Inside the Vatican magazine May-June 2025

PHOTO - GRZEGORZ GALAZKA

MAY-JUNE 2025

Pope Francis’ Legacy

“OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO HOPE” Returning to the House of the Father, Francis urges us never to lose hope, but to trust Christ to the end...

Before Francis’ funeral, Trump and Zelensky spoke of peace

$10 / EUR 10 / £8

C OMPELLiNG S TORiES OF C OMPELLiNG S TORiESLOF COURAGEOUS CATHOLiC EADERS COURAGEOUS CATHOLiC LEADERS

◆ FATHER JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J. ◆ GEORGE CARDINAL PELL ◆ FATHER JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J. ◆ GEORGE CARDINAL PELL California Blackrobe Pax Invictus California Blackrobe Pax his in-depth, page-turning biography of the founder of his Invictus definitive biography of the great Australian Cardinal

TT

his in-depth, biography of the founder of Ignatius Press is page-turning written by one of Fessio’s earliest Jesuit Ignatius Press is written by one of Fessio’s earliest Jesuit mentors, historian Fr. Cornelius Buckley, S.J. mentors, historian Fr. Cornelius Buckley, S.J. Raised in the Bay Area after World War II, the bold Joe Fessio Raised in the Bay Area after World War II, the bold Joe Fessio entered the Society of Jesus at age twenty and, by divine provientered the Society of Jesus at age twenty and, by divine providence, studied for for six six years under three dence, studied years under threeofofthe thegreatest greatest theologtheological minds of the 20th century—Henri de Lubac, von ical minds of the 20th century—Henri de Lubac,Hans Hans Urs Urs von Balthasar, and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

He reBalthasar, and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). He returned from Europe and started the St. Ignatius Institute at USF, turned from Europe and started the St. Ignatius Institute USF, and Ignatius Press.

Over decades,hehehas hasbecome become one one of and Ignatius Press.

Over thethe decades, of the the powerful forces in the AmericanCatholic CatholicChurch, Church, designdesignmostmost powerful forces in the American ingCatholic the Catholic Great Books programatatUSF USFand andfounding founding one ing the Great Books program one the largest Catholic publishing housesininthe theworld. world. of theoflargest Catholic publishing houses is robust yet unsentimental studyofofFessio’s Fessio’sunique unique life, life, cut This Th robust yet unsentimental study cut with Buckley’s trademark wit, shows what effective Christian with Buckley’s trademark wit, shows what effective Christian missionary work can look like in the age of media. missionary work can look like in the age of media.

Includes 32 pages of photos. FRFH . . . Sewn Hardcover, $27.95 Includes 32 pages of photos. FRFH . . . Sewn Hardcover, $27.95 “No one has impacted the Catholic Church in America and beyond

“No one impacted the Catholic Church inisAmerica and” beyond like has Father Fessio. Th is delightful biography a must-read. like Father This Conley, delightful biography is NE a must-read.”

—MostFessio.

Rev. James Bishop, Lincoln —Most Rev. James Conley, Bishop, Lincoln NE “Essential reading to appreciate Fr. Fessio’s undaunted character, sense of mission, the impact his workundaunted on the globalcharacter, Catholic “Essential reading toand appreciate Fr.of Fessio’s scene. ” — Scott Hahn, Author, Rome Sweet Home sense of mission, and the impact of his work on the global Catholic scene.” — Scott Hahn, Author, Rome Sweet Home

“As the light of Christian faith flickers across the West, one American priest leads on with inimitable brilliance, Joseph Fessio, S.J.” “As the light of Christian faith flickers across the West, one American —Mary Eberstadt, Author, Adam and Eve after the Pill

priest leads on with inimitable brilliance, Joseph Fessio, S.J.” —Mary Eberstadt, Author, Adam and Eve after the Pill

P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522

P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522

TT

his nitive journalist biography Tess of theLivingstone great Australian Cardinal bydefi veteran traces his life from by veteran journalist Tess Livingstone traces his life from childhood in Australia to his role as the Vatican treasurer; childhood in Australia to his role as the Vatican treasurer; through his trials, unjust imprisonment, and exoneration, to his through his trials, unjust imprisonment, and exoneration, to his untimely passing away in January 2023. untimely passing away in January 2023.

Hishuge hugelegacy legacy includes rebuilding Church precincts in His includes rebuilding Church precincts in Melbourneand andSydney, Sydney, revitalizing seminary formation, Melbourne revitalizing seminary formation, founding Catholic Catholicuniversities, universities, leading Australia’s founding leading Australia’s Catholicforeign foreign agency, heading World Catholic aidaid agency, andand heading World YouthYouth Day Day 2008. a weekly column in Australia’s largest Sunday news- news2008.From From a weekly column in Australia’s largest Sunday paper books andand scholarly lectures, he hasheleft a left a papertotobestselling bestselling books scholarly lectures, has trove ThTh is book includes snippets of some of the of best troveofofwritings. writings. is book includes snippets of some the best ofofthem captures his his ideas, wit, wit, and and personality. themand and captures ideas, personality.

InInhis Vatican treasurer, his eff the the hisrole roleas as Vatican treasurer, hisorts effto ortsreform to reform Church’s finances met with resistance from an entrenched “old Church’s finances met with resistance from an entrenched “old guard’’. Through it all, he retained his dignity and integrity as a guard’’. Through it all, he retained his dignity and integrity as a faithful successor to the apostles. GCPBH . . Sewn Hardcover, $29.95

faithful successor to the apostles.

GCPBH . . Sewn Hardcover, $29.95

“George Pell, was a giant — on the football field, as a bishop leading “George was a as giant — on the football eld, a bishop the flock inPell, Australia, a brilliant intellect, andfiin hisas love of Jesusleading the flock in Australia, as every a brilliant and in his whom he served with vigor day ofintellect, his extraordinary life.love ” of Jesus —whom Cardinal Timothy Dolan, York he served with vigorArchbishop every day of of New his extraordinary life.”

— Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York

“Cardinal Pell was extraordinary in every sense: a man of sacrificial intelligence, and tremendous “Cardinalfaith, Pellsuperior was extraordinary in every sense:evana man of gelical energy.

Livingstone has captured all these qualities, in evansacrificial faith, superior intelligence, and tremendous this marvelous biography.” gelical energy. Livingstone has captured all these qualities, in —Francis X. Maier, Author, True Confessions: Voices of Faith from this marvelous biography.” a Life in the Church

—Francis X. Maier, Author, True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church

www.ignatius.com

www.ignatius.com (800) 651-1531 (800) 651-1531

EDITORIAL by Robert Moynihan

Conclave To Begin On May 7 “Dear brothers and sister, Happy Easter!” —Pope Francis, on Easter Sunday, April 20, from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square, and to the world, his last public words...

Monday, April 28, 2025, Rome — In Rome on the Vigil of Easter, Holy Saturday, I was in St. Peter’s Basilica with a group of pilgrims, including five children, to attend the Easter Vigil Mass. It was about 5:30 p.m. (the Mass was to begin at 7:30 p.m.).

Unexpectedly, we heard applause from the nave. Pope Francis was in the basilica, in his wheelshair, moving down the right side of the basilica, from the Pietà toward the front. Francis asked his aides to turn in toward the altar and to leave him there, in front of a statue of the Blessed Virgin. Alone, he prayed silently for several minutes. Then he asked his aides to push him again, and he came directly toward us. He saw the children and stopped. He asked his aides to give lemon candies to our three youngest childre. They smiled in happiness. Then Francis left the basilica.

So on Holy Saturday, Francis prayed for several minutes, then gave gifts to children. On Easter Sunday, he met with U.S. VicePresident J.D. Vance and his wife and children. At noon on Easter, Francis went out to St. Peter’s Square and, in his Popemobile, said goodbye to the crowds. He spoke just a few words, painfully, from the loggia, for his Easter Urbi et Orbi message. That evening, he fell into a coma. He was declared dead at 7:35 a.m. on Monday morning, April 21. So the last hours of Pope Francis were marked by minutes silent prayer, gifts to hildren, and a public farewell “to the city and to the world.”

Conclave to elect new Pope to begin on May 7th The conclave to elect the 267th Pope will begin on May 7th, following the conclusion of the Novemdiales Masses to pray for the eternal repose of the late Pope Francis.

The date was set this morning by the approximately 180 cardinals present in Rome (just over a hundred of whom are electors) gathered for the fifth General Congregation in the Vatican.

The conclave will take place in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, which will remain closed to visitors during those days.

What happens during the conclave?

The conclave will be preceded by a solemn Eucharistic celebration with the votive Mass Pro Eligendo Papa, attended by the Cardinal electors. In the afternoon, the Cardinal electors proceed in a solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel, where the Conclave begins to elect the new Pope. At the end of the procession inside the Sistine Chapel, each Cardinal elector takes the oath as prescribed in paragraph 53 of Universi Dominici Gregis. Through this oath, they commit, if elected, to faithfully fulfill the Munus Petrinum as Pastor of the Universal Church. They also pledge to maintain absolute secrecy regarding everything related to the election of the Roman Pontiff and to refrain from supporting any attempts of external interference in the election.

At this point, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations proclaims extra omnes, meaning that all individuals who are not part of the Conclave must leave the Sistine Chapel. Only the Master himself and the ecclesiastic designated to deliver the second meditation remain. This meditation focuses on the grave responsibility that rests upon the electors and the necessity of acting with pure intentions for the good of the Universal Church, keeping

only God before their eyes. Once the meditation is delivered, both the ecclesiastic and the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations leave. The Cardinal electors then recite prayers according to the Ordo Sacrorum Rituum Conclavis and listen to the Cardinal Dean, who asks whether they are ready to proceed with voting or if any clarifications regarding the rules and procedures.

All election procedures take place exclusively in the Sistine Chapel within the Vatican Apostolic Palace, which remains completely sealed off until the election is concluded.

Throughout the election process, the Cardinal electors must refrain from sending letters or engaging in conversations, including phone calls, except in cases of extreme urgency.

They are not allowed to send or receive messages of any kind, receive newspapers or magazines of any nature, or follow radio or television broadcasts.

How many votes are required to elect a Pope?

To validly elect a new Pope, a two-thirds majority of the electors present is required. If the total number of electors is not evenly divisible by three, an additional vote is necessary.

If voting begins on the afternoon of the first day, there will be only one ballot. On subsequent days, two ballots are held in the morning and two in the afternoon. After the votes are counted, all ballots are burned. If the ballot was inconclusive, a chimney positioned over the Sistine Chapel emits black smoke. If a Pope is elected, white smoke will billow out of the chimney.

If the electors fail to reach an agreement on a candidate after three days of inconclusive voting, a break of up to one day is allowed for prayer, free discussion among voters, and a brief spiritual exhortation by the Cardinal Proto-Deacon (Cardinal Dominique Mamberti).

What happens immediately after a new Pope is elected?

Once the Cardinals have elected a new Pope, the last of the Cardinal Deacons calls the Secretary of the College of Cardinals and the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations into the Sistine Chapel. The Dean of the College, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, speaking on behalf of all the electors, asks for the elected candidate’s consent with the following words: “Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?” Upon receiving consent, he then asks: “What name do you wish to be called?”

The functions of a notary, with two Ceremonial Officers as witnesses, are carried out by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, who drafts the document of acceptance and records the chosen name. From this moment, the newly-elected Pope acquires full and supreme authority over the universal Church.

The Conclave ends immediately at this point. The Cardinal electors then pay homage and pledge obedience to the new Pope, and thanks are given to God. The Cardinal Proto-Deacon then announces to the faithful the election and the name of the new Pontiff with the famous line: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; Habemus Papam.” (“I announce to you a great joy; we have a Pope”) Immediately afterward, the new Pope gives the Apostolic Blessing Urbi et Orbi from the Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

3

CONTENTS MAY-JUNE 2025

Year 33, #3

$10 / EUR 10 / £8

PHOTO - GRZEGORZ GALAZKA

MAY-JUNE 2025

Pope Francis’ Legacy

“OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO HOPE” Returning to the House of the Father, Francis urges us never to lose hope, but to trust Christ to the end...

Before Francis’ funeral, Trump and Zelensky spoke of peace

MAY-JUNE 2025 Year 33, #3

v EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robert Moynihan ASSOCIATE EDITOR: George “Pat” Morse (+ 2013) ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christina Deardurff CULTURE EDITOR: Lucy Gordan CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: William D. Doino, Jr. WRITERS: Anna Artymiak, Alberto Carosa, Giuseppe Rusconi, David Quinn, Andrew Rabel, Vladimiro Redzioch, Serena Sartini PHOTOS: Grzegorz Galazka LAYOUT: Giuseppe Sabatelli ILLUSTRATIONS: Stefano Navarrini CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Deborah B. Tomlinson ADVERTISING: Katie Carr Tel. +1.202.864.4263 kcarr@insidethevatican.com

v EDITORIAL OFFICES FOR MAIL: US: 14 West Main St. Front Royal, VA 22630, USA Tel +1.202.536.4555 Rome: Inside the Vatican via delle Mura Aurelie 7c, Rome 00165, Italy Tel: +39.06.3938.7471 Fax: +39.06.638.1316 POSTMASTER: send address changes to Inside the Vatican PO Box 1320 Front Royal, VA 22630, USA Tel: +1.800.789.9494 Fax: +1.202.536.5409 Subscriptions (USA): Inside the Vatican PO Box 1320 Front Royal, VA 22630, USA www.insidethevatican.com Tel. +1.800.789.9494

v INSIDE THE VATICAN (ISSN 1068-8579, 1 yr subscription: $ 49.95; 2 yrs, $94.95; 3 yrs, $129.95), provides a comprehensive, independent report on Vatican affairs published bimonthly (6 times per year) with occasional special supplements.

Inside the Vatican is published by Urbi et Orbi Communications, PO Box 1320, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA, pursuant to a License Agreement with Robert Moynihan, the owner of the Copyright. Inside the Vatican, Inc., maintains editorial offices in Rome, Italy.

Periodicals Postage PAID at New Hope, Kentucky, USA and additional mailing offices.

Copyright 2025 Robert Moynihan

4 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

LEAD STORY: POPE FRANCIS, REQUIESCAT IN PACE Pope Francis, a “Pope of the Heart”

by Christina Deardurff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 The Pope’s Easter Urbi et Orbi message: “We were not made for death, but for life”

by Pope Francis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Pope Francis’ Final Hours

by Salvatore Cernuzio (Vatican News) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Paying Homage at the Coffin of the Pope

by Aurelio Porfiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 The Last Testament of Pope Francis

by ITV staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 The Pope of the West and the East

by Peter Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 The Encyclicals of Pope Francis

by ITV staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Fearlessness and Patience: Keys to Understanding Francis’ Message of Invitation

by Marcellus Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 SPECIAL SECTION/ Understanding the Next Pope A new website surveys the College of Cardinals in depth

by ITV staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 NEWS US/Catholic bishops: Charity on the government’s dime

by Michael Hichborn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 US/Is the Trump White House “Pro-Catholic”?

by Robert Moynihan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 OPINION/German bishops cheer as government leaders prepare for WWIII

by Manfred K. Böhm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 CULTURE SPECIAL SECTION: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: The Genius of Liturgical Music turns 500 The Master of Masters in the Church’s Sacred Music Tradition

by ITV staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Rediscover a Foundation of Our Catholic Culture

by Aurelio Porfiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Giovanni Palestrina: A Life Dedicated to the Liturgy

by Marco della Sciucca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Liturgy in Palestrina’s Time: A Delicate Balance Between Tradition and Reform

by Gabriel Díaz-Patri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 FOOTSTEPS ON THE WAY/Jubilee Diary: Armed forces and police form human, spiritual bonds

by Anna Artymiak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 SCRIPTURE/Treasure in the Heart

by Anthony Esolen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 SPIRITUALITY BEHIND BARS/Rising Again from Below

by Marcellus Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 URBI ET ORBI: CATHOLICISM AND ORTHODOXY Icon/St. Mark of Athens

by Robert Wiesner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 East-West Watch/A Great Orthodox Leader from a Small Country

by Peter Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 News from the East/Parolin, Zelenskyy speak; Priest murdered in Katyn canonized; Ecumenical Patriarch attends Pope’s anniversary liturgy; Emmanuel of Chalcedon

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 FEATURES Education/A Long-Awaited Reunion of Science and Faith: new CatholicTech

by Dominic Andres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Of Shrines and Sacred Places/Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica

by Lucy Gordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Lord of the World/“By a Dying Man’s Bedside...”

by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Vatican Watch/A day-by-day chronicle of Vatican events: February, March and April, 2025

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 People/ Pakistan’s first likely saint; US ambassador to Vatican nominee; Bishop Strickland on McElroy appointment; 3 years in, Rupnik case still “ongoing”; Nigerians honor murdered priest

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Food for Thought/ Confetti: Italy’s Special-Occasion Candy

by Mother Martha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

THE DETRANSITION DIARIES W

e live in unprecedented times, when what was known for thousands of years, that we are created male and female, is now up for debate.

It is now controversial to see that sex is binary, that a man can never become a woman, nor a woman a man. We are witnessing a rapid rise in gender confusion among young people, especially young women and girls.

This indispensable exposé by Jennifer Lahl & Kallie Fell is both personal and historical. Personal as it recounts the stories of five women and two men who felt they were born in the wrong body and believed the lie that they could be their “true” selves by medically altering their bodies to match the opposite sex. Their stories describe the short- and long-term harm that so-called gender-affirmative medicine did to their mental and physical health. It is historical because it outlines the history of the “gender-affirmation” movement, including various individuals and organizations who have peddled the idea that the sexual binary is arbitrary.

It closes with an analysis on how this dark chapter in medical abuse might end and what is needed for medicine to regain its obligation to do no harm. DDP . . . Sewn Softcover, $18.95 “An indispensable exposé of one of the greatest medical scandals of all time—the ideological quackery known as ‘gender affirming care’.”

—Jay Richards, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow at the

Jennifer Lahl is the founder and former president of the Center for Bioethics and Culture (CBC). She spent twenty-five years in pediatric nursing and senior-level hospital management before founding the CBC. Kallie Fell is the executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture and is a perinatal nurse.

Heritage Foundation “A trenchant critique of the radical ideology and junk science underpinning the ethical scandal in gender clinics.”

—Helen Joyce, Author, Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality “Skillfully presents the victims of transgender ideology, while placing this latest misdirection of medicine in a historical context with other violations of medical ethics.”

—Ryan T. Anderson, President, Ethics & Public Policy Center

“Jennifer Lahl and Kallie Fell, with courage born of compassion, give voice to the victims of gender ideology and the gender-industrial complex.”

—Robert P. George, Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University

Also Available ◆ ADAM AND EVE

◆ THE GENESIS

AFTER THE PILL, REVISITED

Abigail Favale

Mary Eberstadt With unflinching logic, Eberstadt summarizes the toll on Western society of today’s fractured homes, feral children, and social isolates.

Empathetic yet precise, she connects the dots between shrinking, broken families and rising sexual confusion, seen most recently in transgenderism and related phenomena. The result is an indictment of the turn taken by much of the world following the post-1960s embrace of contraception and the stigmatization of traditional morality.

OF GENDER Weaving personal experience with expert knowledge, Dr. Favale provides an in-depth yet accessible account of the “gender paradigm”: a framework for understanding reality and identity that has recently risen to prominence. She traces the genealogy of gender to its origins in feminism and postmodern thought, describing how gender has come to eclipse sex, and how that shift is reshaping language, law, medicine, sexuality, and our own self-perceptions.

GGP . . . Sewn Softcover, $18.95

AEAPRH . . . Sewn Hardcover, $19.95

www.ignatius.com P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 880522

(800) 651-1531

Italy: Journey Toward the Face of Christ May 24 - June 3, 2025 From the ancient rooms where St. Paul lived for seven years, to the bishop’s residence in Assisi; from the treasure trove of art and faith at the Vatican Museum, to the Benedictine monastery of Norcia; we will encounter some of the “living stones” of our Church, as we journey toward the Face of Christ — both spiritually and physically, in the form of the miraculous Face of Manoppello. Visit us online to learn more!

I N S I D E T H E VAT I CA N PI LG R I M AG E S .C O M Watch InsideTheVaticanPilgrimages.com for new and upcoming pilgrimages.

Our pilgrimages fill up fast. Make your reservation today! Join us on a trip of a lifetime.

C R E AT E A G R O U P O F 15 O R M O R E A N D G O F R E E !

Join us on a pilgrimage during the Jubilee of 2025 and experience a journey of faith, hope, and renewal!

SOLD OUT Signature ITALY: Easter in Italy -

Classic USA: Discovering Mary in the Heartland

April 14 - 24, 2025

Pilgrimage to Wisconsin, April 28 - May 2, 2025

Classic Pilgrimage to Medjugorje and Retreat to

Signature SPAIN and FRANCE: With Mary from Garabandal to Lourdes, August 21 - 28, 2025

a private island in Croatia – August 20 – 29, 2025

Classic MEXICO: Our Lady of Guadalupe & the Flower World Prophecy, September 19 - 26, 2025

Signature ITALY: Jubilee Rome and Assisi,

Classic SPAIN: Pilgrimage and Lenten

Signature LEBANON: Ancient Monasteries, Modern

Retreat with Fr. Murr, March 11 - 18, 2025

Saints and Christmas Markets – December 2025

Signature ITALY: Christmas in Rome, December 2025 PILGRIMAGE@INSIDETHEVATICAN.COM +1.202.536.4555

September 27 - October 7, 2025

Our Signature Pilgrimages (intimate, limited to 15 pilgrims) are impossible to mass-produce.

Like the products of an artisan, they are works of painstaking preparation that reflect our unswerving commitment to create something of great and unique beauty.

Our Classic Pilgrimages (small by industry standards, limited to 35 pilgrims) are carefully budgeted so you can visit beautiful and sacred destinations while experiencing the quality, style and integrity of Inside the Vatican pilgrimages at an affordable price.

DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS

PoPe francis, Requiescat in Pace DecembeR 17, 1936 – aPRil 21, 2025 He was in many ways a “PoPe of tHe Heart” – but tHe Heart Has its own Paradoxes n BY CHRISTINA DEARDURFF Pope Francis embraces Vinicio Riva, a disfigured man who attended the Pope’s general audience November 6, 2013

W

hen the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio, was elected Pope on March 13, 2013, the world was still reeling from the surprise abdication of Benedict XVI. Bergoglio was not generally well known, even though he had received a significant number of votes in the previous conclave that had elected Benedict.

So when he appeared on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s after Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the senior cardinal deacon at the time, had announced “Habemus Papam!”

— not wearing, incidentally, the customary red mozzetta and ornate papal stole — there was a strong element of curiosity as well as joy among those in St. Peter’s piazza. And around the world.

It took very little time for Pope Francis – the name he took to reflect his particular view of what the papacy should be, personified in “Il Poverello,” the Poor Man of Assisi – to carve out a very distinct place for himself in the pantheon of pontiffs.

Perhaps this was most clearly embodied in the subject of his last encyclical, Dilexit Nos, on the Heart of Jesus.

Pope Francis was indeed a Pope of the Heart.

“Our real personal history is built with the heart,” Francis said in Dilexit Nos. “At the end of our lives, that 8

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

alone will matter.”

And live by the heart he did.

He had a heart for the poor. In his 2013 apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, he wrote, “This is why I want a Church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us. Not only do they share in the sensus fidei, but in their difficulties they know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them…”

Pope Francis did not limit himself to trying to foster in Christians a love for the poor; he was also a firm critic of the structures and attitudes he believed contributed to world poverty.

He said in Evangelii Gaudium, “The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase. In the meantime, all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.”

Though he never specifically criticized capitalism, he went on to say, “The private ownership of goods is justified by the need to protect and increase them, so that they can better serve the common good...solidarity must be lived as the decision to restore to the poor what belongs to them.”

Environmentalism was also close to Pope Francis’ heart; he saw it as a form of charity to those helplessly suffering from damage to the environment.

Whether or not his sources were accurate on the exact causes of such damage (warnings about manmade climate change, for example, figured prominently among his exhortations, despite being increasingly questioned from a scientific point of view), the important thing to him was that a wealthy “first world” protect the poor nations from its ravages.

He said in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, “Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

In 2020, Pope Francis produced another encyclical, Fratelli Tutti – “All Brothers” – in which he again urged fraternal peace and charity, particularly one “without borders.”

Situating the reflections contained in the encyclical within the spiritual-

ity of St. Francis of Assissi, his namesake, he said, “Francis did not wage a war of words aimed at imposing doctrines; he simply spread the love of God. He understood that ‘God is love and those who abide in love abide in God’ (1Jn 4:16). In this way, he became a father to all and inspired the vision of a fraternal society.”

The encyclical was also situated, temporally, amid his ongoing efforts to promote concern for the waves of migrants crossing borders around the world, often in peril of their lives.

