rest of salvation history," he added.
"There is no clear sense of a Creator. Of no objective order, intrinsic to this creation. And therefore, there is no hope of being delivered, through divine grace, from the consequences of these sins," Father Baggot noted, "We are, in many ways in this vision, cosmic orphans, we are left to our own devices."
Kimberley Heatherington writes for OSV News from Virginia.
This article is a translation of an article first published in OSV News. You can find the original article here.
The authorOSV / Omnes
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The economist David Jiménez Blanco (Granada 1963), a specialist in investment banking and manager of large companies, is at the same time a seasoned historian of past epochs of our land and, with the work we now present, demonstrates that history can be a second profession or trade because, as Saint Josemaría said, to rest is to change occupation, so the reader will see that Jiménez Blanco has studied and enjoyed documenting and writing about the past. "Conversos".
A misleading title
In any case, let us begin by pointing out that the title of the work is a little misleading, since from its reading it is easy to infer that the author is going to develop an essay on the theology of history to show the processes of conversion of the Jews of Seville, Valencia and Burgos in the years 1390-1391, when abundant conversions from Judaism to Christianity began to take place in some of the large cities of Hispania.
Likewise, from the subtitle, one could venture that we were going to witness the "metanoia" or inner conversion of the once great rabbi of Burgos, Salomón Leví, the most important Jew of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragón, to Christianity and, after a while, he would be ordained priest and bishop to end up occupying the archiepiscopal see of Burgos, then also the most important of Castile.
What it's really about
In reality, the book is a great exposition and historical setting of the coexistence of Jews, Muslims and Christians in times of the end of the reconquest, XIV and XV centuries, when the Christians living in the Iberian Peninsula wondered intensely about the reason for the lack of conversions of Jews to Christianity and came to the conclusion that they had not explained themselves well.
Both the Christian theologians and the faithful people were convinced that, if they could explain themselves better, they were sure to become a mass, as indeed they did.
Indeed, since the fifties, when the Acts of the "Disputation of Tortosa" (Antonio Pacios, CSIC-Arias Montano Institute, 1957) were published, we know very well the summons of Pope Luna, Benedict XIII, and the King of Aragon, Ferdinand I, to the great of the kingdom of Aragon, clergy and nobility, as well as the Jews of the highest consideration to attend a public dispute for almost two years.
During sixty-seven sessions (1413-1414), morning and afternoon, they met to listen to the best and most expert rabbi in the messianic promises: the main one was Rabbi Albó (309) and the best Catholic scripturist of the time: Jerónimo de Santa Fe (302), to answer both to a single question: if Jesus Christ had fulfilled all the messianic prophecies or not. The Acts that were signed and sealed every afternoon by the disputants, as well as by the authorities present, attest to the intense and serene expositions on both sides.
Finally, at the end of the book, Pacios' work includes the echoes of the dispute of Tortosa: thousands of Jews of all kinds and conditions were converted and the greatest of the kingdom were, in fact, sponsored by the kings and nobles of both Castile and the kingdom of Aragon, as godparents of baptism and confirmation and marriage of those new Christians.
Three types of citizens
Indeed, after those events, it is worth noting that the chronicles affirm the existence in Castile and Aragon of three types of citizens (if we can talk like that at that time): the old Christians, that is to say, those of all their lives, the families that led the reconquest of the Christian lands of Hispania that in 711 suffered the humiliation of the conquest as punishment for the disunity of those Visigothic nobles, some still Arian, without conversion, who gave in to the Muslims.
The second category would be the Jews who had not received the grace of faith and baptism and who continued, therefore, faithful to the law of Moses and under the protection of the king of Castile, for as the book of the Partidas said to perpetuate the memory of the deicide people.
Finally, there was the large and very numerous group of new Christians, recent converts to Christianity who brought their talents and the love of the convert, and this, logically, will be noted both in the exercise of the ascetic life, as well as in mysticism and literature, as will be observed in the golden century of Christianity. mystique 16th century Castilian Spanish.
Criticism and slander
At the same time, criticism arose from both sides. On the one hand, some old Christians began to show their discomfort when they saw that the new Christians - Jewish converts - were rapidly gaining access to important positions in the judiciary, local governments, the army, the countryside, the Church and even the militia. Faced with this situation, they spread accusations of apostasy or religious practices mixed with elements of Judaism.
On the other hand, there were also slanders by some Jews who, feeling betrayed in their faith, accused the converts of being neither good Jews nor authentic Christians, insinuating that their conversion had been motivated solely by the desire to leave Jewry and move up the social ladder.
In this context, the Catholic Monarchs, with the aim of achieving total unity in their kingdoms - political, juridical and religious - requested Pope Sixtus IV to create the Inquisition in Castile. This institution had the mission of investigating possible false conversions or cases of apostasy among the new Christians, with the intention of reestablishing peace and social cohesion. However, when the unity of faith was not fully achieved, the monarchs made the wrong decision: to expel the Jews from their territories. They were the last in Europe to do so, and this measure was a great loss to society as a whole.
Conversos
TitleConversos. From Solomon Levi, rabbi to Paul of St. Mary, bishop.
Psychologist Jordan Peterson stars in a new viral video in which he debates with 25 atheists about faith, morals and Christianity, showing a deep and argued defense of religion.
Jordan Peterson is the protagonist of a new viral video from Jubilee, a YouTube channel in which various guests discuss current issues that are often sensitive and complex. In the case of Peterson's video, Jubilee puts the renowned psychologist at the center of a debate with 20 avowed atheists who discuss four issues with Jordan:
Atheists reject God, but they do not understand what they are rejecting;
Morals and purposes cannot be found within science;
Everyone worships something, including atheists, even if they are not aware of it;
Atheists accept Christian morality, but reject the fundamental stories of religion.
At the end of the discussion of these four questions, one of the guests, chosen by Peterson, presents him with another thesis, which they discuss for ten minutes. On this occasion, the topic proposed by the young woman chosen to debate is that the framework proposed by Jordan Peterson to understand Christianity is not the same as the one used in the Bible.
The radical nature of the Christian message
Beyond the fact that these are really interesting topics, what stands out the most is the ability of the controversial psychologist to defend Christianity better than many faithful Christians. Peterson not only shows a profound knowledge of the BibleHe has also devoted much time to analyzing the implications of the words of Christ in the New Testament. He is one of the few people who emphasizes today what Jesus already said: to get to Heaven you have to enter through the narrow gate.
Authentic commitment to the Catholic faith involves a change of life, mind and heart. It is a true conversion and Jordan Peterson is one of those voices who understands the radical nature of this issue. Knowing this, it is easier to understand the reasons why he does not say publicly whether he is a Christian or not. What fool could claim to believe in Christ and live his teachings without feeling like a hypocrite as he contemplates his own life?
Hatred of Jordan Peterson
None of the issues raised in the video, which lasts about an hour and a half, are easy to resolve. On social media it seems that the only conclusion people have come to from watching the debate (which has surpassed 4 million views in three days) is that Jordan Peterson is a fraud as a Christian, cornered by some young people throughout the debate.
Needless to say, anything Peterson says today is viewed with suspicion. He is probably one of the most hated people for his speeches against woke ideology, exacerbated feminism and the transgender movement, which has earned him quite a few enemies.
A year ago Peterson made headlines because of the conversion of his wife, who has been baptized and joined the Catholic Church. As expected, all eyes were on him and the questions started to come in: Is Jordan Peterson a Catholic? Is he finally going to convert?
The psychologist has avoided speaking publicly about his faith at all times. In a very sincere way, he explained that if he publicly designated himself of one confession or another, this would be an opportunity for any religious institution to start using him as a shield and flag.
Not only that anymore. Although we have lost the habit, once upon a time there was intimacy, thanks to which it was not necessary to bare your whole being in front of strangers and no one accused you for wanting to protect your inner life.
From debate to personal attack
One of the most viral moments of the debate occurs when a boy asks Peterson if he is a Christian or not. The psychologist refuses to answer the question and, when the young man begins to disrespect and pour out personal attacks, Jordan refuses to continue conversing with him.
The analysis made on social networks is that the author feels cornered and humiliated, however, anyone who has seen Jordan Peterson debate on other occasions will know that he is an interlocutor who always demands the utmost respect in conversations.
The topics covered in Jubilee's video are not mere barroom conversations, but far-reaching and vitally important ideas. Moving from serious debate to personal attacks is not winning the conversation to a controversial figure, it is pulling arrogance to smear a man you disagree with. It is the tactic of the "bully", who stands up proudly from his chair but does not realize that he has lost the debate, simply because he does not know how to participate in it.
Righteous and sinners
By listening to the conversation of Jordan Peterson and his interlocutors calmly, avoiding the prejudices one may feel towards him, the viewer will be able to follow a really interesting debate. The words we use matter, hence the psychologist's insistence on making some basic definitions clear. Respect is also essential, and that is the real reason why he puts an end to one of the conversations.
Jordan Peterson is not a theologian, a detail that he emphasizes several times in the video when he is asked questions that are beyond his knowledge. Moreover, he seems to forget that, even if we make mistakes and sin, Christ still calls us and we can be Christians. But the conclusion of the debate is not so much whether Peterson is a fraud or not, but the fact that it takes a great deal of preparation to defend our faith, because the world asks questions and has the right for Christians to answer them, based on the teachings of Jesus.
In this sense, it makes no difference whether Jordan Peterson is a Christian or not. The question is whether each of us is, and whether we would be able to defend our faith to the hilt, overcoming personal attacks and with a genuine capacity for dialogue in the face of the issues raised by today's society.
The following is the complete discussion:
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Franciscan in Syria: "What we need most is the prayer of other Christians".
Following the Syrian president's meeting with representatives of the Christian community yesterday, May 28, we interviewed Father Fadi about the situation in the country.
There are about 400,000 Christians left in Syria (4% out of a population of 22 million). Of these, only 20,000 are Catholics. Thirteen Franciscans serve parishes in Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Tartous and Idlib, bringing hope in the midst of war, earthquakes and government changes.
In the troubled coastal city of Latakia, Syria, Father Fadi Azar embodies the resilience of the Catholic Church in the midst of a war that is now in its 14th year. A Franciscan of the Custody of the Holy Land, this Jordanian Palestinian priest arrived in the midst of conflict (2015) to serve as pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus. In this interview, Father Fadi describes the dramatic situation of Syrian Christians and his pastoral work.
You are Palestinian, but you were born in Jordan...
- I was born in Jordan, but I am Palestinian by origin. My grandparents fled Yajar (Palestine) in the war of '48 and settled in Abud, near Ramallah. My parents live in Amman, Jordan. There I studied at the Franciscan school from the age of 4 to 18. I then cultivated that vocational seed in the United States, where the friars sent me to study Theology at the Catholic University of Washington D.C.
Why did you come to Syria in the middle of the war?
- Franciscan obedience. I was first in Damascus for 5 years and I have been in Latakia for another 5 years. When I arrived, the war had already been going on for 4 years. Today we are still here because we Franciscans and religious of other communities are "a bridge of hope" in this holy land where St. Paul was converted.
Your parish in Latakia is an oasis in the storm. What communities do you serve?
- In addition to Latin Catholics, we welcome Armenian, Syriac and Chaldean Catholics who do not have their own churches. The parish includes a monastery and we recovered a school that the previous government had confiscated.
Syria is experiencing a triple crisis: war, earthquake and change of government. How does this affect it?
- After the fall of Assad in December, we have an Islamic government led by Ahmed al Sharaa. Although the president shows respect for Christians (just today we had a meeting with him and leaders of all Christian denominations in Aleppo), the real danger is uncontrolled armed groups. In March 10 Christians were killed between Banias and Latakia.
What specific persecution do Christians suffer?
- There are radical impositions: Muslims demand that women cover their heads in jobs and young men were beaten for wearing shorts. There are many groups flying the black flag of ISIS to generate terror among the population and occupy quotas of power. They attack Alawites and Christians alike. In March they killed 7,000 people.
Your social work is tireless. What works do you support?
- We have a medical dispensary and a home for disabled adults and another for orphaned children. We distribute food on a monthly basis and help with medicine and home repairs. Although we help some Muslims, we prioritize Christians, as they do not receive help from Muslim NGOs.
How do they subsist with the economy destroyed?
- Help comes from outside: from the Custody of the Holy Land, Franciscan commissaries such as Father Luis Quintana in Madrid and Aid to the Church in Need. Without this, it would be impossible. People lost jobs, there are kidnappings, robberies... Some Christian families ask for humanitarian asylum in other countries. In recent months, several families from my parish left for Barcelona.
His final message to readers...
- We ask all other Christians for their support and prayers. We are a minority who live in fear, but our presence is vital. We have been here for 2,000 years and we do not want to leave, even though the war has been going on for 14 years. May they not forget Syria: land of shrines, ancient churches and the first evangelization."
Meeting of the Syrian president with representatives of the Christian community on May 28.
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Stephen looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Christ Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father. He was so delighted by this that he felt the need to exclaim what he was seeing. But this suggested Jesus' equality with the Father, his divine being, something the Jews were unwilling to accept. They took up stones and stoned Stephen to death.
This theme of Christ's divine glory is developed in today's Gospel. Jesus prays to his Father and begins by saying: "I have given them the glory that you gave me.". Curious words, how is this possible? The communication of grace is already a foretaste of glory; in every sacrament we also participate in the glory of Christ. This glory may be more apparent in the beauty of sacred art, architecture, music and solemn liturgy, but it is hidden there in the most discreet, simplest Mass. In every Mass, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, leading us, already now, to his invisible glory.
Jesus continues his prayer asking the Father "that those you have given me may be with me where I am and behold my glory, which you gave me, because you loved me, before the foundation of the world.". Jesus wants us to share his glory, because this is sharing the Father's love. Love and glory go together. They are the fullness of what we might call ecstatic love. We see it in romantic love: at first the lovers think that their beloved is totally glorious. Then, in time, each sees that the other is not as glorious as he or she thought. But in Heaven there will be no disappointment: it will be a continual discovery of how glorious God is and how glorious their love is.
The book of Revelation offers us a glimpse of this heavenly glory, so it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit offers us a text from it in today's Mass (as he does throughout the Easter season). Jesus reveals himself as "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.". And he invites us to join in the Church's prayer for his coming. Yes, let us long for the coming of the Lord and share in his eternal glory. And we can satisfy and foster that longing by receiving him in faith at every Mass, awaiting that glorious fullness of sight that comes with the Beatific Vision.
The architect of Torreciudad, Heliodoro Dols, passed away.
The Valencian Heliodoro Dols Morell, architect of Torreciudad, died today at the age of 91 in Zaragoza. A native of Madrid by training and Aragonese by adoption, he was part of the famous CX promotion of the Madrid School of Architecture, graduates in 1959, among others, Fernando Higueras, Curro Inza, Miguel de Oriol, Eduardo Mangada, Luis Peña Ganchegui and Manolo Jorge.
Francisco Otamendi-May 28, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
Heliodoro Dols Morell, architect of Torreciudad, and master architect, died today in Zaragoza at the age of 91. In his long professional career, the quality of his architecture has become more evident with the passing of time.
Precisely this year, Javier Domingo de Miguel has published a book entitled 'Heliodoro Dols. Tradition, authenticity, modernity', in which he explains in a pleasant and exhaustive way his entire professional career.
A native of Madrid by training and Aragonese by adoption, he was a member of the CX class of the Madrid School of Architecture, graduating in 1959. Among others, Fernando Higueras, Curro Inza, Miguel de Oriol, Eduardo Mangada, Luis Peña Ganchegui and Manolo Jorge.
National Architecture Award
Next to Antonio LopezIn 1965, Heliodoro won the National Architecture Prize with the design of a fountain in the monumental square of Pedraza. Between 1963 and 1975 he devoted himself almost exclusively to the Torreciudad project, so Dols took up residence in Zaragoza in 1973. His work has been developed mainly in Aragon.
Work in Torreciudad: "to do something for the Mother of God".
About his work in Torreciudad, Heliodoro wrote: "The five years spent on site were an extraordinary experience, both professionally and in human terms. I tried to make it human in size, I liked to do something for the Mother of God and I tried to put my affection in the study of the assemblies of those stones and bricks".
St. Josemaría: "with humble material, you have made divine material".
"Thanks to all the people who collaborated there, Torreciudad could be built. And thanks to the commitment, care and affection they put into its construction, it became a reality. This was the reason why St. Josemaría, the founder of Opus Dei, told us when he saw it finished: with humble material, from the earth, you have made divine material," said Heliodoro Dols.
The quality of Torreciudad's architecture has been endorsed by architects such as César Ortiz-Echagüe, Antonio Lamela, Francesc Mitjans, Regino Borobio Ojeda and Fernando Chueca Goitia, among others. It is a project based on the tradition and popular architecture of Aragon. A complex and organic project whose identity is achieved through the use of ceramic materials typical of the region, seeking, on the scale of the landscape, to emulate the surrounding villages.
Panoramic view of Torreciudad (@OpusDei).
Torreciudad's contribution
"The great contribution of Torreciudad is the beautiful agreement between an architecture of undeniable modern affiliation and a more traditional setting," said the Sanctuary.
"It is certainly the most important work of his career, but not the only one. There is the Colegio Mayor Peñalba -a true brick sculpture-, the restoration of the basilica of Santa Engracia and the houses and square of San Bruno in Zaragoza". Also "the building for ERZ in Jaca -today headquarters of the Jacetania region-, the Courts building in Boltaña and the convent of Carmelitas Descalzas in Huesca. In 2014, the Fernando el Católico Institution awarded him the distinction for his professional career".
Pope encourages compassion: "It is not a religious question, but a human one".