In his 2019 Christmas address, he again spoke of the duty Christians have to such migrants: "It is injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries. It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope for a dignified life, but instead find themselves before walls of indifference."

“One believes with the heart” Even going back to Francis’ first encyclical, Lumen Fidei, “The Light of Faith,” which he co-authored with Pope Emeritus Benedict (who had begun writing it before his abdication), Pope Francis displayed his characteristic emphasis on “the heart” when considering the question: “Can Christian faith provide a service to the common good with regard to the right way of understanding truth?”

The encyclical continues, “To answer this question, we need to reflect on the kind of knowledge involved in faith. Here a saying of Saint Paul can help us: ‘One believes with the heart’ (Rom 10:10).

“In the Bible, the heart is the core of the human person, where all his or her different dimensions intersect: body and spirit, interiority and openness to the world and to others, intellect, will and affectivity. If the heart is capable of holding all these dimensions together, it is because it is where we become open to truth and love, where we let them touch us and deeply transform us.”

Living by the heart more than the

intellect may have also, for Pope Francis, had its drawbacks, including a pattern of pronounced paradoxes in his papacy.

He uttered his famous line “Who am I to judge” regarding the morality of homosexuality and approved the controversial 2023 document Fidu-

Pope Francis hugs a child at his weekly audience August 17, 2022.

Bottom, the Pope comforts a migrant during his 2023 apostolic journey to Malta (photos: Vatican Media)

cia Supplicans approving blessing of same-sex couples, yet in a private meeting with fellow Jesuits, he repeatedly used a crude term to refer to homosexuals and had counseled refusal of openly homosexual priesthood applicants.

He told the faithful that they need not “breed like rabbits,” yet reaffirmed Humanae Vitae in 2023 by telling an NFP conference, “There is a need always to keep in mind the inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings of the conjugal act.”

He championed diversity in the Church, saying in 2024, “There is no need to fear the diversity of charisms in the Church…Let us pray that the

Spirit helps us recognize the gift of different charisms within the Christian communities, and to discover the richness of different ritual traditions within the Catholic Church.”

And yet, it was this same Pope who released the 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, severely restricting the celebration of the Traditional Latin rite of the Mass which had been approved, and flourished, in the pontificate of Benedict XVI. Pope Francis vowed at a 2019 Meeting for the Protection of Minors in the Church to conduct “an all-out battle” against sexual abuse by clergy, “abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth.”

Yet during his pontificate, he repeatedly protected, even promoted, a long list of clerics who had been credibly accused (in some cases, convicted) of sexual abuse.

Most recently, the Vatican announced in March that the monumental Synod on Synodality, first announced back in 2020, would continue into a “third phase’ lasting into 2028 – “synodality” being a watchword of the Francis pontificate that meant a “consultative” and “inclusive” style of governing.

Pope Francis himself, however, seemed to rule by fiat and decidedly not in a consultative manner; one need only witness his release of Fiducia Supplicans without any prior consultation with the world’s bishops — and the uproar it caused, particularly in the African church.

The Pope of the Heart has left us a legacy of compassion and mercy and also, perhaps, a bit of confusion; it was, after all, his style to “make a mess” as he once encouraged young people to do at a 2013 World Youth Day gathering.

Pope Francis was nevertheless on firm ground when he said that “The one who practices mercy does not fear death. And why does he not fear it? Because he looks death in the face in the wounds of his brothers and sisters, and he overcomes it with the love of Jesus Christ.”m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

9

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE 2025

“we were not made For death, bUt For liFe” PoPe Francis’ last Urbi et orbi message on easter sUnday, aPril 20, was a message oF liFe and oF Peace

The Resurrection of Christ, Rubens (1611-12), Antwerp, Belgium. Inset left: Francis on Easter Sunday

CHRIST IS RISEN, ALLELUIA! DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, HAPPY EASTER!

T

oday at last, the singing of the “Alleluia” is heard once more in the Church, passing from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart, and this makes the people of God throughout the world shed tears of joy.

From the empty tomb in Jerusalem, we hear unexpected good news: Jesus, who was crucified, “is not here, he has risen” (Lk 24:5). Jesus is not in the tomb, he is alive!

Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day.

Sisters and brothers, especially those of you experiencing pain and sorrow, your silent cry has been heard and your tears have been counted; not one of them has been lost! In the passion and death of Jesus, God has taken upon himself all the evil in this world and in his infinite mercy has defeated it. He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks 10

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

violence and corruption on every side. The Lamb of God is victorious! That is why, today, we can joyfully cry out: “Christ, my hope, has risen!” (Easter Sequence).

The resurrection of Jesus is indeed the basis of our hope. For in the light of this event, hope is no longer an illusion. Thanks to Christ — crucified and risen from the dead — hope does not disappoint! Spes non confundit! (cf. Rom 5:5). That hope is not an evasion, but a challenge; it does not delude, but empowers us.

All those who put their hope in God place their feeble hands in his strong and mighty hand; they let themselves be raised up and set out on a journey. Together with the risen Jesus, they become pilgrims of hope, witnesses of the victory of love and of the disarmed power of Life.

Christ is risen! These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life. Easter is the celebration of life! God created us for life and wants the human family to rise again! In his eyes, every life is precious! The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.

What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts

of our world! How much violence we see, often even lic of the Congo, in Sudan and South Sudan. May he suswithin families, directed at women and children! How tain those suffering from the tensions in the Sahel, the much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerHorn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, as well as able, the marginalized, and migrants! those Christians who in many places are not able freely On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to to profess their faith. revive our trust in others, including those who are differThere can be no peace without freedom of religion, ent than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For for the views of others. all of us are children of God! Nor is peace possible without true disarmament! The I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possirequirement that every people provide for its own ble! From the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Resurdefence must not turn into a race to rearmament. The rection, where this year Easter is being celebrated by light of Easter impels us to break down the barriers that Catholics and Orthodox on the same day, may the light create division and are fraught with grave political and of peace radiate throughout the Holy Land and the entire economic consequences. It impels us to care for one world. I express my closeness to the another, to increase our mutual soli“THERE CAN BE NO PEACE sufferings of Christians in Palestine darity, and to work for the integral and Israel, and to all the Israeli people WITHOUT FREEDOM OF RELIGION development of each human person. and the Palestinian people. The growDuring this time, let us not fail to AND RESPECT FOR ing climate of anti-Semitism throughassist the people of Myanmar, THE VIEWS OTHERS” out the world is worrisome. Yet at the plagued by long years of armed consame time, I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christflict, who, with courage and patience, are dealing with ian community in particular, where the terrible conflict the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Sagaing, continues to cause death and destruction and to create a which caused the death of thousands and great suffering dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation. I for the many survivors, including orphans and the elderappeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the ly. We pray for the victims and their loved ones, and we hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that heartily thank all the generous volunteers carrying out aspires to a future of peace! the relief operations. The announcement of a ceasefire Let us pray for the Christian communities in Lebanon by various actors in the country is a sign of hope for the and in Syria, presently experiencing a delicate transition whole of Myanmar. in its history. They aspire to stability and to participation I appeal to all those in positions of political responsiin the life of their respective nations. I urge the whole bility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear which Church to keep the Christians of the beloved Middle only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the East in its thoughts and prayers. resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and I also think in particular of the people of Yemen, who to encourage initiatives that promote development. are experiencing one of the world’s most serious and These are the “weapons” of peace: weapons that build prolonged humanitarian crises because of war, and I the future, instead of sowing seeds of death! invite all to find solutions through a constructive diaMay the principle of humanity never fail to be the logue. hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by of conflicts that involve defenceless civilians and attack war, his Easter gift of peace, and encourage all parties schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers, we cannot involved to pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are lasting peace. struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human On this festive day, let us remember the South Caudignity. casus and pray that a final peace agreement between In this Jubilee year, may Easter also be a fitting occaArmenia and Azerbaijan will soon be signed and implesion for the liberation of prisoners of war and political mented, and lead to long-awaited reconciliation in the prisoners! region.

Dear brothers and sisters, May the light of Easter inspire efforts to promote harIn the Lord’s Paschal Mystery, death and life conmony in the western Balkans and sustain political leadtended in a stupendous struggle, but the Lord now lives ers in their efforts to allay tensions and crises, and, forever (cf. Easter Sequence). He fills us with the certogether with their partner countries in the region, to tainty that we too are called to share in the life that knows reject dangerous and destabilizing actions. no end, when the clash of arms and the rumble of death May the risen Christ, our hope, grant peace and conwill be heard no more. Let us entrust ourselves to him, solation to the African peoples who are victims of viofor he alone can make all things new (cf. Rev. 21:5)! lence and conflict, especially in the Democratic RepubHappy Easter to everyone!m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

11

DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS

pope FrAncis’ FinAl hours Among his lAst words were A simple “thAnk you” to the nurse who stAyed continuAlly by his side n BY SALVATORE CERNUZIO (VATICAN NEWS) Pope Francis appears from the Loggia of Benedictions of St. Peters Basilica on Easter Sunday to participate in the Easter message and “Urbi et Orbi” blessing. Vatican City, 20 April 2025.

In this photo Massimiliano Strappetti helps the Pope quench his thirst.

Mr. Strappetti stayed by the Pope's side during all 38 days of his hospitalization at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

(Photo - Grzegorz Galazka)

“T

hank you for bringing me back to the Square." This expression of gratitude was among Pope Francis’s last words to the person who watched over him tirelessly throughout his illness, as well as before.

He spoke those words to Massimiliano Strappetti, the nurse who, according to the Pope himself, once saved his life by suggesting colon surgery, and whom the Holy Father later appointed in 2022 as his personal healthcare assistant.

Mr. Strappetti stayed by the Pope's side during all 38 days of his hospitalization at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, and keeping watch roundthe-clock during his recovery at the Casa Santa Marta. He was with the Pope on Easter Sunday, during the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

The day before, they had gone to12 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

gether to St. Peter’s Basilica to review the “route” he would take the following day when he was to appear on the Central Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica.

Embracing the crowd The late Pope wanted to offer one

POPE FRANCIS IN HIS FINAL TESTAMENT: “I HAVE ALWAYS ENTRUSTED MY LIFE AND MINISTRY TO THE MOTHER OF OUR LORD, MARY MOST HOLY”

last, meaningful surprise to the 50,000 faithful with a ride in the popemobile on Sunday after the blessing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica façade.

However, Pope Francis did hesitate a bit and asked the opinion of Mr. Strappetti, asking him, “Do you think I can manage it?”

Once in St. Peter's Square, he embraced the crowd, especially the children, since this was his first ride after being discharged from Gemelli hospital, as well as the last outing of his life among the faithful.

Tired but content, the Pope afterwards thanked his personal healthcare assistant, saying, “Thank you for bringing me back to the Square.”

These heartfelt words reveal the deep desire of the Argentine Pope to be among the people of God, enjoying the human connection he made a

PAYING HOMAGE AT THE COFFIN OF THE POPE MY VISIT TO THE POPE, LYING IN DEATH AT THE CASA SANTA MARTA, WAS THE CLOSEST I HAD EVER COME TO THIS MAN OF CONTRADICTIONS

I

t may seem strange to some, but yesterday, April 22, was the occasion in which I was closest to him. While for my “Vatican predecessors” I had more opportunities to be close to John Paul II and Benedict XVI, with Francis I did not have this habit.

I do not deny that regarding Francis’ pastoral action I had many doubts, even though I appreciated some of his gestures of closeness to the weakest and the poorest, which I found very beautiful.

I believe that Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a very complex man, and he referred to this in some of his statements. A man who had grown up in a particular era, an era of upheavals also for what concerned his congregation, the Jesuits. Although in Argentina he was considered by some to be a conservative, in his pontificate he seemed to align himself with some of the requests of the progressive side, even contradicting these positions with others of a much more conservative brand.

This confirmed to me the complexity of his psychology, which I believe was much clearer to those who found

hallmark of his papacy.

The final hours The Pope then rested on Sunday afternoon and had a quiet dinner.

Around 5:30 AM, the first signs of the sudden illness appeared, prompting an immediate response from those keeping watch over him.

Around an hour later, after making a gesture of farewell with his

themselves collaborating with him behind closed doors (according to numerous rumors that reached me).

Pope Francis had some fascinating aspects, he knew how to summarize his thoughts in captivating definitions and he was very attentive to popular devotion.

But on the other hand, as said before, he was the son of an era of which he embodied some contradictions that he expressed with attitudes that some have judged as controversial.

I must say that I was sorry not to have seen him alive so closely, having only been able to pray before a body wounded by death. He was the Pope, and as such he should be honored and prayed for.

I always find myself astonished in the face of death, whether it is that of a Pope or of a simple person. I prayed that he would not lack that mercy of God that he had constantly evoked in his teachings.

—Maestro Aurelio Porfiri, sacred music composer, author and Inside the Vatican contributor

hand to Mr. Strappetti, lying in bed in his second-floor apartment at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope fell into a coma.

According to those who were with him in his final moments, he did not suffer. It all happened quickly.

His was a discreet death, almost sudden, without long suffering or public alarm, for a Pope who was al-

ways very reserved about his health.

The passing of Pope Francis came the day after Easter, when he was able to offer the city and the world his final Apostolic Blessing and embrace the faithful once more.

It was exactly the people of God with whom, from the very first moments of his election on March 13, 2013, he had promised to walk “together.”m

THE FINAL TESTAMENT OF POPE FRANCIS HERE IS THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF POPE FRANCIS’ TESTAMENT, MISERANDO ATQUE ELIGENDO, WHICH HE WROTE ON JUNE 29, 2022: IN THE NAME OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY. AMEN. eeling that the end of my earthly life is approaching, and with a deep hope in Eternal Life, I wish to express my testamentary will only regarding the place of my burial.

I have always entrusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy.

Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest awaiting the day of resurrection in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. I wish that my earthly journey end in this ancient Marian Shrine, to which I turned in prayer at the beginning and end of each Apostolic Journey, to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and to thank her for her docile and maternal care.

I request that my tomb be prepared in the niche of the lateral nave between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus

F

Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the aforementioned Papal Basilica, as indicated in the attached annex.

The tomb must be in the ground; simple, without particular decoration, and with the only inscription: Franciscus. The expenses for the preparation of my burial will be covered by the generous sum I have provided, to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, for which I have given appropriate instructions to Monsignor Rolandas Makrickas, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Liberia Chapter.

May the Lord grant the deserved reward to those who have loved me and will continue to pray for me.

The suffering that was present in the last part of my life I offered to the Lord for world peace and brotherhood among peoples.

FRANCIS - Santa Marta, June 29, 2022

MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 13

DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS

PoPe of the West and the east ONE OF FRANCIS’ GREATEST LEGACIES: HE WAS RESPECTED BY BOTH SIDES OF MANY THEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL DIVIDES n BY PETER ANDERSON Patriarch Krill of Russia and Pope Francis embrace during their 2016 meeting in Havana.

(Photo - L’Osservatore Romano)

A

s the world knows, Pope Francis died on “Bright Monday,” April 21, the day after the unusual event of Orthodox, Catholics, and Protestants celebrating Easter on the same day.

The Pope died suddenly on Monday morning from a cerebral stroke followed by a cardiocirculatory failure. It is almost as if Our Lord had delayed the Pope’s death so that the Pope could experience this last very symbolic Easter.

He did not want to be buried in St. Peter’s Basilica, but rather Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, asccording to his final testament.

The Basilica was consecrated in the year 434, a few years after Mary was declared the Mother of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and has a close association with this great Council in Asia Minor. The nave and the arch in the Basilica are decorated with magnificent fifth-century mosaics of the Byzantine tradition.

The most famous icon in the Basilica, Salus Populi Romani, before which Pope Francis always prayed before and after his trips, is said to have been brought from Crete in the year 590. It was in the Basilica that Pope Adrian II in 867 solemnly blessed the liturgical books used by Saints Cyril and Methodius in their missionary work among the Slavic peoples.

Thus, the final resting place of Pope Francis has a strong connection with the Christian East.

Various Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Churches posted statements concerning the death of Pope Francis on the internet, among them: Patriarch Kirill of Russia: “For Christians worldwide, His Holiness’s commitment to standing in solidarity 14

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

with the suffering and the marginalized held particular significance...

May the All-Merciful Lord grant rest to the soul of His departed servant, who passed away on the second day of the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection by Christians worldwide, in the abode of the righteous.”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: “Throughout these twelve years of his Papacy, he stood as a faithful friend, a fellow pilgrim and supporter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a genuine friend of Orthodoxy, a true friend of the least of the Lord’s brethren, on whose behalf he often spoke, acted, and even washed their feet in an example of true humility and brotherly love.”

Patriarch John of Antioch: “The passing of Pope Francis is a loss for all humanity ....In this holy season of Pascha, divine providence has willed that Pope Francis return to the house of the Heavenly Father.”

Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem: “Pope Francis’ life was a luminous testament to the Gospel, a tireless witness to Christ’s boundless

mercy, a steadfast champion for the poor, and a beacon of peace and reconciliation among all peoples….We entrust his noble soul to the infinite compassion of our Lord, and pray: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master.’

(Matthew 25:23).”

Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia: “I had the opportunity to meet the late Pope personally several times during his pontificate, so I feel obliged to testify today that he was a man who built peace and understanding between people and nations, with a special desire to develop cooperation with the Orthodox Churches.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Greece: “He was a powerful personality, who spent himself for the prevalence of all that is good and of the values of the human being as God’s creature. Throughout his ministry as Bishop of Rome, every lowliest brother, the poor, the migrant, the refugees, in particular, occupied a central place in it.”

Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Church: “The departure of this man,

November 11, 2013 - Vatican. Audience of Pope Francis with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace. (Photo - Grzegorz Galazka)

who served the entire world with genuine, heartfelt service to every person, is a great loss…. What brings comfort is that he left us a wonderful role model and example in the service of humanity everywhere.”

Patriarch and Catholicos Karekin II of the Armenian Apostolic Church: “The late Pope Francis of blessed memory was a humble, courageous and kind shepherd who faithfully walked in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ… He bore witness to the Gospel—consistently standing for justice and peace, offering special attention and care to those in need, and contributing significantly to strengthening interchurch relations.”

Improving relations with the Orthodox was a great priority for Pope Francis. He made a point of visiting early in his pontificate countries where Orthodoxy predominates or where Orthodox primates reside, such as: 2014 – Israel (Jerusalem), Albania, Turkey 2015 – Bosnia and Herzegovina 2016 - Greece, Armenia, Poland, Georgia 2017 – Egypt 2019 – Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania 2021 – Cyprus, Greece In fact, kissing the panagia (icon of Mary) of an Orthodox bishop became a tradition for Pope Francis.

In contrast, there were many predominantly Catholic countries that were never visited by Francis, such as Spain, Croatia and his home country of Argentina.

With respect to relations with the Orthodox, two matters are particularly noteworthy in the Francis pontificate.

First, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, developed a closer personal friendship than has ever existed between the holders of these two

extremely important offices — at least for the last one thousand years.

As just one indication of their friendship, Pope Francis always kept at the corner of his office desk a photograph of Bartholomew. One of the great hopes of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope was to celebrate together the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, to be held at Nicaea (Iznik), Turkey, apparently on

May 24-25. (Hopefully, the new Pope will be there.)

The second matter was the meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Pope Francis in Havana on February 12, 2016 — the first such meeting of Pope and Moscow Patriarch in history.

On April 22, Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. At one point, the discussion touched on Pope Francis.

The following is a Google translation: Vladimir Putin: Your Holiness [to Kirill], you mentioned what is happening to the west of us. We all know this well, we all saw it, we witnessed your meeting with the Pope of Rome, who left us during these Easter days.

This, it seems to me, also shows that in the West there are still people, there are forces, and spiritual forces, who strive to restore relations and to revive spiritual principles.

Patriarch Kirill: Absolutely right.

Putin: Western culture – no matter

what and who says – is based on Christian principles.

Kirill: You very correctly re-called the late Pope.

He was a man of fairly strong views and convictions, despite the fact that he was under great pressure – also in terms of cooling relations with the Russian Church. He is already in another world, so I can boldly, without asking his permission, quote him.

When he was strongly pressed, forgive me for the rude word, he said only a short phrase: “Do not set me against Kirill.”

He turned and left. And those who influenced him were his close associates: [saying] that it was necessary to change course, that [the situation] was impossible — it was, so to speak, connected with Russian politics.

This phrase — “Do not set me against Kirill” — was always in my memory and consciousness while he was alive.

Our relations were good. Now the Lord has called him to another world, but the memories of him are the kindest in terms of attitudes towards both Russia and the Russian Church.

Putin: I have the same. We met many times. It is quite obvious — I can say this — that he had a good attitude towards Russia. Considering his Latin American origin and the attitude among the overwhelming majority of citizens of Latin American countries, he probably felt this too and built relations with Russia in the most benevolent way. [end, Putin quote] Perhaps one of the greatest legacies of Pope Francis is that he was respected by people in "opposing camps" on important political (President Putin and western political leaders) or church (Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Kirill) issues.

May the next Pontiff act with holiness and wisdom to bring greater unity within the Catholic Church and greater unity for Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

15

DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS

The enCYCliCals of PoPe franCis The PoPe Published four of Them, drawing The ChurCh’s — and The world’s — aTTenTion To subjeCTs ClosesT To his hearT n BY ITV STAFF St. Thomas Aquinas depicted writing his Summa Theologica: the intellect illuminated by the light of faith.

P

ope Francis published four encyclicals during his pontificate. The first, Lumen Fidei, was written in collaboration with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2013, the year that Francis was elected (and Benedict stepped down; he had already begun writing the document). Three were written in the succeeding years 2015 (Laudato Sí), 2020 (Fratelli Tutti) and 2024 (Dilexit Nos).

a journey; it enables witness and dialogue with all.

Nor is the light of faith, joined to the truth of love, extraneous to the material world, for love is always lived out in body and spirit; the light of faith is an incarnate light radiating from the luminous life of Jesus. It also illumines the material world, trusts its inherent order and knows that it calls us to an ever widening path of harmony and understanding. The gaze of sciHere are brief excerpts from ence thus benefits from faith: the encyclicals of Pope Francis: faith encourages the scientist to ******** remain constantly open to reality LUMEN FIDEI in all its inexhaustible richness.

THE LIGHT OF FAITH Faith awakens the critical sense June 29, 2013 by preventing research from being satisfied with its own forThe dialogue between faith mulae and helps it to realize that “FAITH BROADENS THE HORIZONS and reason nature is always greater. By OF REASON TO SHED GREATER LIGHT 34. The light of love proper to stimulating wonder before the faith can illumine the questions profound mystery of creation, ON THE WORLD WHICH DISCLOSES ITSELF of our own time about truth. faith broadens the horizons of TO SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION” Truth nowadays is often reduced reason to shed greater light on to the subjective authenticity of the individual, valid only the world which discloses itself to scientific investigafor the life of the individual. A common truth intimidates tion. us, for we identify it with the intransigent demands of ******** totalitarian systems. But if truth is a truth of love, if it is a LAUDATO SI truth disclosed in personal encounter with the Other and BLESSED BE with others, then it can be set free from its enclosure in May 24, 2015 individuals and become part of the common good. As a truth of love, it is not one that can be imposed by force; it The Wisdom is not a truth that stifles the individual. of the Biblical Accounts Since it is born of love, it can penetrate to the heart, to 67. We are not God. The earth was here before us and the personal core of each man and woman. Clearly, then, it has been given to us. This allows us to respond to the faith is not intransigent, but grows in respectful coexischarge that Judaeo-Christian thinking, on the basis of the tence with others. One who believes may not be presumpGenesis account which grants man “dominion” over the tuous; on the contrary, truth leads to humility, since earth (cf. Gen 1:28), has encouraged the unbridled believers know that, rather than ourselves possessing exploitation of nature by painting him as domineering truth, it is truth which embraces and possesses us. Far and destructive by nature. This is not a correct interpretafrom making us inflexible, the security of faith sets us on tion of the Bible as understood by the Church. Although 16

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interthat “the mere fact that some people are born in places preted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject with fewer resources or less development does not justify the notion that our being created in God’s image and the fact that they are living with less dignity”. [81] This is given dominion over the earth justifies absolute dominaa basic principle of social life that tends to be ignored in tion over other creatures. The biblical texts are to be read a variety of ways by those who sense that it does not fit in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recoginto their worldview or serve their purposes. nizing that they tell us to “till and keep” the garden of the 107. Every human being has the right to live with digworld (cf. Gen 2:15). “Tilling” refers to cultivating, nity and to develop integrally; this fundamental right canploughing or working, while “keeping” means caring, not be denied by any country. People have this right even protecting, overseeing and preif they are unproductive, or serving.

“CHRIST’S HEART INVITES US TO ENCOUNTER, were born with or developed This implies a relationship limitations. This does not DIALOG AND TRUST” of mutual responsibility detract from their great dignibetween human beings and nature. Each ty as human persons, a dignity based not on community can take from the bounty of the circumstances but on the intrinsic worth of earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but their being. Unless this basic principle is it also has the duty to protect the earth and upheld, there will be no future either for frato ensure its fruitfulness for coming generternity or for the survival of humanity. ations. “The earth is the Lord’s” (Ps 24:1); ******** to him belongs “the earth with all that is DILEXIT NOS within it” (Dt 10:14). Thus God rejects HE LOVED US every claim to absolute ownership: “The October 24, 2024 land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and Venerating His Image sojourners with me” (Lev 25:23).

53. Universal human experience has 68. This responsibility for God’s earth made the image of the heart something means that human beings, endowed with unique. Indeed, throughout history and in intelligence, must respect the laws of nature different parts of the world, it has become a and the delicate equilibria existing between the creatures symbol of personal intimacy, affection, emotional attachof this world, for “he commanded and they were created; ment and capacity for love. Transcending all scientific and he established them for ever and ever; he fixed their explanations, a hand placed on the heart of a friend bounds and he set a law which cannot pass away” (Ps expresses special affection: when two persons fall in love 148:5b-6). and draw close to one another, their hearts beat faster; The laws found in the Bible dwell on relationships, not when we are abandoned or deceived by someone we love, only among individuals but also with other living beings. our hearts sink.

“You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen So too, when we want to say something deeply perdown by the way and withhold your help… If you chance sonal, we often say that we are speaking “from the heart”. to come upon a bird’s nest in any tree or on the ground, The language of poetry reflects the power of these expewith young ones or eggs and the mother sitting upon the riences. In the course of history, the heart has taken on young or upon the eggs; you shall not take the mother unique symbolic value that is more than merely convenwith the young” (Dt 22:4, 6). Along these same lines, rest tional. on the seventh day is meant not only for human beings, 54. It is understandable, then, that the Church has chobut also so “that your ox and your donkey may have rest” sen the image of the heart to represent the human and (Ex 23:12). Clearly, the Bible has no place for a tyrannical divine love of Jesus Christ and the inmost core of his Peranthropocentrism unconcerned for other creatures. son. Yet, while the depiction of a heart afire may be an ******** eloquent symbol of the burning love of Jesus Christ, it is FRATELLI TUTTI important that this heart not be represented apart from ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS him.

October 3, 2020 In this way, his summons to a personal relationship of encounter and dialogue will become all the more meanA Universal Love that Promotes Persons ingful. [33] The venerable image portraying Christ hold106. Social friendship and universal fraternity necesing out his loving heart also shows him looking directly sarily call for an acknowledgement of the worth of every at us, inviting us to encounter, dialogue and trust; it shows human person, always and everywhere. If each individual his strong hands capable of supporting us and his lips that is of such great worth, it must be stated clearly and firmly speak personally to each of us.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

17

DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS

Fearlessness and Patience Keys to Understanding PoPe Francis’ message oF invitation n BY MARCELLUS ROBERTS Pope Francis with World Youth Day pilgrims before a prayer vigil in Krakow, Poland, in 2016. (Photo - Grzegorz Galazka)

F

earlessness and patience. They are two qualities that occupy opposite ends of the spectrum for those who define fearlessness as being rash or impulsive, while interpreting patience as a slow passivity.

Yet, human beings are complex and carry a mixed bag of qualities that make for unique personalities — and result in each one's distinctive contribution to history.

In Pope Francis, these two features, fearlessness and patience, wrestled in the womb like Esau and Jacob, resulting in a pontificate that was able to communicate a farreaching message of invitation that stimulated the very edges of society — what Pope Francis liked to refer to as the “periphery.”

The message, wrapped in ambiguity at times and clouded by a media storm which followed the Argentinian over land and sea, shook sluggish Catholics into a vigilant alertness of discernment.

18

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2023

It also perked the ears of those who lie just outside of the Church's usual line of sight, giving glimmers of hope that some might seriously consider being reconciled to Holy Mother Church.

This Pope had turned and met the outcast eye to eye.

Looking back, now that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has fought his final battle, committing his spirit to the hands of our Eternal Father, my perspective of his pontificate, which in the fray seemed askew and disorienting, appears logical, methodical and hyper-real.

KEYS FOR INTERPRETATION Upon reviewing his early Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, I found a couple of keys that are helpful for interpreting the actions and choices Pope Francis made.

These keys are the abiding lessons I have learned from Pope Francis and his reign from the chair of St. Peter.

The first of these keys comes from line 129 of Evangelii Gaudium, which reads, “The ultimate aim should be that the Gospel, as preached in categories proper to each culture, will create a new synthesis with that particular culture. This is always a slow process and at times we can be overly fearful.”

I’m sure the kids loved the young Father Bergoglio most of all because he wasn't afraid of getting his dress shoes dirty or sweating out his clerical collar by stepping onto the soccer field and kicking the ball around a bit, his mind never drifting far from the ultimate aim of getting the ball past the goalie and into the net.

As a pontiff, he brought that same deliberate focus to his leadership style with the intention of delivering the Gospel, “...proper to each culture..,” and creating a “... new synthesis with that particular culture.”

Sacred Scripture provides an example of preaching proper to the

culture in its account of St. Paul’s address to the Areopagus: the way he recognized God working within the native culture of Athens as “an unknown god,” and cooperated with what God was already doing.

Pope Francis believed that we also encounter God hidden but active in the cultures around us. His pontificate was his own personal effort to collaborate with God's grace by communicating to the culture in a language understood by the culture.

If you were invited (and you are) to enter into the walls of this prison and deliver the Gospel to its inhabitants, how would you do it? With the same words you’d use up the street at Sacred Heart Parish? Using the same analogies that would make sense at a national bishops’ conference?

Of course, you come as you are.

But my advice is that you also come to learn. Learn the nuances of prison culture. Immerse yourself, as much as possible, into the unique day-today of the inmate experience. Pay attention, tear down your walls, use that material to make bridges, and only then should you be expected to facilitate lasting conversion of souls.

Pope Francis uses the word “synthesis.” His use of this word probably meant one of two things according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: “... the composing or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole...”, or, the better-suited definition, “... the dialectic combination of thesis and antithesis into a higher stage of truth.”

The synthesis he sought to encourage can only come about by instigating dialogue between two parties holding opposing points of view: the Church and the culture. And instigate, he did.

I came to the conclusion that Pope Francis was an instigator of dialogue when I was confronted one morning by a Protestant about the allowance for the blessing of same-sex couples.

My concealed, knee-jerk response was frustration and defensiveness. Many times throughout Pope

Francis’ pontificate I’d been approached before work at 4:30am about something Pope Francis had supposedly said on TV or in some news report. (And my patience is shortest early in the morning.)

After taking time to thoughtfully consider my response, I was able to see Pope Francis’ invitation in its proper light and explain it in a way my Protestant brother could understand. It was not a blessing of samesex marriage; there is no such thing.

Neither was it a blessing of the relationship itself, but of the individuals.

At any Mass there may be those who refrain from receiving the Holy Eucharist because of an attachment to some unconfessed mortal sin, yet the Church encourages these unrepentant Catholics, along with nonCatholic visitors, and anyone in attendance, to approach the altar and receive a blessing from the presiding priest during the liturgy of the Eucharist.

Pope Francis was extending a priestly blessing to a particular segment of an unconverted culture on the peripheries, in a way that they could understand.

He instigated the dialogue between a Protestant and me, a Protestant who is now attending R.C.I.A. classes. Together, we were elevated to a higher stage of truth.

PRIORITIZING TIME OVER PLACE The second key to unlocking the fruitfulness of the reign of Pope Francis is his principle of prioritizing time over place.

In this, Pope Francis echoes Benedictine spirituality, the vow of stability and its virtues.

Simply put, prioritizing time over place or space means committing to the process of transforming the culture around you. Transformation is a process over time, not a moment in time.

An evangelistic effort is like the life cycle of a fig tree. There is a considerable amount of time between sowing, germination, sprouting leafing, budding, fruiting and reaping.

Line 223 of Evangelii Gaudium says, “This principle enables us to work slowly but surely, without being obsessed with immediate results. It helps us patiently endure difficult and adverse situations, or inevitable changes in our plans.”

Not going anywhere for a while? I often imagine what the last ten years of my life would look like from the screen of a GPS tracker. A small speck swirling in place like a rotifer under the lens of a microscope, spinning its revolving wheels of cilia from one boundary of its petri dish to the other.

Not once, in the last ten years, have I left the hundred and fifty yard radius that surrounds the bunk upon which I sleep.

In February I was denied my first parole and my next interview was scheduled for five years from now. It is providential that I have been exhorted to prioritize time over place or space.

I hope to harvest an abundance of fruit, from seemingly bare shoots, once what's above ground finally reflects the depth and breadth of its roots.

I will always remember Pope Francis as a fearless instigator of dialogue and a patient pioneer of the new evangelization, who benefitted from the fervent prayers of a righteous man, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Under that protective covering, he inspired the next generation of Catholics to be unafraid to venture to the peripheries and invite all to the kingdom of God. Let us hold fast to the lessons that he taught us by word and deed.

“It must involve a process of inculturation if the Gospel is to take flesh in each people's culture. There will be times of defeat. With regard to individuals, groups, and peoples it is only by degrees that [ the Church] touches and penetrates them, and so receives them into a fullness which is Catholic.”

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.m MAY-JUNE 2023 INSIDE THE VATICAN

19

LEAD STORY

THE NEXT CONCLAVE “COLLEGE OF CARDINALS” WEBSITE BRINGS US THE CANDIDATES FOR POPE n BY ITV STAFF

T

he College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church, a body first created in its present form in 1150 by Pope Nicholas II to choose a new Pope, at this writing contains 252 members. 137 of them are eligible to vote in the next conclave, the gathering which elects the Pope.

Now that the papacy of Pope Francis has reached an end, in its 13th year, with his death April 21, Catholics around the world are understandably interested in examining the possibilities involved in the coming conclave — especially, of course, those deemed “likely” candidates for the next papacy.

There has been no shortage of analysis, categorization, speculation and even wagering (the “prediction markets” have their own favorites) 20 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

as to who the next Pope may be.

(Note that Pope Gregory XIV, under pain of excommunication, forbade betting on anything to do with the Pope in 1591 — it had apparently become a problem, and he even called it a “sacrilege” — though the revised Code of Canon Law published in 1918 no longer mentioned it.)

CARDINALS TODAY DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER

But one major problem that has arisen during the papacy of Francis is that the members of the College of Cardinals, to a perhaps unprecedented degree, do not know each other.

Contributing to this state of affairs has been two factors. One was Pope Francis’ proclivity for creating

new cardinals from the “peripheries” of the Church – often meaning they come from more remote, often minority-Christian countries, which makes frequent personal contact with them difficult.

The other factor is that after 2014, Pope Francis stopped convening separate meetings of cardinals at the almost yearly Rome consistories (the gatherings where the Pope’s new crop of chosen cardinals are created).

So the cardinals themselves have been deprived of a vital opportunity to meet, mingle with and get to know each other, especially those from the more far-flung dioceses of the world.

But Rome journalists Edward Pentin and Diane Montagna have come up with a way to assist the

cardinals – and indeed, any interested parties — to access an objective assessment of the experience, apparent theological and philosophical positions, and stated opinions on current Church affairs of the top candidates for election as the next Pope.

could contain rumors, hearsay and outright falsehoods.

Pentin and Montagna have taken great pains to be much more objective, investigating past words and actions of the cardinals which indicate what their stands are on many key issues, and what ideological

A NEW RESOURCE FOR CARDINALS Pentin and Montagna have developed, in association with Sophia Institute Press and Cardinalis Magazine, a user-friendly website called College of Cardinals Report (in Latin, Cardinalium Collegii Recensio), accessible at Collegeofcardinalsreport.com.

As they explain on the website, “A cardinal’s most important task is to elect the next Pope. Indeed, the word ‘cardinal’ has its roots in the Latin noun ‘cardo’ meaning ‘hinge’ that points to their pivotal role, just as a hinge is essential to the functioning of a door.

“But to carry out this primary function well, the cardinals need to know as much as possible about the person for whom they are voting.

“Historically, they have sought to inform themselves about their colleagues’ characters, beliefs and behaviors through private discussions and correspondence. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the number of cardinals would often number no more than a dozen, and being a smaller group, they likely knew each other fairly well already.”

The College of Cardinal Report goes on to explain that even with historically smaller groups of cardinals, the methods of getting to know each had their limits, and as early as the 16th century, interested parties would assemble a sort of dossier on each cardinal to provide information to the voting cardinals.

Unfortunately, these reports

Some pages from the Collegeofcardinalsreport.com website

leanings, if any, they tend to exhibit – without pigeon-holing any of them into limiting categories.

“This website,” they say, “therefore aims to help bridge that knowledge gap, assisting the cardinalelectors in a modest way in their discernment as well as helping to inform the media and anyone interested on who could become the most influential religious leader on earth.

“This website makes no prognostications on who could be the next pontiff beyond listing the leading candidates. Instead, our main and ultimate goal is to provide clear, extensive and reliable information on the cardinals.”

PROFILES OF EACH CARDINAL There is a profile of each cardi-

nal in the College of Cardinals, 41 of which at this writing have been “completed” – meaning they include key biographical data, a summary of their main qualities and attributes, and extensive detail on how they have fulfilled the three main works or “offices” of bishop — sanctifying, governing, and teaching.

Of those with “completed” profiles, 22 are designated “papabile,” or likely papal candidates. But if the past history of papal conclaves has anything to teach us, it is that a “surprise” candidate is not unlikely to emerge during the actual voting.

(In fact, the spiritually and historically towering figure of Pope Saint John Paul II himself is one of those “surprise” Popes, who emerged as a “compromise” candidate at the conclave only after two other of the previously favored papabili failed to garner a majority of votes — and a third papabile informed his supporters that he would refuse the papal tiara if he were elected.)

The website also includes a page titled “Where They Stand,” containing a list of 10 issues, such as “Ordaining Female Deacons” and “Restricting the Old Latin Mass,” on which each cardinal with a completed profile is rated with symbols meaning “In Favor,” “Against,” “Ambiguous” or “Unknown.”

The remaining cardinals have “incomplete” profiles at this time, meaning that the information on them includes a summary of their backgrounds, achievements and various matters of interest.

Pentin and Montagna emphasize that their analyses are “fact based,” and that they “strive to be impartial.”

Here we share with you a glimpse at the papabili based on Pentin and Montagna’s College of Cardinals Report.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 21

LEAD STORY

The PaPabili

“A Pope should be one whose love for Christ extends to all the members of Christ’s Mystical Body, the ‘flock’ of which Christ is the Good Shepherd. Unlike a politician whose focus is exclusively on this life, a Pope’s primary role is helping to shepherd millions of souls safely to the next. His charity, therefore, should be such that he can ‘tend’ the flock through the kingly role of governance, and ‘feed’ the sheep through the priestly role of sanctifying in the liturgy and through the prophetic role of teaching sound doctrine.” — College of Cardinals Report CARDINAL FRIDOLIN AMBONGO BESUNGU, 65 ARCHBISHOP OF KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, O.F.M. Cap., the Archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a passionate promoter of social justice who fearlessly engages in politics on behalf of the poor and the voiceless, but whose approach to mission and other crucial issues appears contradictory.

Analysis Excerpt: Cardinal Ambongo is clear-headed when it comes to politics and social justice issues, whether it be neo-colonialism, the exploitation of Congo’s natural resources, wealth inequality, corruption, or protecting the environment.

On matters related to the faith and the Church he can also appear decidedly orthodox: he staunchly defends the family, priestly celibacy, and the Church’s moral teaching. He was famously resistant on behalf of most African bishops to Fiducia Supplicans, and deftly negotiated with the Vatican an opt out from the declaration.

But his thinking can also often appear muddled and contradictory. He defends Catholic identity and underlines the importance of mission but is content for Protestants to remain Protestant, Muslims to remain Muslim, and implies baptism is unnecessary for salvation.

22 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

CARDINAL ANDERS ARBORELIUS, 75 BISHOP OF STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Those who know Cardinal Arborelius describe him as genuinely meek and humble, an attentive listener who has been praised for remaining calm and faithful to the Church’s teaching, such as when provoked by atheists on television.

Cardinal Arborelius has said that his episcopal motto In Laudem Gloriae (Unto the Praise of Glory) “is an expression of all that I am — to give glory to the Triune God.” He believes that in our time, man’s “first duty and our privilege” to “honor and glorify God” has been forgotten. “Man is not reduced by it, on the contrary, he grows, becomes more free and happier.”

Analysis Excerpt: A mild-mannered and deeply reflective prelate, Cardinal Arborelius has a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist, is orthodox on the teachings of Christ, and fosters a sincere devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He upholds the Church’s teachings on life, defends priestly celibacy and opposes women’s ordination. He has also been outspoken in his criticisms of the German Synodal Way and has strongly defended the universally applicable and unchanging nature of the Church’s moral teaching.

The Cardinal takes a more pragmatic view on other issues such as interreligious dialogue and ecumenism (though he opposes non-Catholics re-

ceiving the Eucharist) and has a fervent concern for the environment.

CARDINAL JEAN-MARC AVELINE, 66 METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP OF MARSEILLES, FRANCE Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: The Archbishop of Marseille and allegedly Pope Francis’ “favorite” cardinal to succeed him, Cardinal Aveline is an affable and scholarly prelate, an emerging papabile with broad appeal who is dedicated to issues of migration and interreligious dialogue.

Analysis Excerpt: On some of the most contentious issues likely to create controversy within the Church — women’s ordination, the questioning of priestly celibacy, access to Communion for remarried divorcees — Cardinal Aveline maintains a cautious attitude and is reluctant to take a clear stand either way. He prefers not to speak about sensitive issues or reveal his political leanings.

He adopts a proactive stance on issues that have come to the fore under Pope Francis’ pontificate, such as inter-religious dialogue or the welcome of migrants, without, however, demonstrating any aggressive militancy on these issues. He thus appears as a rather liberal figure, but one inclined to consensus.

He was influenced by the poet and mystic Father Jean Arnaud, cofounder of the Workers’ Mission in Marseille, who taught him to love “a Marian and eschatological Church,”

“a gentle Church, capable of leaving in a hurry for unexpected visits,” but where “Communion comes before organization and mercy prevails over judgment.”

CARDINAL ANGELO BAGNASCO, 82 ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS OF GENOA, ITALY Created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: Cardinal Bagnasco is widely respected as a man of acute intelligence, high culture, profound compassion, and intense spirituality — and someone able to combine these qualities with amiability and a gentle nature.

Analysis Excerpt: A fervent defender of orthodox Church teaching in the public square in the mold of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, as president of Italy’s bishops’ conference Bagnasco fought hard for the Faith and the Church’s moral teaching in the political arena, at one point requiring bodyguards for his personal protection.

For Bagnasco, publicly witnessing to Christian values, including the protection of human life from conception until natural death, is a matter of Christian duty. He rejects universalism, opposes an end to mandatory priestly celibacy and ordaining women as deacons, and has spoken out against persecution of Christians.

He has long defended Europe’s Christian roots and frequently addressed the clerical sexual abuse crisis, urging an end to cover-ups. He has called for more transparency in Church finances.

Cardinal Bagnasco has upheld the importance of the Eucharist and the liturgy and is a supporter of preserving the Traditional Latin Mass.

CARDINAL CHALRES MAUNG BO, SDB, 76 ARCHBISHOP OF YANGON, MYANMAR Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Cardinal Bo’s homilies, that can weave together hope, faith,

peace, reconciliation and prophetic challenge, provide an insight into his spirituality and character. He combines a rare mix of courage and wisdom, tradition and creativity, humility and humour, a steadfast faith and an openness to new ideas.

Analysis Excerpt: Generous-spirited, pastoral and compassionate, he loves the arts, and – like Pope St. John Paul II – is himself a playwright. Regarded by some as “solidly orthodox,” Cardinal Bo was deeply inspired by and loyal to Pope Benedict XVI and has developed a similar loyalty and close relationship with Pope Francis. In particular, he supports synodality, Francis’ emphasis on mercy, and his focus on environmental issues and climate change.

He has strongly criticized the Chinese Communist Party but stopped short of criticizing the Pope for his accord with Beijing.

Bo has been criticized at times for being too diplomatic and seeming to compromise on some issues.

Those who know Bo well say he is not in favor of ordaining women priests, making priestly celibacy optional, and blessings of same-sex couples. But he prefers to focus on justice and peace in such a conflict-ridden and repressed nation.

CARDINAL STEPHEN BRISLIN, 68 ARCHBISHOP OF JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Throughout his ministry, Brislin has shown himself to be on the classically liberal wing of the Church, committed to social issues.

Analysis Excerpt: Under Brislin’s watch, in 2022 the archdiocese published a synthesis report as part of its contribution to the Synod on Synodality which called for a change in the hierarchical structure of the Church; exploration “at the very least” of a woman’s diaconate; expansion of the definition

of the family, a revisiting of Humanae Vitae, and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

The report, which carried the stamp of the cardinal’s episcopal coat of arms, also took a distinctly heterodox and even revolutionary approach to tradition.

“In the world of the twenty-first century today, it is important to hold onto the tradition, know its origins, but also to embrace change,” the report stated, adding: “The strong traditions of the Church are also its weaknesses.”

CARDINAL RAYMOND LEO BURKE, 76 PREFECT EMERITUS OF THE SUPREME TRIBUNAL OF THE APOSTOLIC SIGNATURA Created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: Widely recognized as one of the Church’s foremost experts in canon law, Raymond Burke is also known worldwide for his international apostolic work, including his support for rightto-life causes, the traditional liturgy, his devotion to the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Sacred Heart.

Analysis Excerpt: Cardinal Burke is known for his fidelity to the revealed doctrine of the Church, a characteristic that, at times, has provoked vociferous criticism from those within the Church who often cannot accept those teachings. He has responded with meekness and prayer while remaining steadfast to his convictions, leading many of the faithful to look to him for guidance when they have doubts or are confused about the Church’s leadership.

Those of sound formation see a bishop who is reliably Catholic and able to resolve issues of faith, be they doctrinal or canonical. And despite him being stripped of almost every ecclesiastical role, with the exception of bishop and cardinal, often they will seek out Cardinal Burke when they visit Rome — a sign, some believe, of both his personal sanctity and the sensus fidelium in action.

MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 23

LEAD STORY

The PaPabili

CARDINAL WILLEM JACOBUS EIJK, 71 ARCHBISHOP OF UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS Created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: He is widely seen as solidly orthodox and pro-life, and has a marked devotion to Our Lady. His apostolic initiatives have focused on reviving love of the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary, family catechesis, and personal evangelization. Eijk’s experience as a physician and a moral theologian has given him tools to address cuttingedge issues.

Analysis Excerpt: Clear and uncompromising when it comes to the Church’s teachings, Eijk manifests a love of Catholic truth even when it is unpopular, as seen in his willingness to defend Humanae Vitae and to uphold the indissolubility of marriage as only between one man and one woman and the privileged place for the conjugal act. He has also opposed same-sex blessings, but with characteristic tact and diplomacy.

His insistence on Christ’s teaching regarding an all-male, celibate priesthood has been a sign of contradiction for some. While having compassion on refugees, especially for Christians fleeing persecution, Eijk has said that economic migrants often are obliged to build up their native countries; and they have obligations to the country into which they immigrate. Eijk values reverence in the liturgy but has so far kept himself out of the contentious issue of restricting the Traditional Latin Mass.

CARDINAL PÉTER ERDÖ, 72 ARCHBISHOP OF ESZTERGOM-BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Created cardinal by Pope John Paul II Summary: Formed amid the hardships of atheistic communism, Cardinal Péter Erdő is widely regarded as a great intellect and a man of culture. Cautious, risk-averse, even timid, Erdő was, at 51, one of the 24 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

Church’s youngest cardinals when John Paul II elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 2003.

Analysis Excerpt: Although he prefers the Ordinary Form of the Mass, he is willing to permit the Extraordinary Form and will support it if called to do so but he made no public comment on Traditionis Custodes.

He sees the Eucharist and the priesthood as closely related and is opposed to optional celibacy for priests. A defender of the hierarchical structure of the Church, he is a priest with a pastoral heart for whom the importance of salvation was the driving force for being ordained. He has placed great emphasis on the New Evangelization, ministering to youth and missionary work.

On political issues such as immigration, the cardinal has conveyed a balanced approach, recognizing the right to migrate but also aware of dangers of integrating refugees without endangering political stability.

He upholds Humanae Vitae, is strongly pro-life, and has a fervent Marian devotion.

CARDINAL FERNANDO FILONI, 78 GRAND MASTER OF THE EQUESTRIAN ORDER OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER OF JERUSALEM Created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: Cardinal Filoni is a distinguished Holy See diplomat who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, deputy Vatican secretary of state, and apostolic nuncio in Iraq during the 2003 Iraq War. A reserved and discreet figure, he is a man of pastoral sensitivity with a wealth of curial and diplomatic experience, Analysis Excerpt: Filoni is a fervent believer in the Second Vatican Council. He is also a strong advocate of the Synod of Bishops and, contentiously, episcopal conferences.