Leo XIV dedicated his catechesis on Wednesday 28 to the parable of the Good Samaritan and to compassion. He said in the Audience that compassion for others is "a question of humanity, before being religious". And that "before being believers we must be human". He also prayed for peace in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.
Francisco Otamendi-May 28, 2025-Reading time: 3minutes
Pope Leo XIV continued this Wednesday in the Audience The second session of the series of catechesis on 'Jesus Christ, our Savior', in the Jubilee of Hope 2025, focused on the theme of the Good Samaritan and on compassion, which "before being a religious question, is a question of humanity".
The theme of meditation was precisely the parable of the Good Samaritan, narrated by St. Luke: a person is assaulted and beaten by robbers, and a Samaritan took pity on him. Earlier, a Levite and a priest had passed by and went on their way.
In the minutes before the Audience, Leo XIV traveled around St. Peter's Square in the Popemobile, where he greeted and blessed numerous pilgrims and faithful who came to listen to the Holy Father. As usual, many mothers and fathers brought babies to him for his blessing.
Feast of the Ascension of the Lord
Among perhaps the most significant notes this morning were, in addition to the Pope's words on compassion and mercy, the preparation for the feast of the Ascension of the Lord tomorrow, Thursday, May 29, which in quite a few places is moved to Sunday.
Also the affectionate welcome, as last Wednesday, "to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors participating in today's Audience, especially those from England, Scotland, Norway, Ghana, Kenya, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Canada and the United States of America".
"As we prepare to commemorate the Lord's Ascension into Heaven," he told them, "I pray that each of you and your families will experience a renewal of hope and joy. May God bless you."
Peace in Ukraine and Gaza Strip
At the end of the Audience, before addressing the Italian-speaking pilgrims, praying the Our Father and giving Benediction, the Pope showed his "closeness and prayer" for the Ukrainian people", and prayed for the war to stop. He also made an appeal for peace in the Gaza Strip, from where one can hear the cries of mothers and fathers with their children in their arms. Leo XIV asked for a "cease-fire", the release of all prisoners, and prayed to the Queen of Peace.
In his greeting to the Arabic-speaking pilgrims, Pope Leo XIV said that "we are called to be merciful, just as our Father is merciful. His mercy consists in looking at every human being with eyes of compassion. May the Lord bless you all and always protect you from all evil.
Parable of the Good Samaritan: changing perspective, welcoming others
In his brief catechesis, the Pope began by noting: "In this catechesis we reread the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Lord addresses it to a man who, despite knowing the Scriptures, considers salvation as a right that is due to him, something that can be acquired".
"The parable helps him to change his perspective, and to move from focusing on himself to being able to welcome others, feeling called to become a neighbor to others, no matter who they are, and not just judge close to the people he appreciates."
Afterwards, the Holy Father summarized: "The parable speaks to us of compassion, of understanding that before being believers we must be human. The text asks us to reflect on our ability to stop on the road of life, to put the other person above our haste and our travel plans".
"He asked us to be ready," he stressed, "to reduce distances, to get involved, to get dirty if necessary, to take on the pain of others and to spend what is ours, returning to meet them, because our neighbor is for us someone close to us.
A question for reflection
At the time of the examination, the Pontiff asked a question: "Dear brothers and sisters, when will we too be able to interrupt our journey and have compassion? When we will have understood that this man wounded on the road represents each one of us. And then, the memory of all the times Jesus stopped to care for us will make us more capable of compassion.
Let us pray, then, that we may grow in humanity, so that our relationships may be truer and richer in compassion. Let us ask the Heart of Christ for the grace to have more and more of the same sentiments", he concluded.
The authorFrancisco Otamendi
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Pope appoints Renzo Pegoraro president of the Academy for Life
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Renzo Pegoraro, a bioethicist with a degree in medicine before entering the seminary, as the new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Renzo Pegoraro worked since September 2011 as chancellor of the Vatican body.
CNS / Omnes-May 28, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
- Cindy Wooden (Vatican City, Catholic News Service). Renzo Pegoraro has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. He had been chancellor of the Academy since 2011. He succeeds Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 80 in April.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper 'La Stampa' on May 26, Archbishop Paglia said that he submitted his resignation to Pope Francis when he turned 75, in accordance with canon law. But that the Pope asked him to stay on until he turned 80.
The appointment of Renzo Pegoraro was announced by the Vatican on May 27. A week earlier, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo had appointed the Cardinal Baldassare Reina to succeed the Archbishop Paglia as Grand Chancellor of the John Paul II Theological Institute for the Sciences of Marriage and the Family.
Defense and promotion of the value of human life
Pope Francis updated the statutes of the Pontifical Academy for Life in 2016. At that time, the Pope said that the primary goal of the Academy, founded in 1994 by St. John Paul II, would continue to be "the defense and promotion of the value of human life and the dignity of the person."
The new statutes added, however, that achieving the goal would include studying ways to promote "care for the dignity of the human person in the different ages of existence" as well as "mutual respect between genders and generations, the defense of the dignity of every human being. And likewise, "the promotion of a quality of human life that integrates its material and spiritual value in view of an authentic "human ecology". An ecology that "helps to restore the original balance of creation between the human person and the entire universe.
Pegoraro, a graduate in medicine and moral theology.
Renzo Pegoraro, who will be 66 years old on June 4, will be licgraduated in Medicine from the University of Padua (Italy) in 1985. Before that, he received a degree in Moral Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1989.
He earned an advanced degree in bioethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Italy and has taught bioethics at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy. He has also served as secretary general of the Lanza Foundation of Padua, a center for studies in ethics, bioethics and environmental ethics. He taught care ethics at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome. And he was president of the European Association of Medical Ethics Centers from 2010 to 2013.
On May 28, the Church celebrates Saint Germain, Bishop of Paris. To observe the imprint of this saint, it is enough to see the places in Paris that bear his name. For example, the Boulevard Saint-Germain, the Paris Saint-Germain team, of course the church of Saint Germain-l'Auxerois, near the Louvre. Saint Mariana de Jesus, patron saint of Ecuador, is also celebrated.
Francisco Otamendi-May 28, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
Today, the liturgy celebrates St. Germain of Paris, who left a strong imprint on the Parisian capital. To cite the above examples, the boulevard owes its name to Saint-Germain, bishop of Paris in 555. The soccer team, founded in 1970, took its name from the French capital and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where the club was founded. And the church, near the Louvre, is dedicated to the saint.
The text dedicated to St. Germain by the Vatican Agency is concise, although it offers data. It says that he was born in Autun (Burgundy, France), at the end of the V century. That he took his vows and was entrusted with the monastery of Saint Syphronianus, which he recovered from decadence. That he was advisor to the king in Paris and became bishop of the city. And that his monastery was singled out as a model throughout France and was dedicated to him at his death.
You could to be added to that St. Germain lacked small He was in danger of being aborted first and then poisoned. Then, with a relative, he received a solid formation and was ordained a priest, became abbot of the monastery of St. Symphorian, cared for the needy, built churches, tried to sow peace in civil strife, denounced vices of the court, and ruled his diocese with prudence. He died in 576.
Mariana de Jesús de Paredes, Patroness of Ecuador
The Franciscan Family also celebrates on this day Mariana de Jesús de Paredes, born in Quito in 1618, and patron saint of Ecuador, together with the Virgin Mary. Virgin of Quinche. Orphaned since childhood, she was a virgin, and unable to enter any monastery, she led a life dedicated to prayer and fasting at home. The Roman Martyrology says that "she consecrated her life to Christ in the Third Order of St. Francis and used her strength to help the poor Indians and blacks (1645)". She is the first Ecuadorian saint: she was canonized by Pius XII in 1950.
The authorFrancisco Otamendi
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His father Louis Marius Prevost, an administrator in several educational centers, was also a catechist. His parents were emigrants from France.
His mother Mildred Prevost, librarian at Mendel Catholic Prep School.
Brothers: Louis, a military veteran currently residing in Florida, and John, a retired Catholic school principal.
1969. He entered the minor seminary at the age of 14, leaving his parents' home.
1973. He finished high school at the St. Augustine Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers.
1977. Degree in Mathematics from Villanova (Augustinian) University, along with a major in Philosophy.
1977. In September he entered the novitiate of the Augustinian Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel in St. Louis, Missouri.
1978. First profession of religious vows on September 2.
1978-1982. Master of Divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.
1981. Solemn profession on August 29.
1981. Ordination to the diaconate on September 10.
1982. Ordination to the priesthood on June 19.
Rome
1982-1984. Rome. Canon Law at the Angelicum University
1984-1987. Doctorate with thesis The role of the local Prior of the Order of St. Augustine.
Peru
1985-1986. After his ordination he was assigned to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Peru, being parochial vicar of the cathedral and chancellor of the diocese.
United States
1987-1988. Vocation Ministry in the United States and Director of Missions for the Augustinian Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Illinois. In addition, he was dedicated to raising funds for the missions of his province.
Peru
1988. Peru, mission of Trujillo. Director of common formation for Augustinian aspirants. There he served as prior of the community (1988-1992), director of formation (1988-1998) and master of the professed (1992-1998).
1989-1998. In the archdiocese of Trujillo, he served as judicial vicar and professor of canon law, patristics and morals at the Major Seminary.
1992-1999. Administrator of Our Lady of Monserrat Parish.
United States
1999. Provincial of his province, Our Lady of Good Counsel of Chicago.
Rome
2001. Prior General of the Augustinians.
2007. Re-elected for a second term.
Peru
2013-2014. Director of Formation at St. Augustine's Convent in Chicago and Vicar Provincial of the Province.
2014. On November 3, Pope Francis appoints him apostolic administrator of Chiclayo. On December 12, he was ordained bishop. In 2015 he was appointed bishop of Chiclayo and obtained Peruvian nationality.
2018-2023. Second Vice President of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference.
2019. Member of the Congregation for the Clergy.
Rome
2023. On April 12, he was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
2023. Cardinal on September 30.
2023. On October 4, he becomes a member of various Dicasteries: Evangelization, Doctrine of the Faith, Oriental Churches, Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and Culture and Education, Dicastery for Legislative Texts, Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.
2025. Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion of the Order of Malta.
Believing in apostolic succession implies believing that God does not improvise, leaves nothing to chance and that yesterday's Pope is, like today's, a gift and a mystery. Whether he likes it or not. Whether or not he is the one we would have chosen.
May 28, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
The echoes of the requiem for Francisco and enthusiasm for the next pontiff was already boiling throughout Christendom. During the conclave, we all, in public and in private, heard repeated the prayer that "the Holy Spirit will choose whoever he chooses.
What seemed, however, to be an authentic prayer ended up revealing itself as a hidden vow: may the one God wants come out, yes, but may it be mine, or if not, at least may the other one not come out. Showcase piety, directed prayer, ballot-box faith.
And I say this because now that Leo XIV -The veil of neutrality seems to have been lifted, with an air of controlled restoration and a certain recovered liturgical gravity. One begins to perceive, and not in an isolated way, the tone of "now yes", as if at last the Church had a legitimate Pope, as if the previous had been nothing more than a long parenthesis in the magisterium. And then begins, of course, the unbearable litany of comparisons: "Francis said this here and Leo there", "at last he speaks clearly", "this is how a Pope dresses".
It will not be superfluous to remember that Francis was also chosen by God, that he was not an interference in the system or a failure in the matrix. That in the history of the Church, Popes do not succeed one another by correction of errors, but by pure divine providence; and that to compare one with the other is to put the gifts of the Holy Spirit in competition.
I wish for a long papacy, of course, because I wish the Supreme Pontiff a long life. What I do not wish is for it to be long because I have to put up with, for years, this whole legion of professional opinionators who feign piety and obedience while it is clear - because it is obvious - that their fidelity was never with Peter, but with their own idea - often flat, capricious and reduced - of what the primacy should be.
I am enthusiastic about the election of Leo XIV, but honesty with my own faith obliges me today to say out loud that believing in apostolic succession implies believing that God does not improvise, that he leaves nothing to chance and that the Pope of yesterday is, like the Pope of today, a gift and a mystery. Whether he likes it or not. Whether he fits in or not. Whether or not he is the one we would have chosen.
St. Augustine of Canterbury, evangelizer of England
On May 27, the Church celebrates St. Augustine of Canterbury, sent with other monks by Pope St. Gregory the Great to evangelize England. There he converted the same king and many others to the Christian faith, became Archbishop of Canterbury, and founded churches and monasteries.
Francisco Otamendi-May 27, 2025-Reading time: < 1minute
While Augustine was prior of the Benedictine monastery of St. Andrew in Rome, he was sent by Pope St. Gregory the Great, at the head of about forty monks, to evangelizing England. He landed at Thanet and sent word to King Etelbert of Kent. The king, who had married Bertha, a Christian princess of the Frankish royal family, allowed them to settle in Canterbury, the capital of the kingdom, and gave them freedom to preach. Soon the king was converted, baptized in 597.
The Pope rejoiced at the news and sent new collaborators and the appointment of Augustine as archbishop primate of England. At the same time, he told him not to be proud of the successes and honor of the high office. Following the Pope's directions, St. Augustine erected other episcopal sees, London and Rochester, and consecrated Melito and Justus as bishops. The missionary saint died in 604 and was buried in Canterbury in the church that bears his name.
Four English priests and two Korean women
Four diocesan priests are also being celebrated today martyrs Englishmen, Edmund Duke, Richard Hill, John Hogg and Richard Holiday, hanged and quartered at Dryburne, near Durham, on May 27, 1590, during the reign of Elizabeth I.
On May 27, the liturgy also commemorates Saints Barbara Kim and Barbara Yi, Korean martyrs. The two women, because they were Christians, were arrested and imprisoned together in Seoul. They refused to apostatize despite torture and died in prison in 1839.
Strong campaign of French bishops against the 'assisted death' bill
The 'assisted dying' bill, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, is up for a key vote this May 27 in the National Assembly. On this occasion, French bishops have launched an intense campaign urging Catholics to oppose the bill. Leaders of all religions have also opposed it.
OSV / Omnes-May 27, 2025-Reading time: 4minutes
- Caroline de Sury (OSV News, Paris). In the face of the controversial 'assisted dying' bill, French Catholic bishops have launched an unprecedentedly strong public campaign urging Catholics to oppose the bill.
The bill, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, is set for a major vote in the National Assembly this May 27 and subsequent days.
The bishops have called on all Catholics in France to take personal action to challenge their representatives in Parliament who are preparing to vote on the bill.
Now separate: palliative care and assisted dying
In June 2024, a previous bill in favor of the euthanasiaThe 'end-of-life' bill was about to be approved in Paris. Macron, who initiated the bill, called it an 'end of life'.law of fraternity'. But on June 9, the president decided to dissolve the National Assembly, and all ongoing legislative processes were halted.
In January, the newly appointed Catholic Prime Minister, François Bayrou, requested that the issues of palliative care and assisted dying, which had previously been united in the same 'end of life' bill, be examined by Parliament in two separate texts. Therefore, since April 9, the Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly has been examining two separate bills.
While the bill in favor of the palliative carewhile the other bill, which guarantees access to end-of-life care for all patients, enjoys a broad consensus, the other bill, which calls for the legalization of medical assistance in dying, is causing deep divisions within French political parties.
Bishops: opposition to reform
The bishops have been strongly mobilized on the issue of "aid in dying" for more than a year. "It has been years since a social problem or a reform project has mobilized them to this point," noted 'Le Monde' on March 19.
"Through interviews, opinion pieces and appearances on television and radio programs during prime time, the clergy are mobilizing to express their clear and unequivocal opposition to the reform sought by Emmanuel Macron."
"The choice to kill and help kill is not the lesser evil."
In recent weeks, French bishops have intensified their efforts to call on parliamentarians to oppose the introduction of the 'right to die' bill.
On May 6, the outgoing president of the French bishops' conference, the Archbishop of Reims, Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, responded in X to Macron's comments on the 'assisted dying' bill. Macron had addressed the Masons of the Grand Lodge of France the day before, referring to active assistance in dying as a 'lesser evil'.
"No, Mr. President, the choice to kill and help kill is not the lesser evil," Archbishop Moulins-Beaufort replied. "It is simply death. This must be said without lying and without hiding behind words. Killing cannot be the choice of brotherhood or dignity. It is the choice of abandonment and refusal to help to the end. This transgression will weigh heavily on the most vulnerable members and loners of our society".
"No to a pseudo-solidarity to help them disappear".
For his part, the Archbishop of Lyon, Olivier de Germay, appealed to members of Parliament in a May 12 statement: "We need politicians who have the courage to go against the tide" and "have the courage to say no to a pseudo-solidarity that would be tantamount to telling the elderly that we can help them to disappear.
Joint opposition from religious leaders
On May 15, France's religious leaders, including Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Protestants, Orthodox and Buddhists, published their first joint opposition to the proposal. Signed by Archbishop Moulins-Beaufort and published by the Conference of Bishops, the joint statement denounced "grave abuses" and the "radical change" that the introduction of the "assisted dying" bill would entail.
The following day, in the Catholic newspaper 'La Croix', the Archbishop of Tours, Vincent Jordy vice-president of the Conference of Bishops, explained the reasons for the church's opposition to the bill.
One out of two French people do not have palliative care
"We really help people die when we accompany them to the end of their lives," he said. "There is an obvious shortage of caregivers, and one in two French people could say they still don't have access to quality palliative care, which we know reduces requests for death in the vast majority of cases," he said.
Parishes throughout France
On May 17, legislators approved an amendment to the bill to be voted on May 27, creating a new "right to die with assistance". They refused to use the terms 'euthanasia' - because "it was used from October 1939 onwards by Hitler and the Nazis" - and "suicide", to avoid confusion with suicide prevention as it has been commonly understood until now.