On other matters, Filoni is known to be a sponsor of the Neocatechumenal movement, a

controversial group that has sparked debate for some of its unorthodox liturgical practices and interpretations.

As the Vaticanist John Allen pointed out in 2013, Filoni has a global vision and international experience, possesses important diplomatic and governing skills, has shown pastoral sensitivity, and is uncompromising on Church teaching.

On the negative side, Cardinal Filoni has no experience in leading a diocese, is identified with Italian old guard bureaucracy, and despite many attributes working in his favor, he was not often mentioned as papabile at the last conclave.

CARDINAL KURT KOCH, 75 PREFECT OF THE DICASTERY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY Created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: Cardinal Kurt Koch combines a calm persona with years of curial experience. A somewhat shy man who shuns controversy, his Teutonic intellectual background is oriented toward negotiation and compromise, making him a somewhat diplomatic and pragmatic figure. As a cardinal in the Roman Curia, he has also displayed a healthy conservatism.

Analysis Excerpt: The Swiss cardinal is known for his strong skepticism of the German Synodal Way, while at the same time he is regarded as a man open to making cautious changes, which he expressed, for example, in a comprehensive study of the papal ministry in 2024.

The cardinal is able to scrupulously separate his own theological views from what his office requires of him — something seen as a strength but also a weakness.

Koch’s knowledge of a broad range of issues can also be said to be rather blinkered. For many years he has been dealing with essentially only one topic in his work — ecumenism.

Furthermore, Koch’s ecumenical thought is deeply rooted in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.

Koch underlines the importance of the centrality of the Eucharist but is not a proponent of the traditional liturgy, seeing it as an obstacle to unity.

CARDINAL GERHARD LUDWIG MÜLLER, 77 PREFECT EMERITUS OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Intelligent and honest, Cardinal Gerhard Müller is a decisive and down-to-earth leader who will act courageously when necessary. Respected as a theologian, he dislikes the label “conservative,” preferring to consider himself as simply “Catholic.” An honest broker, knowledgeable, well read, and “without a scintilla of nastiness,” according to an associate, Müller is unafraid to lead and make tough decisions.

Analysis Excerpt: Although liturgy is not his priority, he considers doctrine and pastoral care of equal importance, and he has encouraged Eucharistic devotion.

Generally, he takes traditional positions, strongly opposing a female diaconate and resisting changes to priestly celibacy in the Latin Rite. Ardently supportive of the teachings of Vatican II and quite modern in his outlook, he has grown closer to Tradition in recent years and has been a staunch critic of the Synod on Synodality. He has also been critical of restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass.

Independent-minded, Gerhard Müller has been critical of globalism, “Agenda 2030,” and its protagonists whom he calls “strong powerful elites.”

Within the Church, he is regarded as an intensely loyal friend and collaborator who has striven to avoid criticizing Pope Francis directly, though he has many questions about this pontificate.

CARDINAL MARC OULLET, 80 PREFECT EMERITUS OF THE DICASTERY FOR BISHOPS Created cardinal by Pope John Paul II Summary: Cardinal Oullet is a mostly conservative-leaning prelate but with a somewhat modern, post-conciliar outlook that tends to change with the times and the popes.

Although someone with a deep love for the Church’s teaching, he is not considered doctrinaire and has a personal warmth and affability of a true pastor.

Analysis Excerpt: A strong defender of priestly celibacy in the Latin Rite, he is firmly against women’s ordination. He opposes same sex “marriage,” has praised Humanae Vitae, and has concretely supported migrants in difficulty. His views on Islam are moderate.

As a personally principled, prayerful, yet sensitive man, sometimes given to emotion and with concern for unity, he is reluctant to criticize in public and instead takes a diplomatic and low-key approach to the papacy.

He is known to be a man of holiness, transparency, and humility, with a passion for life.

Ouellet has a preference for solemn liturgies and appears open and accepting of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. He has a devotion to Our Lady and is widely known to be a deeply spiritual prelate with a great sense of loyalty.

CARDINAL PIETRO PAROLIN, 70 VATICAN SECRETARY OF STATE Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Pietro Parolin has long been highly regarded as a reliable and trusted papal representative on the world stage.

As someone who wishes to be close to the poor and with an ecclesial and political outlook similar to Francis, he is seen as a natural successor to the current Pope but in a quieter, subtler, and more diplomatic manner.

Analysis Excerpt: A protégé of the late Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, a leading member of the Saint Gallen Group, Cardinal Parolin has used his diplomatic skills in the areas of nuclear disarmament, outreach to communist countries, and geopolitics in the Middle East and Asia, including relations with Beijing.

Questions persist over his position on contraception. He has also emerged as an ardent opponent of the traditional liturgy as contrary to a more global, synodal “new paradigm” for the Church.

To his critics, Cardinal Parolin is a modernist progressive with a globalist vision, a pragmatist who will place ideology and diplomatic solutions above hard truths of the faith, and a master of the discredited Ostpolitik brand of diplomacy of the 1960s.

To his supporters, Cardinal Parolin is a courageous idealist, an avid proponent of peace, and a master of discretion and arbitration.

CARDINAL MAURO PIACENZA, 80 MAJOR PENITENTIARY EMERITUS OF THE APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY Created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: A man of great discretion, Cardinal Piacenza has proven experience in academia, administration, and pastoral work. He shows piety and reverence in worship, handles difficult situations with sensitivity, and possesses a detailed knowledge of, and respect for, religious vocations.

Analysis Excerpt: Keeping the salvation of souls in mind above all, Mauro Piacenza has extensive experience as a teacher and spiritual guide.

His devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary influenced his 20 years of work for priests in the Congregation for the Clergy, where he became prefect. Some might call him “a priest’s priest,” someone sought after to give retreats who effectively and discreetly defends orMAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 25

LEAD STORY

The PaPabili

thodoxy against errors within the Church.

He is committed to maintaining Catholic traditions and making them accessible to new generations. He holds fast to all doctrines of the Church on moral matters, clearly stating magisterial teachings on issues such as abortion, surrogate motherhood, and the need to evangelize nonChristian cultures. For him, there is no question about the celibate, allmale priesthood, with no room for “homosexual culture” in the seminary or rectory. He discreetly battles revolutionary ideas while affirming right principles and has a reputation for being a good judge of character.

CARDINAL PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, OFM, 59 LATIN PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Though Cardinal Pizzaballa rarely addresses controversial issues, it is possible to discern a desire to abide by the orthodox traditions of the Church while also remaining open to modernity.

He strongly believes in the centrality of the Eucharist, has strong Marian devotion, and is a great believer in the path of sanctification through tribulation.

Analysis Excerpt: The Latin Patriarch appears to care deeply for his flock, yet is able to engage both sides in this seemingly intractable Middle East conflict. Unafraid to speak out, he has striven to treat Arabs and Israelis with equanimity, but with arguably more sympathy for the Palestinian people “still waiting for their rights, their dignity or recognition.”

The cardinal recognizes this period as one of “great disorientation and confusion” but does not want to go back to a bygone era. He has a passion for Holy Scripture, a disdain for clericalism and a concern for migrants, interreligious dialogue and, to some extent, the environment.

26 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

Liberal in the classical sense, he sees the old rite as one among the many diverse rites in the Church and so allows it. Liturgically, he appears to lean towards tradition, always favouring the centrality of the Eucharist.

CARDINAL ALBERT MALCOLM RANJITH PATABENDIGE DON, 77 ARCHBISHOP OF COLOMBO, SRI LANKA Created cardinal

by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: Cardinal Ranjith is an ecclesial allrounder: a conservative and a polyglot with a deeply pastoral vision who has extensive experience in Church governance.

Analysis Excerpt: Ranjith has effectively represented the pope in the world’s most populous Muslim country, overseen liturgical practices as a high-ranking curial official, and governed a major metropolitan archdiocese in challenging times.

Deeply loyal to the papacy, he nevertheless departs slightly from Francis on the death penalty (he would allow it in certain cases), he favors ethical capitalism, and rejects socialism. He prefers the Novus Ordo celebrated reverently but has also encouraged the Traditional Latin Mass. He has been an advocate of the “reform of the reform” and favors a “return to the true liturgy of the Church.”

But he is also a firm proponent of the Vatican II reforms and sees the post-conciliar Church as an imperfect yet necessary development. He can be outspoken and sometimes impulsive but is recognized for being upstanding and willing to confront corruption.

Ranjith’s breadth of experience makes him likely to be a reliable, traditional, conservative Pope, with a proven track record in governance and orthodoxy from the global south.

CARDINAL ROBERT SARAH, 79 PREFECT EMERITUS OF THE CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS Created cardinal

by Pope Benedict XVI Summary: Cardinal Robert Sarah is a traditional and orthodox-minded former senior Vatican official whose prophetic witness, personal sanctity, and literary works have brought him a wide and devoted following across the world.

Analysis Excerpt: Cardinal Sarah’s experience in resisting a Marxist dictatorship is often credited for the cardinal’s sensitivity in knowing when to speak out and when to keep quiet, as well as his fearlessness in defending truths of the Faith.

In a homily at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, Kenya in February 2023, he warned: “Our faith can be rocked by those even within the Church who seek to change God’s revealed truth, sowing confusion rather than fostering clarity and confirming the faith.” He has supported Catholics who attend the TLM, and is a vociferous critic of Fiducia Supplicans. He has also warned against dangers of the “Synod on Synodality.”

Sarah has written a number of highly acclaimed books, including God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith (2015), which have established him as a leader with depth, insight, and even a gift of prophecy that resonated with those who had felt starved of hearing the truths of the Faith firmly rooted in the Church’s Tradition.

CARDINAL DANILE FERANDO STURLA, SDB, 65 ARCHBISHOP OF MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Salesian Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet is a Ratzingerian Latin American archbishop whose battles to defend the faith

have been tried by Uruguay’s long and steady descent into secularism.

Analysis Excerpt: Cardinal Sturla is orthodox in his beliefs. Christ and the Eucharist must be at the center, and the Church’s teaching vigorously defended in the face of secularism.

He has a distinctly Ratzingerian vision for the Church, especially when it comes to the Second Vatican Council, which he sees as being in continuity with the past rather than a “rupture.”

He is keen to shore up the Church’s identity and avoid “falling into the trap of self-secularization.”

He sees it as imperative that the Church “reach out to everyone,” but “without denying her own identity.”

With his conservative and orthodox beliefs, a Sturla pontificate would almost certainly mark the return of a Ratzingerian or Wojtijan direction; however, whether the cardinal electors would risk a second Latin American Pope so soon after the turmoil of the first is an open question.

CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO GOKIM TAGLE, 67 PRO-PREFECT FOR THE DICASTERY FOR EVENGELIZATION Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Touted as the “Asian Francis,” Cardinal Tagle possesses not only attributes similar to Jorge Bergoglio and extensive pastoral and administrative experience but also significant theological and historical training.

Analysis Excerpt: Unafraid to share his emotions and sentimentality in public, he often displays a playful side, as when dancing with youth, or in the sanctuary, or celebrating Mass in a folksy and casual manner.

Nevertheless, Tagle is known as a shrewd negotiator and sophisticated tactician. His tutelage under the Jesuits, graduate studies in the United States, work with progressive theolo-

gians firmly root him in the progressive theological camp.

Tagle’s positions on moral matters appear somewhat incoherent. On the one hand, he railed against a Filipino “Reproductive Health” bill that introduced anti-family and antilife policies, and strongly opposes abortion and euthanasia.

On the other hand, he holds that some situations exist where universal moral principles do not apply, such as Communion for cohabitating unmarried couples, and issues relating to homosexuality.

Cardinal Tagle is a vocal advocate for environmental causes, and has made ambiguous statements about the goodness of all religions — raising questions about what Tagle believes to be the essence of the gospel.

CARDINAL JOSÉ TOLENTINO MENDONÇA, 59 PREFECT OF THE DICASTERY FOR CULTURE AND EDUCATION Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Cardinal José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça is a poet, biblical scholar and educator in his native Portugal, and a prelate very much on the “progressive” wing of the Church with a close affinity to Pope Francis.

Analysis Excerpt: Tolentino sympathizes with heterodox and tolerant approaches to homosexuality (although never publicly speaking against Church teaching) and allying himself with a radical feminist Benedictine sister who promotes abortion, women’s ordination, same-sex “marriage,” and the adoption of children by same-sex couples. He views such acts as part of an effort of engaging the Church with modern culture.

He is a passionate reader and lover of literature; his poetry is highly regarded by specialists, but notably more in the secular sphere than religious.

In terms of governance, he has shown himself to be capable, but he is not known to be a team player and can be difficult to work with.

For those cardinal-electors wanti-

ng a continuity candidate, someone certainly heterodox and modernist with perhaps an even greater revolutionary impulse than Francis, the Portuguese cardinal from Madeira could be their ideal candidate.

CARDINAL MATTEO MARIA ZUPPI, 69 ARCHBISHOP OF BOLOGNA, ITALY Created cardinal by Pope Francis Summary: Matteo Zuppi is a personable prelate with friends across the political spectrum in his native Rome.

Someone with a lifelong concern for the poor and marginalized, the Italian prelate is a true son of the spirit of Vatican II. Analysis Excerpt: Zuppi believes the Church must “reject hate,” engender “authentic solidarity,” embrace religious pluralism and “fraternity,” and go out to the peripheries to help the poor and the marginalized.

For Zuppi, individualism is anathema and community, activism, and mission must come first. He has a devotion to Our Lady and values prayer, but his emphasis on social justice and equality has inevitably brought him into alliances with Italian leftist politics.

But despite his distinctly “progressive” leanings and connections with Freemasonry, he also tries to dialogue with those on the right and keep channels open with those who favor Church tradition. He has celebrated the old Mass on at least two occasions and in 2022 celebrated solemn Vespers in the Pantheon.

It is not always easy to know exactly where Zuppi, an intelligent prelate with a sharp mind, stands on doctrine and other issues, as he can tailor his message to his audience. Invariably his views lean clearly in a heterodox direction, such as on the indissolubility of marriage, homosexuality, gender ideology, and hell.

His supporters would say this makes him able to tackle the complexities of the modern world; his critics might describe him as a clever, archetypal modernist.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 27

ANALYSIS

“tAkIng the kIng’S ShIllIng” USAID AnD the CAtholIC BIShopS: the ChUrCh hIreS oUt “ChArIty” on the government’S DIme n BY MICHAEL HICHBORN*

A Plenary Meeting of the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops in Orlando, Florida, June 16, 2023 (Photo - Vatican News).

Below in the circles: left, Sean Callahan, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services since 2016; right, Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services since 2022

T

he relationship between the Catholic bishops of the United States and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) started almost as soon as USAID came into existence.

USAID was established through the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961, and, according to a 1974 budget submission to USAID, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) began receiving funding from it in 1963, just two years after USAID was created.

Initially, CRS received USAID funding for the distribution of food, but over the ensuing years, this would expand to providing clean water, health assistance programs, the distribution of mosquito nets, anti malaria medicine, and the like.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, CRS-led and USAID-funded programs were expanded to include initiatives regarding HIV/AIDS, health care programs, financial development 28 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

programs, and initiatives directed toward societal “behavior change.” By the early 2000’s, these expanded programs led to a series of moral compromises, as will soon be illustrated.

QUID PRO QUO Over the years, CRS has enjoyed a rather cozy quid pro quo relationship with USAID and its affiliated agencies, like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund (both of which are major suppliers and promoters of contraception and/or condoms.)

Each year, representatives from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and CRS send a letter to congress and give testimony in favor of expanded funding for these organizations.

In return, CRS has received topdollar grants for projects overseas.

From 2005 through 2024, CRS re-

ceived more than $4.5 billion from USAID, and over $1 billion from PEPFAR. These figures do not include the funding CRS would have received as a sub-grantee on a project it was not leading.

Faithful Catholics of good will may debate whether or not a Catholic aid agency should be receiving massive amounts of funding from the federal (secular) government, or indeed whether or not the corporal works of mercy should be industrialized with paid workers rather than being conducted by professed religious or dedicated pay people.

But what is not up for debate is that at least since 2012, CRS should have been completely cut off from these granting agencies altogether.

The reason is that in 2012 Pope Benedict XVI published a Motu Proprio titled “On the Service of Charity” – a law of the Church which has NOT been abrogated – clearly forbidding

The logo of the United States Agency for International Development. The agency was recently defunded by the new US President, Donald Trump

organizations like CRS from receiving funding from agencies like USAID. Article 10 § 3 of the motu proprio states that: “the diocesan Bishop is to ensure that charitable agencies dependent upon him do not receive financial support from groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to Church’s teaching. Similarly, lest scandal be given to the faithful, the diocesan Bishop is to ensure that these charitable agencies do not accept contributions for initiatives whose ends, or the means used to pursue them, are not in conformity with the Church’s teaching.”

The first line, prohibiting financial support from “groups or institutions that pursue ends contrary to the Church’s teaching” automatically forbids the reception of funds from USAID, and the reason for this is simple.

POPULATION CONTROL USAID was created in 1961 as a population control organization that has written into its charter the requirement of countries receiving USAID funds to report what steps they are taking to reduce their own fertility rates.

The Act firmly establishes “control of population growth” as one of the essential criteria for determining a country’s commitment to “the most effective use of such assistance to help satisfy basic human needs of poor people.” [Sec. 102, (b)(4)].

Section 104 of the act – titled “Population and Health” – is even more explicit. In the first part of this section, titled “Findings,” the Act establishes that “uncontrolled population growth can violate otherwise successful development efforts.”

It then begins attacking “large families” and advocating for “effective birth control” and “effective family planning” in favor of “economic progress.”

The act says: “While every country has the right to determine its own policies with respect to population

growth, voluntary population planning programs can make a substantial contribution to economic development, higher living standards, and improved health and nutrition.”

Following this, in a section titled, “Assistance for Population Planning,” the act then says: “In order to increase the opportunities and motivation for family planning and to reduce the rate of population growth, the Presi-

dent is authorized to furnish assistance, on such terms and conditions as he may determine, for voluntary population planning.

In addition to the provision of family planning information and services, including also information and services which relate to and support natural family planning methods, and the conduct of directly relevant demographic research, population planning programs shall emphasize motivation for small families.”

Subsection (d) of section 104 – titled “Integration of Assistance Programs” – then provides the requirement to integrate population control measures in with other aspects of foreign development projects.

The very first line requires administered assistance to focus on the interrelationship between “population growth” and “improvement in living standards.”

It further requires study on the impact of all assistance programs on “population growth.”

In other words – reducing population growth is to be viewed as a means of improving standards of living, and therefore, all assistance should be directed toward slowing population growth.

The very next line states: “All appropriate activities proposed for fi-

nancing under this chapter shall be designed to build motivation for smaller families.”

Everything ‘good’ about USAID— food aid, clean water, medical care, education—is tainted by its population control agenda. As if that’s not enough, this section further stipulates that: “Population planning programs shall be coordinated with other programs aimed at reducing the infant mortality rate, providing better nutrition for pregnant women and infants, and raising the standard of living of the poor.”

It is not an accident that USAID is the largest supplier of birth control and family planning programs in the world. A 2020 USAID flier boasts that due to its efforts, contraception use rose from under 10% in 1965 to 32%, reducing family sizes from over six to 4.2.

But it’s not just USAID. The “AIDS relief” program PEPFAR, which works hand-in-glove with USAID, also integrates family planning into nearly every aspect of its programs.

In a May 2023 report by USAID titled “Comprehensive Agency Report on Condoms and Lubricants FY2022,” USAID indicated that between 2016 and 2022 – with funding from PEPFAR – a total value of $158.1 million in condoms and lubricants were supplied to 61 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions.

USAID’s very essence clearly constitutes what Pope Benedict called an agency “that pursues ends contrary to the Church’s teaching,” firmly prohibiting organizations like CRS from receiving such funds.

And as indicated earlier, the consistent reception of USAID funds over the years has indeed led to a moral degradation through a series of moral compromises.

The end result is that CRS has been caught time and again directly proMAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 29

ANALYSIS

“Taking The king’s shilling”

moting condoms, facilitating the promotion and distribution of contraception, and even directly funding organizations dedicated to the provision and promotion of abortion.

CRS SUBTERFUGE As the old saying goes, “If you take the king’s shilling, you’ll do the king’s willing.” This is precisely why Pope Benedict also forbade agencies like CRS from receiving funds “for initiatives whose ends, or the means used to pursue them, are not in conformity with the Church’s teaching.”

In 2008, noted theologian Germain Grisez formally requested the bishops of the United States to investigate CRS for distributing material that explicitly promoted condom use.

What he discovered was a letter to CRS’s partners in the PEPFAR-funded AIDSRelief project, written by CRS’ Chief of Party for the project.

This letter was intended to introduce a new flipchart created by CRS, explaining that CRS deliberately omitted its logo from the flipchart due to "potential sensitivity of the information contained in these materials among Church partners." The letter further instructed that the “CRS name and logo should not be included in any adaptations” of the flipchart, and that "if you are concerned about the reactions of the Bishops and the Church in your country," CRS would lend assistance.

But this flipchart provided grotesque, graphic illustrations on how to use both male and female condoms, and multiple statements encouraging condom use to avoid the transmission of HIV. Despite CRS’s consistent protest that it does not encourage condom use, or provide condoms, the flipchart tells the instructor several times to “Inform client where condoms can be obtained.”

Worse still is that this CRS-pro30 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

duced flipchart openly encourages gravely immoral acts within marriage. For example, page 52 provides a “client” testimony on how she and her husband used condoms.

Since that time, the Lepanto Institute (LI) has conducted dozens of investigations into CRS projects, finding time and again that CRS is complicitly involved in the promotion and distribution of contraception and condoms through projects funded by

USAID and its associated agencies.

For instance, in 2014 LI and Population Research Institute (PRI) published the results of an investigation into a PEPFAR-funded, CRS led project called Support and Assistance to Indigenous Implementing Agencies (SAIDIA).

This report, which included information gathered by investigators who interviewed the implementors of the project, showed that CRS and its partners were promoting both contraception and condoms to adolescents and young people through a program called Healthy Choices II. Predictably, CRS publicly denied that healthy Choices II contained the contraception- or condom-promoting components, claiming: “CRS’ implementing partners used two out of the four sections (those two which were appropriate and in accordance with Church and CRS doctrine) and did not use the other sections, as they were deemed inappropriate.”

These claims, however, were completely contradicted by CRS’ own re-

ports to the federal government (obtained through a FOIA request) on the SAIDIA project. In fact, a CRS grant proposal from April of 2012 specifically indicates that CRS’s use of Healthy Choices II includes all 8 modules, indicating the inclusion of the condom- and contraception-promoting components.

In 2019, we produced a report on the USAID-funded Mikolo Project, whose stated intention was to train community health volunteers (CHVs) who would (as indicated by a USAID evaluation of the project): “ensure the delivery of the continuum of care.

These services and practices include: the delivery of FP (Family Planning) services to women of reproductive age, including youth.”

The same evaluation specified that these services included contraceptive pills, injections, and devices. CRS was not the lead on the project but was brought in to establish the funding mechanism for these CHVs, knowing fully well that their mission prioritized the spread and use of contraception.

After bringing this information to the attention of authorities at CRS, we were informed that CRS’s role in the project was “very small,” but the point that was missed is that as seemingly small as CRS’ role was, its work was vital to the overall success of the project, which was to make these CHVs and their operations “self sustaining.” The battery on a car is a very “small part,” but without one, a car won’t go anywhere.

In 2020, we discovered several documents bearing CRS’ copyright openly encouraging the use of condoms, including instruction to adolescents saying that to stay healthy, they should “use a condom during sex to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, and pregnancies.”

Left, women in Cameroon are encouraged to limit family size by CRS/USAID programs. Below:The Great Commission (1868) by Romain Cazes, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In the circle: the late Pope Benedict XVI

PROMOTING ABORTION Most egregiously, however, was CRS’ provision of USAID funds to a radically pro-abortion organization in Cameroon.

In March of 2024, PRI and LI once again teamed up to publish the results of a year-long investigation into three CRS project areas funded by USAID and PEPFAR. In Cameroon, CRS – in direct violation of the Mexico City Policy, then in place – provided at least $359,000 to an organization called RENATA, whose very logo is an icon for abortion: a pregnant woman with an “x” marked on her belly.

As a subcontractor on CRS’s KIDSS project, RENATA was contracted to provide “sexual and reproductive health services.”

RENATA made it very clear during the time of the project that it provides and promotes contraception and condoms, and even admitted to taking young girls to obtain illegal abortions. RENATA was even working to have Cameroon overturn its pro-life laws.

As published in this same report, we also proved that CRS was the lead implementing organization on the U S A I D / P E P FA R - f u n d e d DREAMS project.

As indicated in USAID and PEPFAR documents – and even admitted to in documentation produced by CRS – the promotion and distribution of contraception was a core component of DREAMS. In fact, one of DREAMS’ stated objectives was to increase the contraceptive method mix among young women.

ANOTHER LAYER There are many, many more examples of the ways in which USAID has corrupted the morals of Catholic Relief Services and other related Catholic

institutions, but these examples suffice to adequately make the point: Taking government money will always come with strings attached requiring moral compromises.

But there is another layer to the problem that is often overlooked by those concerned with Catholic entanglement with US federal funding.

No matter where CRS operates, it is strictly forbidden from actively prac-

ticing the Faith in federally funded project areas.

The entire mission of the Catholic Church is summed up in the Great Commission given by Our Lord to His Apostles: “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Mt. 28:19-20).

The Catholic Church exists for the salvation of souls, or as Archbishop Fulton Sheen put it, “If souls are not saved, then nothing is saved.”

The corporal works of mercy ostensibly performed by CRS and other groups are all for nothing if CRS fails to provide spiritual aid and nourishment to those souls it serves. It merits nothing to feed the belly and starve the soul.

The Department of Justice clearly stipulates that “Federal funding cannot

fund ‘inherently religious’ activities.”

Explaining what this means, the DoJ says: • Funds may NOT pay for religious worship, prayer, instruction, or evangelism.

• But ALL of these activities can be carried out with private funds.

In other words… “No God-Talk on Uncle Sam’s Dime.”

CONCLUSION Since USAID and PEPFAR irrefutably integrate population control and artificial birth control into nearly all aspects of their programs, they most certainly constitute what Pope Benedict XVI called “institutions that pursue ends contrary to the Church’s teaching.”

As such, CRS and other formal Catholic agencies are forbidden from taking their funds.

Furthermore, as has been shown, CRS’s decades-long addiction to federal funding has corrupted its moral character by making it complicit in the promotion and distribution of contraception and condoms.

The only answer to the magnitude of this corruption is to strictly follow the law established by Pope Benedict, stripping away all connection to USAID, PEPFAR, the Global Fund, the Gates Foundation, and any other such agency promoting and/or distributing contraception and condoms.

Charity is a virtue that belongs to the Church and it is high time She reclaimed that which is rightfully Hers. *Michael Hichborn, founder and president of the Lepanto Institute, was previously American Life League’s Director of the Defend the Faith project, and helped open two Catholic schools in Fredericksburg, VA.Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Christendom College in Political Science and Economics, and a Master’s degree in Education from American Intercontinental Univer sity. He is a member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family, and lives in Virginia with his wife, Alyssa, and their eight children.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 31

NEWS

trump white house: “pro-cAtholic?”

Astonishingly, the AmericAn politicAl order is showing signs of tAking the perenniAl wisdom of our 2,000-yeAr-old church seriously... n BY ROBERT MOYNIHAN

I

n regard to the role and work of Francis, and of the Catholic Church, in the world, a March, 2025 article by the re-spected Vaticanist Sandro Magister deserves analysis.

Magister, who once studied for the priesthood, then left the seminary to marry and raise a family, writes a widely read weekly column on Church affairs.

In this piece published March 13, he highlights the perplexing contradictions of the Pope’s relationship with some of the world's present leaders, including Donald Trump, the president of the United States since January 20, almost two months ago now.

This article should be read because it “touches all the bases,” and in a relatively small space gives you considerable insight into important and sometimes confusing happenings.

Magister’s argument goes like this: 32 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

1) Trump was elected on November 5, and some observers are calling it a victory of “Christian nationalists.”

Essayist Anne Applebaum (in 1994, she published her first book Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe, a travelogue that described the rise of nationalism across the new states of the former Soviet Union, says this is the view of Catholic thinker Patrick Deneen, and she suggests Deneen believes that the US should, in fact, be “a religious, not a secular, state.” A dramatic curtain-raiser!

2) Prof. Deneen, Magister notes, is a “guiding light” for Catholic convert JD Vance, the new Vice-President. and also for Marco Rubio, the new Secretary of State under Trump.

So -- a powerful Catholic presence in the Trump government... and quite public, as both men wore their Ash Wednesday ashes on their foreheads in public a few days ago...

3) Such public displays of reli-

gious practice have become “unthinkable” in Europe, Magister says.

And this separation of social life into a public, secular sphere and a private, religious sphere is what JD Vance publicly criticized in his talk to the European Union leaders in Munich on February 14.

So, Magister argues, this showed the distance between once-Christian Europe (now thoroughly secularized) and the rising Christian religiosity of Vance and Rubio, under Trump's leadership.

4) Fast forward two weeks later, to February 28, and two events: (1) the confrontation in the Oval Office of the White House between the president of Ukraine, Vlodymyr Zelensky, and Trump and Vance, which came only minutes after...

(2) Vance’s talk to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington that same morning.

Magister noted that Vance spoke kindly about Pope Francis: “A speech in which he moved his hear-

Left, Vice-President JD Vance and President Donald Trump; below: Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears on Fox News on Ash Wednesday. In the circles: Catholic thinker Patrick Deneen, Ph.D.; Vaticanist Sandro Magister; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Pope Francis

ers by telling of the baptism of his 7-year-old son; he quoted at length the words spoken by Pope Francis at the height of the Covid epidemic in a deserted and rain-beaten St. Peter’s Square; he prayed for his health.”

Vance stressed that this Trump government will “defend religious liberty” worldwide. The point is that...

5) Vance, above all, Magister says, in that speech of his, aimed to “Catholicize” Trump’s moves. Magister writes: “It’s fine to achieve ‘prosperity,’ he (Vance) said, but ‘Catholicism – Christianity at its root, I think – teaches our public officials to care about the deep things, the important things, the protection of the unborn, the flourishing of our children, and the health and the sanctity of our marriages.'”

6) Magister then makes an astonishing remark about his thesis that the Trump administration is “proCatholic.”

Magister makes a comparison between this effort to connect the Trump administration with the Catholic Church and something that has happened in...

Russia(!).

This is what Magister writes: “There is a curious similarity between this venture, political and religious at once, of which the Catholic Vance is the mastermind, and the axis cemented in Russia between Vladimir Putin and Moscow Patriarch Kirill, under the banner of a ‘holy war’ against the degenerate European civilization.”

Yes, Magister is saying there is a certain “parallel” that he perceives between the proposal of a collaboration between Trump and the Roman Catholic Church and Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.

(Is this an outrageous comparison? Magister seems to believe it is not...)

7) Few see this, Magister notes, because many issues, the issue of immigration above all, stand in the way of a close collaboration between Trump and the Pope.

And Magister notes that Vance was at pains to overlook these differences and to say that he and his family were praying for the Pope, and were grateful for his words in St. Peter's Square on March 20, 2020, when Covid was beginning.

Vance even cites a passage from the Pope's homily on that occasion.

“Vance, In his speech at the Catholic Prayer Breakfast, took care not to criticize the Pope,” Magister writes. Then Magister turns to...

8) Ukraine. The war in Ukraine, now more than three years old.

This is the central point in Magister's essay.

Magister is a profound defender of the right of Ukraine to exist and to be independent, as a country.

And Magister sees something to criticize both in what Trump and Vance have done with regard to Ukraine, but also in what Francis has done with regard to Ukraine.

Magister writes:

“More than the divergences, in fact, Trump and the Catholics around him care about the convergences with Francis’s politics.

“Which concern Ukraine above all: with the pope’s repeated accusations against NATO of having 'barked' for years at Russia’s borders, provoking its reaction of selfdefense; with his injunction to Ukraine itself to ‘raise the white flag’ and surrender; with a general affinity for the political and religious ‘Russian world,’ encouraged by the parallel diplomacy of the Community of Sant’Egidio, much dearer to the pope than the Secretariat of State.

“The fact is that the brutal public humiliation inflicted by Trump and Vance on Zelensky on February 28 did not raise from the Vatican authorities – albeit amid the forced silence of the gravely ill Pope – the slightest word not so much of protest, but at least of balance and correction.”

So Magister is saying there is an evident convergence of the US government with the policy and person of Pope Francis, and that this convergence pre-eminently concerns...

Ukraine. And Russia...

9) Magister writes several more paragraphs, defending the right of Ukraine to be a country, and to have this recognized in whatever peace agreement is reached.

There is much left out of this analysis, and there will be space in future letters to speak of what Magister downplays.

But it remains true that Magister’s essay provides insight into the minds of many Europeans as three of the world’s “great powers” — Russia, America and the Holy See — seem to be moving toward a consensus on how to come to a peace agreement in Ukraine which many in Ukraine will not be willing to accept.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 33

neWs INTERVIEW

JD Vance — The FirsT Truly caTholic american sTaTesman?

T

he Washington Post’s Peter Jamison on March 13 interviewed Chad Pecknold, Ph.D., professor of theology at Catholic University of America and fellow contributor – with Patrick Deneen – to the Substack blog The Postliberal Order, on Vice President JD Vance as a “Catholic in the White House.”

Peter Jamison: Generally, what are your thoughts on Vice President Vance's public profile so far as a Catholic in the White House, and his Christian witness as a prominent, national elected official?

Chad Pecknold: I am very biased, but it strikes me as obvious and reasonable to state that we have never had a more compelling Catholic statesman in the White House. We will be comparing J.D. Vance to John F. Kennedy for many years, not only for their similarities but also for their deep differences as Catholic statesmen. They share, of course, manly vigor and rhetorical power. But where JFK held his faith in abeyance, with Catholic principles subordinated to the rules of liberal order, JDV takes a much more traditional approach which understands that the duties of a Christian statesman are duties which require Catholic principles to inform good governance, and not to be separated from it. [...]He has stated very clearly that religious liberty is not just about legal safeguards, but it’s about supporting and encouraging faith in God. And he’s not been shy about expressing that faith in a way which actually illuminates government policies such as we have seen in his appeal to the ordo amoris for explaining immigration policy.

Jamison: What is your take on the dispute that erupted among Catholic thinkers over his interpretation of the ordo amoris?

Pecknold: The dispute which erupted was not really about the ordo amoris — it was about the compatibility between Christianity and Liberalism. To explain this, though, I need to explain why Vance’s correct appeal to ordo amoris triggered this deeper conflict.

The classical tradition frames questions of order very differently than liberal traditions. Instead of a focus on identity and individual rights, the ancients focused on duty and virtue because they saw personal alignment with these things as the key to happiness.

Much like Vance, Aristotle will argue in the Nicomachean Ethics that we have obligations first to our parents and siblings, then to friends who share common virtues, then to our fellow citizens, and only to 34 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

strangers when it doesn’t undermine these prior obligations. These are all keyed to virtues like piety, patriotism, and magnanimity. Cicero’s On Duties is also very typical in that he conceives of governance also in terms of personal alignment with what is good for one’s family or city before all others. [...]

Augustine recognizes that the classical understanding of these concentric circles of obligation really follow the hierarchy of being and goodness which has been caused by God who created and ordered the world, made it good and intelligible, and so also made it lovable.

Since God is Charity Itself, which orders and unites every good thing, it is God whom we are to love in all things. The ordo amoris is nothing other that relating the hierarchical order of reality itself to God who is Love Itself.

St. Thomas Aquinas unites these classical and Christian discussions in his famous treatise on “the order of charity.”

He argues that God is the supreme good and the principle of happiness, and so the happiness we get from loving ourselves, our family, our friends, and strangers is nothing other than a share of God’s goodness.

There’s a general sense in which we are to love all equally out of charity, but because we’re embodied creatures, it’s impossible to love all equally through our actions. Aquinas says that our love of neighbor thus “increases in proportion to the nearness” of those principles we hold in common with our actual neighbor.

So it is entirely reasonable that we love our families and fellow citizens more than we love strangers.

This doesn’t mean that one would not show charity to foreigners, but it’s notable that Aquinas thinks that while the refugee should be provided safe passage, they should be carefully tested for shared principles over time if they want to enter into “civic friendship,” and become fellow citizens.

Now here is the key to the conflict: neither the classical nor the Christian account of the ordo amoris fits with liberalism, which gives primacy to individual rights, not to common virtues.

Liberalism gives primacy to idealistic abstractions over concrete obligations to those with whom we already share principles.

At its heart, then, ordo amoris signals an opposition between the classical and Christian values that built Western civilization, and the political liberalism which has slowly eroded it. m

NEWS

thE GErman church chEErs thEm on as lEadErs prEparE for ww iii EvEn thE GErman bishops scoff at trump’s warninG that “You’rE GamblinG with thE livEs of millions” n BY MANFRED K. BÖHM / FRANKFURT, GERMANY Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with troops; in the circles: US President Donald Trump; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; and German Cardinal Reinhard Marx

E

urope is in danger. Why? Let us recall Donald Trump's words to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office: “You’re playing cards. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people, you're gambling with World War III.” (March 1, 2025).

These words were ignored by most media outlets (intentionally?). Instead, the dispute itself was their focus. But Trump is expressing a deep, serious concern: the high risk of world war.

This is the reason for Trump’s peace initiative. His predecessors, Obama and Biden, were the ones who really fueled the Ukraine conflict. If Trump continues American military support for Zelenskyy, the US, NATO countries and Russia would be dragged into an all-out (inevitably nuclear) war.

With a few exceptions (Hungary and Slovakia), the EU states are continuing to push for war (independently of the US). European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to use €800 billion for armaments — a malicious policy against the European people.

Let us turn to Germany: There, the future Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), together with the Social Democrats and the Greens, has raised €1.8 trillion (!)

“Sondervermögen,” i.e. special funds, thus incurring huge debt at the expense of the citizens — costs that German grandchildren and their children will have to pay off. A large portion of these billions is to be allocated to the German armaments sector.

Just recently, it was reported that even the automobile industry is now producing armaments: the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall wants to take over a VW factory.

The ruling politicians in Germany are not thinking about peace, but about con-

tinuing the Ukraine war — even about a direct confrontation with Russia. Militant propaganda now dominates the media and politics. It's no wonder the Kremlin accuses Germany of planning attacks.

Last year, for example, the Christian Democrat Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU) demanded that “the war must be taken to Russia.”

And there are repeated warnings that a major war with Russia will break out before the end of this decade.

Citizens are being prepared for war.

For example, schoolchildren are being educated about war scenarios and protective measures. Hospitals are already training medical and nursing care for war victims. Commerce is also preparing for wa: a German discount store is offering combat vests and bunkers for sale.

How is the Church in Germany responding to this warmongering? It's typical of the “German Catholic Church” — including its bishops — to adapt to prevailing politics.

This was clearly seen in the Synodal

Process, which, among other things, adopted the state-sponsored LGBTQideology. So it's not surprising that German bishops rarely criticize pro-war policies.

Quite the opposite: Trump’s peace initiative is hardly meeting approval in Germany. Pro-Trump-Americans and President Trump himself are even being reprimanded by the German episcopate.

For example, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx scoffed at Trump’s inauguration speech, saying, “There is no golden age and similar things that only irritate people and lead them in the wrong ideological direction.”

Why didn’t the German bishops criticize the aggressive war policy of the Catholic Biden? Instead, voices among the German bishops favor arms deliveries; the Catholic military bishop calls for more spending on defense.

And then there is the Bavarian Bishops' Conference statement: “Especially in view of the third anniversary of the start of the war on February 24, the thought that Ukraine, whose existence is threatened by the Russian aggressor, could possibly be left in the lurch is unbearable. A peace that is not linked to a just solution and the involvement of those affected will only lead to further dangers in the future.”

This is a swipe at the Trump/Vance peace initiatives!

So one could say that the Catholic Church in Germany is going along with the dominant political agenda of war.

Where are the voices for de-escalation and diplomacy?

It is time to hearken to the words of Pope Francis and speak out against war and preparation for war; it is, as Francis said in a March 18 open letter, an “absurd” way to resolve conflicts. m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 35

TRADITION

the master of masters: palestrina Within the ChurCh’s tradition is the perennial beauty of his saCred musiC n BY ITV STAFF

N

owhere on earth is the word “tradition” more venerated than in the bosom of the Catholic Church.

Signifying all that has been “handed down” to us from the Apostles and their successors through the ages, it forms the essence of our Faith and its practice.

There have always been protesters, reformers and innovators.

Some of them have been saints; many have been misguided; not a few have been scoundrels.

Nevertheless, 2,000 years of accumulated wisdom and experience have tutored the Church in the sacred ways of raising the human spirit to God. One of them is through music.

Music has always been thought of as carrying within it something of the divine. It is a work not of utility, but of beauty; and man instinc-

tively knows that as such, it belongs in the realm of the sacred.

Tradition in the Church, therefore, is very much expressed in her sacred music.

And no one embodies the musical tradition of the Church more than the 16th-century Italian composer of sacred music, Giovanni Palestrina.

Readers who have attended Traditional Latin Masses may have encountered the music of Palestrina in the liturgy: it is a polyphonic chant of soaring beauty that all too few Catholics have ever even heard.

In the next few issues of Inside the Vatican, the celebrated conductor, composer and historian of liturgical music, Aurelio Porfiri, gathers experts in the life and work of Palestrina to celebrate the 500th birthday of the great master.

REDISCOVER AND CELEBRATE A FOUNDATION OF OUR CATHOLIC CULTURE

BY AURELIO PORFIRI

A

nyone involved in the field of Catholic sacred music knows well that Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594) is considered the "master of masters," a fundamental reference point for liturgical singing. This year, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of his birth.

Countless composers have drawn inspiration from him, and even today, he holds a place of primary importance in the Church’s musical tradition.

Unfortunately, in recent decades, his compositions— like those of many others—have largely disappeared from our churches under the pretext of a "liturgical reform" that took a different path from what was indicated by the Second Vatican Council (for more, I recommend reading When the Harps Went Still).

This is why it is important to know Palestrina better— not only for musicians but for all who care about our Catholic identity. Today, it is easy to listen to many of his compositions online.

36

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

We must return to these great masters like Palestrina, recognized by Popes as a model of the great “Roman school,” venerated alongside Gregorian chant.

If you know Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Raphael, Piero della Francesca, Donatello, Bramante, Dante Alighieri, or Chesterton, you cannot fail to know this giant of Catholic art as well.

He was a man who suffered greatly, yet managed to preserve a profound faith.

Let us return to celebrating these great figures and rediscover the foundations of our Catholic culture!

Maestro Aurelio Porfiri is a composer, conductor, master organist, writer and educator in Rome. His blog on music, Cantus, is available on Substack, and his latest book, The Right Hand of the Lord Is Exalted: A History of Catholic Traditionalism from Vatican II to Traditionis Custodes, is now available from Sophia Institute Press.

Giovanni PierluiGi da Palestrina: a Profile n BY MARCO DELLA SCIUCCA

S

ometimes it seems like chasing ghosts when reconIn short, it is a good opportunity for Giovanni to work structing the life story of a sixteenth-century characin his own city, and a precious opportunity for the catheter, even when that character has the proportions of a dral to have, for the first time, a teacher who could start a giant. real music school there. The economic stability of that Such is the case of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. employment allows Palestrina to contract marriage to His exact date of birth is uncertain — there were still no Lucrezia de Goris, of the Prenestina area east of Rome, parish baptismal registers — but from other documents with whom he will have three children. we can deduce that he was born between 1525 and the first Despite the contract stipulation as enduring “throughdays of 1526. out life,” this work comes to an Giovanni was his first name, end. But then on February 8, Pierluigi his surname (in reality, 1550, an exceptional event a patronymic, or ancestral occurs, for the city and for Gioname), and Palestrina, the vanni: the bishop of Palestrina, toponym (place name) which Cardinal Giovanni Maria Ciocchi seems to establish his birthplace del Monte, is elected to the papal in the ancient city of Palestrina, throne, taking the name of Giulio just east of Rome.

III (Julius III).

His mother died soon after his We may conjecture that Palestbirth, in January 1536; we know rina’s appointment, just the folnothing about his period as a lowing year, as Director of the motherless child. The little GioMusic Chapel of St. Peter’s in vanni’s first musical apprenticeRome, the Giulia Chapel, was ship might have been right withlinked to a previous relationship in the city walls of Palestrina, but with the former bishop of his some documents suggest that he home city. had also been a putto cantore Otherwise, why would the (“singing cherub”) in Rome: in Pope have named a young musiOctober 1537, in the choir of the cian with neither experience in Basilica of St. Mary Major, a Rome nor published composi“Ioannem de Palestrina” was tions as the head of one of the most present among the Pueri Canimportant musical institutions of Woodcut on the cover of the book of Masses presented tores – the boys’ choir. the Catholic world — second to Pope Julius III by Palestrina in 1554.

It was likely our musician, only to the Sistine Chapel? And but the question is: how long did the child such an appointment would fit with Julius’ spend in that institution, with its tradition capricious favoritism and frequent nepoof accompanying the musical training tism. with a complete cultural training? Which Three years later, in 1554, we witness a teachers did he have? Perhaps the wellgesture of gratitude — striking for its draknown Rubino Mallapert, the basilica’s matic form, and also showing the musiChapel Master, or musicians of Northern cian’s competence in the role entrusted to European origin among the Flemish and him.

French masters frequenting Rome in In the pioneering Roman typography of those years? the Dorico brothers, Palestrina printed his The city, although possessing a strong first book of Masses — a sumptuous, largeconservative tradition, was still an unriformat volume full of friezes and symbolic valed crossroads of artists and other men of culture who engravings, but above all, with the dedication to “his” frequented the courts of the powerful, in a movement of Pope, Julius III, accompanied by a woodcut image on the ideas perhaps unique in the world. cover depicting the musician kneeling to offer his volume But the first certain document in Pierluigi’s biography to the pontiff, seated imposingly on the papal throne. takes us back to Palestrina, on October 28, 1544, when in If the beautiful typography and sumptuousness of the the Cathedral of Sant’Agapito he signs his first working volume’s design inspire amazement, its musical contents contract as a musician. arouse no less amazement. They contain not only strong MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

37

TRADITION PALESTRINA references to the Roman musical tradition (for example, with the presence of “Messe-Parodia” – a reworking of a previous musical fragment into a new composition), but also employ a large number of counterpoint writing techniques — a sign of musical wisdom and compositional authority.

Palestrina adds to all this a sweet and “cantabile” (singing-like) melodic flow that seems to evoke Palestrina’s Spanish contemporary Cristóbal de Morales; and a sense of melodic reiteration, of always varied repetition of the melodic ideas, which recalls another of his FrenchFlemish contemporaries, Josquin des Prez.

But above all, Palestrina innovatively uses an unpredictable “fantasy” – a musical form free from strict rules – from time to time as a compositional resolution.

I was also somewhat amazed at the already-imposing maturity of this debut work, which hints at the size of the Palestrinian creativity; and also its stature as a true aesthetic manifesto of his compositional thought, which forms a whole substantially homogeneous and compact productive arc throughout his life.

Furthermore, we detect in it a distance from the musical avant-gardes to which, strange to say, Rome was among the most receptive cities. A constant throughout Palestrina’s life was an aura of auctoritas — authority and reputation — of both the man and his works themselves.

In short, the legend of Palestrina was then born, and on January 13, 1555 the composer (by mandate of Julius III) was admitted among the musicians of the pontifical chapel — without the consent of the singers, as underlined by the writer of the Sistine diary.

On March 23 of that same year, Julius III dies and the much more austere Marcellus II (to which the composer will dedicate post mortem the best known of his Masses, the Missa Papae Marcelli) succeeds him.

The papacy of Marcellus II would only last twentythree days, and on May 23 yet another new Pope is elected, the severe and inflexible Paul IV. With a July 30 Motu proprio, perhaps urged by several Sistini singers who resented his presence, Palestrina is fired by the Pope from the papal chapel along with two others, because they were married. (They were granted a lifetime pension of about 6 scudi in recompense.)

However, throughout his life Palestrina continued to write music for the pontifical chapel: his manuscripts remain preserved there today.

Meanwhile, the composer also is involved with other, not strictly religious, institutions — academies, cardinal and secular courts — and he creates a secular composition: in 1555 the first book of four-voice madrigals comes out (as usual, printed by the Dorico brothers). Even in the “profane” tradition, Palestrina infuses an aesthetic of sobriety, of metaphysical catharsis of the world, which does not oppose the “sacred” Palestrina at all.

Meanwhile, in October, a new role for the chapel of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, that of Maestro di Cappella, is created specifically for Palestrina (adding another 6 38

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

scudi a month in income). In 1560, however, the composer abandons this assignment to take another in 1561, with a monthly salary of 16 scudi — that of Master of the Chapel Choir in St. Mary Major Basilica, an institution that was reorganizing its choir music after the dark period of the occupation of the Papal States by the Duke of Alba.

Palestrina continues the publication of Masses, motets, other sacred forms (hymns, the Magnificat, etc.) and, in a more limited way, of madrigals, always dedicating them to characters of very high rank, from cardinals and nobles to Popes and kings.