On May 18, parishes throughout France distributed posters and leaflets during Sunday Masses, which were also posted on diocesan and parish social media accounts. The parishes thus reinforced the bishops' campaign to oppose the bill. The bishops expressly asked the Catholic faithful to contact their representatives personally.
"Let us not remain silent."
"Let us not remain silent," they insisted. "Let us say no to the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide. ... If adopted on May 27, this bill, one of the most permissive in the world, would threaten the most vulnerable and call into question the respect due to all human life."
However, three days later, on May 21, the deputies of the National Assembly adopted the article defining the outlines of the procedure for requesting assistance in case of death, which will be made available even to those who have not yet had access to palliative care.
Vigil and testimonies
That same evening, 12 bishops from the Paris region participated in a vigil and heard testimonies for life at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
In the National Assembly, the debate continued until May 25, before the formal vote on May 27.
—————
Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.
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This article is a translation of an article first published in OSV News. You can find the original article here.
A few days ago a famous Spanish singer said that she is afraid of becoming a mother, because she does not want to lose her freedom. Honestly, I am not surprised. With all those things that we have not been told (or that are taboo) about motherhood, the most logical thing to do is to be afraid of it.
There are many things that go unsaid about this topic and that you only find out when you become pregnant. For example, you will wake up many nights when the twins come up, and that you were finally starting to overcome insomnia. Few people tell you that your sense of smell becomes a superpower and everything starts to disgust you, even that cologne you loved so much.
The doctor doesn't want to tell you that there are 18-hour deliveries... And many more. And no one, absolutely no one, wants to admit that your hormones are on such a trip that even a video of Donald Trump awarding an honorary degree to a boy with a disability will make you cry more than "A Walk to Remember."
Secrets about motherhood
But they also don't tell you about the indescribable sensation of noticing your baby's first kicks, which timidly catches your attention. No one tells you that your mother and your mother-in-law will share with you a wisdom that comes from years of accumulated experience and affection.
Few will tell you about the lump in your throat when your father looks at you with a gesture that mixes joy and nostalgia, at what moment his little daughter has become a mother? The doctor keeps as part of the professional secret the smile that escapes your husband when he is told he is going to have a baby and hears the heartbeat of his baby.
Freedom and motherhood
Motherhood will undoubtedly take away your freedom of movement, even to tie your shoes. But it will make you aware at a higher level of the true freedom, the one for which men give their lives. A freedom that goes beyond doing what you want, because it becomes loving what you do.
It is a paradoxical freedom (God has a strange sense of humor) in which all the discomforts of pregnancy are transformed into a more and more determined yes: yes to life; yes to a future with hope; yes to realizing that pregnancy should not be romanticized or demonized, it must be lived to know that there are many things that we have not been told, but that by becoming a mother the concepts that we change take on their true meaning.
Motherhood denounces the injustice we commit by reducing ourselves to feelings and poor material freedom. Being a mother opens the door to a generosity and dedication that are far removed from the servility and subordination that many say motherhood is. But of course, if they don't tell you about it, it's normal to be afraid of it.
Therefore, it is up to us to remind the world what it really means to be a mother. And our life, our future, is at stake. As the Pope Francis’ January 1, 2019: "A world that looks to the future without a maternal gaze is short-sighted (...). A world in which maternal tenderness has been relegated to a mere sentiment may be rich in things, but not rich in the future."
On Sunday, May 25, Pope Leo XIV took possession of the Cathedral of Rome, St. John Lateran. It is the oldest papal basilica and one of the four most important in the capital of Italy.
This step makes Leo XIV the Bishop of Rome, celebrating his first Mass as such on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
Now you can enjoy a 20% discount on your subscription to Rome Reports Premiumthe international news agency specializing in the activities of the Pope and the Vatican.
Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid, Antonio María Rouco Varela (Villalba, Lugo, 1936), has developed throughout his life an intense and fruitful pastoral work in various dioceses.
We now wish to refer to his academic life, where he has had a great dedication to canon law and, especially, to a special and certainly novel branch of it, called "Theology of Canon Law". A pioneering subject in the canonistics and truly consistent with the doctrine and spirit of the Second Vatican Council and its application to the problems and difficulties of contemporary Christianity.
It is logical that, in the development of canon law throughout its existence and in its application to the life of the Church, of the faithful and of ecclesiastical institutions, novel questions and intricate juridical problems have arisen, since the Church has a divine origin, but is constituted by human beings with rights and obligations.
Dimensions of the Church
Precisely, as St. Augustine affirmed, the fact that the Church is part of civil society -since she lives and acts in it- and, at the same time, belongs to the world of God -by her ends and her way of acting, received from Jesus Christ- is one of her essential characteristics. The Church, therefore, must combine the natural and the spiritual, the theological and the juridical, under the perspective of Christian anthropology and history where the salvation of the human race takes place.
In this interesting work, Rouco Varela will bring up important theological issues for a solid foundation of canon law, such as the concept of the Church, the dignity of the human person as the image and likeness of God, and the relationships within the Church as the family of God and as an institution (p. 33).
At the same time, Cardinal Rouco recalls that in the face of the provocation of modernity (p. 116) represented by juridical positivism in civil law, canon law is not reduced to juridical practice in relations within and outside it and in the exercise of the rights and obligations of Christians.
A theology that makes law
Professor Rouco Varela has collected, therefore, in this volume of the BAC, within the collection of manuals of canon law, "Sapientia iuris", various research articles that he had published on the theology of canon law in various specialized journals both in Spain and Europe.
Thus, throughout this work, our professor will illuminate with great skill various juridical questions that have arisen throughout history to show how, through the contribution of theology, a true and profound juridical resolution could be found. Rouco Varela will make explicit many times throughout this manual an affirmation of the canonist Mörsdorf: "canon law is a theological discipline with a juridical method" (p. 140).
Let us now point out a juridical question resolved by theology so that the reader can glimpse how the theology of canon law has come to resolve, in practice and theory, questions of canon law.
An example
We take it from Rouco Varela himself, when he affirms that one of the great lights of the Council contained in the Apostolic Constitutions "....Lumen Gentium"(Rome, 21.XI.1964) and "Gaudium et spes" (Rome, 7.XII.1965), is the concept of the Church of communion. This aspect is developed extensively in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in the subsequent magisterium of the Church and, especially, in the theological works of the Holy Father Benedict XVI.
It can truly be said that the 1983 Code of Canon Law is the juridical expression of the theology of communion of the Second Vatican Council: "The Church is in Christ as a sacrament or sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the whole human race" (LG n. 1).
Likewise, in the proem of "Gaudium et spes" it is stated: "The Christian community is made up of men and women who, gathered together in Christ, are guided by the Holy Spirit on their pilgrimage towards the Father's kingdom and have received the good news of salvation in order to communicate it to all" (GS, n. 1).
Finally, let us note that the Catechism of the Catholic Church once again reflects the ecclesiology of communion: "In the one family of God, all the children of God and members of the same family in Christ, by uniting ourselves in mutual love and in the same praise of the Most Holy Trinity, we are responding to the intimate vocation" (n. 959).
In basic questions such as the one we have just raised, the one true divine and human reality of the Church and of her faithful as human persons endowed with the dignity of having been called by baptism to be children of God and of the Church are reflected in unity (77).
Precisely, the Church of communion will overcome theologically the vision of Pius XII in his Encyclical "Mystici corporis" (Rome, 12.VI.1943), because for Canon Law the theology of communion is easier to express in the juridical order and will emphasize a relationship of the human person with God and with the authority of the Church.
It is of great historical interest to recall with Rouco Varela the post-conciliar times as moments of "hopeful ecclesial springtime" and also as "widespread indiscipline", especially in some parts of Europe, which is why the promulgation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law came at a providential moment when St. John Paul II was applying the true Second Vatican Council in the universal Church through his writings, his government and his travels (144). Thus Rouco reminds us of the words of Mörsdorf: "Canon law is 'ordenatio fidei'" (147)....
St. Philip Neri, like so many saints before and after him, was one of those leaders, or fathers in the faith, whom Paul urges to refer to by looking at the outcome of their lives in imitation of their faith.
May 26 is the feast of St. Philip Neri, co-patron saint of Rome and a saint to whom Christianity owes so much.
Life
Florentine by birth (he was born in 1515), he moved to Rome at the age of nineteen and never left it again, leading for about ten years an austere lay life of intense prayer (which he alternated with his work as a tutor for children). He spent entire nights keeping vigil in the catacombs of San Sebastiano, where, in 1544, on the eve of Pentecost, he was the protagonist of a sensational event: an orb of fire - it is said - entered his chest through his mouth.
From then on he began to manifest a physical anomaly: his heart beat loudly and irregularly, audible to those around him and, when he died, an examination of his body revealed that his ribs had arched outwards, precisely because of the pressure of his heart, which had dilated two and a half times more than normal (which would make his survival impossible, while Neri lived 50 years in those conditions).
From that Pentecost, Philip intensified his work of evangelizing reform "from below": he frequented young adults and professionals (not children or adolescents, as is often thought), he went to hospitals, prisons, public squares, markets, approaching people with simplicity and a direct, ironic, but always profound style.
Despite much reluctance on his part, he was ordained a priest in 1551, at the age of 36, and then exercised his ministry with great dedication (he spent ten hours a day in the confessional).
A great admirer of the Dominican Girolamo Savonarola, he distanced himself from his rigorism: for him, it was not excessive penances, devotions and mortifications, but joy, simplicity and self-irony that were antidotes to pride and an effective aid to spiritual growth.
Friend and advisor to several Popes, he died on May 26, 1595. He was canonized in 1622 along with Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier (his friends and companions in Rome), Teresa of Avila and Isidore the Labrador.
Legacy
Although effervescent in character, Philip Neri loved discretion and always tried to divert attention from himself, as true leaders do (anthropologist Paulo Pinto defines detachment as the transfer of a spiritual leader's charisma to his community after his death, when followers unite around the values he embodied, not his person). In fact, far more famous than he were the lay people who grew up, humanly and spiritually, under his aegis. Just think of musicians like Giovanni P. da Palestrina or Giovanni Animuccia (the Spanish priest and composer Tomás Luis de Victoria also frequented the Oratorio).
Another "Oratorian" figure worth mentioning, in addition to the saintly priest John Henry NewmanThe great Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi, a devotee of St. Philip Neri and an assiduous layman of the Oratory of Barcelona (he was run over by a streetcar on his way to evening prayers), whose beatification process is underway.
In short, Neri was characterized by a spirituality marked by joviality, but also by nonconformism towards his own person or towards a preconceived norm. In fact, he never wanted to be considered a "founder", stressing, rather, that holiness is accessible to everyone according to their own characteristics and that true spiritual reformation, as well as true penance, begins with love, smiling, accepting one's own life and that of others for what they are and not for what we would like them to be.
The Oratory
The Congregation of the Oratory, officially born in 1575, was a new institution for the time, to guarantee a stable form to the priestly community that had arisen around Philip Neri, in which the priests lived in community but without religious vows to dedicate themselves to the service of the laity and to the needs of the apostolate in the Oratory.
In a Rome still marked by the sack of 1527 and by a widespread moral and religious crisis, Philip, still a layman, had in fact "invented" the Oratory to foster a daily relationship with God and with his brothers in the faith, characterized also by prayer meetings with friends in his small room in the church of San Girolamo della Carità (where he lived). Oratorio, in fact, comes from the Latin "os", mouth, to indicate the intimate relationship, mouth to mouth, between God and man. In these daily meetings, the Word of God was treated familiarly and shared, with the active participation of the laity (not as passive listeners, as in Mass homilies) in prayer, reflection and sharing, something unheard of at the time (as was the daily Mass).
Music
One of the distinctive features of the oratorio is its music. In fact, there is talk of "oratorian" music, and even of Felipe Neri as a precursor of the musical genre known as oratorio.
Philip's genius was to have understood that music is a universal language and favors the spread of the Gospel message, even among the popular classes who were then illiterate and unable to understand Latin or liturgical music. For this reason he began to use songs and melodies famous at the time, often modifying their verses or their writing, or having new ones written.
From this idea arose the musical genre of the oratorio (often a sacred alternative to opera), whose most famous composers were Carissimi, Charpentier, Haydn and, in Protestant circles, Handel (his is the most famous oratorio of all: "The Messiah") and Bach ("Passion according to St. Matthew" and others).
People are often convinced that to reintroduce baroque musical forms (or niche ones, such as folk) to contemporary audiences is to retrace the steps of St. Philip Neri, nothing could be more wrong. Such works are certainly musical masterpieces, but the original idea is to speak to people in a language they are familiar with, so pop/rock music, or musical music, in the non-liturgical realm, are the forms that would come closest to what Philip was thinking. It's a bit like what a number of Protestant or Catholic (especially charismatic) groups do today: contemporary musicality, professionally composed and arranged songs, Christian texts and meanings. All this, however, outside the Mass, where, precisely, there is the possibility of "making oratorio".
Modern devotion
Philip Neri is the son of modern devotion, a spiritual renewal movement of the 14th-15th centuries that sought to build a more intimate and subjective religiosity, an "individual spirituality", as opposed to the collective piety of the Middle Ages.
Its birth is due in particular to Geert Groote (1340-1384), a Dutch Catholic deacon and preacher, who adopted as his Magna Carta the book of Thomas of Kempis The Imitation of Christ, centered on the importance of recollection and individual prayer, personal reading of the Bible and the imitation of Christ in ordinary life: mysticism incarnated in reality. This movement also focused on the lay apostolate, spreading from Holland to Belgium, Germany and France, and then to Spain and Italy, and influencing some of the pillars of the Catholic Counter-Reformation: Jan van Ruusbroec, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Ignatius of Loyola and, in fact, Philip Neri, with Francis de Sales as his continuator. These last two later inspired St. Josemaría Escrivá to found Opus Dei.
The concept of modern devotion found its definitive legitimization with the Second Vatican Council and the apostolic exhortation "....Christifideles Laici" of John Paul II.
Philip Neri, like so many saints before and after him, was one of those leaders, or fathers in the faith, whom Paul urges to refer to by looking at the outcome of their lives imitating their faith (not imitating them directly, then). I would go on to say that he was a "Homo sapiens" par excellence, if we take into account that the human being, made of earth (humus), is also sapiens (from the Latin "sapere"), a term that indicates, more than erudition, wisdom: the having and giving of taste.
The three "H's
In his life we find what I call "the three H's": "humilitas"; "humanitas"; "humor". They are the three ingredients that make it possible to be "homo sapiens", therefore men and women who have and give flavor (and wisdom), and they all derive from the same Latin root, "humus", which is also that of "homo" (man):
"Humilitas" (humility): awareness of one's own limitation. Despite being made of earth and being poor and defenseless before age, death and God, one must be aware of one's divine nature, with the dignity that goes with it. True humility is thus the right balance between earth and heaven, healthy realism;
"Humanitas" (humanity): consequent to humility, it is the respect for oneself and for others that can only come from knowing oneself in relationship first with God and then with one's neighbor. Only with humility and humanity (relationship) can one be a gift to others;
"Humor" (humor): true humility, united to the joy of relationship with others, but above all to the happiness of being looked upon and loved by God (who "looked upon the humility of his servants") leads to an inevitable lightness: one does not take oneself too seriously and, when one makes mistakes, one forgives oneself and moves on, laughing at one's own and others' faults, but a laughter that is not mockery or ridicule, but simply "turning a blind eye".
Leo XIV takes office as Bishop of Rome, and the city pays homage to him.
VI Sunday of Easter, an intense one for Pope Leo XIV. First the Regina Coeli in St. Peter's Square, intoned, and not only prayed, by the Pontiff. Then he received the homage of the city of Rome, through Mayor Gualtieri. Leo XIV then presided at the Eucharistic Celebration of his inauguration as Bishop of Rome in St. John Lateran. And there remained the visit to Santa Maria Maggiore.
Francisco Otamendi-May 25, 2025-Reading time: 4minutes
On a splendid day, Pope Leo XIV has been sworn in as Bishop of Rome in the Basilica of St. John Lateran with a Eucharistic Celebration. Bishops, priests, men and women religious and lay people paid their homage to the Bishop of Rome. After the liturgy, the Pontiff was scheduled to stand in the central loggia of the Lateran Basilica to bless the city of Rome.
A city that just a short time before, in the Piazza dell'Ara Coeli, at the foot of the steps of the Campidoglio, had conveyed its homage to him from the hands of the Mayor, Roberto Gualtieri. In this brief act, the Pope expressed his wish that "Rome, incomparable for the richness of its historical and artistic heritage, may always be distinguished also for those values of humanity and civilization that draw their lifeblood from the Gospel".
"Mother of all churches".
In his homily, the Pontiff said that "the Church of Rome is heir to a great history, consolidated in the witness of Peter, Paul and countless martyrs, and has a unique mission, perfectly indicated by what is written on the façade of this cathedral: to be 'mater omnium ecclesiarum', mother of all churches".
Maternal dimension of the Church
Leo XIV continued, "Pope Francis often invited us to reflect on the maternal dimension of the Church. And on the characteristics that are proper to her: tenderness, availability, sacrifice and that capacity to listen that allows her not only to help, but often to foresee needs and expectations, even before they are formulated. These are traits that we hope will grow in the People of God everywhere, including here, in our great diocesan family, in the faithful, in the pastors, and first of all, in myself.
In his words, the Pope stressed that "we are all the more capable of proclaiming the Gospel when we allow ourselves to be conquered by the Spirit. Also, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Hope in 2025, he referred in particular to the work of the Diocese of Rome and what many who come from afar perceive: "a large, open and welcoming house, and above all, a home of faith."
After the blessing in St. John LateranThe Pope was to finish the day in another of the great Roman Basilicas. Santa Maria Maggiore, where the burial Pope Francis, in front of the icon of Santa Maria, Salus Populi RomaniThe dedication, so venerated and loved by the Romans.
Thus, Pope Leo XIV has already visited the four great papal basilicas. A few days ago he visited the fourth, St. Paul Outside the Wallswhere he venerated the tomb of St. Paul.
Pope's thanksgiving during his first Regina coeli
At 12 o'clock sharp, Pope Leo XIV appeared for the first time at the study window of the Apostolic Palace to pray the Marian prayer of the Regina coeliThe relative surprise was that he sang it again, in what may be a tradition. The relative surprise was that he sang it again, in what could be a tradition.
On this Sixth Sunday of Easter, at the beginning of his address, the Pope expressly thanked "above all for the affection that you are showing me, and at the same time I ask you to support me with your prayer and closeness".
Focus on the Lord's mercy, not on our own strength.
He went on to say that "it is precisely this Sunday's Gospel (cf. Jn.14:23-29) tells us that we should not look to our own strength, but to the mercy of the Lord who has chosen us, confident that the Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us everything".
We are two weeks away from Pentecost, June 8, and the Pontiff is already turning to him. In this way, he stressed: "To the Apostles who, on the eve of the Master's death, were troubled and anguished, wondering how they could be continuators and witnesses of the Kingdom of God, Jesus announces the gift of the Holy Spirit, with this wonderful promise: 'He who loves me will be faithful to my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and dwell in him' (v. 23)" (v. 23)".
"Do not fret, do not fear!"
In this way, Jesus frees the disciples from all anguish and worry and can say to them, 'Do not be anxious and do not be afraid'" (v. 27).
In the same vein, he launched another message, one more in these days, of abandonment and trust. "Although I am fragile, the Lord is not ashamed of my humanity; on the contrary, he comes to dwell within me. He accompanies me with his Spirit, enlightens me and makes me an instrument of his love for others, for society and for the world".
He concluded by encouraging us to "walk in the joy of faith, to be a holy temple of the Lord", "entrusting ourselves all to the intercession of Mary Most Holy".
Beatification in Poland, prayer for China
After the recitation of the Regina Coeli, the Pope recalled the beatification yesterday in Poznań (Poland), of "Stanislaus Kostka Streich, a diocesan priest murdered out of hatred for the faith in 1938, because his work on behalf of the poor and workers disturbed the followers of communist ideology. May his example inspire priests in particular to spend themselves generously for the Gospel and for their brothers".
Leo XIV recalled yesterday's liturgical memorial, the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians, and the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, instituted by Pope Benedict XVI. In churches and shrines in China and around the world, prayers were raised to God as a sign of solicitude and affection for Chinese Catholics and their communion with the universal Church. "May the intercession of Mary Most Holy obtain for them and for us the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of trials, so as to always promote peace and concord," Leo XIV said.
The Pope also prayed for all peoples at war, and for those who "are engaged in dialogue and in the sincere search for peace".
10 years of Laudato si': "listening to the double cry of the Earth and the poor".
The Holy Father also recalled the ten years since Pope Francis signed the Encyclical Laudato si', dedicated to the care of the common home, on May 24, 2015.
Leo XIV recalled that Laudato si' "has had an extraordinary diffusion, inspiring countless initiatives and teaching everyone to listen to the double cry of the Earth and of the poor. I salute and encourage the Laudato si' movement and all those who pursue this commitment".
Peace comes from a trusting surrender to God and not so much from "doing a lot of things".
May 25, 2025-Reading time: < 1minute
The utilitarian mentality in which we are immersed could lead us to think that time dedicated to God is time wasted, or on the contrary, that by doing "many pious things" we earn heaven, sometimes losing peace.
We live in a cold and indifferent world. Juan José Millás said during the conclave that it was all a staging of these days, very attractive but to mask the emptiness... I think that's how many people think. However, on seeing Robert Prevost's face for the first time, Leo XIVI personally felt that God was giving us a gift that exceeded my expectations. A man who gives peace.
"Peace begins with each one of us: with the way we look at others, listen to others and speak to others" (Leo XIV). Peace is accepting differences, having the ability to listen to and appreciate others. Peace brings unity.
Some of our readers will know the story of María Ignacia García Escobar, who in 1933 after four months of agony (she suffered a real ordeal, sore from head to toe, wasted, the last vertebrae deformed and protruding, her height was decreasing every day) died of tuberculosis in the Hospital del Re (Madrid) at the age of thirty-four.
In some of the notes he made during his illness we read: "Everything in the world is vanity. Only serving and loving Our Lord will last forever". He chose the path of love, living in a continuous springtime.
Almost a century later, the life of this young laywoman from Córdoba teaches us that peace is a gift from God, as she wrote: "I will smile these days in the midst of all the droughts and tribulations you want to send me. I will be able to do everything with you".
DR Congo: Christians persecuted in the east, resources plundered
Camille and Esther Ntoto, born in Kinshasa and co-founders of the organization 'African New Day', have denounced in the European Parliament the open persecution of Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In an interview with the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), explain the intention of terrorist groups to establish an Islamic state in the east of the country.
Francisco Otamendi-May 24, 2025-Reading time: 5minutes
The Congolese Camille and Esther Ntoto, co-founders of African New Day, denounced this week, in an interview with the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ), in the European Parliament, the violence and persecution of terrorist groups and armed militias against Christians. This is taking place in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the eleventh largest country in the world and the second largest in Africa.
The drivers of African New Day in the United States and Belgium, working in partnership with organizations based in Goma, have referred to the causes of this conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), armed groups and Rwandan militias, mentioning which armed groups are persecuting Christians and taking away the natural resources of the country.
Thanks to ECLJ's support, Camille and Esther Ntoto were able to meet with some fifteen influential members of the European Parliament, as well as representatives of the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Balance and consequences of a deadly war
His speech could be divided into a few sections: What is happening in the Congo. Europe. Whether there is religious persecution. The role of Rwanda. Raw materials. Let's follow this thread, but with some premeditated disorder, according to the statements of the promoters of 'African New Day' to ECLJ.
More than 6 million dead and 7 million internally displaced persons is the terrible balance of thirty years of conflict, the deadliest war since World War II.
In summary, it could be noted that among the dozens of terrorist groups and armed militias present in the area, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have joined the Islamic State and are persecuting Christians in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Camille Ntotostates that "This ongoing war is the most serious humanitarian crisis since World War II. There has never been a conflict in the world that has provoked the kind of crisis we are now experiencing in eastern DRC. It is curious to note that Rwanda is a leader in exporting materials from the soil and subsoil."
Consequences of the Rwandan genocide
"For 30 years there has been a war that is, in fact, the consequence of the Rwandan genocide that took place in 1994 and the genocidaires left Rwanda to take refuge in eastern DRC, where there has been instability ever since, instability and insecurity, with the interference and involvement of foreign forces, along with the Congolese army's attempt to defend its soil," Camille assures.
"I have talked about the humanitarian crisis. There are several armed groups operating now. One of the groups we hear most about is M vingt-trois, which is supported by the Rwandan government, with Rwandan soldiers."
"The chaos in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has made it possible", in his analysis, "for another group that initially stood against the legitimacy of the Ugandan government to take refuge in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and to initiate terrorist and intimidation operations".
And that it mixes with other entities on the ground, "to then seize economic resources, in particular cocoa production. In another stage of its evolution, this ADF group joined forces with the Islamic State, AISSIS".
Threatened Christians
There, "their effort is now to be able to suppress the expression of faith of Christians through the churches, but also of the other Christian entities that exist. Through the destruction of these churches, threaten Christians and claim that forced conversions to Islam are their hobbyhorse. Thousands of people have been victims of this. Many people, still today, because of their faith in Jesus Christ, are targeted by the ADF group. Unfortunately, many have perished and Esther has testimonies about this."
Elderly Jean-Pierre
Esther Ntoto now takes the floor. She recounts dramatic scenes, reminiscent of the early Christians.
"There are people who have come face to face with a group of ADF and have been burned alive for refusing to renounce their faith. We have photos of the burned body of the elderly Jean Pierre, last March and today his wife and children have traumas and his wife faints very often almost every day.
This is also the case of one of our sisters who was in charge of the women's group in a church who went, as she did every week to meet with the other women and when she came back from church, Deborah met a group that asked her to renounce her faith. She said no several times and they told her: we are going to make you suffer before you die".
Deborah
Esther continues: "And she began to sing to God. They raped her, stabbed her, and then put leaves and sticks all over her, and left her naked, thinking she was already dead. Some time later people returning from their fields found her there and were surprised to see her still alive. They took her to a medical center where she was able to tell them what had happened to her. She died there a few hours later.
Esther criticizes the fact that some people do not believe the stories.
"It is deplorable in this visit we have had here to the European Union and the European Commission especially, to hear that there are people who do not believe these stories," says Esther Ntoto in the video.
"They don't believe that thousands of men and women have been massacred because the ADF don't use firearms, they use bladed weapons, axes, knives and machetes. It breaks my heart. It is outrageous to even think that someone could make up a story like this. It's time for this to stop, it's time for this to end, it's time for people to know that there are Christians in Congo who are being beaten, who are being massacred because of their faith. This is a reality and it has to stop."
Esther and Camille Ntoto, at the gates of the European Parliament.
"Christians in the spiritual space of Europe, of the world."
The founders of 'African New Day' "are grateful that leaders of the European Union, of the European Commission, have wanted to take a step forward to review the agreements that have been signed with aggressors, and today we are talking about the Rwandan government that was the beneficiary of an agreement with the European Commission".
"A review has been put in place to prevent some of these crimes that are being committed in broad daylight, with impunity. This must stop. These Christians, even if they are not in the European space, they are Christians in the spiritual space of Europe, in the spiritual space of the world church. And we believe that there is hope for a resolution and an end to this situation, so that Congo can finally turn the page to an era of prosperity, they point out.
Very rich in raw materials: "let's not be hypocritical".
There is hardly any time left for economic analysis. Just some reference to what Camille and Esther Ntoto have commented. "We have to stop being hypocritical, because if Congo did not have the wealth it has, we would be at peace. We wouldn't even be here, but that's because Congo is a rich country and has all the wealth the world needs. We are talking about minerals, but we also have to talk about our biodiversity. The world needs it, and the future of the world cannot be counted without Congo," they say.
"If you have a mobile device, if you have a computer, an iPad or an electric car, chances are every day you use a little bit of Congo in a very ordinary way.Why? Because there are minerals that are used to make all the objects and gadgets I just mentioned, and they come from the Congo." "The minerals we are talking about are needed in the energy transition. Cobalt, coltan, lithium, copper and so on, they come from Congo, from Congolese soil."
In his opinion, "Rwanda is not the right country to deal with mining agreements. It is from Congo that the mineral resources come. "In Rwanda, we are talking about a tiny state with a population that cannot be compared to the 100 million Congolese," Camille says.
The authorFrancisco Otamendi
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Every May 24, we gratefully celebrate Mary, Help of Christians, because Our Lady always responds to the petitions of her children.
May 24, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
History is full of examples of petitions to Our Mother the Virgin Mary, answered with effective protection of her children. The title of the Virgin Mary as Help of Christians is more than four centuries old. It is also one of the litanies that are prayed at the end of the Rosario.
Christians at Lepanto
In 1571 Pope Pius V asked all Christians to pray, specifically, the Holy Rosary. He proposed that they invoke Our Lady under the title Auxilio de los Cristianos (Help of Christians). The objective was that the Christian army, led by John of Austria, would win in the battle that was to take place against the Turks in the Mediterranean Sea. Constantinople had been in the hands of the Turks since 1453. In this way they dominated the Mediterranean and threatened the conquest of Rome.
Despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, the Christian fleet defeated the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The following year Pius V instituted a feast in honor of the Blessed Virgin, on the same day, annually, with the name of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Ottomans and Bonaparte
A little more than a century later, in 1683, when Vienna was besieged by the Ottoman Turks, Pope Innocent XI also asked that the Rosary be prayed, again under the title Help of Christians. The battle began on September 8, the day on which we celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Four days later, on the feast of the Sweet Name of Mary, the battle ended happily with a new victory for Christianity.
In 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte, proclaimed emperor of France, began to persecute the Church. Pope Pius VII excommunicated him. However, in 1809, Napoleon stormed the Vatican, arrested the Pope and transferred him in chains to Fontainebleau. There he held him prisoner for five years. The Pope tried to communicate to the whole Church to pray to Our Lady, Help of Christians, for his release.
Once again, with the help of the Rosary, the Pope's wishes were granted. On May 24, 1814 Napoleon abdicated. That same day the Pope was able to return to Rome. In his first official act he proclaimed the feast of Mary, Help of Christians. Since then, every May 24, we celebrate Mary Help of Christians with gratitude.
St. John Baptist Rossi, a Roman priest from Genoa, was an example of apostolic commitment to epilepsy. The Church also celebrates on May 23 the Capuchin Saint Crispin of Viterbo, two Polish priests, Blessed Joseph Kurzawa and Vincent Matuszewski, murdered by the Nazis, and numerous martyrs.
Francisco Otamendi-May 23, 2025-Reading time: < 1minute
On May 23, the liturgy commemorates priests, religious and various groups of martyrs. Among the former are St. John Baptist Rossi and the blessed Polish priests Joseph Kurzawa and Vincent Matuszewski, killed by the Nazi police. And among the religious, the Capuchin Saint Crispin of Viterbo.
The Church also celebrates on this day Saints Lucius and his companions martyrs in Carthage (Tunisia), in the time of Emperor Valerian, for confessing the religion and faith learned from St. Cyprian.
The saints martyrs of Cappadocia (Turkey), Christians whose names are not recorded, tortured and killed in 303 for their faith, during the persecution of Emperor Maximian, are also in the saints' calendar of the day. And the martyrs of Mesopotamia, executed under the same emperor.
St. John the Baptist, apostle in poor health
St. John Baptist Rossi was born near Genoa (Italy) in 1698. As a young man he moved to Rome, to the home of an uncle who was a priest. He studied with the Jesuits and was ordained a priest. As a student he suffered his first epileptic seizures, which lasted his whole life. He showed a generous apostolic commitment in Rome in spite of his illness, in the confessionspiritual accompaniment, spiritual accompaniment, care for the poor in Rome and in the hospices.
St. Crispin, cheerful Capuchin
St. Crispin (Viterbo, Italy, 1668), was called Peter. He approached the Capuchin Order, and there he discovered his path of sanctification. In the face of problems, he was optimistic, and his joy He made himself felt at every moment, helping the sick who came to see him. Like St. Francis of Assisi, he discovered the presence of the Lord in created things and in nature. He died in 1750 and is the first saint canonized by St. John Paul II.
Before becoming the Pope Leo XIVIn the late 1980s, the then Bishop of Chiclayo (Peru), Robert F. Prevost, created a commission to help women escape forced prostitution, according to a trafficking survivor who worked with him.
Silvia Teodolinda Vázquez, 52, told Argentine newspaper La Nación that she met Pope Leo when he created a diocesan commission on human migration and human trafficking in 2017.
Claiming that he affectionately called him "padrecito," or "Father Rober," Vázquez told La Nación in a May 17 interview, "The day I met him he told me something very nice."
They had just finished a meeting about the commission's work, she says, and "he came up to me and, with that warm tone in his voice, he said, 'Silvia, I know this work is very hard for you because of all you went through when you were young. I'm so grateful for what you're doing for these girls, and I bless you.' It was very touching."
The pope created the commission, which is still active, in 2017 to bring together lay people, religious men and women and parishes to help advocate for and assist vulnerable migrants, refugees and victims of trafficking. He was the driving force behind all their work, he said.
Assistance to immigrant women
Then Bishop Prevost was concerned about the connection between the huge flow of Venezuelan migrants into Peru and the growing number of sex workers, so he met with members of the Sisters of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, who were dedicated to helping women forced into prostitution, and asked them to join the commission he was forming, Vazquez told La Nacion.
The sisters had long been fighting human trafficking and offering women ways to remain free from exploitation; the congregation was awarded the U.S. State Department's TIP Award in 2005 for its work.
Vazquez, a survivor of sexual abuse, human trafficking and forced prostitution, said one of the sisters repeatedly reached out to her, helping her find shelter and a new job. "I am eternally grateful to them because thanks to them I was able to get ahead and become what I am today. They were my second mothers," she says.
She then spent 15 years working with the sisters, providing health education to sex workers and promoting workshops offering alternative trades. That's how she met Bishop Prevost.
The sisters worked for years with the commission until they had to close their convent in Chiclayo and return to Lima. Bishop Prevost's commission then took over the sisters' work in assisting trafficking victims, and that is how Vazquez began working directly with the commission, reported La Nacion.
Vázquez and others walk the streets and go to bars, where they get permission from the owners to talk to the women, he explains.
"The first thing we ask them is how they are doing and what they need," he explains. He also gives out his phone number, "and many of them call me when they want to talk or need something."
Women's shelter on the outskirts of Chiclayo
The commission also built, with the help of Vincentians and Caritas, a St. Vincent de Paul shelter on the outskirts of Chiclayo for women, he said. More than 5,000 people, mostly migrants from Venezuela, have passed through the shelter.
The future Pope Leo supported all the commission's efforts and organized spiritual retreats for trafficking victims and sex workers, "very well attended at the time," Vazquez says. He also celebrated Masses and confessions at the retreats.
"We coordinated everything with him," she said. The commission gave him monthly reports on their work, "which included everything from talking to girls in brothels and bars to offer them help and job opportunities, to helping them regularize their immigration status and assisting them with treatment for illnesses and clothing for their children."
The new pope is "kind, very affectionate and has a very nice way with people," he said.
When he saw who had been elected pope on May 8, "he cried with joy," he said. She had gone to a neighbor's house to watch the announcement on television and "my neighbor didn't understand. I told her I knew the Pope very well. I had to show her the photos to make her believe me."