Around 1565, Palestrina becomes more closely involved in events stemming from from the Council of Trent’s discussions on sacred music; in particular, on the problem of the intelligibility of the verbal texts amid the complex contrapuntal musical intonations in the Mass.

On April 28, 1565, in the house of Cardinal Vitellozzo Vitelli (Cardinal Charles Borromeo certainly was also present), the pontifical singers sang some of the Mass so the clergymen could verify for themselves whether the words could be clearly understood. Almost certainly, it was Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli they heard.

Palestrina published the entire Liber Secundus Missarum (1567), in which the Missa Papae Marcelli is contained, in the middle of this heated musical controversy.

He dedicated it to Pope Marcellus and King Philip II of Spain, no doubt intending it to be an authoritative contribution to the debate; it reaffirmed the inalienable role of the polyphonic tradition, albeit revised in service of greater comprehensibility of the text.

Sometime between 1565 and 1567 the musician would become a teacher at the Roman seminary, bringing his children Angelo and Rodolfo as students, but continuing to render outside services, including at the court of Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este.

Under the next Pope, Pius V — who had little interest in music — Palestrina searches for other work. Between 1567 and 1568, he begins negotiations with the court of Vienna, though his high demands (35 gold scudi per month) render them unsuccessful.

In 1571 he returns to the Giulia Chapel – the choir of St. Peter’s — where he remains for the rest of his life.

In 1577 he is commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII to revise, together with Annibale Zoilo, the Gregorian chant books, that were finished only in part and never published.

In 1580 his wife dies; it is a moment of crisis for Palestrina, which he nevertheless overcomes when in 1581 he marries Virginia Dormoli, daughter of wealthy Roman furriers, allowing him to resume a series of publications with great vigor and speed: from then until his death, he gave to the printers in Rome around 17 works.

In total, including his lifetime and posthumous publications, Palestrina has left us as many as thirty-two volumes of his own works.

Today his music remains as vital as ever, holding its preeminent place in the musical patrimony of the Catholic Church. m

Liturgy in PaLestrina’s time: a DeLicate BaLance Between traDition anD reform n BY GABRIEL DÍAZ-PATRI

A 1614 copy of the Editio Medicea, the Roman edition of the Graduale. Completed after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) by Soriano and Anerio, it possibly incorporated preliminary work by Palestrina

G

iovanni Palestrina’s sacred works comprise 105 Masses in various styles, 68 offertories (where he abandoned the traditional cantus firmus technique – using an existing melody as the basis for a polyphonic composition -- in favour of free composition), 250 motets, and 35 magnificats and 45 hymns written for the Divine Office.

Understanding this liturgical context is crucial to appreciating Palestrina’s music.

The hundred Masses are particularly significant, each containing the five pieces of the Ordinary: the unchanging texts of the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. These elements were already firmly established in our oldest surviving ordo Missae, the Gelasian Sacramentary of circa 750.

The advent of printing and the production of liturgical books in the late 1400s brought significant changes to both the conception and celebration of the Mass and the Office — the two pillars of liturgical activity — enabling standardization of texts and rubrics previously impossible in the manuscript (“written by hand”) tradition.

A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE MISSAL The earliest surviving printed Roman Missal dates from approximately 1472. Early editions from this period had only the body of the text printed in black ink, with spaces left for hand-finishing — writing the ceremonial rubrics which, as their name suggests (ruber meaning “red”), were written in red ink.

The capital letters were hand-ornamented, often elaborately, by artists.

Sometimes the tetragram lines were also printed, with musical notes added later.

In 1476, a significant breakthrough occurred when printer Ulrich Han produced a Roman Missal in Milan with all musical notes printed, declaring the

achievement “unprecedented.”

Although the missals still contained only the priests’ parts, the printing of the music naturally led to greater consistency and uniformity.

PALESTRINA’S PROFOUND SPIRITUALITY It was against this background that Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was chosen to draft a work that seemed destined to accompany and complement musically the two liturgical books published after the Council of Trent.

His selection for this task stemmed not only from his musical prowess but also from his profound spiritual devotion, as evidenced by Pope Gregory XIII’s Brief of 25 October 1577, preserved in the State Archives of Florence, asking Palestrina to revise liturgical music that had become “replete with barbarisms, obscurities, contradictions, and superfluities…” “[...]We have chosen you,” continued the Pope, “whose expertise in the art of music and melody, alongside your faith, diligence, and piety towards God, has been thoroughly proven...”

This document heralded the beginning of reforms to the musical liturgical repertoire, adapting it to the text of the

newly promulgated liturgical books.

Palestrina’s work on the new Graduale (a general term for the entire book of sung Mass chants) used the 1570 Missal mandated by Pope Pius V — the first-ever attempt to standardize the Latin Rite Mass (the “Tridentine” Mass, a response to the Council of Trent) — as the reference model.

But the revision work was halted between 1578 and 1579, perhaps discouraged by hearing of Peter Liechtenstein’s 1580 publication of a complete Graduale.

The final Roman edition of the Graduale, also called the Editio Medicea of 1614, was completed by Francesco Soriano and Felice Anerio (who joined the project in 1611) and possibly incorporated preliminary work of Palestrina and Zoilo. Though unofficial, it served as the Western Church’s primary reference until the early 20th-century.

Palestrina’s disciple Guidetti produced a complete edition of the Passion song from the four evangelists, titled Cantus Ecclesiasticus Passionis Domini Nostri Iesu Christi Secundum Mattheum, Marcum, Lucam et Ioannem (pub. 1586), which was still used used as the reference for singing the Passion until the 20th century.

A CRUCIAL JUNCTURE This period represented a crucial juncture in the reform and standardization of Catholic worship. The convergence of the Council of Trent’s directives, musical innovations, and the work of composers like Palestrina created a new synthesis that would influence Catholic liturgical practice for centuries.

Palestrina’s influence extended beyond composition; he established principles for sacred music that demonstrated how artistic excellence could serve the dignity and clarity of worship. m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 39

JUBILEE DIARY

“i’ve seen The worsT sides of humAn behAvior, buT This is A Pure joy” The PoPe welcomed The Armed forces, Police And securiTy Personnel from Around The world To celebrATe Their sPiriTuAl bond — wiTh eAch oTher, And wiTh Their fellow mAn n BY AnnA ARTYMIAK

American police officers from the City of New York pose with a member of the Swiss Guard in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where a Mass for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces was held (Photo: Katarzyna Artymiak)

T

he Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police and Security Personnel in early February was the last big jubilee event at which Pope Francis took part before his long hospitalization at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. The central point of that jubilee was the Holy Mass on February 9, celebrated in St. Peter’s Square. The delegations were informed that most probably the Holy Father would not be present, so when he finally arrived at the sagrato (forecourt) of the Basilica, there was an immense ripple of joy.

It is worth going back to listen to the Pope’s words for the occasion.

The Gospel for that Sunday spoke 40 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

about Jesus’ calling of Peter and Andrew at the Lake of Gennesaret.

Francis, in the first paragraph of his homily – the only fragment he read himself – reminded us all that: “God’s three attitudes are closeness, compassion and tenderness. Let us not forget: God is near, God is tender and God is always compassionate.”

In a subsequent part of the homily, read by Master of Ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Francis invited those present to follow the Lord’s example “to see, to come aboard (the boat) and to sit down,” which means to keep our eyes open, to serve “the good, free-

dom, and justice” and to “uphold law and order” and give an example of “taking the part of the defenseless.”

“They teach us that goodness can prevail over everything. They teach us that justice, fairness and civic responsibility remain as necessary nowadays as ever. They teach us that we can create a more human, just and fraternal world, despite the opposing forces of evil,” said the Holy Father.

The Pope’s words then encouraged those present “never to lose sight of the purpose of your service and all your activity, which is to promote life, to save lives, to be a constant defender of life.”

The presence of the Pope was a

Below: Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, head of the US Military Archdiocese and President of the USCCB, celebrates Mass at the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls for the Armed Services and Police Jubilee (Photo: Katarzyna Artymiak). Circle: Dr. Mark Moitoza, Vice-Chancellor for Evangelization for the US MIlitary Archdiocese

cause of joy, but at the same time group from Colorado, Maryland, serious worry, as the venue of cele- Oregon and North Carolina. bration was changed from inside the The pilgrimage for the US miliBasilica to the the outside Square. It tary archdiocese lasted five days was a pretty warm day, but still very and was conducted with the spirit of windy. But Francis wanted to be pilgrimages from days gone by. The present, despite his pronounced service members visited all four cough; indeed, he was visibly ill. Five days later, he was taken to the hospital.

In ancient and medieval times, the presence of armies often meant invasion and destruction. On this day, Rome embraced the military and celebrated its particular calling.

For many of the participants, it was a rare occasion to meet their international colleagues in a spiritual context, rather than only a professional one.

“I can say it has been an absolute honor to be part of the jubilee with the Holy Father,” said Joe Rao, a New York City police officer.

“In my career as a police officer, I have seen many of the worst sides of humans’ behavior toward each other. To get to experience the pure Papal Basilicas and passed joy and brotherhood of the through all four Holy Doors, jubilee with the Holy Father a traditional from the earliest and all my brothers years of Jubilee. and sisters in the proTheir pilgrimage fession from around DR. MARK MOITOZA started a couple of the world was truly days before the Vati“... FAITHFUL amazing,” he said. can’s events, on an inCATHOLICS ARE “The feelings of so credibly beautiful, SERVING IN THE many could be seen on sunny day. Archbishop MILITARY EVERY DAY. their faces as we all enBroglio celebrated the T HEY KNOW WHAT IT joyed the once-in-aopening Mass at St. MEANS TO SACRIFICE lifetime experience of Mary Major Basilica celebrating Mass with in the splendid Chapel FOR OTHERS” His Holiness.” of the Crucifix.

Among American pilgrims there The wooden crucifix there, as was a group from the US military Archbishop Broglio noted, goes led by Archbishop Timothy back to the first half of the fourBroglio, Archbishop of the Military teenth century, “before the EuroServices, USA. They represented pean presence reached our continent the US Army, Navy and Air Force. for the first time.”

They came from US military instalThis is the most recently rebuilt lations in Alaska, California, New chapel of St. Mary Major, designed Jersey, Nebraska and Japan. Some by Italian architect Ferdinando Fuga retired military also joined the for the Holy Year of 1750.

The group was also accompanied

by Dr Mark Moitoza, Vice-Chancellor of Evangelization who remarked: “Catholics in the military are serving everyday. They recognize what it means to sacrifice for others. They also know what it means to be welcomed and recognized each time they move. A typical service member may move every two or three years.

“This pilgrimage permits time to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ while experiencing faithful Catholics serving in the military around the world. They gather together in Rome to pray for peace and to remember that Lord is always with them.

“I know from my own experience growing up in a military family that the shared sense of welcome and hospitality made a difference each time we moved.

“In my work today, I continue to encounter that hospitality grounded in the peace of Christ when I visit military installations or connect with them from the Cardinal Edwin O’Brien Pastoral Center in Washington, DC, which supports Catholic priests and coordinators with resources they need to help the faithful draw closer to the Lord,” Dr. Moitoza said.

Brandon Kim, 730 AMF Yokota Air Base Japan joined the pilgrimage as a new convert to Catholicism thanks to the example of his best friend. It was his first trip to Rome and to the Vatican.

“I’ve only seen pictures of Rome, churches online. It is surreal to actually be here,” he said. “The Mass was amazing. All the different militaries and uniforms... but something I will never forget was praying at the Holy Stairs. That was very powerful. Feeling that suffering, that pain, knowing how much more the Lord suffered for us. I want to come back next Jubilee Year.” m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 41

SCRIPTURE

treasure in the heart We keep “hidden” What is most precious: our life in christ n BY AnTHOnY ESOLEn*

I

n the 14th petition of the able does, when he finds a Litany of the Sacred treasure in a field. He Heart, “Heart of Jesus,” “hides it, and in his joy we say, “in whom are all the goes and sells all that he treasures of wisdom and has and buys that field” knowledge, have mercy on (Mt. 13:44). The word for us.” “hides” there is a form of That petition echoes the the verb kryptein, which words of St. Paul, who suggests keeping somewishes to comfort the hearts thing secret, as when in of the believers at Colossae, prayer you go to your room that they may be “well alone rather than show off equipped in charity and in in front of other people all the riches of complete (Mt. 6:6). If we say, then, understanding, so as to that God sees the secrets of know the mystery of God the heart, we can imagine Parable of the Hidden Treasure, Rembrandt, c.1630 the Father of Christ Jesus, in that each one of us, in that (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest) whom are hidden all the inward treasure chest, treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2-3). hides away what he holds to be most precious.

Now, when it comes to things of surpassing worth, Yes, we are to make our faith manifest in the world, there are in the New Testament two forms of “hiddenletting our light shine before men, as a city set on a hill ness,” corresponding to two metaphors, each with its cannot be hid (krybenai; Mt. 5:14, 16). But in general, characteristic verb. The more common form, I believe, the faith we treasure, changing our lives from within, is that of a veil or a cover: to reveal, literally, is to remove will be hidden from the world, not because we refuse to the veil so that people may see what is behind it or talk about it, like the initiates of the ancient mystery relibeneath, or even above, if we think of the veil that stands gions, those secret clubs, but because of the nature of between us and the glories of heaven. That is the sense that life and the nature of this world. of the Greek verb apokalyptein, from which we get the For St. Paul corrects the Colossians, who seem to be verbal noun apokalypsis, apocalypse, referring particutreating the faith as just such a mystery religion, as they larly to the ultimate unveiling, the revelation to St. John tell themselves that they must not touch this or taste that of the last things. or handle the other (Col. 2:21), injunctions and superstiSometimes what is being hidden is bad, as when St. tions which, paradoxically, bind them to the world of Peter says that charity “covers a multitude of sins” things that perish. (kalyptei; 1 Pt. 4:8), as if to throw a veil over them that But we have been buried with Christ by baptism into they may be as if they never had been at all; or as when his death, and we have risen with him in his resurrection, desperate people in the final days, as Jesus says, will cry so we should “mind the things that are above, not the out to the hills, “Cover us” (kalypsate; Lk. 23:30). things that are on earth,” for, says Paul to those eager but More often, what is hidden, what stands behind the misguided men of Colossae, “you have died and your veil, is holy, and therefore veiled from the sight of man, life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). as when Jesus praises the Father for having revealed the It is as if the believers themselves, or rather their truth not to those of sharp minds, as they believe, but to lives, are now the treasure, dwelling with the ultimate the little ones (apekalypsas; Lk. 10:21). treasure that is Christ, in the secret treasure chest that is But there is another form, and that is suggested by God Himself. what people do with treasure: they keep it in a safe and Of course, the image of the tomb may well come here secret place, like a treasure box. It is precisely because to mind. it is so valuable that they do not parade it in gaudy or To die, to be buried, is to be placed in a tomb, in shameless display. That is what the man in Jesus’ parGreek a place of memorial; but that place of memorial 42

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea How do we describe the dimensions is empty, nor do Christians merely of love? How large or how small is a pay honor to the dead when they single impulse of the heart of Christ? hold Christ in their hearts. The tomb The treasures of wisdom and into which the baptized Christian knowledge are not kept secret in enters is not a memorial but a treaChrist, as if Christ were their holder sure box, a place of secret and powor container, nor can they be conerful beauty. tained by any created being.

Nor will it remain hidden . Again, They are in Christ as the fullness the kingdom of heaven is like that of his very life. treasure, and thus may we look at the To be hidden with Christ in God is revelation to Saint John of the city of not to keep secrets from the unworGod: “And the foundations of the thy world, but to be folded up in that wall of the city were adorned with life, impossible to impart to the every precious stone. The first founworld as it is. dation, jasper; the second, sapphire; Yet when we worship, not to the third, agate; the fourth, emerald; flaunt our piety in public, the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, we say to the world, Women at the Empty Tomb, Fra Angelico sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the “There is a treasure eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysopase; the you have no knowledge of. It dwells in the eleventh, ja-cinth; and the twelfth, amethyst” (Rev. 21: holiest of sanctuaries. Come and see.”

19-20).

The city is a treasure enclosed within treasure, yet its * Dr. Anthony Esolen, currently a faculty member at Thales College dimensions, twelve thousand stadia in length and in North Carolina, is the author or translator of more than 30 books breadth and height (about 1,300 miles in every direcand over 1000 articles on culture, literary and biblical criticism, tion), are meant to suggest not enclosure but infinity. education, the Christian life and original poetry. He publishes a web And yet Jesus compares this same kingdom of heaven magazine on language, music, poetry, and classic films called Word to a mustard seed, “smallest of all the seeds” (Mt. 13:32). and Song together with his wife, Debra.m

Sign Up for the Moynihan Letters!

The Moynihan Letters are timely electronic reports in e-mail form are a unique analysis of global political, economic, cultural and religious issues from the journal of Dr. Robert Moynihan. The Moynihan Letters contain Robert’s unique perspective and valuable insights into the meaning of world events as seen from the vantage point of Rome. As an astute observer of the human condition, Dr. Moynihan provides his analysis of issues not limited to the Church and the Vatican.

These Letters are sent to over 25,000 e-mail addresses and eventually reach thousands more. The Letters are archived on the InsideTheVatican.com.

You won’t want to miss these reports! Sign up today! www.InsidetheVatican.com/moynihanletters MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

43

SPIRITUALITY BEHIND BARS

Rising again FRom Below Believing in the ResuRRection means eveRy man’s spiRitual ResuRRection is possiBle n BY MARCELLUS ALLEn ROBERTS * The Incredulity of St. Thomas, Caravaggio, 1601-02. It was painted for Vincenzo Gustiniani, later entered the Royal Collection of Prussia, survived the Second World War unscathed, and is now in the Palais at Sanssouci, Berlin.

D

o you believe in the The redemption won by Resurrection? No, Christ is a result of His death seriously. Do you? and His resurrection, and the Can you see in your mind's contents of that redemption eye the bloody, bruised and have yet to be fully undead body of our crucified packed. What does it mean to Lord taking life up again? be blessed with every spirituThis event is hidden from us al blessing in the heavens? because it was hidden from There is no exhaustive list of the Gospel witnesses. Still, the fruit these spiritual blessings. Faith only derived from this meditation is ripe for “EVERY HUMAN BEING DESERVES asks us to be certain that the Father has the plucking. made them all available, and the Holy TO BE VALUED ACCORDING TO It begins with a flash, a sudden Spirit distributes them to whom He THE FULL LEVEL OF HUMAN emission of an otherworldly frequency wills.

DEVELOPMENT, NOT ACCORDING of light, the same light that retires the This leaves us with the challenge of sun and enlightens the eyes of men in TO THAT CURRENTLY ACHIEVED” maintaining the new definition of what the new heaven and the new earth, and it dwarfs the Big the fullness of human potential is, the definition that Bang in its consequences for the cosmos. results from the death, resurrection, and ascension of Life spills out of the sacred wounds, leaving them cauhumanity in Jesus Christ. terized for all eternity to see. The spillage penetrates the “Every human being (or group of human beings) cave walls and exposes the angel guardians of Christ's deserves to be valued according to the full level of human most holy humanity, as the temple guards learn firsthand development, not according to the level of development the fear of the Lord and faint, prostrate beneath the weight currently achieved.” (Ten Universal Principles, by Robert of glory.

J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.) If by His stripes we were healed, how much more did Fr. Spitzer tells us that you risk committing an act of we benefit from the retreat of the rigor mortis in His musmalfeasance, which includes a variety of ways that a percles and tendons? The return of suppleness and low-level son can be treated as less than human, by not regarding tension that is characteristic of a healthy, glorified body is everyone according to the fullness of human potential. He pregnant with repercussions that theology has yet to gives this principle’s history, which is rooted in the early plumb. days of the Spanish conquest in the New World. The arguIt's no stretch to say that the stone was rolled away, not ments set forth in those days helped frame the Church's because Jesus needed an exit, but to ease the burden of the response to the oppression of individuals and entire peowomen — the first eyewitnesses of the empty tomb. His ples everywhere since. appearance to the Apostles proves that the Resurrected Spitzer also shows how the principle applies to the life Christ has no need for a door, yet He still appreciates a issue of abortion. A fetus is no less human because it has well-prepared fish dinner. What manner of man is this? not reached the fullness of human potential. For prisoners “... and what is the immeasurable greatness of His in the state of Texas, this is a cause for joy. power in us who believe, according to the working of His When abortion became a federal right in the 1970s, a great might which He accomplished in Christ when He culture of malfeasance was inaugurated. The irony of raised him from the dead and made Him sit at His right granting full rights to African Americans, restoring their hand...” (Ephesians 1: 19-20) dignity, and then enacting a law that, again, gives people 44

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

the right to objectify other human beings Jesus gave us one hope, that God just a few short years later, is baffling. A the Father would conform us to the generation of Americans, who now find image of His Beloved Son, if we are themselves middle-aged and weary of willing. Judas was either unwilling, or the gauntlet, know only an America of didn't believe it possible. Daily, child sacrifice. inmates in America go the way of But what would make the overturning Judas, believing that the nature of their of Roe vs Wade a cause for joy to Texas crime has capped their human potential, prisoners? devalued them permanently…and they Think about it this way: If a governtreat themselves as such.

Anthony Esolen is a writer, social commentator, translator of classical poetry and a Distinguished ment teaches, through the laws it Professor “...rising again upright from of Humanities at Thales College in North enacts, that a helpless fetus has no pro- Carolina. He is also a regular contributor to Inside below.” (Angels, Barbarians and Ninthe Vatican. tections under the law, then the idea compoops, by Anthony Esolen) that a criminal, an adult who possibly What an elegant definition of the committed multiple and heinous WHAT AN ELEGANT DEFINITION word “resurrection.” crimes, has any right to be valued It describes the hope of every inOF “RESURRECTION”: “RISING according to full human potential, is a AGAIN UPRIGHT FROM BELOW” mate who has placed his trust in the joke that is bound to get old sooner or Master’s promises. We want to rise up later. and be seen for who we can be, not for who we have been.

But if a government reorients itself to protect the most We want to rise up and be valued as able to contribute. We vulnerable of its citizens, which includes the unborn, want to rise up and be heard as still in existence. eventually, the principle of full human potential might be When we do rise, let it be upright. God withholds nothapplied to the justice system as well. ing that is good from those who walk uprightly. We are The state of Texas has gone the route of resurrection in encouraged to believe that our potential for holiness is as regards to abortion. Joy! great as any, even placing us face to face with God as His …Or maybe scandal: Some may find it children. scandalous to even consider criminals as The difficulty in all this, for people of value, especially, perhaps, inmates and for freed men, is the those who have been victims of encounfact that any true resurrection is ters with the worst of humanity. “from below.”

So we may need to rewind the liturgiThat someone, anyone, could cal clock a bit and revisit the previous descend down to the depths of hell, season’s meditations with a fresh perspeclike Christ, or the depths of sin, like tive. criminals, and return alive spiritually See Jesus reclining at table. Sur- Robert Spitzer, SJ, PhD, is the author of Ten Universal and physically, is for us, like doubtPrinciples: A Brief Philosophy of the Life Issues rounded by the twelve, Jesus takes ing St. Thomas, hard to believe. bread and wine, blesses it and distributes it to the disciMaybe it is time for those who doubt that criminals can ples. rise from their former way of life to shore up their own No, no — you are not the one leaning upon His breast. belief in the resurrection. maybe they ought to see for No, you are the one dipping your bread into the cup with themselves the power of Christ's resurrection at work in a Jesus. Satan has entered you. You are the betrayer, Judas. prisoner.

You get up and go quickly to exchange your insider “... that I may know him and the power of his resurinformation for the agreed-upon amount of silver coins. rection” (Ephesians 3:10) The bag is heavy in your palms with the weight of all the The full level of human potential becomes inestimable purchases you've lusted to make at the expense of turning with the Resurrection of Jesus. Because He offers His salover the Nazarene to the torturers. vation to all, a truly just society would view every individBut you never get around to enjoying your spoils. An ual in the light of God's highest aspirations for the human unfamiliar feeling of condemnation sloughs over your race. thoughts, thick as molasses, darkening your mind and Believing in the Resurrection comes with the mandate leaving you unprepared to now fend off the instigator of to value every human being, even the worst, in light of your actions and his barrage of accusations. their potential as a Child of the living God. Silver coins clatter across the temple floor. A rope loses its slack. And then it’s all over before you can recall *Marcellus Allen Roberts is a 40-year-old Prison enough of the Messiah’s message of hope to overcome Oblate of St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas. He your despair. is serving a 25-year penance in the state of Texas.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

45

C AT H O L I C I S M A n D O R T H O D O X Y E D I T E D B Y: C H R I S T I N A D E A R D U R F F

The Message of the Icon

BY ROBERT WIESnER

ST. MARK OF ATHENS “ALAS, TODAY THERE ARE CHRISTIANS IN NAME ONLY, BUT NOT IN DEEDS” here exists a wide variety of particular expreswater served as his drink. After thirty years spent in T sions of monasticism, almost all of which arose in this fashion, God saw fit to give him a daily portion of Eastern Christianity. One of the very earliest monks fish, bread and water. was St. Mark of Athens, one of the most obscure of all the pioneering Desert Fathers. In fact, all we know of him comes from a rather obscure tale of him told by Saint Serapion, another very early monk, who seems to have been led to Saint Mark by miraculous means.