This article was first published in OSV News. You can read the original article HERE.
Diversity is a richness for the Church, which is a mother; and her children, who are brothers and sisters by faith, are capable of discovering the experience of community in every corner of the world where they meet another baptized person.
May 23, 2025-Reading time: 5minutes
On April 24, two decades ago, the Mass for the enthronement of the Pope was celebrated Benedict XVI and, this year, we witness the moment in which Pope Leo XIV inaugurates his pontificate by receiving the fisherman's ring.and the archiepiscopal pallium in which, in one way or another, all believers, all members of the flock of the Eternal Shepherd, are represented. We entrust to him as the Church militant or pilgrim Church this task of guiding all Christianity with his words, his actions and his teaching to the great goal of Christians, to be the Church triumphant in Heaven.
Living this moment must be a moment of joy for all Catholics; an event that marks the continuity of the Apostolic Tradition and whose particular symbolism, today more than ever, is centered on the Chair of St. Peter, who bears witness to Christ before the world. Its symbolism is even a reality, it is the experience, the assumption of a power entrusted to him by Christ himself: to rule, to teach, to bind and to loose.
These words should really impose themselves on our senses and should make us think that the person himself and his universal vocation to holiness are at stake when listening to the Shepherd and the one to whom he himself has entrusted the flock. To rule is closely linked to obedience, obedience to faith and doctrine, and no longer to one's own or personal ideas, but to the obedience of the true faith.
Unity in diversity
It is curious that Pope Benedict XVI recognized in his magisterium that "unity is the sign of recognition, the calling card of the Church throughout her universal history" (Benedict XVI. "In this sense, unity in diversity has manifested itself repeatedly throughout history, and it is a diversity that is not provoked and encouraged by eminently human forces; on the contrary, the enclosure of the Church is a sign that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in them: for this reason, to live as brothers is the work of the third person of the Trinity. The Church in her diversity is majestic, living, present and militant, she has a goal which is none other than Heaven; meanwhile, God himself maintains his Church through the sacraments.
Henri de Lubac emphasizes that since we are children by baptism, which is born of the same side of Christ, we will never finish contemplating this mystery, we will never exhaust it, for "It advances like a river and like a fire. It catches up with each one of us at the right moment, to make new springs of living water gush forth in us and to light a new flame. The Church is an institution that endures by virtue of the divine power received from its founder" (Henri de Lubac, "Meditation on the Church", 2011).
Diversity is a richness for the Church, which is a mother; and her children, who are brothers and sisters by faith, are capable of discovering the experience of community in every corner of the world where they meet another baptized person. This faith, the same faith on the other side of the world, the same experience of faith that has been transmitted by the apostles and that makes us followers and lovers of the truth. Only by discovering the gift can we bring Christ to others; only by constantly nourishing ourselves with his Word and the Eucharist can we have the strength and the moral disposition to make him known so that what we say about him is eminently credible.
The Pope's mission in the Church
Christ, after showing his majesty and power in the Resurrection, never abandons his people, but rather institutes the Church in Peter, as its visible head, as the one to whom he entrusts the mission of "feeding his sheep".(Jn 21:17), only because he loves him and loves us. The project of Jesus, he himself entrusts it to men, the Lord trusts in those who, despite their weakness, he knows will be assisted by a power that surpasses them, that surpasses us, it is a project that is not human, it is divine, almost like an antechamber of heaven on earth, and through his Church, the means are within reach so that "all men may be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth".
"This Church, established and organized in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him" (LG 8). Now, communion implies a collaboration of the hierarchy, in virtue of the fact that they also possess the power to rule the people of God, to rule them so that they always discover that the center of the Christian life, in the different circumstances, is to see Christ, to contemplate him, to be with him (cf. Mk 3:13).
"Now I say to you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the power of hell shall not overthrow it" (Mt 16:18). So it has been for almost two millennia. The house is built on stone, not on sand; it stands firm on the foundation of the apostles. The union between heaven, which is the Church, starts from her already triumphant at the wedding of the Lamb.
Power in Heaven and on Earth
The power of the Supreme Pontiff reaches the whole earth, but at the same time it also reaches Heaven: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt 16:19). Therefore, the office of representing Christ is necessary in every time, "walking together",to a large extent means that we all have the same faith.
If we look at Peter's profession "You are the son of the living God" (Mt 16:16), Peter's task is to make those words resound throughout the world, in every time and circumstance, it is to carry the Cross, also the victory of the Resurrection, waiting for the promise of the "Μαραν αθα".
To pray for the intentions of the Holy Father is to unite ourselves as Church to the one to whom the Lord entrusts the flock, it is an obligation to pray every day for him, for his life and for the many evils he may suffer. Obedience is not something that is something "past", neither is respect, it is to see how Jesus himself continues to lead the Church towards him, where one day we can see him "as he is" and that the veil that covers the Church is uncovered and we can see her true face with the one who is the head, Christ.
St. Joseph and St. Mary, protectors of the Church
Finally, let us not forget the powerful intercession of St. Mary Mother of the Church, of St. Joseph the Patron of the universal Church, who protect the Church on pilgrimage in this world. Holy Mary, Virgin and Mother, Virgin by Divine Grace and Mother of sinners, without Her who is "Θεοτόκος", Mother of the Church, model of holiness for all the faithful by trusting fully in God, without Her ─repito─ we could not assume the vocation to live the communion in the Church, in a particular way, in the case that concerns us in our days, with the Pope, to live fully the communion of saints.
As St. Josemaría said with great confidence and radicalism about the present times in which Pope Leo XIV is beginning to make his way: "Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam," that is, "All with Peter, to Jesus through Mary" ("It is Christ who passes by," 139).
Pope appoints Sister Merletti secretary of dicastery for religious
Pope Leo XIV appointed Sister Tiziana Merletti, canon lawyer, secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
OSV / Omnes-May 22, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
In his first appointment of a high-level official of the Roman Curia, Pope Leo XIV named Sister Tiziana Merletti, a canon lawyer, as secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Sister Merletti, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, succeeds Sister Simona BrambillaBrambilla, a Consolata Missionary Sister, whom Pope Francis appointed prefect of the dicastery in January. Sister Brambilla is the first woman to head a Vatican dicastery.
The International Union of Women Superiors General (UISGin Italian) thanked Pope Leo and congratulated Sister Merletti on her appointment, which the Vatican announced on May 22.
Experienced profile
As a member of the union's canon law council and the Commission for Safeguarding, jointly managed by the unions of superiors and superiors, "her contributions are a contribution to our global network, promoting justice, care and integrity in consecrated life," the group of superiors stated. "We congratulate Sr. Tiziana on this important mission and assure her of our prayers as she assumes this new responsibility in the service of consecrated life worldwide."
The dicastery, according to the apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, is called "to promote, foster and regulate the practice of the evangelical counsels, their living out in the approved forms of consecrated life and all that concerns the life and activity of the Societies of Apostolic Life throughout the Latin Church".
According to Vatican statistics, there are about 600,000 professed religious in the Catholic Church. The number of religious priests is about 128,500 and the number of religious brothers is close to 50,000.
Canonist and teacher
Sister Merletti, 65, was born in Pineto, Italy, and earned a degree in civil law before taking her first vows as a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor in 1986. In 1992 she earned her doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.
From 2004 to 2013, she was Superior General of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor. At the time of her appointment, she was teaching canon law at the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome and practicing as an expert in canon law at the UISG.
The authorOSV / Omnes
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St. Rita of Cascia, Augustinian, "saint of the impossible cases".
On May 22, the Church celebrates the Augustinian saint Rita of Cascia (Italy), "saint of the impossible cases". Born in 1381, she lost her husband and children, and was a woman of faith, humility and perseverance. Finally she was admitted among the Augustinian nuns of the monastery of St. Mary Magdalene of Cascia. She asked the Lord to participate in his Passion, and had a stigma for 15 years.
Francisco Otamendi-May 22, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
Margarita Lotti, called by the diminutive "Rita", was the daughter of farmer and cattle rancher parents, who made an effort to give her a good training She was a school and religious in Cascia, where she was taught by the Augustinians. There he matured his devotion to St. AugustineSt. John the Baptist and St. Nicholas of Tolentino, whom Rita chose as her patron saints.
In a climate of rivalry, with love and understanding Rita's relationship with her husband improved and she was blessed with two sons. However, her husband was murdered. Rita forgave those who killed him. At the same time, an illness caused the death of her children. Alone, Rita intensified her prayer and at the age of 36, she asked to be admitted among the Augustinian nuns from monastery of St. Mary Magdalene of Cascia.
Santa Rita: saint of the roses
However, her request was rejected: the nuns thought that she could endanger the security of their community. But in the end she was admitted, and Rita was a humble religious, with zeal in prayer and in the works entrusted to her. Her virtues were known outside the convent.
Immersed in the contemplation of Christ, Rita asked to participate in his Passion, and in 1432, absorbed in prayer, she found on her forehead the wound of the crown of thorns of the Crucified One. The stigma persisted until her death, for 15 years. She is called the saint of the roses because while she was in bed before her death, she asked a cousin to bring her two figs and a rose from the garden of her father's house. It was January. The woman thought she was delirious. However, she was astonished to find the figs and the rose, and took them to Cascia.
Rita died on the night of May 21-22, 1447. The Vatican website notes that, because of the odor of sanctity, immediately after her death, her body was never buried. Today it is kept in a glass urn. The testimonials The graces and miracles that happen through her intercession are very numerous.
The love story of the Ortiz de Landázuri couple Busca
Laura and Eduardo. A love story is a posthumous tribute by Esteban López Escobar that narrates the spiritual and marital journey of the Servants of God Laura Busca and Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri.
Now that we have an Augustinian pope, Leo XIV, who reflects in his shield the burning heart of St. Augustine, it is a good time to reread the extraordinary book of "Confessions" of St. Augustine.
I would like to recall the magnificent edition prepared by Pedro Antonio Urbina for Palabra editions, which provides many Christians with a personal encounter with one of the most important Church Fathers in history.
When the Holy Father Leo XIV mentioned on the day of his election in St. Peter's Square that he was a son of St. Augustine, he was calling all Christians to a new conversion, a conversion to love, as did the saint of Hippo.
The first messages of the new Holy Father were, as we all remember, a call to the unceasing search for peace in the world. Certainly, as St. Josemaría Escrivá said, for there to be peace in the world there must be peace in consciences, and for this there is nothing better than the permanent conversion of each one of us to love.
Precisely, I wish to present now the posthumous work of the former professor of communication at the University of Navarra, the Valencian Esteban López Escobar (1941-2025), who undertook this last work of his life with great illusion and a galloping leukemia that killed him only to deprive him of seeing the book published in the street, because a few weeks before his death he had given us the manuscript perfectly revised.
The Ortiz de Landázuri couple
When a year before I went to him, as a friend of many years in Pamplona, and as diocesan postulator of the cause of beatification and canonization of the Servants of God, I was able to see him, as a friend of many years in Pamplona, and as the diocesan postulator of the cause of beatification and canonization of the Servants of God. Laura Busca Otaegui and Eduardo Ortíz de Landázuiri, we could not have predicted this fatal outcome.
In fact, Esteban had already prepared two editions of a biographical book on Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri, the former professor of pathology at the Faculty of Medicine, dean and vice-rector of the University of Navarra. The admiration and friendship they had during his lifetime allowed him to enter deeply into Eduardo's soul and family. Those semblances were reprinted several times.
In the course of time and life, Esteban had known and treated his wife Laura, a Basque from Zumarraga, always smiling, a pharmacist, mother of seven children and an accomplished cook.
With this background and the perspective that the diocesan investigation had already been closed and that both processes, Eduardo's and Laura's, had entered the Roman phase, Esteban decided to undertake the work.
The beatification process
Let us remember that the "Positio" on the life, virtues and reputation for sanctity of these Servants of God had already been delivered to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and, therefore, now it only remained to await the judgment of the Church and, in the meantime, to continue disseminating the prayer card for private devotion.
Precisely in the print for private devotion Laura and Eduardo appear together in a photograph taken in Granada when they were a young married couple who were joyfully welcoming their first children and, while Eduardo was making his way in the practice of medicine and university teaching.
Esteban was struck by the fact that she told him that they appeared together, since both were in the process of beatification and, therefore, the graces and favors that God Our Lord in his particular providence decided to give us, would be attributed to the intervention of the couple.
Therefore, if one day a miracle were to occur, by means of that event, both could be beatified or canonized. That is to say that in the causes of marriage the phenomenon occurs that with one miracle you have two saints.
The question is obvious: why does the Church demand two rigorous processes of virtue separately for the two spouses and, on the other hand, why with only one miracle for beatification and another for canonization, would we obtain two saints? The answer given by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints is quite simple: marriage is a "theological place".
This is the origin of this biographical sketch of Laura and Eduardo's marriage and, in a way, also of the tribute to a professor, writer and journalist such as Esteban López Escobar.
The proposal I made to Estaban was to write the story of the love between Laura, Eduardo and God, for as we know, married love is a matter of three, since all human love is based on divine love: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20).
A careful reading of this work shows how human love is transformative. Indeed, the lives of Eduardo and Laura and the intertwining of their desires for mutual love and self-giving appear throughout this book in the form of the children who are the crystallization of the spouses' love in a new life with God's grace.
Likewise, in a very delicate way, Esteban Lopez Escobar relates the becoming of Christian virtues; the conjunction of God's grace and the free correspondence of each one of them and of both of them to reflect in their lives God's gift of the beatitudes and the procession of moral virtues.
It is true that men are not born saints, but that they become saints through God's grace and personal effort, but it is also completely true that without God's grace we can do nothing. In fact, the anecdotes described in this book show how this couple, not only were happy and created a bright and joyful home, but were transformed by God's grace.
Laura and Eduardo. A love story
AuthorEsteban Lopez Escobar
Editorial: Word
Year: 2025
Number of pages: 318
Language: English
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Alejandra Martinez is the content manager for Latin America and Spain for the prayer and meditation application Hallow, where he has found the place to unite marketing and theology.
How do graphic design, marketing and theology intertwine to build bridges to faith in the digital world? Alejandra Martinez, originally from Monterrey, Mexico, is an example of this fascinating convergence. A graduate of the University of Monterrey with studies in graphic design and marketing, Alejandra began her professional career in advertising agencies and communications departments.
However, his life took an unexpected turn when God gave him the opportunity to study Institutional Communications and Theology at the University of California at San Diego. Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. There, he discovered "the beauty of the universal Church"finding "people from so many different cultures, accents and movements, united by the same longing to know and live close to God".. This experience strengthened his desire to put his talents to work. "in the service of something bigger than myself.". Later, he completed a master's degree in Corporate and Political Communication at the University of Navarra.
It was during a stay at the George Washington University that Alejandra met Hallowthe world's number one Catholic prayer and meditation app. She was captivated by its mission, its creativity and the real possibility of accompanying souls digitally.
The way to God
Alejandra grew up in a Catholic family and is very thankful to her parents for "the love, education and faith they sowed." in her. Her mother says that it all began when Pope St. John Paul II visited Monterrey in 1990. While she was pregnant with Alejandra, she had the opportunity to speak with the Pope and receive his blessing. "with his hand on my belly.". For this reason, both Alejandra and her mother think that this blessing is a blessing for them. "it surely marked, without knowing it, the beginning." of their way.
Alejandra's path to get closer to God is"very concrete and at the same time very everyday.". Starts with "daily prayer - even if it is brief, even if sometimes I don't know what to say - and with the desire to let myself be looked at by Him.". It also approaches God through "beauty: an image, a Gospel story, an uplifting song... because I believe that everything true, good and beautiful speaks to us of Him.". And, of course, "through people: those who have accompanied me in my spiritual life, those who inspire me by their simple and deep faith"..
Alejandra felt the desire to be better trained to serve the Church, and remembers going to the wayside shrine of the University of Navarra to ask the Blessed Mother for a scholarship to be able to study for her master's degree. "If you give it to me, I promise you that everything I learn I will use to serve the universal Church."he told her. A year later, she graduated from her master's degree with her scholarship and signed her contract with Hallow.
Working in Hallow has been a way to get closer to God: "accompanying others on their prayer journey reminds me every day that I too need to return to Him, again and again.". On the other hand, his studies of Theology and Communication made him "understand the urgency of telling the faith well.".
Creating impactful content
As content manager for Latin America and Spain, Alejandra "coordinates, produces and manages Spanish-language content within the app"including "novenas, consecrations, meditations, music, bedtime prayers and much more.". His work begins "listening: what is our audience looking for, what wounds does it bring, what does it need to meet God again?".
Alejandra believes that "impactful content is born from deep listening".looking for "to understand what is going on in people's hearts: what they are looking for, what they need, what wounds they carry and how God can enter there.". At HallowThe aim is to communicate the message of hope, faith, and conversion with authenticity and excellence, involving "priests, nuns, psychologists, influencers and moms of families."and taking care of every production detail. "In one sentence: get it perfectly right.".
God also touches hearts in the digital world: a funny prayer, word or song can be the spark for a profound change, even a miracle!
The Holy Spirit acts in the Church in many ways. He guides the Church into all truth (Jn 16:13), but, as we see in today's Gospel, he also "reminds" the Church of the words of Christ: "the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be the one to teach you everything and to remind you of all that I have said to you.".
That remembrance of Jesus works in two ways: it reminds us how demanding his call is (e.g. Mt 16:24; 19:21), but also how understanding it is. God's presence in our souls "we will come to him and make our abode in him."- at the same time disturbing and comforting: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be troubled.". The message of the Gospel is as far from fanaticism as it is from lukewarmness.
And this calm and balanced approach of Jesus is seen in today's first reading in a historical decision made by the early Church that managed to be radical and reasonable at the same time. Some converts from Judaism to Christianity had "disturbed" converts from paganism by insisting that they had to be circumcised and adopt all the ritual practices of Jewish law. In a sense, they had to be Jews to be Christians, these people claimed. But the apostles, after meeting and discussing this, issued an important decree. In the first place, they made it clear that those people who "they have stirred you up with their words, unsettling your spirits." had no mandate from them: "without our order" to do so. And then they give their decision, which is a clear break with Judaism (in that very radical sense), while respecting some convictions that Jewish Christians would have felt very deeply: the rejection of idolatry, of eating animal blood and strangled animals, and of sexual immorality. The first and last are obvious, the middle two were more Jewish dietary beliefs of the time that the apostles respect (for example, Jews believed that a creature's life was contained in its blood, so eating the blood of an animal was somehow seen as trying to have power over its life, which only God really has). Thus, the decision was ultimately a sensible compromise, affirming essential moral teaching while respecting contemporary concerns. This is always the Church's approach: to "remember" Christ is to be both radical and reasonable, affirming perennial and immutable values, yet sensitive to contingent ones.
Pope Leo XIV emphasizes the outpouring of God's love and remembers Francis
In his first General Audience, held in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV emphasized God's outpouring of love for us, considering the parable of the sower. He also recalled with gratitude "our beloved Pope Francis" and encouraged us to pray the Rosary during this Marian month.
Francisco Otamendi-May 21, 2025-Reading time: 3minutes
On the morning of May 21, Pope Leo XIV held his first General Audience in St. Peter's Square, with more than forty thousand faithful, in which he meditated on the parable of the sower.
Some special notes of the Audience were "the gratitude to our beloved Pope Francis"; the words in English to the English-speaking pilgrims; his invitation to pray the Rosary for peace in this Marian month of May, formulated to the Portuguese-speaking faithful (with express reference to Our Lady of Fatima) and to the Arabic-speaking faithful; and the greeting after the Blessing to various ecclesiastical personalities, whom he received standing, with a handshake.
He has also prayed for peacewith express mention of the Gaza Strip. He focused in particular on the need for humanitarian aid, especially for children, the elderly and the sick, and added that "we are called to sow hope and build peace".
Gratitude to Pope Francis
The words about Pope Francis were the following: "And we cannot end our meeting without remembering with such gratitude our beloved Pope Francis, who just a month ago returned to the Father's house."
The new Pope Leo XIV said that he was resuming the cycle of catechesis for the Jubilee Year, 'Jesus Christ, our hope', and focused his meditation on the theme '....The sower He spoke to them of many things in parables', taken from St. Matthew, 13.
Catechesis on Jesus Christ, our hope
"I am happy to welcome you to my first general audience. I am resuming the cycle of Jubilee catecheses on the theme 'Jesus Christ, Our Hope,' initiated by Pope Francis," he said.
"Today we will continue to meditate on the parables of Jesus, which help us to recover hope, because they show us how God works in history."
And he stopped at "a parable that is a bit particular, because it is a kind of introduction to all the parables. I am referring to that of the sower (cf. Mt 13,1-17). In a certain sense, in this story we can recognize Jesus' way of communicating, which has much to teach us for the proclamation of the Gospel today".
Pope Leo XIV has stated: "Parables are a way in which the Lord communicates his Word to us so that it questions and challenges us, provoking in us a response to the question that underlies the narrative he is telling us: Where do I fit into this story? What does it say to my life?"
Calculation is not valid in love
Commenting on the parable of the sower, the Pope pointed out that it is about a "sower, quite original, who goes out to sow, but does not worry about where the seed falls. He throws it even where it is unlikely to bear fruit".
"We are accustomed to calculating things - and sometimes it is necessary - but this does not apply to love! The way in which this 'wasteful' sower throws the seed is an image of the way in which God loves us," the Pope said.
"God trusts and hopes that sooner or later the seed will blossom," he reiterated. "He loves us like this: he does not wait for us to be the best soil, he always generously gives us his word."
Van Gogh, 'The Sower at Sunset', image of hope
The Pontiff referred here to "that beautiful painting by Van Gogh: 'The Sower at Sunset'. That image of the sower under the scorching sun speaks to me also of the peasant's effort. And I am struck by the fact that, behind the sower, Van Gogh has represented the ripe wheat. It seems to me an image of hope: one way or another, the seed has borne fruit. We don't quite know how, but that's how it is.
Finally, Leo XIV encouraged us to "ask the Lord for the grace to always welcome this seed which is his word. And if we realize that we are not fertile ground, let us not be discouraged, but let us ask him to continue to work in us so that we may become better ground".
25 years since the canonization of 27 Mexican saints
Today the Church celebrates 25 years since the canonization of 27 Mexican saints during the Jubilee of the year 2000 by St. John Paul II. Cristobal Magallanes and 24 others were martyred in the first third of the 20th century. In addition, the liturgy celebrates saints Eugene de Mazenod and Hemming, St. Virginia, and the Pentecostal martyrs of Alexandria.
Francisco Otamendi-May 21, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
Today the Church commemorates 25 years since the canonization that took place during the Jubilee of 2000 in Rome. On May 21, St. John Paul II canonized 27 Mexicans. "The Church rejoices in proclaiming these sons of Mexico saints," the Pope said. "Cristobal Magallanes and 24 fellow martyrs, priests and lay people; José María de Yermo y Parres, priest founder of the Religious Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and María de Jesús Sacramentado Venegas, foundress of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart".
"Most of them belonged to the secular clergy and three of them were lay people seriously engaged in helping priests," the Pope added. "They did not abandon the courageous exercise of their ministry when the religious persecution The Mexican people's hatred of the Catholic religion was unleashed in the beloved land of Mexico. All of them freely and serenely accepted martyrdom as a testimony of their faith, explicitly forgiving their persecutors, (...), and today they are an example for the whole Church and for Mexican society in particular".
The Church in Mexico: intercessors in heaven
In its homilyThe Polish Pope said that "the Church in Mexico rejoices to have these intercessors in heaven, models of supreme charity following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. All of them gave their lives to God and to their brothers and sisters, by the way of martyrdom or by the way of generous offering in the service of the needy (...) They are a precious legacy, fruit of the faith rooted in Mexican lands". The particular feast of each one is celebrated on the day of their death.
In St. Peter's Square the name of the Indian Juan Diego was heard loudly, canonized in 2002, to whom the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.
Saint Eugene, founding bishop
St. Eugene de Mazenod, Bishop of Marseille, was the founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He was saved from the French Revolution, and instead of court life, he chose the priesthood. This day is also commemorated, among others saints and blessedThe following are also mentioned: St. Hemming of Sweden, and Saints Hospice of Nice, Mantius and Paterno.
St. Hemming and St. Virginia
St. Hemming was born north of Upsala, in Sweden, at the end of the 13th century. Once ordained a priest, he went to Paris to complete his studies. On his return to his homeland, in 1338 he was elected bishop of Abo, today's Turku in Finland. He had numerous initiatives in liturgical and educational matters, and established free services for the poor.
Saint Virginia Centurione (Genoa, XVII century), had to accept her father's decision and marry a rich young man with a disorderly life. At the death of her husband, widowed at the age of 20, she received the vocation to "serve God in his poor and needy". His work was developed in two congregations religious. She was enriched by the Lord with ecstasies, visions and interior locutions.
The last book from Giovanni Maria Vian, The last daddy, see the evolution from papacy from the century XVIII to the present time, highlighting the voltages on tradition y modernity. Vian critique the reforms incomplete from Papa Francisco y notes the need from a more collegiality y consistency at the leadership ecclesial.
Giovanni Maria Vian, professor of history at the University of La Sapienza of Rome and former director of L'Osservatore Romanohas written an interesting work, half historical and half journalistic, about the development of the papacy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, focusing on the work and organization of the Roman Curia. The book is presented journalistically as an allegory of the famous apocryphal prophecy of St. Malachy about the last pope who would reign in history and who, "theoretically", would usher in the end of the world and who, according to the prophecy, would be called John XXIV. In reality, apart from the cover, prologue and epilogue, the book is a work of history based on documentary sources from the Vatican Archives and on testimonies of varying rigor.
A reading of the Church
The book has been presented in certain press as a critique of some facets of the pontificate of the last Popes from St. John Paul II to the present day, although in reality we are dealing with an analysis of variable value.
In fact, Professor Vian, a connoisseur of the Roman Curia and of the contemporary history of the Church, echoes an appreciation abundantly developed by the great Christian intellectuals of recent history such as Merry del Val, Romano Guardini, Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Rahner, Ratzinger and more recently by Andrea Riccardi.
According to Vian, the Church should abandon the style and ways proper to the society of Christianity, that is to say, those corresponding to the connivance with the State from the time of Emperor Constantine to the present day, to recognize that the separation of Church and State is irreversible and that the Christian roots of society are disappearing at great speed, to enter fully and in a few years into a new post-Christian globalized civilization and culture.
In this sense, when St. John Paul II affirmed that the new evangelization was "new in its ardor, method and expressions", he was referring to a society still with Christian roots that could be "de-secularized" and become Christian again to a considerable extent, that is, a human society still with Christian roots founded on the Gospel, Greek philosophy and Roman law.
Church and dialogue with the world
Surely, although he does not say it explicitly, what Giovanni Maria Vian is proposing, deep down, would be the convenience of celebrating a new Vatican Council III that dialogues with today's world. To rewrite "Gaudium et spes", to analyze the current western society in order to help it find educational, anthropological, philosophical and spiritual approaches that revalue the dignity of the human person and open horizons of hope to a society in decadence. He wants the Curia to emerge from self-referentiality (p. 205) and return to the rule of law (p. 213).
It is important to realize that the liberal society, like the social-democratic one, has perished and we are moving towards a new culture and civilization in which cultural and social parameters are different.
It must be discovered that there are immense layers of today's society that have no other major interests than personal self-affirmation, moral autonomy, pleasure and comfort, and that the first world, in fact, despises solidarity and emigration because it has become cruelly unsupportive precisely because it has abandoned spiritual values.
First world society is self-destructing at great speed: fundamental values such as love, family, friendship, work, culture, serenity of judgment, spiritual and transcendent vision, and even ecology and the environment, peace.
The solution
Vian seems to forget that the Catholic Church has the solution: the human and divine person of Jesus Christ and his saving doctrine. His capacity to drag and transform, to ignite and open horizons of happiness, of unlimited love and concern for others, the family, the world, the needy, the discarded. Benedict XVI said it in a very graphic way: "The Holy Spirit is the source of all our faith".We have believed in God's loveThis is how a Christian can express the fundamental choice of his or her life. One does not begin to be a Christian by an ethical decision or a great idea, but by the encounter with an event, with a Person, which gives a new horizon to life and, with it, a decisive orientation" (Deus Caritas est1).
In any case, Vian reminds us that it is necessary to rewrite part of the Christian doctrine in order to give an answer from Christ to the real problems that afflict men and especially those of the ruling classes of this world of ours: a new anthropology, attractive and consistent with the dignity of children of God, endowed with freedom and dignity (p. 25).
In this regard, Vian will devote a few pages to highlighting the final document by which the Pope endorsed the conclusions of the "synod of synodality" on November 24, 2024, a few months before his death. This extraordinary post-synodal document connects very well with current sensitivities, also with other religious confessions and in the social organization of the economy - of business - and in the way of working in teams that has been imposed. Precisely, the final document underlined Vian speaks to us of putting the shoulder and to feel the Church as our own. At the same time, the bishops of the whole world and the Pope, as fathers of the family, will watch over the course of the universal Church (p. 39).
Logically, many of the futurist proposals that are exposed throughout this work are completely opinionated and touch sensitive points of the tradition of the Church, for what it is necessary to take them with freedom, as well as they have been expressed with naturalness as, for example, the proposal of destruction of the works of art made by certain artists of our time entangled in terrible juridical causes (p. 47). Finally, he will directly address the reform of the Pontifical Curia, its working methods and the contribution of ideas that have continued since the code of 1917 (p. 98).
The comments on Opus Dei are biased, imprecise and subject to a false dynamic: Opus Dei has never wanted to be an exception, nor to live apart from the bishops, nor to be an institution of power, but to serve the Church and souls (p. 218).
The Last Pope. Present and future challenges of the Catholic Church.
Fabrice Hadjadj arrives in Spain with a new project: the INCARNATUS Institute, an initiative that wants to revolutionize the Hispanic-American cultural scene and present the humanities as the right way to find the answers to the questions that society is asking itself.
Fabrice Hadjadj is a French philosopher and author known for works such as "The Luck of Being Born in Our Time", "The Faith of Demons (or Atheism Overcome)" or "Why Give Life to a Mortal: and Other Lessons".
For several years he has been living in Fribourg (Switzerland), where he directs the Philanthropos Institute, an initiative that aims to give young people a solid foundation in philosophy, theology and manual work, all strongly inspired by the Benedictine mentality.
Now, Fabrice Hadjadj and his wife Siffreine Michel are moving to Spain to start a new business venture. INCARNATUS Instituteinspired by the Swiss project. Through INCARNATUS, Fabrice and his wife want to delve deeper into the Hispanic American culture and, from the humanitiesto help those who feel called to delve deeper into reality, far beyond what technology can offer.
The institute is still in full development, but Fabrice Hadjadj shares in this interview with Omnes the keys that make him think that the humanities are the answer to the questions we ask ourselves today, and the secret to achieving what we long for so much: freedom.
Why do you think that today more than ever it is urgent to rediscover the humanities, especially in the face of the advance of a technocratic and utilitarian vision of the human being?
- The word "humanities" already gives the answer, because to be interested in the humanities is to discover your humanity. Although when we talk about humanities we talk about reading texts by ancient authors and the question is: if we are men of today, why do we have to read ancient authors?
The reality is that to be free you have to distance yourself from your time. If we are immersed in our time, we are convinced that everything that is done in our time has always been done this way. When I read ancient authors, not only do I enter into a very deep human wisdom (deep because it has come to cross time), but I also take distance from my time and become free.
We often think that freedom comes from revolution, but freedom comes from tradition. When I read Plato or St. Augustine, I take distance from my time and I can criticize it. Even the French revolutionaries read the ancients and referred to the Roman Republic. Marxist revolutionaries, too, read Marx, and Marx read Aristotle. From Aristotle's texts Marx criticized capitalism.
The revolution, the good revolution, has to be understood in a relationship with tradition in order to find freedom and to tear ourselves away from our epoch to see it objectively.
How do you see the role of beauty in awakening the desire for truth and for a truly human life?
- When I talk about theater and singing, I am not only talking about beauty, but also about a practice. Many times people talk about beauty as a spectacle, but what interests me is to do things in beauty.
Beauty calls for beauty and what interests me is not the fact of loving poetry, but of becoming the poet of your own existence. So when I speak of singing and theater, it is to speak of a practice of beauty that enters our body and is carried in our veins and in our gestures.
In this bringing beauty in us there is a question of freedom. The problem of the modern world is to believe that we start being free and that we do not have to learn to be free. But, precisely when learning an art, especially a demanding art such as one linked to beauty, it is understood that freedom is a learning process.
If you want to play flamenco guitar, you have to learn, you can't do it all at once. You don't need to go to a school or an academic institution, but you need a teacher and a living tradition, which is not a reconstructed ideological tradition. This is what I see in theater and singing, not only the embodiment of beauty, but the development of freedom.
Are INCARNATUS and Philanthropos also projects for married people?
- The projects are aimed first at students, people who are rather unmarried and do not have a regular job. But engaged couples have been welcomed and this year for the first time there is a married couple who were willing to enter into this adventure and who do not have children. These are projects to create your own community, not so much to be in your community.
There will be times when people who already work on a daily basis will be able to participate. We have seen people transformed by seeing what we lived, that is what the word of Christ says: "Come and see". We are in a world in which there are so many words and signs sent in all directions, that the word "come and see" is very important for there to be a transformation.
What is the contemporary crisis of meaning? Why can God and philosophy respond to this crisis?
- We can take the word "sense" in its most elementary meaning. There is a crisis of sense and a crisis of sensation. In a digital world we do not know how to feel, we have lost the sense of touch and smell. We have ears to distinguish signals, but not to listen. Our eyes are wide open like mouths that would like to swallow images that destroy each other, so that we cannot even see.
That is why I insist on creating places where sensations can be recreated, through manual work, musical instruments or by being around a table where a conversation can be had.
The crisis of meaning is a crisis of feeling. It is really a crisis at the most basic level. Then there is another level, which is the crisis of hope, because meaning is also an orientation, a path towards.
Modernity was progressive and was persuaded that the world was going to be better. The meaning was not eternal but temporary and that meaning was "tomorrow there will be a better society". Today this progressive project of a better society has created threats that are worse than any that have ever weighed on humanity.
The world made better by consumption is destroying the world. Thus, modern hopes have collapsed and so, apart from having to find the base, we have to find the summit, which is a hope that comes from further away than the world itself: an eternal hope where things are not done because tomorrow will be better, but because God has asked us to keep and cultivate the garden.
Today, hope is no longer an option. As worldly hopes have collapsed, religious hope is not an option. Therefore, let us find both the body and the spirit at the same time, to get out of this limbo.
Pope appoints Cardinal Reina Chancellor of the Institute for the Sciences of Marriage and the Family
The cardinal succeeds Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who turned 80, the mandatory retirement age at the Vatican, on April 20. The archbishop had served as Grand Chancellor since 2016.
OSV / Omnes-May 20, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
By Cindy Wooden, OSV
Pope Leo XIV appointed Cardinal Baldassare Reina Grand Chancellor of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for the Sciences of Marriage and the Family. The cardinal succeeds Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who turned 80, the Vatican's mandatory retirement age, on April 20. The archbishop had served as grand chancellor since 2016.