St. Serapion received a calling from God to make a journey into areas of the desert with which he was totally unfamiliar. To his knowledge, there was no one at all living in this region; it was arid, waterless, and even the wild animals avoided the district. Nevertheless, Serapion set out on his journey. He came to a mountain called Trache in the wilds of Libya, though some maintain that Trache is in Ethiopia. Much to Serapion’s astonishment, he came upon an elderly monk, Mark, living there in complete isolation. To Serapion, then, Mark confided his story.

Mark was born in Athens of a prominent family and received an excellent education in philosophy in preparation for an illustrious career. Then his parents died at about the same time that Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire. Mark was convinced legalization was a death blow to Christianity; without persecution, he thought, the Faith could not survive.

So, he determined to withdraw from the world to live his faith as he saw fit. After giving away his inheritance to the poor, he journeyed across the sea to Libya, where he took up his abode in the least desirable environment he could find.

For 95 years he lived alone, seeing not only no fellow human being, but also no animals, or even birds.

He ate the sparse desert plants he found; often enough he was reduced even to the point of eating dirt. Sea page 46

All this time, he was tormented by demonic attacks, the devils tormenting him by promising him a hideous death for intruding upon what they saw as their territory. But Mark persevered in his difficult life in prayer and praise of God, utterly alone until the advent of Saint Serapion.

The very first thing Mark asked his visitor was, “Are there any Christians in the world now who, if they were to say to this mountain, ‘Arise from here and cast yourself into the sea,’ it would be so?”

Just then the very mountain, called Trache, moved toward the sea. Mark raised his hand, saying “I did not order you to move from your place, but was conversing with a brother. Go back to your place!”

At that, the mountain settled back into its own space. Serapion was fearfully taken aback by this display of Mark’s spiritual power; Mark took him by the hand asking, “Have you never seen such miracles in your lifetime?”

“No, father!” replied Serapion.

Mark wept and stated “Alas, today there are Christians in name only, but not in deeds.”

The very next day, the 130-year-old St. Mark reposed in the Lord; Serapion later recounted how he saw St. Mark’s soul conveyed to heaven by angels.

St. Mark of Athens may well have been the very first example of a class of monks called the “grazers,” who relied upon whatever the earth provided for their sustenance. But most grazers lived in Syria, where the desert was a bit more sustaining than Mark’s absolutely inhospitable environs!m

InsideTheVatican.com t UrbietOrbiCommunications.com t +1-202-536-4555

East-West Watch

BY PETER AnDERSOn

A GREAT ORTHODOX LEADER FROM A SMALL COUnTRY Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, died January 25, 2025, at age 95

O

n January 25, 2025, Archbishop Anastasios (“Anastas” in Albanian) of Tirana, Durrës and all Albania, primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, died at the age of 95 from multiple organ failure following a viral infection.

The Liturgy and funeral service for Archbishop Anastasios were held on January 30 in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided at the funeral service. The primates of five other Local Orthodox Churches were present, as well as representatives from eight additional Local Orthodox Churches. Archbishop Flavio Pace, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, represented the Vatican.

Archbishop Anastasios had played the extremely important role of restoring the Orthodox faith in Albania after the fall of the communist government under Enver Hoxha.

Prior to the Hoxha regime, approximately 20 percent of the Albanian population were Orthodox.

A majority of the population were Muslim. Of the communist regimes in the world, the Hoxha regime was the harshest in persecuting religion.

All churches and mosques were closed. Clergy were imprisoned. The possession of a Bible or icon was a criminal offense. Albania claimed to have established the first completely atheistic state in history.

In January 1991, the Ecumenical Patriarchate appointed Anastasios, then a Greek bishop, to be the Patriarchal Exarch for Albania. He arrived in Tirana not knowing even a single word of the Albanian language. In the entire country at this time, the surviving Orthodox clergy consisted of no bishops, 15 priests, and two deacons, most of whom were infirm. Because of nationalistic sentiment in Albania, Archbishop Anastasios needed to resurrect a church that was truly Albanian, and not Greek.

In the subsequent 33 years, Archbishop Anastasios created over 400 parishes and ordained 168 new clergy.

There are now eight Orthodox bishops in Albania, six of whom were born in Albania. The Archbishop launched approximately 450 building projects and created an Orthodox theological academy and seminary, newspaper and radio station. It was an amazing accomplishment.

Archbishop Anastasios enjoyed excellent relations with other Christians and faiths. Before becoming a bishop, he taught the history of religions and founded the Center of Missionary Studies at the University of Athens.

From 1981 to 1991, he was the acting Orthodox archbishop for East Africa. In Africa, he had frequent contact with people of other faiths.

He had an appreciation for the culture of the African people and refused to Hellenize them. He had the Liturgy translated into four African languages.

The relations between Archbishop Anastasios and the Catholic Church were excellent. To the surprise of many, the first visit of Pope Francis outside of Italy was to Albania in 2014.

Following the death of the Archbishop, Pope Francis wrote about his meeting with the Archbishop in 2014 and stated: “I will always cherish the fraternal embrace and the words exchanged on that occasion.”

On the day of the Archbishop’s death, Bishop Gjergj Meta, president of the Albanian Catholic Bishops Conference, stated that “we Christians have all lost a brother and a worthy apostle of Christ and for all those who knew him, a valuable and wise friend.”

Archbishop Anastasios was also very active in the international ecumenical movement and served as president of the World Council of Churches for three years.

The life of Archbishop Anastasios demonstrates that one can be a great and brilliant Orthodox bishop, and at the same time be open and friendly with other faiths. Sadly, some Orthodox bishops, especially those who are from predominantly Orthodox countries with little opportunity for contact with other faiths, have not learned this. m

InsideTheVatican.com t UrbietOrbiCommunications.com t +1-202-536-4555

page 47

C AT H O L I C I S M A N D O R T H O D O X Y E D I T E D B Y: C H R I S T I N A D E A R D U R F F

NEWS from the EAST

BY MATTHEW TROJACEK

CALL BETWEEN ZELENSKYY AND CARDINAL “The Christian Churches, while strongly condemning any PAROLIN: PRAYERS FOR POPE, PEACE act that threatens civil peace, denounce and condemn the masUkraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared news of a sacres targeting innocent civilians, and call for an immediate March 14 call with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to Parolin—whom he had previously met during the cardinal’s all human and moral values. visit to Ukraine last July—with a post on his X account. Mat“The Churches also call for the swift creation of conditions teo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, later conconducive to achieving national reconciliation among the firmed the news at his daily press briefing.

Syrian people. They urge efforts to establish an environment “I spoke with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Carthat facilitates the transition to a state that respects all its citidinal Parolin. I wished Pope Francis a swift recovzens and lays the foundation for a society based on equal citery and thanked him for his prayers and izenship and genuine partnership, free from the logic of moral support for our people, as well as for vengeance and exclusion. At the same time, they reaffirm the his efforts in facilitating the return of unity of Syrian territory and reject any attempts to divide it.”

Ukrainian children illegally deported and (OrthoChristian) displaced by Russia,” Zelenskyy wrote.

“The Holy See has received a list of POLISH ORTHODOX CANONIZE Ukrainians detained in Russian prisons PRIESTS MURDERED IN KATYN and camps. We rely on its support for their At its session on Tuesday, March 18, release,” he added, underscoring that a the Holy Synod of the Polish Orthodox prisoner exchange and a 30-day ceasefire Church canonized three priests who were would be “the first concrete steps” toward martyred in 1940 in the infamous Katyn achieving “a just and lasting peace.” He Massacre and those who were killed with affirmed that “Ukraine is ready to take them.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin these steps because the Ukrainian people (in the circle) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr The priests canonized were Archdesire peace more than anyone else.” Zelenskyy (above) discussed the Holy See’s role in priest Col. Szymon Fedorońko, Archthe “path toward peace” Zelensky also emphasized that “the voice priest Lt. Col. Wiktor Romanowski, and of the Holy See is very important in the path toward peace.”

Archpriest Maj. Włodzimierz Ochab, along with other “clergy (VaticanNews) and laity whose names we do not know...Only Almighty God knows them,” reports the Polish Church.

SYRIA: MASSACRE OF CHRISTIAN, MUSLIM The Katyn Massacre was a mass execution operation carCIVILIANS BY SECURITY FORCES ried out by the Soviet NKVD (the KGB forerunner) under Brutal violence broke out in Syria in early March, as secuStalin’s orders in April-May 1940. Nearly 22,000 victims — rity forces of the new government launched a revenge killing including Polish military officers, police, border guards, and spree against civilians considered loyal to former President intellectuals who were prisoners of war — were systematicalAssad, mainly affecting Alawite Muslims and the country’s ly killed. Though the executions took place at multiple locashrinking Christian population. tions, the atrocity became known as the Katyn Massacre The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights because some of the mass graves were first discovered by Ger(SOHR) said about 745 civilians were killed in 30 separate man forces in the Katyn Forest in 1943. In 2010, the Russian “massacres” on the west coast March 7-8, reports the BBC, Parliament formally acknowledged the Soviets’ culpability in though other sources put the casualties well into the thouthe massacre. (OrthoChristian) sands.

The wave of attacks is the worst violence in the 14-yearECUMENICAL PATRIARCH ATTENDS POPE FRANold civil conflict in Syria.Videos also show the security forces CIS’ ANNIVERSARY LITURGY breaking into and desecrating churches.

The Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Amidst the devastating violence against Christians and accompanied by Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios, Director of the others, Patriarch John X of Antioch and the local Syriac and Patriarchal Private Office, visited the Roman Catholic Church Melkite Catholic Patriarchs issued a joint statement calling of the Holy Spirit in the Harbiye section of Istanbul on the for peace, which included these words: afternoon of Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in response to an page 48

InsideTheVatican.com t UrbietOrbiCommunications.com t +1-202-536-4555

invitation.

There, he attended the Divine Liturgy held in commemoration of the 12th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis of Rome.

Also present at the Divine Liturgy were the Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, representatives of other Christian communities in the city, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and a large congregation of Roman Catholic faithful.

In his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch once again conveyed his warm and heartfelt fraternal wishes for the speedy recovery of Pope Francis. (OrthodoxTimes)

Emmanuel Adamakis (his real name) is the man of perilous missions in a profoundly fractured Orthodoxy. At the Phanar, the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul, Patriarch Bartholomew regularly refers to him as his “foreign minister.”

In his early twenties, the young and fervent Emmanuel decided to leave his native island, Crete, bordered by the Aegean Sea, and board a plane to Paris.

In the French capital, he received a solid education — studying at the Catholic Institute of Paris, the Saint-Serge Institute, the Sorbonne, and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), later completing a master’s degree in theoloTALINN METROPOLITAN SLAMS KIRILL: gy in Boston. But above all, he increasingly felt a calling to “RUSSKY MIR” IS UN-CHRISTIAN IDEOLOGY religious life. Along the way, he made an impression.

Metropolitan Stephanos of Tallinn and All Estonia, in a Less than twenty years after his ordination in 1985, he was statement published on the official website of the Orthodox enthroned as Metropolitan of France in 2003, an important Church of Estonia (under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical position he held until 2021, when he was elected Metropolitan Patriarchate), strongly condemned the ideology of the of Chalcedon and moved to Istanbul.

“Russkiy Mir” (Russian World).

Notably, he was one of the key figures behind the PanHe described it as “provocative, Orthodox Council of 2016 in Crete — the expansionist, and fundamentally unfirst such gathering in nearly 1,000 years.

Christian,” and emphasized that “the It ended with mixed success; the Moscow root of the current problem was not crePatriarchate withdrew at the last moment, ated by the Estonian people or the bringing with it four of the fourteen autoEstonian state, but by the Patriarch of cephalous Orthodox Churches.

Moscow.”

As president of the commission for Metropolitan Stephanos emphasized dialogue with the Catholic Church, he has that the Moscow Patriarchate has supcontributed to historic rapprochement ported what he considers the highly efforts. “Rarely have relations with the dangerous ethno-nationalist ideology of Vatican been so good,” says a source at Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, 66, is the the Russkiy Mir, which has direct Ecumenical Patriarchate’s unofficial “foreign minister” the Phanar. Emmanuel is currently implications for the Church of Estonia. involved in preparing celebrations for “The state has made it clear that it does not intend to halt the the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, hoping to religious life of the parishes but calls for a cessation of comestablish “a common date for Easter” and to welcome Pope munion with Moscow,” the Metropolitan explained.

Francis to Iznik, the ancient city of Nicaea, his health permitHe referred to a bill currently under discussion in the ting. (LaCroix) Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) which seeks to amend the law on churches and religious associations.

KYIV METROPOLITAN MEETS WITH UKRAINE He said, “On March 27, 2024, Patriarch Kirill, head of the MINISTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), called for Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv, Primate of the Orthodox a ‘Holy War’—a confrontation against the Western world, Church of Ukraine, met on March 21, 2025 at his residence which he portrayed as being under the influence of with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of ‘Satanism.’ This signifies an aggressive stance toward the valNational Unity, Oleksiy Chernyshov. ues of the European sphere.” (Orthodox Times) The meeting focused on humanitarian initiatives, spiritual and social support for citizens affected by Russian aggression, METROPOLITAN EMMANUEL OF CHALCEDON: A the reintegration of internally displaced persons, support for MAN OF DIFFICULT MISSIONS Ukrainians who have received temporary protection abroad, On the cover of his latest book, Free Children of God, and other pressing issues of mutual concern.

Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, 66, appears “We are all called by the Lord to show love for our neighwith a solemn expression, prominent veins, and eyes imperbors. Our Church is not indifferent but is always ready to assist ceptibly reddened by fatigue. “That day” — the photo was the state in vital social initiatives to support those most in taken the day an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine need. We were, are, and will remain one people—and it is our was created — “I had to defend a very difficult position,” he unity that guarantees our resilience. I am convinced that with recounted at the book’s release February 26 at the Greek God’s help, truth and justice will undoubtedly prevail,” said Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Stephen in Paris.

Epifaniy. (OrthodoxTimes)m InsideTheVatican.com t UrbietOrbiCommunications.com t +1-202-536-4555

page 49

EDUCATION

a long-awaited Reunion Science, faith and the catholic inStitute of technology n BY DOMINIC ANDRES

T

he Catholic Institute of Technology was born on the back of a napkin, in a restaurant in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

“CatholicTech” in shorthand, it is an American research university, the first in the world to have a fully Catholic identity. It was founded by Bill and Alexis Haughey in 2023 and opened its doors just a year later, in 2024. Its president is Bishop Arthur Kennedy, and its Dean of Academics is Jeff Kleck, formerly of the US’s prestigious Stanford University.

Bill and Alexis met at a friend's birthday party, and soon after began dating. Bill, a civil engineer, worked in construction. The more tedious aspects of his work had him thinking about automation, and its potential to assist in human flourishing.

Meanwhile, Alexis had attended MIT to study mechanical engineering. After graduating she worked in Brazil, as part of a Fulbright fellowship, to develop clean and sustainable water supplies. Despite working in different fields, both Bill and Alexis recognized that technology has enormous potential to improve the lives of everyone, from the poorest to the richest.

As the two grew closer, they realized their mutual interest in technology, its potential and the systems that could create it. Further, they came to a strange realization: The Church had been the leader in scientific and technological progress for two thousand years, but it no longer held that position.

Instead, Catholic engineers were considered outliers in scientific circles. The attitude of many scientists was, in Bill's words, "How can you work in the tangible and believe in the intangible?" This issue was a source of frustration to both Bill and Alexis, and they began to discuss how they could fix it.

Their first substantial conclusion was that a truly Catholic research university was an absolute necessity.

Unfortunately, no such institution existed, and none of the current Catholic universities had the interest or ability to do that work. If, then, the Church was to reclaim her place at the forefront of scientific endeavor, someone would need to found a university which integrated modern scientific research with a thoroughly Catholic identity.

50

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

Months passed, and the pair went from dating, to engagement, to marriage.

They decided to tour Europe for their honeymoon, and one of the stops was Castel Gandolfo, where Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J., had invited them to tour the Vatican Observatory (an institution of which he is the director). Bill and Alexis were stunned when they learned that the Vatican Observatory is the oldest continually-funded research institution in the world. By seeming coincidence they had ended up at the institution which had for centuries carried the mantle they wished to take up, that of Catholic scientific pre-eminence.

After touring the Observatory, which is located in Castel Gandolfo, they headed off to dinner. As they walked, trudging up a steep hill, they still had the idea for a Catholic research university in their minds. Then Bill saw a sign, posted on a gate leading to a large, walled-off property…a "For Sale" sign. It was an odd coincidence that at the same place which had hosted their ideal of Catholic scientific endeavor for hundreds of years, there was also a property for sale which could be used for similar purposes.

Still, they continued on, eventually arriving at the restaurant. Bill, curious, unlocked his phone and pulled up the listing for the property they'd seen. The first words on the screen were: "Former American Catholic College Campus."

At that moment, CatholicTech was born.

The rest of the night was spent scrawling out financial plans and speculative timelines, first on napkins and then on notepads, all the way back to Rome and into the early hours of the morning. The planning continued through the rest of their honeymoon and into their regular married life, until, one month later, they finalized the property deal with Opus Dei (which had been using the campus as a retreat center).

CatholicTech's campus is a gem, situated just above beautiful Lake Albano, only thirty minutes outside of Rome and ten minutes from the Vatican Observatory. The grounds span a full sixty acres, and include combination classroom and dormitory buildings, athletic facilities (including tennis courts and a pool), and several chapels.

Students can go out on a walk through forest paths, then

Below, top: A view of the Catholic Tech campus; Below, bottom: Students discuss theology, philosophy and techincal studies with the backdrop of Rome

return to use the school's 3D printers and virtual reality lab, or work out in the gym. While the current facilities have a capacity of only two hundred, much of the land is undeveloped, and plans have already been made to build more dormitories, a library, and even a campus cafe.

The school's first miracle was the campus, and the second came soon after. Within twenty-four hours of the Haugheys posting the call for professors for their new school, they had received eight hundred applications, four hundred of which were from tenure-track professors at other institutions.

It was then that they realized there was more interest and enthusiasm for this project than anyone could have dreamed. Not only that, but many of the applications to teach (as well as many applications to study there, which came a bit later) said that CatholicTech was an answer to prayers — the kind of institution which the applicants had been hoping for.

The professors who were hired are men and women at the top of their fields, and include Dr. Kevin Greenman, Dr. Victor Luchangco, Dr. Rodrigo Negreiros, and Dr. Lilian Santos, PhD, whose book Governance of Human Gene Editing and Transhumanism was just published.

CatholicTech had its pick of thinkers, and they picked some of the best. The school’s faculty also includes two priests, Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, a leading scholar on Ratzinger, and Fr. Michael Baggot, an expert in bioethics with a focus on human nature in science.

In addition to the faculty, CatholicTech boasts another, more unique, set of academics: the Research Ethics Committee. The only official institution of its kind in the world, CatholicTech's Research Ethics Committee brings together philosophers and theologians from around the world to oversee the school's research projects and guide the faculty through the ethical difficulties of modern science. This allows the faculty members to better focus on their research, magnifying their contributions to science and the world.

The CatholicTech currently has 15 students and interns in residence, all strong Catholics committed to the Faith, to science and to the school’s conception of an “Institute of Technology” that is truly “Catholic.” They're an ideal first class for an institution with such a grand vision. Several of the students already have Bachelor's degrees, and are coming to CatholicTech from Newman Guide schools (including Thomas Aquinas College and Christendom College).

Their experience is put to good use at their new school, and they frequently discuss everything from philosophy to

computer science not only in, but also outside of the classroom.

One of the school’s Newman Fellows, Lauren Mitchell, saw CatholicTech as a perfect fit, bringing together her gifts and desires in a way that was truly an answer to her prayers. In an interview used on the school’s website, she pointed out that the school’s description of its desired applicants “felt like every point described me perfectly." As a Newman Fellow, Lauren shoulders many responsibilities, from working on the school’s marketing team to establishing a thriving student culture.

CatholicTech’s students will graduate with Bachelor's degrees in numerous fields, including biomedical engineering, computer science and bioethics. While there are no graduates yet, the institution looks forward to the transforming roles its graduates will play in fields of scientific inquiry and technological advancement.

When this first class graduates, CatholicTech will be a big step closer to accreditation, and to the school's ambitious ten-year plan.

Five years from now the school intends to have two hundred students and twenty doctoral students, and ten years from now, one thousand undergrads, two thousand doctoral students, forty professors, the new buildings that were mentioned above, and an “R1” rating for the institution, indicating the highest level of research activity at an educational institution — a lofty goal that the school's founders have thought out with great care, and one suited to the energetic, driven atmosphere that pervades the institution.

Bill and Alexis have thrown themselves into this project, putting everything they have on the line for the glory of God. They are not, however, starting off without a plan.

One key connection for CatholicTech is Fidelis Ventures, soon to be the largest Catholic venture fund in the world. With $150 million pledged to them, they serve a fascinating dual role for CatholicTech's mission.

Not only will money from the fund fully support the school's operating costs, but the investment activity of the fund itself, putting money into authentically good projects which can advance human flourishing throughout the world guided by sound ethical and practical advice, is exactly the sort of activity CatholicTech is trying to promote.

It's a win for both practicality and idealism, and it mirrors CatholicTech’s long-awaited reunion of the practical sciences with the Catholic faith.m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

51

Of Shrines and Sacred Places

St. Mary Major: a New “MuSt” For PilgriMS iN 2025 n BY LUCY GORDAN Left, Giovanni Paolo Panini’s “Interior of S. Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) in Rome,” ca. 1754 Below, the Salus Populi Romani, the miraculous image of the Virgin and Child in St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome.

The 46 x 31 inch wooden panel’s image is believed to have been painted by St. Luke the Evangelist.

T

he Basilica of St. Mary Major was consecrated on August 5, 434, soon after the Second Council of Ephesus in 431, when an assembly of bishops affirmed the doctrine that Mary was the Mother of God. Thus, the Basilica is the first Marian sanctuary in the western world.

Located at the summit of the Esquiline Hill, the tallest (126 feet above sea level) of Rome’s seven hills, and with the tallest (246 feet) of Rome’s campanili (belltowers), the Basilica houses the world’s most important Marian icon, the Salus Populi Romani, a cedar panel measuring 46 x 31 inches believed to have been painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist.

Under the high altar is a crystal and silver reliquary containing part of baby Jesus’s manger — five pieces of sycamore wood bound together by bits of iron and recently scientifically dated to the time of Jesus’s birth.

The Basilica came to be known as the “Church of the Nativity” and “Bethlehem of the West” ; for centuries, Popes have traditionally cele52 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

brated Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve there.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II inaugurated the Liberian Historical Museum, named after Pope Liberius (r. 352-366) which still houses the archeological excavation site under the Basilica and the eight rooms of the Historical Treasury.

On display in the latter are the most important collection of liturgical paraments from the 16th and 17th centuries in Rome, additional relics, chalices, ostensoria, paintings, prints and musical scores. The entrance to both is to the right side of the Basilica’s main porch.

To the left side is the Great Staircase of the Canons’ Palace of Benedict IV (r.

1740-1758). It leads to three rooms on the first floor. This new wing of the Liberian Historical Museum was inaugurated on December 11, 2024 by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee.

At the base of the staircase is the bronze bell “La Sperduta” which dates to the pontificate of Nicholas IV (12881292).

Donated by the Roman senator Pandolfo Savelli in honor petals from the ceiling above the altar in the Basilica’s of the Virgin Mary, Guidotto and Andreotto Pisano recast an Pauline Chapel, built by Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21)). older bell from the time of Pope Callistus II (r. 1119-1124).

The loggia leads into the Hall of the Popes, also previAccording to legend, “La Sperduta” tolled every night at ously not visitable. It’s a large room adorned with many por2:00 AM to help lost pilgrims orient themselves in the dark. traits of cardinals and popes through the ages as well as of It continued to toll until 1884, when it was dismantled and one woman, Margaret of Austria, the Queen of Spain (1584housed until last December in the Vatican.