Cardinal Reina, as papal vicar for Rome, is automatically the grand chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University, where the institute is based.
The Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family was established by St. John Paul II in 1982 after the 1980 Synod of Bishops on the family called for the creation of centers dedicated to the study of the Church's teaching on marriage and the family.
The last 10 years
Following the recent meetings of the Synod of Bishops on the family in 2014 and 2015, which called for a more pastoral and missionary approach to modern family life, Pope Francis updated the statutes in 2017. He pointed out the need for greater reflection and academic formation from a pastoral perspective and attentive to the wounds of humanity, keeping alive the original inspiration of the ancient institute.
By broadening the scope of the institute by making it a "theological" institute dedicated also to the human "sciences," Pope Francis wrote, the institute's work will study - in a "deeper and more rigorous way - the truth of revelation and the wisdom of the faith tradition."
The anthropological and cultural changes underway affect all aspects of human life, he wrote, and that calls for a new approach that is not limited to pastoral practices and mission "that reflect forms and models of the past."
Pontifical Academy for Life
Archbishop Paglia is also the president of the Pontifical Academy for LifeHe is also expected to retire from this position now that he is 80 years old.
Pope Francis also updated the statutes of that body in 2016. The main objective of the academy, founded in 1994 by St. John Paul II, remains "the defense and promotion of the value of human life and the dignity of the person," according to the new statutes.
The new statutes add, however, that achieving the objective includes studying ways to promote "care for the dignity of the human person in the different ages of existence, mutual respect between genders and generations, the defense of the dignity of every human being, the promotion of a quality of human life that integrates its material and spiritual value in view of an authentic '....ecology human' that helps to recover the original balance of creation between the human person and the entire universe".
Saints Bernardine of Siena, Lydia of Thyatira, Chong Kuk-bo and M. Crescentia
On May 20, the liturgy celebrates St. Bernardine of Siena, a Franciscan who spread the figure of Jesus, and St. Lydia of Thyatira. Also included in the saints' calendar of the day are the Korean layman St. Protasius Chonk Kuk-bo, persecuted for his faith, the Argentinean Blessed Maria Crescencia Perez and the Polish Franciscan Blessed Anastasius Pankiewitz, among others.
Francisco Otamendi-May 20, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
The well-known Franciscan St. Bernardine of Siena, preacher and reformer, is celebrated on May 20 by the liturgy, together with St. Lydia of Thyatira, referred to in the Acts of the Apostles. The Church also celebrates on this day St. Protasius Chonk Kuk-bo of Korea, Crescencia Perez of Argentina, and one of the martyrs of World War II, Anastasius Pankiewitz of Poland, also a Franciscan.
Bernardino of Sienawho, as a young man, helped the plague patients where 30 years before she had been a saint, and who, as a young man, helped the plague patients where 30 years before she had been a saint. Catherine of Sienawas a preacher, missionary and Franciscan saint of the 15th century. He spread devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus, and played an important role in the intellectual and spiritual promotion of his Order, according to the Franciscan Directory. Before his death in 1444, left founded more than 200 monasteries.
Saints Lidia and Maria Crescencia
The Apostle Paul met Lydia of Thyatira in Philippi of Macedonia, now Greece, according to the Acts of the Apostles: "On the Sabbath we went out of the gate to the bank of a river... We sat down and began to speak to the women who were present. One of them, named Lydia, a seller of purple, a native of the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to adhere to the words of Paul. When she and those of her household were baptized..." (Acts 16:13-15).
Blessed Maria Crescencia was born in San Martin, province of Buenos Aires, in 1897. Her parents came from Galicia (Spain) and were Christians. In 1918 she took the habit of the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary Most Holy of the Garden. Her life as a religious was marked by simplicity, prayer, care for the poor and the sick and devotion to the Virgin Mary. She died young in Chile in 1932.
Chong Kuk-bo confessed Christ to death
St. Protasius Chong Kuk-bo, Korean Christianwas born in 1799. At the age of thirty he became a Christian and years later he was baptized. He married a Christian woman. In 1839 the persecution against the Christians was unleashed. He was arrested and faced the tortures with firmness, but abandoned the faith when he was promised freedom. He repented, returned to the faith, was imprisoned, but confessed Christ until death, in Seoul in 1839.
The author analyzes the document published by the International Theological Commission on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
May 20 marks the 1700th anniversary of the opening of the Council of Nicaea, considered the first ecumenical council in the history of the Church. On the occasion of this date, the International Theological Commission (ITC) published in early April the document "The Church and the Church".Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. 1700 years since the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. 325-2025".
The International Theological Commission
In order to understand the importance of such a document, it is useful to recall the nature of the ECI. The ECI, instituted by the Pope St. Paul VI The Council, established in 1969, is composed of a maximum of thirty "specialists in the theological sciences from different schools and nations who are distinguished for their knowledge, prudence and fidelity to the magisterium".
The members of the ECI are appointed by the Pope to serve on the Commission for a renewable five-year term, and their mission is to "study doctrinal questions of particular importance, especially those that are new, in order to assist the Magisterium of the Church, and especially the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in whose sphere it has been established" (Statutes, art. 1).
This means that the documents of the ECI contain a theological reflection that the members of the Commission place at the service of the Magisterium of the Church, without being itself official magisterium. When these documents are approved by the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, they are made public and accessible to all interested parties.
Starting from the Council of Nicea
The ECI had already dealt with Christological questions in the documents of 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1995. The current document starts from the teaching of Nicea and from it refers to various aspects of the Christian mystery such as creation, the Church, anthropology, eschatology and, of course, the doctrine of God the Trinity and Christ the Savior.
Perhaps because it deals with so many issues, the final document, fruit of the work of the subcommission in charge of drafting the text and approved by the plenary of the ECI and by the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, is very extensive. In this sense, the text of the Nicene Symbol (although it is indicated that they have before them the Nicene Constantinopolitan Symbol of 381, which completes aspects of that of 325) and the canons approved at the council, which together constitute a rather brief text, have served as a starting point for offering a broad reflection on various central aspects of theology.
The structure of the document
The document is structured in four chapters. The first is a doxological reading of the symbol in the light of Christology, soteriology and the Trinity, with a view to Christian unity. The second chapter is patristic in content and also covers the liturgy and Christian prayer. The third chapter aims to show that the event of Jesus Christ offers an unprecedented access to God, and brings about a true transformation of human thought.
Finally, the fourth and last chapter analyzes "the conditions of credibility of the faith professed at Nicaea with an approach based on fundamental theology, which will update the nature and identity of the Church as the authentic interpreter of the normative truth of the faith through the Magisterium, guardian of believers, especially the smallest and most vulnerable" (n.5).
The intercultural dimension of the Council of Nicea
The document does not explicitly allude to the accusation of the Hellenization of Christianity. With this term some Protestant theologians referred to the process of dogmatic formulation using terms from Greek philosophy, such as - in the case of Nicaea - "ousia" and "homousios". According to A. von Harnack, dogmatic formulas are a corruption of the purity of the Gospel.
ECI, on the other hand, refers positively to the encounter between cultures that took place at the Council, to the "intercultural dimension of which Nicaea is a foundational expression". This dimension can also be considered as a model for the contemporary period. Nicaea made use of Greek categories such as "ousia" from which comes "homousios" to express the true divine nature of the Son. "The Church," we read in n. 89, "has expressed herself in these Greek categories in a normative way and ... they are therefore forever united to the deposit of faith.
At the same time, "in fidelity to the terms proper to that epoch and which find their living root there, the Church can draw inspiration from the Nicene Fathers to seek today meaningful expressions of the faith in different languages and contexts". And he concludes: "Nicaea remains a paradigm of any intercultural encounter and of the possibility of receiving or forging new authentic forms of expressing the apostolic faith".
The Council of Nicaea and the saving work of Christ
Another issue that appears underlined in the document of the ECI is the soteriological aspect of the teaching of the Nicene symbol. It is an aspect well worth noting in order to avoid a one-sided consideration of Christology as if it could exist separately from soteriology, the saving work of Christ.
The ECI subcommission that prepared the document has done a very praiseworthy job because it has tried to cover various nuclear questions of Christian theology through the relationship that they can have with the teaching of Nicaea. The task was not easy, because the documents of Nicaea (the symbol especially, but also the canons) are a short text, and it is not possible to go to the acts of the council to contextualize its teaching, because they are not preserved.
Theological pluralism
In attempting to reach conclusions on different aspects of the Christian mystery from the reduced documentary base of Nicaea, it is difficult not to force theological reasoning to some extent. A greater concreteness of the object, which implies delimitation of the field of analysis, would surely have made it possible to present a shorter and clearer text.
The reading of the document we are commenting on places us before a theological text in which its authors present value judgments and explanations that they receive from other theologians (it is enough to look at the references, in the notes, that serve as a basis for their affirmations). In this sense, they show legitimate theological pluralism. In some cases, however, what is affirmed could be more nuanced. I will give just one example. In n. 87 we read that "the author of Acts draws inspiration from the epic poetry of the Odyssey to narrate Paul's travels"; or that "certain passages of the New Testament bear traces of a Greek ontological vocabulary", and the note indicates: "For example, the "egō eimi" of IV.Gospel, or the terminology of Heb 1:3 or 2 Pet 1:4". The discussion that such statements would provoke would undoubtedly be of interest, but I wonder if the most appropriate place for them is a document of the ECI which, although it is not an expression of the magisterium, enjoys a certain official authority.
The authorCésar Izquierdo Urbina
Doctor of Theology. Professor Emeritus of Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology.
Camille Costa de Beauregard, first Blessed proclaimed with Pope Leo XIV
The French presbyter Camille Costa de Beauregard became the first blessed proclaimed during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV last Saturday. The Pope mentioned him in Sunday's Regina Caeli. On May 19, the Church celebrates the saints Popes Celestine V and Urban I, and the Swiss St. Maria Bernarda Bütler, who evangelized in South America.
Francisco Otamendi-May 19, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
Mass for the beatification of the priest Camille Costa de Beauregard, committed to education and first blessed proclaimed during the pontificate of Leo XIV, was celebrated on Saturday, May 17, in the presence of many faithful from Savoy and other regions of France.
In his homily, the Archbishop of Chambéry, Msgr. Thibault Verny, explained that Camille Costa de Beauregard was not "an alien", but that he "let himself be loved by Jesus in order to, in turn, love with the same charity". More than 4,000 faithful participated in his beatification, among them more than 300 members of his family, including grandnieces and grandnephews, in a ceremony presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio to France, Monsignor Celestino Migliore.
In 1867, at least 135 people lost their lives in a few months in the city because of a cholera epidemic. Faced with this tragedy, the young diocesan priest decided to open an orphanage to take in the children who had been left alone: Le Bocage.
St. Camille: "Great pastoral charity".
After the Mass of initiation of his Petrine Ministry, Pope Leo XIV referred to the Communion of Saints. And he revealed before praying the Regina Caeli and giving the Blessing, that "during the Mass I strongly felt the spiritual presence of Pope Francis, who accompanies us from heaven".
He then added: "In this dimension of communion of saints, I recall that yesterday in Chambéry, France, the priest Camille Costa de Beauregard was beatified, who lived between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, witness of great pastoral charity".
St. Mary Bernarda Bütler: Evangelizer in South America
In addition to other saints and blessed, some Popes, the liturgy celebrates on May 19 the nun saint Maria Bernarda BütlerBorn in 1848 in Switzerland, in a humble peasant family. In 1867 she entered the Franciscan monastery of Mary Help of Christians in Altstätten (Switzerland).
The bishop of Portoviejo (Ecuador) invited them to mission in his diocese, and in 1888 Maria Bernarda and six companions embarked for America. In 1895, in the face of religious persecution in Ecuador, they left for Colombia and settled in Cartagena de Indias. What at first was a filial foundation became the new congregation of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians. She was canonized by Benedict XVI in 2008.
On May 18, 2025 Pope Leo XIV took his first ride in the popemobile, greeting the thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square and the surrounding area.
On May 18, 2025 Pope Leo XIV took his first ride in the popemobile, greeting the thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square and the surrounding area to attend the Mass at the beginning of his pontificate.
After the return in the official car, the Holy Father received the fisherman's ring and the imposition of the pallium, thus inaugurating his ministry at the head of the Church.
Now you can enjoy a 20% discount on your subscription to Rome Reports Premiumthe international news agency specializing in the activities of the Pope and the Vatican.
One of the problems that any pope elected to govern the Catholic Church in 2025 would have to face is continuing to address the clergy sexual abuse crisis. What's next?
OSV / Omnes-May 19, 2025-Reading time: 10minutes
- Paulina Guzik and Junno Arocho Esteves (Rome, OSV News)
Continuing to address the sexual abuse crisis in the clergy is a matter that any pope in the Catholic Church should confront. What's next? Cardinal Sean O'Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was among the first prelates Pope Leo XIV received in audience on May 14. It is fair to say, therefore, that this crisis seems to be at the top of their list of priorities.
In the first week of Pope Leo XIV's pontificate, the leading expert on the abuse crisis, as well as several abuse survivors and victims, have come out in defense of the newly elected Roman Pontiff. They have done so after two organizations advocating for abuse victims raised concerns about Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost's record on the matter after he was elected pope.
"Very aware" of the issue of child abuse.
Jesuit Father Hans ZollnerPrevost, director of the Institute of Anthropology (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, is a leading expert on the abuse crisis. He first met the then Father Prevost when Prevost was serving as the former general, the chief authority of the Order of St. Augustine in Rome. At that time, the future pontiff participated in the inauguration of the Child Protection Center (now IADC), as well as a safeguarding summit in the Gregoriana.
"Along with several other superior generals, he represented the male major superiors. And that in itself was already a sign that he, at that time in 2012, was very aware of the issue of child sexual abuse," Father Zollner told OSV News in a recent interview. He added that Prevost "was willing to learn more, both in terms of protection and in terms of canonical procedures."
Then Bishop of Chiclayo, Robert Francis Prevost (second from left), now Pope Leo XIV, with Fr. Hans Zollner S.J. (center), and now Cardinal Castillo Mattasoglio, in January 2020 at the Catholic University of Lima, Peru (Photo OSV News/Courtesy Father Hans Zollner).
Eight years later, in early 2020, their paths crossed again, when Father Zollner was invited by the Episcopal Conference of Peru to give a workshop on protection. At the time, then Bishop Prevost was the vice president of the Conference.
Pastoral, governance, canon law experience
The Father Zollner told OSV News that he welcomed Pope Leo's election, and valued his experience as a missionary in Peru, as a bishop and as head of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops in the church's central government. These experiences "are vital for what we need now in terms of church leadership, when it comes to transmitting the faith in a challenging environment."
He also noted that, with his expertise in canon law, Pope Leo can bring a balanced approach to the issue of clergy sexual abuse. Because "focusing only on a canonical approach is not enough if you really want the church to move globally." "Especially when it comes to a change of mentality and attitude."
"He had silently supported us, he was always there."
While meeting with several journalists on May 12, during an audience with those who had been covering the papal transition, Pope Leo met with Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz. She was smiling from ear to ear as the Pope shook her hand. He handed her a stole made of alpaca wool, which he placed briefly on her shoulders, and Peruvian chocolates. The two shared a few words.
"The gifts I gave him I had originally brought for my friend, Cardinal Prevost, who along the way became the Pope," he told OSV News later, with a smile.
Paola Ugaz, Peruvian journalist, presents Pope Leo XIV with a stole made of alpaca wool during the Pope's audience with journalists on May 12, 2025, at the Vatican (CNS photo/Vatican Media).
For Ugaz, this was not just a happy meeting with the new pontiff. Rather, it was a surprising reunion with someone who had been among the few who had supported her during a decades-long persecution. As she and survivors of abuse sought to expose wrongdoing within a controversial movement in her country.
Bishop Prevost "had supported us quietly, not in front of the cameras, since 2018," he said. "He never did it for recognition. He just helped. He was always there."
'A deeply symbolic message'
In 2015, Ugaz, along with survivor and fellow journalist Pedro Salinas, co-wrote a book titled 'Half Monks, Half Soldiers' ('Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados'). There they detailed the alleged psychological and sexual abuse, as well as corporal punishment and extreme exercises. Everything that the young members of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a society of apostolic life founded in Peru in 1971, were forced to endure by others in the community, including the leadership.
Since 2018, Ugaz and Salinas have faced a defamation campaign they attributed to Sodalitium, which included lawsuits and the publication of materials aimed at discrediting their work.
Pope Francis: dissolution of the Sodalitium
Given the movement's continued attempts to silence victims, as well as its questionable financial practices in Peru, Pope Francis launched an investigation into the Sodalitium in July 2023. And he sent Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, assistant secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, also of that department.
The investigation resulted in the expulsion of several high-profile members of the movement, including Archbishop José Antonio Eguren of Piura, as well as its subsequent dissolution by Pope Francis in January 2025, just a few months before his death on April 21.
"Justice came thanks to the Church."
Recalling the moment when the Papa Leo was announced as St. Peter's 267th successor, Ugaz told OSV News that the news "hit me like a ton of bricks."
"It was beautiful," he added. "I don't know if he was looking for it, but for the survivors, it's a deeply symbolic message."
Ugaz said that during his time as head of the Chiclayo diocese, then Bishop Prevost was one of the few bishops in the country who stood by his and Salinas' side, as well as that of the Sodalitium victims, when the group used questionable and unethical methods to silence them.
While "in Peru, the abusers and the powerful usually get away with it," Ugaz said that in his particular case, justice came from outside. "Not because the country suddenly realized that the Sodalitium had abused its members, stolen land from farmers and gone after journalists. Justice came because of the church, not because of the courts."
What we know about the allegations
Not long after the announcement of Pope Leo XIV's election on May 8, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) issued a statement accusing the new pope of failing to act against abuse in two separate cases: one in Chicago, when he served as Augustinian provincial in 2000; the other in Chiclayo in 2022, when he was bishop of the diocese.
In Chicago, the group said, then-Father Prevost allowed Father James Ray, a priest restricted from ministry in 1991 after being accused of molesting minors, "to live at St. John Stone Augustinian Convent, 2000." "Despite its proximity to a Catholic elementary school."
On May 9, Crux reported that a Chicago Augustinian said, "as background, that earlier this year the archdiocese had asked the order for permission for Father James Ray to be interned in that house after he was removed from ministry, because his superior was a licensed counselor acting as supervisor of a security plan imposed on Ray, and therefore Ray would be under a more watchful eye."
Security plan
In her report, Elise Allen wrote: "The Augustinian said that the location of a school two blocks away was not considered a risk at the time, given that there was a security plan in place, and the criteria for not placing accused priests near schools was a product of the 2002 Dallas Charter, which had not yet been issued when the Ray decision was made."
"This decision, they said, was an agreement between the archdiocese and the superior of the convent, but one that Prevost had to formally sign, since it was an Augustinian community house." The Archdiocese of Chicago has yet to respond to the recent allegations stemming from the 2000 incident.
Made decisions
As bishop of Chiclayo, SNAP accused the newly elected Pope of failing to open an investigation and sending "inadequate information to Rome" in the case of abuse of three women. The group alleged that the priest was allowed to continue his ministry despite the accusations.
SNAP said it filed a complaint against then-Cardinal Prevost "under Pope Francis' 2023 decree 'Vos estis lux mundi' on March 25, 2025."
The Chiclayo diocese denied the allegations made by SNAP, saying that then Bishop Prevost met with the victims in April 2022, and subsequently dismissed the accused priest, suspended him from ministry and forwarded the results of the investigation to the Vatican.
Smear campaign
"All the media have tried to discredit the cardinal, claiming that he did nothing, that is a lie. That is a lie. He has listened, he has respected the procedures and this process continues its course," said the bishop of Chiclayo, Monsignor Edinson Farfan, in a press conference in a town where the now Pope Leon was bishop, reported EFE agency on May 10.
Mass at the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Chiclayo in Peru on May 10, 2025, celebrating the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8 (OSV News photo/Sebastian Castaneda, Reuters).
When asked about the accusations made by SNAP against Pope Leo, Ugaz said that while the victims' stories of abuse are undeniable, the accusations of inaction were part of a smear campaign orchestrated by members of Sodalitium, who wished to discredit the former bishop after he supported the movement's victims.
Accusations: "were part of the campaign"
Father Zollner also suggested that the "accusations against then Bishop Prevost were part of the campaign instigated by members of Sodalitium."
"I have not seen any compelling evidence or documentation that SNAP or (watchdog website) Bishop Accountability or whomever has presented in support of the allegations," Father Zollner told OSV News.
The allegations about the Chiclayo case were picked up on September 8, 2024 by the television news program Cuarto Poder, capturing attention in Peru and abroad.
Request to a program to rectify the situation
"What the program Cuarto Poder claimed, that Cardinal Robert Prevost covered up for the priest, Eleuterio Vasquez Gonzalez, and that he remained silent in the face of complaints, is not true," the diocesan statement said at the time.
"From the moment of receipt of the complaint, and maintaining the right to the presumption of innocence, the Church has proceeded in accordance with its guidelines, both in the preliminary investigation and in the application of the precautionary measures: removal from the parish and prohibition from the public exercise of priestly ministry."
No turning its back on alleged victims
The diocese also asked Cuarto Poder to "rectify" its report, adding, "It is not true that the Catholic Church turned its back on the alleged victims. On the contrary, they were left free to file complaints in the civil courts and were offered the necessary psychological help if they needed it."
Cuarto Poder's investigation focused on the accusations of three women, who alleged that they were touched inappropriately by Father Vásquez when they were children.
The alleged victims issued a statement on September 11, 2024, in which they contradict the diocesan statement. They claim that, in fact, after reporting the story to the then Bishop Prevost on April 5, 2022, until November 2023, when one of them made it public on social networks, "no investigation was carried out, nor were precautionary measures taken for the protection of the faithful, boys and girls...the case was archived," they stated.
In their Sept. 11 statement, the alleged victims posted several images of the accused priest, Father Vasquez, celebrating Mass in public spaces on important occasions such as Easter, despite the restrictions the diocese asserted in its Sept. 10 statement.
In process
However, in its Sept. 10 statement, the Chiclayo diocese said that "the case was sent to the Holy See and archived for lack of evidence. Then, after a public appeal by one of the plaintiffs, the case was reopened, investigated again and is currently underway at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It should be added that, although it was publicly stated that there would be more alleged victims, only two of the three who initially complained came to testify."
OSV News has requested confirmation of this, as well as of the Dicastery's response, from its prefect, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez. At the time of going to press, there was no response.
Testimonials
Those who worked with then Bishop Prevost also contradict the allegations. "Roberto (now Papa Leo), when these accusations occurred, knew how to act immediately," Cesar Piscoya, former executive secretary of the pastoral vicariate under then-Bishop Prevost in the Chiclayo diocese, told OSV News May 12.
Piscoya explained that the then bishop addressed the canonical aspects of the complaint, adding, "When there had to be a complaint in a civil context, he also promoted it." Piscoya worked alongside the future Pope Leo XIV in Chiclayo from February 2015 to December 2022.
"Unfortunately, there are naysayers. Unfortunately, there are people with bad intentions," he said. "But when you identify who is writing and who is publishing this, we find out that they are precisely the ones who were accused."
The Peruvian bishops' conference barred a canon lawyer, Father Ricardo Coronado Arrascue, from representing the victims in August 2024. In December of that year, a decree issued by the Dicastery of the Clergy, and seen by OSV News, confirmed that the priest had been secularized (lost the clerical state), for sins against the sixth commandment, causing scandal and forcing "someone to perform or submit to sexual acts."
Same challenges, new pontificate
Father Zollner said that in light of Pope Francis' summit to address clerical sexual abuse in February 2019, in his view, the following is crucial. That Pope Leo XIV "promote awareness of the need to engage and continue to engage in safeguarding measures." Particularly with regard to the three pillars of addressing abuse: compliance, transparency and accountability.
One of the most pressing cases on the table for the new Pope to handle in canonical terms is the case of Slovenian priest-artist Father Marko Rupnik, who was expelled from the Jesuit order in June 2023.
"I hope that, as soon as possible, we will have a verdict. Many of us are looking forward to hearing about that, because it has been a long time, especially for those who have brought the accusations, for there to finally be clarity on this," Father Zollner said.
For any Pope, he added, the issue of abuse is critical, as it becomes "a question of the credibility of our existence and our message".
"The message of Jesus Christ (is) that we have to be there for our brother and sister, and especially for our brother and sister. those who are wounded and are in danger of being wounded," Father Zollner said. "This is the core of Christian existence."
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- Paulina Guzik is international editor of OSV News. See her at X @Guzik_Paulina. Junno Arocho Esteves writes for OSV News from Rome. David Agren contributed to this report from Chiclayo, Peru.
In Illo Uno Unum (In Him who is the One we are One)
They are many men and only one Man; many Christians and only one Christ: "In Illo Uno Unum". He is the sole recipient of the divine blessing.
May 19, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
The motto of the Holy Father's coat of arms Leo XIVIn Illo Uno Unum" (In Him who is the One we are One) may seem to us like a Latin riddle. The motto - as is well known - is taken from St. Augustine's homily on Psalm 127.
This type of expression is frequent in St. Augustine's writings. For a bishop, it is important to choose his motto Episcopal motto and, later, in the case of Leo XIV, to ratify it as his papal motto. He himself has confessed that this motto reflects his way of thinking and living as a Christian and as a bishop.
In an interview with the Vatican media in July 2023, two months before he was created a cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost explained the importance of this motto in his life and ministry. As an Augustinian, he said, unity and communion are central tenets of his vocation. To be in no doubt about this fundamental importance of communion and unity in the Church one need only read and meditate on chapter 17 of the Gospel of St. John.
St. Augustine and Psalm 127
But let us go to the source from which the motto is taken. St. Augustine wrote an extensive exposition on Psalm 127. The saintly bishop of Hippo emphasizes in his exposition the importance of counting on God in the protection of the city and in the construction of the family home. Without God's help, human efforts are in vain. It is a hymn to the family of those who fear the Lord. Everything depends on God's help, even the future of the children. The prosperity of the children is a divine blessing.
But St. Augustine wonders if this blessing of Yahweh is not also fulfilled in those who do not fear the Lord. It is evident that there are families with children in which the Lord is not feared. For this reason, St. Augustine proposes to his faithful a Christian interpretation of the psalm, looking to Christ as the fullness of Revelation. "Let us couple spiritual things to spiritual things," is how the homily begins. To this end, he turns to a theological reality dear to him and constantly preached by him: the unity of the faithful with Christ.
We form one Body with Him, and what is His Body? His Church, as the apostle says, "We are members of his Body" and "ye are the body of Christ and his members". Now there is only one man who is thus blessed with the blessing to which the psalm refers: it is Christ.
Only he fears the Lord who is among the members of this One Man. They are many men and one Man alone; many Christians and one Christ: "In Illo Uno Unum". He is the only recipient of the divine blessing.
The Netflix miniseries "Adolescence" shakes the foundations of a family and opens a disturbing portrait of childhood in the digital age.
Pablo Úrbez-May 19, 2025-Reading time: 2minutes
Series
Series: Adolescence
AddressPhilip Barantini
DistributionOwen Cooper, Stephen Graham, Faye Marsay
PlatformNetflix
Country: United Kingdom, 2025
Adolescence - NetflixOne morning in an ordinary neighborhood, the police break down the Miller family's door and climb up to 13-year-old Jamie's room to take him to the police station. He is accused of murdering a girl from his school. His parents, incredulous, go to the police station and enter an unknown spiral of lawyers, evidence, videos, photographs, silences and witnesses. The police, for their part, discover a world unknown to them:
Philip Barantinidirector of the feature film Boil (2021) and the Boiling Point (2023), directs this four-episode miniseries, which features Jack Thorne, author of Wonder (2017) y Enola Holmes (2020), and actor Stephen Graham, who plays Jamie's father Eddie. The performance as Jamie by newcomer Owen Cooper, who endows his character with innocence, immaturity and terror, expressing a grim psychological complexity, is surprising.
The miniseries has sparked much public debate, bringing to the forefront issues such as social media addiction, the detriment of social networking and the technologyand the role of parents, teachers and institutions in the digital education of minors. So much so that the UK Government has proposed its compulsory viewing in schools, while other sectors have branded the story as exaggerated and tremendist. It is good that an audiovisual work enriches the conversation in public forums, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that it is a fictional story.
It would be wrong to equate it with a journalistic report. The purpose is to tell a story, and that story entertains, works and shocks the viewer.
Its four chapters oscillate between the perspectives of Jamie, the police officers, a psychologist and the parents, offering a complex mosaic of the phenomenon. The question of why, the difficulty of explaining the motive for the murder, continually arises. As for the technical aspect, the four chapters have been shot entirely in sequence shots, in order to give more realism to the story, and to insert the viewer in a maelstrom in which the action never stops.
Leo XIV asks to bury "prejudices" at the opening Mass of his pontificate
In his homily, Pope Leo XIV, visibly moved, called for unity and peace in the presence of leaders from all over the world and hundreds of thousands of faithful gathered at the Vatican.
On the morning of May 18, in St. Peter's Square, a ceremony of Initial Mass of the Pontificate of Leo XIV. Before 150 official delegations, representatives of other religions and Christian confessions, and some 150,000 faithful, the Pope preached a homily that seems to be the program of his recently inaugurated magisterium: "I would like this to be our first great desire: a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world".
Faced with a time in which "we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear of what is different, by an economic paradigm that exploits the earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest", he expressed how the Church wishes to be "a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity".
First ride in the popemobile
Although the Mass at the beginning of the Petrine ministry began at 10 a.m., an hour earlier, around 9 a.m., Pope Leo made his first tour of the square in the popemobile, reaching the end of Via della Conciliazione. The crowd accompanied him with great enthusiasm and shouts of "Long live the Pope" and "Leone!
He then descended to the tomb of the Apostle Peter, in the heart of the Vatican Basilica, accompanied by the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches. There he paused for a few minutes in prayer. The faithful followed everything on the screens installed in the square and at various points in the adjacent streets.
Two deacons then took the pallium, the ring and the Gospel, and went in procession to the altar of the celebration, in the atrium located in St. Peter's Square. As the Pope entered the atrium, amidst the applause of those present, the choir sang the "Laudes Regiæ"., a litanic prayer in which the intercession of the canonized Popes, martyrs and saints of various centuries is invoked.
A tapestry depicting the scene of the second miraculous catch of fish hung from the central door of the basilica. The dialogue between the risen Jesus and Peter was also the Gospel passage read at Mass. Next to the altar was placed the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, which came from the Marian shrine of Genazzano, guarded by the Augustinian Fathers. The Pope is very devoted to this image and went to visit it two days after his election.
Imposition of the pallium and ring
After the rite of blessing and sprinkling of holy water, and the proclamation of the Word of God, a moment of great symbolic value took place: the imposition of the pallium and the presentation of the fisherman's ring. The pontiff was accompanied by three cardinals from three orders and three continents: Mario Zenari, Italian, who gave him the pallium - symbol of the mission of shepherding the Church and of Christ as the Paschal lamb; Fridolin Ambongo, from Congo, who made a petition to the Holy Spirit for the new Pope; and Luis Antonio Tagle, from the Philippines, who gave him the fisherman's ring.
This moment concluded with a prayer to the Holy Spirit, and then Leo XIV blessed the assembly with the Book of the Gospels, while the Greek chanted: "For many years to come! The Pope responded with a touching smile - the same one we saw a week ago when he first appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's as soon as he was elected - and the people present joined in with a round of applause.
The ceremony continued with the rite of "obedience" rendered to the Pope by 12 representatives of the people of God: Cardinals Frank Leo (Canada), Jaime Spengler (Brazil) and John Ribat (Papua New Guinea); the Bishop of Callao (Peru), Luis Alberto Barrera Pacheco; a priest and a deacon; two religious: Oonah O'Shea, an Australian missionary in the Philippines, superior general of the religious of Notre Dame de Sion and president of the International Union of Superiors General; and the superior general of the Jesuits, Venezuelan Arturo Sosa, as president of the male congregations. The laity were represented by a married couple and two young people, all from Peru.
With fear and trepidation
In his homily, Leo XIV began by quoting some famous words of St. Augustine, written in the "Confessions": "You have made us for yourself [Lord], and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. The Pope used these words to express the feelings that have overwhelmed the Church in the last month, "particularly intense" since the death of his predecessor: "The death of the Pope Francis’ has filled our hearts with sadness and, in those difficult hours, we have felt like those crowds that the Gospel describes 'like sheep without a shepherd'".
He then referred to the conclave, where the college of cardinals met "in a spirit of faith" and in which he was voted as the successor of Peter to lead the Church. With great simplicity, he said: "I was elected without any merit and, with fear and trepidation, I come to you as a brother who wants to become a servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God's love, who wants us all united in a single family".
Peter's mission: love and unity
Commenting on the readings of the Mass, the Pope broke down the essential characteristics of the pontiff's ministry: "Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission that Jesus entrusted to Peter". And he added: "How can Peter carry out this task? The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because he has experienced in his own life the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of failure and denial".
"To Peter," he continued, "is entrusted the task of 'loving even more' and of giving his life for the flock. Peter's ministry is marked precisely by this oblative love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and her true authority is the charity of Christ." Therefore, "it is never a matter of trapping others with submission, with religious propaganda or with the means of power, but it is always and only a matter of loving as Jesus did".
In the presence of various "sister Christian churches," Leo XIV made a strong appeal for unity and communion. He also had a few words for those who seek God and for "all women and men of good will", inviting them to "build a new world where peace reigns". The request for peace was once again met with resounding applause.
"This is," the Pope pointed out, "the missionary spirit that should animate us, without closing ourselves up in our own little group or feeling superior to the world; we are called to offer God's love to all, so that this unity that does not cancel out differences, but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of each people, may be realized."
His preaching ended with the exclamation: "Brothers, sisters, this is the hour of love!" and a quote from "Rerum Novarum", written by the pontiff who inspired the choice of his name: "With my predecessor Leo XIII, today we can ask ourselves: if this charity prevailed in the world, 'would it not seem that every struggle would soon be extinguished wherever it came into force in civil society?'"
Petition for peace
The ceremony proceeded normally. Before the final blessing, Pope Leo XIV again addressed a few words to the assembly. He thanked the "Romans and faithful from so many parts of the world" for their presence, with a special greeting "to the thousands of pilgrims who have come from every continent on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Confraternities". To them he said: "Dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for keeping alive the great heritage of popular piety". And he commented, opening his heart: "During the Mass I strongly felt the spiritual presence of Pope Francis, who accompanies us from Heaven".
There was also a thought for "our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of the wars. In Gaza, children, families and elderly survivors are going hungry. In Myanmar, new hostilities have destroyed innocent lives. The tormented Ukraine awaits at last negotiations for a just and lasting peace."
Before the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Leo XIV entrusted "to Mary the service of the Bishop of Rome, Pastor of the universal Church", and concluded: "Let us implore through her intercession the gift of peace, help and consolation for those who suffer and, for all of us, the grace to be witnesses of the Risen Lord".
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Mariolina Ceriotti: "For a relationship to last you have to really love it".