1611) hung between portraits of her husband King Philip III The Great Staircase opens onto the Loggia of the Blessand of their son King Philip IV. ings, added by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743 and never Their portraits are here because the Spanish Crown holds opened to the public until last the title of “Honorable Canon” December. or the special protectors of St. On its wall, until then the Mary Major, although the preBasilica’s façade, is a full-length sent King of Spain hasn’t taken mosaic created by Filippo Rusuthis title officially. ti around 1295, a few years beFrom here one door opens fore the first Jubilee. onto a landing of Bernini’s StairIts upper register depicts case, a masterpiece of Baroque Christ Pantocrator flanked on architecture made of travertine, both sides by several saints innow under restoration, but soon cluding St. Peter, his brother St. to reopen.

Andrew, St. John the Baptist, St. Originally constructed to proCrystal and silver reliquary containing parts of Baby Jesus’ James the patron saint of pilvide access between the crypt and manger; made of sycamore wood and bits of iron, grims, and St. Paul. the papal apartments, it’s a the manger has been scientifically dated to the time Sitting on a scarlet cushion, metaphor for the human spiritual of His birth on a richly decorated throne, journey- its spirals, a delicate Christ holds an open book, play of light and shadow, are a which displays the text: EGO winding path leading from darkSUM LUX MUNDI QUI (“I am ness to light or from earth to the light of the world who,” a heaven. quotation from the Gospel of St. Another door, on the opposite John, 8:12). side of the Hall, leads into the Its lower register illustrates in three new rooms of the Liberian four scenes the ancient legend Historical Museum, previously relating to the foundation of St. the apartment for the Basilica’s Mary Major in 352 during the canons. pontificate of Pope Liberius.

On display in the first room, In the first scene a Roman called “The Bethlehem of The The first sculpted crèche scene in the history of art, patrician named John and his West,” is the first crèche in the these marble figures were commissioned by Nicholas IV, wife, who were childless, pray history of art. Commissioned by the first Franciscan Pope to the Virgin, promising to disPope Nicholas IV, the first Franpose their property in her honor if she will help them to have ciscan to become Pope (r. 1288-92), its marble figures were a child. sculpted by the Tuscan sculptor Arnolfo da Cambio.

The second scene shows the Virgin Mary appearing to Thanks to its innovative showcase this medieval masterthem in a dream and indicating where they should build a piece can now be admired up close and from every perspecchurch in her honor. tive.

In the third scene the couple is recounting their dream to In a nearby wall case is the so-called “Chasuble of St. Pope Liberius, who tells them that he had the same dream: Jerome”, a very rare example of a medieval liturgical vestto build a church in the Virgin’s honor where, during the ment previously displayed in the Treasury. night before (August 4th), there’d been a snowfall-obviousThe remains of this Doctor of the Church, who chose to ly a miraculous event during the heat of summer. live in Bethlehem at the original site of the Holy Crib, were The last scene shows the couple as well as Pope Liberius, moved around 1285 from Bethlehem to “Bethlehem of the who is leading a procession of priests and arriving at the site West.” of the snowfall. This is the first depiction of snow in art and The ceiling fresco of the second room dedicated to “Saint the reason why the Basilica was originally called “St. Mary Mary of the Snow” was painted by Bolognese Baldassare Liberiana” and “St. Mary of the Snow”. (In remembrance of Croce in 1610. It depicts the Miracle of the Snow, as does an this miracle, every August 5th it “snows” white flower altarpiece by the Florentine painter Jacopo Zucchi in 1580, MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 53

Of Shrines and Sacred Places which last December was appropriately returned to the Basilica from the Vatican Museums after more than two hundred and seventy years.

Other important paintings here are “The Road to Calvary” by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, known as “Il Sodoma,” and Domenico Beccafumi’s “Madonna and Child and Saints.”

The ceiling fresco in the third room depicts “The Procession Organized by Gregory the Great Holding the Salus Populi Romani.”

During the procession from St. Mary Major to St. Peter’s to pray for an end of the plague, the Pope had a vision of St. Michael the Archangel floating above Castel Sant’Angelo.

The Archangel was putting his flaming sword back into its sheath. Pope Gregory (r. 590-604) interpreted this gesture as an answer to his prayers and the plague of 591 ended.

A second altarpiece, of this scene and also by Jacopo Zucchi, and returned here from the Vatican Museums in December, hangs in the second room.

The highlight of the third room named for the Salus Populi Romani is the original bejeweled, gold-plated silver frame of the cedarwood icon. Also on display is a gold armand-hand reliquary holding a pen, which contains relics of St. Luke.

54 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

In the same display case are many ex-voto offerings of magnificent jewels donated to the icon for her intercession by several Popes; for example, Pope Gregory XVI (r. 18311846) for saving the Romans from a cholera epidemic; in 1954 by Pius XII (r. 1939-58) for protecting most of Rome from bombardments and for ending World War II; and, most recently, in 2023, the “golden rose” ornament donated by Pope Francis.

St. Mary Major is definitely one of Pope Francis’ favorite churches in Rome. Soon after his election in 2013, he started visiting the Basilica to pray before the Salus Populi Romani icon asking for protection before and after every one of his apostolic journeys.

In March 2020, as COVID-19 took hold in Italy, like Gregory the Great, if in the opposite direction, Francis left the Vatican to pilgrimage on foot to St. Mary Major; he prayed in front of the Marian icon for an end of the pandemic.

His 2023 announcement that he wishes to be buried here — not in St. Peter’s — didn’t come as much of a surprise.

He will join seven of his predecessors who are likewise buried in St. Mary Major’s: Honorius III (r. 1216-27), Nicholas IV (r. 1288-92), St. Pius V (r. 1566-72), Sixtus V (r.

1585-90), Clement VIII (r.1592-1605), Paul V (r. 1605-21), and Clement IX (r. 1667-69).m

THE END EXCERPTS fRom LoRD of THE WoRLD

“By A Dying mAn’S BEDSiDE...”

MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO, MONSIGNOR ROBERT HUGH BEnSOn FORESAW THE RISE OF SECULAR HUMANISM, THE CONTRACTION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND THE COMING OF THE ANTICHRIST n BY ITV STAFF Editor’s Note: The passage below is from the novel Lord of the World, written by the English Catholic convert Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson (the son of the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury) in 1907. He attempts a vision of the world more than a century in the future — in the early 21st century… our own time… predicting the

LORD OF THE WORLD

BY ROBERT HUGH BENSON (1907) BOOK II, THE EnCOUnTER, CHAPTER VIII, SECTIOn III, AnD BOOK III, THE VICTORY, CHAPTER I, SECTIOn I AnD II (Fr. Percy Franklin becomes Pope Sylvester III after the destruction of Rome and the death of the previous Pope. Julian Felsenburgh becomes the world’s leader and persecutes the Church. Franklin’s faith is tested, but ultimately he leads the Church and the faithful in the face of Felsenburgh’s tyranny. The lines below refer to the false claims Felsenburgh makes...)

And last of all, the supreme proof of His [Julian Felsenburgh’s] mission lay in the immortal nature of His message.

There was no more to be added to what He had brought to light — for in Him all diverging lines at last found their origin and their end. As to whether or no He would prove to be personally immortal was an wholly irrelevant thought; it would be indeed fitting if through His means the vital principle should disclose its last secret; but no more than fitting. Already His spirit was in the world; the individual was no more separate from his fellows; death no more than a wrinkle that came and went across the inviolable sea.

For man had learned at last that the race was all and self was nothing; the cell had discovered the unity of the body; even, the greatest thinkers declared, the consciousness of the individual had yielded the title of Personality to the corporate mass of man—and the restlessness of the unit had sunk into the peace of a common Humanity, for nothing but this could explain the cessation of party strife and national competition — and this, above all, had been the work of Felsenburgh.

“Behold I am with you always,” quoted the writer in a passionate peroration, “even now in the consummation of the world; and, the Comforter is come unto you. I am the Door — the Way, the Truth and the Life — the Bread of Life and the Water of Life.

My name is Wonderful, the Prince of Peace, the Father Everlast56

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

rise of Communism, the fall of faith in many places, the advance of technology (he foresees helicopters) and so forth up until... the Second Coming of the Lord, with which his vision ends. For this reason, and also because Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have repeatedly cited the book, saying its clarification of the danger of a type of humanitarianism without God is a true danger that we do face, we print a selection from it in ITV, now and in the months ahead.

ing. It is I who am the Desire of all nations, the fairest among the children of men — and of my Kingdom there shall be no end.”

The Pope laid down the book, and leaned back, closing his eyes.

SECTIOn II And as for Himself, what had He to say to all this? A Transcendent God Who hid Himself, a Divine Saviour Who delayed to come, a Comforter heard no longer in wind nor seen in fire!

There, in the next room, was a little wooden altar, and above it an iron box, and within that box a silver cup, and within that cup — Something. Outside the house, a hundred yards away, lay the domes and plaster roofs of a little village called Nazareth; Carmel was on the right, a mile or two away, Thabor on the left, the plain of Esdraelon in front; and behind, Cana and Galilee, and the quiet lake, and Hermon. And far away to the south lay Jerusalem….

It was to this tiny strip of holy land that the Pope had come— the land where a Faith had sprouted two thousand years ago, and where, unless God spoke in fire from heaven, it would presently be cut down as a cumberer of the ground.

It was here on this material earth that One had walked Whom all men had thought to have been He Who would redeem Israel — in this village that He had fetched water and made boxes and chairs, on that long lake that His Feet had walked, on that high hill that He had flamed in glory, on that smooth, low mountain to the north that He had declared that the meek were blessed and should inherit the earth, that peacemakers were the children of God, that they who hungered and thirsted should be satisfied.

And now it was come to this. Christianity had smouldered away from Europe like a sunset on darkening peaks; Eternal Rome was a heap of ruins; in East and West alike a man had been set upon the throne of God, had been acclaimed as divine.

The world had leaped forward; social science was supreme; men had learned consistency; they had learned, too, the social lessons of Christianity apart from a Divine Teacher, or, rather, they said, in spite of Him.

God as depicted by British poet William Blake as the “architect of creation,” now in the British Museum, London

There were left, perhaps, three millions, perhaps five, at the utmost ten millions—it was impossible to know—throughout the entire inhabited globe who still worshipped Jesus Christ as God. And the Vicar of Christ sat in a whitewashed room in Nazareth, dressed as simply as His master, waiting for the end. ***** He had done what He could. There had been a week five months ago when it had been doubtful whether anything at all could be done. There were left three Cardinals alive, Himself, Steinmann, and the Patriarch of Jerusalem; the rest lay mangled somewhere in the ruins of Rome. There was no precedent to follow; so the two Europeans had made their way out to the East, and to the one town in it where quiet still reigned.

With the disappearance of Greek Christianity there had also vanished the last remnants of internecine war in Christendom; and by a kind of tacit consent of the world, Christians were allowed a moderate liberty in Palestine. Russia, which now held the country as a dependency, had sufficient sentiment left to leave it alone; it was true that the holy places had been desecrated, and remained now only as spots of antiquarian interest; the altars were gone but the sites were yet marked, and, although mass could no longer be said there, it was understood that private oratories were not forbidden.

It was in this state that the two European Cardinals had found the Holy City; it was not thought wise to wear insignia of any description in public; and it was practically certain even now that the civilised world was unaware of their existence; for within three days of their arrival the old Patriarch had died, yet not before Percy Franklin, surely under the strangest circumstances since those of the first century, had been elected to the Supreme Pontificate.

It had all been done in a few minutes by the dying man's bedside. The two old men had insisted. The German had even recurred once more to the strange resemblance between Percy and Julian Felsenburgh, and had murmured his old half-heard remarks about the antithesis, and the Finger of God; and Percy, marvelling at his superstition, had accepted, and the election was recorded.

He had taken the name of Silvester, the last saint in the year, and was the third of that title. He had then retired to Nazareth with his chaplain; Steinmann had gone back to Germany, and been hanged in a riot within a fortnight of his arrival.

The next matter was the creation of new cardinals, and to twenty persons, with infinite precautions, briefs had been conveyed.

Of these, nine had declined; three more had been approached, of whom only one had accepted.

There were therefore at this moment twelve persons in the world who constituted the Sacred College — two Englishmen, of whom Corkran was one; two Americans, a Frenchman, a German, an Italian, a Spaniard, a Pole, a Chinaman, a Greek, and a Russian.

To these were entrusted vast districts over which their control was supreme, subject only to the Holy Father Himself.

As regarded the Pope’s own life very little need be said.

It resembled, He thought, in its outward circumstances that of such a man as Leo the Great, without His worldly importance or pomp. Theoretically, the Christian world was under His dominion;

practically, Christian affairs were administered by local authorities. It was impossible for a hundred reasons for Him to do what He wished with regard to the exchange of communications.

An elaborate cypher had been designed, and a private telegraphic station organised on His roof communicating with another in Damascus where Cardinal Corkran had fixed his residence; and from that centre messages occasionally were despatched to ecclesiastical authorities elsewhere; but, for the most part, there was little to be done.

The Pope, however, had the satisfaction of knowing that, with incredible difficulty, a little progress had been made towards the reorganisation of the hierarchy in all countries. Bishops were being consecrated freely; there were not less than two thousand of them all told, and of priests an unknown number.

The Order of Christ Crucified was doing excellent work, and the tales of not less than four hundred martyrdoms had reached Nazareth during the last two months, accomplished mostly at the hands of the mobs.

In other respects, also, as well as in the primary object of the Order's existence (namely, the affording of an opportunity to all who loved God to dedicate themselves to Him more perfectly), the new Religious were doing good work. The more perilous tasks — the work of communication between prelates, missions to persons of suspected integrity — all the business, in fact, which was carried on now at the vital risk of the agent were entrusted solely to members of the Order.

Stringent instructions had been issued from Nazareth that no bishop was to expose himself unnecessarily; each was to regard himself as the heart of his diocese to be protected at all costs save that of Christian honour, and in consequence each had surrounded himself with a group of the new Religious — men and women — who with extraordinary and generous obedience undertook such dangerous tasks as they were capable of performing. It was plain enough by now that had it not been for the Order, the Church would have been little better than paralysed under these new conditions.

Extraordinary facilities were being issued in all directions.

Every priest who belonged to the Order received universal jurisdiction subject to the bishop, if any, of the diocese in which he might be; mass might be said on any day of the year of the Five Wounds, or the Resurrection, or Our Lady; and all had the privilege of the portable altar, now permitted to be wood.

Further ritual requirements were relaxed; mass might be said with any decent vessels of any material capable of destruction, such as glass or china; bread of any description might be used; and no vestments were obligatory except the thin thread that now represented the stole; lights were non-essential; none need wear the clerical habit; and rosary, even without beads, was always permissible instead of the Office.

In this manner priests were rendered capable of giving the sacraments and offering the holy sacrifice at the least possible risk to themselves; and these relaxations had already proved of enormous benefit in the European prisons, where by this time many thousands of Catholics were undergoing the penalty of refusing public worship. (to be continued) m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

57

VATICAN WATCH

By Matthew Trojacek with CNA Reports - Grzegorz Galazka and CNA photos

FEBRUARY TUESDAY 11 HOLY SEE CALLS FOR DIGITAL RESPONSIBILITY TO CURB ANTI-SEMITISM IN EUROPE Father Domenico Vitolo, Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature to the Nordic Countries, delivered the statement at the annual conference on addressing anti-Semitism in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region on February 11.

He expressed the Holy See’s conviction that there can be no effective commitment against antisemitism unless a careful assessment of the problem and a sense of respect for Jewish communities are developed through education.

“Ignorance, prejudice and stereotypes contribute to anti-Semitism in our societies,” he said, adding that “education can build a bulwark against them by making our society and in especially children and young people aware of the common responsibility to protect the human dignity of all persons.”

(VaticanNews)

“In a world fractured by conflict, dialogue remains essential,” the participants stated, underlining the need for religious communities to serve as instruments of peace. “When guided by authentic dialogue, religions can contribute to healing divisions, fostering fraternity, and cultivating reconciliation.”

(VaticanNews)

MARCH

MONDAY 3 VATICAN SECRETARY OF STATE MEETS WITH LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin received the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, in the Vatican on March 3.

The Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, was also present at the meeting with the Lithuanian President, who was in Rome to participate in the national Jubilee pilgrimage.

According to a statement from the Holy See Press Office, during the cordial discussions at the Secretariat of State, “satisfaction was expressed for the good and fruitful bilateral relations, highlighting the positive contribution of the Christian faith to Lithuanian society.”

“The parties,” it concluded, “focused on questions of a regional and international President of the Republic of Lithuania, nature, with particular reference to the Gitanis Nausèda, left, sits across the table prospects for peace in Ukraine.” (Vaticanfrom Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal News) Pietro Parolin in a March 3 meeting

THURSDAY 20 DICASTERY FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOG AND WCC RECOMMIT The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (DID) and the Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation (IRDC) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) concluded their annual meeting in Rome, held from 17 to 20 February 2025. The gathering, which took place at the Dicastery’s office, provided an opportunity to assess past initiatives, review ongoing interreligious activities, and explore future collaborations. A key focus was preparing for the 50th anniversary of cooperation between the two institutions, which will be marked in 2027.

Since 1977, the DID and WCC have worked together to promote interreligious dialogue within an ecumenical framework. Their collaboration has produced significant documents, including Interreligious Prayer (1994), Reflection on Interreligious Marriage (1997), Christian Witness in a MultiReligious World: Recommendations for Conduct (2011), Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World: A Christian Perspective (2019), and Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 (2020).

In their discussions, both delegations reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening interreligious dialogue. They acknowledged religious diversity as an ever-present reality in the contemporary world and emphasized the importance of fostering understanding and cooperation among faith traditions.

58 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

WEDNESDAY 5 VATICAN MODIFIES POSITION ON “GENDER AFFIRMING” SURGERY The Vatican appears to have modified its previous position against “gender-affirming” surgery and “gender theory” raising the possibility of “exceptional situations.”

In early March, the Vatican published a speech by doctrine chief Cardinal Victor Fernández where he said, “there are cases outside the norm, such as strong dysphorias that can lead to an unbearable existence or even suicide. These exceptional situations must be evaluated with great care.”

The Argentinian prelate explained at a German theological conference: “We don’t want to be cruel and say that we don’t understand people’s conditioning and the deep suffering that exists in some cases of ‘dysphoria’ that manifests itself even from childhood.”

While the Vatican publication acknowledges “gender dysphoria,” it still makes clear that the Church opposes the idea “that bodily-sexual identity can be the object of radical change, always subject to one’s own desires…” (CNN)

Below: Indian Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Francis in 2024.

Bottom: Newly installed, state-of-the-art lights illuminate St. Peter’s Basilica dome

FRIDAY 7 VATICAN’S RAMADAN MESSAGE: “WALK SIDE BY SIDE” As it does every year during the month of fasting, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue released its message for Ramadan on March 7.

This year’s message, signed by the Dicastery’s new prefect, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, is centered on the theme: “Christians and Muslims: What We Hope to Become Together.”

“This time of fasting, prayer and sharing,” the message reads, “is a privileged opportunity to draw closer to God and be renewed in the fundamental values of religion, compassion and solidarity. This year, Ramadan largely coincides with Lent, which for Christians is a period of fasting, supplication and conversion to Christ.”

This rare alignment in the religious calendar, Cardinal Koovakad writes, “offers a unique opportunity to walk sideby-side, Christians and Muslims, in a common process of purification, prayer and charity.”

“More than simply a month of fasting, Ramadan appears to us Catholics as a school of inner transformation,” the message continues. In Christian tradition, Lent is a similar time, a period when “through fasting, prayer and almsgiving we seek to purify our hearts and refocus on the One who guides and directs our lives.” (VaticanNews) FRIDAY 14 NEW LIGHTS ILLUMINATE ST. PETER’S DOME Maintenance and enhancement work on the lighting systems of Saint Peter’s Basilica has been underway since early March.

The technical operations, which take place during nighttime hours, seek to highlight the grandeur of Renaissance architecture.

The new, state-of-the-art lighting fixtures will provide a more intense, calibrated, and well-distributed light, which will further enhance the dome and create a striking atmosphere.

This project is part of a series of periodic interventions carried out by the Fabric of Saint Peter to preserve and enhance the Basilica and its artistic structures. (VaticanNews) POPE’S CALL TO DISARM WORDS, DISARM THE EARTH "We must disarm words, to disarm minds and disarm the Earth. There is a great need for reflection, for calmness, for a sense of complexity" said Pope Francis in a letter published in Italy’s newspaper of record, Corriere della Sera.

"While war only devastates communities and the environment, without offering solutions to conflicts, diplomacy and international organisations need new life and credibility," he wrote while still hospitalized for pneumonia.

Thanking Corriere's director Luciano Fontana, to whom the letter was addressed, Francis noted that “in this moment of illness... war appears even more absurd.” (Vatican News)

APRIL WEDNESDAY 2 CROWDS MARK 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF JOHN PAUL II’S DEATH Residents of Rome and representatives of the Polish community abroad gathered in great numbers at St. Peter’s Square for a prayer vigil marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. The meditations during the Rosary included quotations from the teachings of Saint John Paul II. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, presided at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Thirty cardinals and as many bishops concelebrated, L’Osservatore Romano reported. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was in attendance, as were a government delegation from Poland and numerous ambassadors to the Holy See. In his homily, Cardinal Parolin recalled the highlights of the John Paul’s pontificate, from his first homily in 1978 (“Do not be afraid! Open, indeed throw open the doors to Christ!”) to his funeral Mass in 2005, at which “the certainty of the people concerning the sanctity of the deceased Pope” was evident.

The “Gaudium Poloniae” choir led music from the Church of St. Stanislaus BM in Rome. (Vatican News) FRIDAY 4 HOLY SEE TO UN: MIDDLE-INCOME NATIONS NEED DEBT-FREE INVESTMENT Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, told a high-level meeting that “structural barriers” developing nations face, despite playing a crucial role in the global economy, must be addressed.

Though they account for around one-third of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), middle income countries are home to 62 percent of the world’s poor.

According to the World Bank, middle income countries include those with a Gross National Income (GNI) per person between roughly $1,100 and $14,000.

Caccia noted that, beside significant challenges like conflicts, economic instability, and intense weather events, another burden is the debt which they have been forced to take on to promote economic development.

“The Holy See,” Caccia said, “calls for an increase in accessible, debt-free development financial assistance without fear of being trapped in repayment cycles.”(Vatican News) m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

59

PEOPLE B M Y

ATTHEW TROJACEK with Grzegorz Galazka photos

PAKISTAN’S FIRST SAINTHOOD CANDIDATE REMAINS A LITTLE-KNOWN FIGURE Akash Bashir was just 20 years old when he was killed on March 15, 2015, while preventing a suicide bomber from entering a packed Saint John’s Catholic Church during Sunday Mass.

Both Bashir and the bomber were killed when the bomb exploded outside the church.

Despite Bashir’s heroism becoming a subject of widespread discussion, it took time for him to be recognized by the Catholic Church in Pakistan, where Christians make up about 1.37 percent of the 241 million Muslimmajority population and are routinely subjected to extremist violence.

Meanwhile, Salesians celebrating the silver jubilee of the order’s arrival in Pakistan, have made efforts to popularize Bashir, their former pupil, as a hero and role model for younger generations.

On January 31, the congregation launched a book about him on the feast of Saint John Bosco, the founder of the international religious order.

The same day, a large portrait of Bashir was unveiled at the Don Bosco Technical Institute for Boys, in a ceremony attended by his parents and senior Church officials, including Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Germano Penemote. (UCANews) AMASSADOR NOMINEE: VATICAN SHOULD “RESIST” CHINA’S ROLE IN PICKING BISHOPS Brian Burch, Trump nominee for US ambassador to the Holy See, told the Congressional committee vetting him on April 8 that he wants to work with the Holy See on the issue of bishops’ appointments in China, which currently includes a role for the Chinese government.

“I think it’s important for the Holy See to maintain a posture of pressure, and of applying pressure to the Chinese government around their human rights abuses, particularly their persecution of religious minorities, including Catholics,” Burch said.

If appointed as US ambassador to the Holy See, Burch said he would encourage the Vatican “to resist the idea that a foreign government has any role whatsoever in choosing the leadership of a private religious institution.”

“I KNEEL ONLY BEFORE GOD,” SAID PRIEST KILLED IN MYANMAR In front of the gunmen clearly under the influence of drugs or alcohol who ordered him to kneel, Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, the priest killed February 14 in Myanmar, said: “I kneel only before God.” Then he quietly asked them: "What can I do for you?

Is there an issue we can talk about?"

Those were the last words of the 44-year-old priest from the Archdiocese of Mandalay before the armed gang stabbed and hacked him to death.

60 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

POPE TO KNIGHTS OF MALTA: JESUS ACCOMPANIES YOU ON PATH OF GENEROSITY

China’s Public Security Bureau arrested the underground bishop of Wenzhou (Zhejiang), Monsignor Peter Shao Zhumin, on March 7 after he refused to pay a fine for celebrating Mass on December 27 before 200 people. Last week he wrote to the faithful asking them to attend Mass more often and pray the rosary for Pope Francis’s health.

The authorities claim that the religious service was “illegal” and a “serious crime” in violation of Article 71 of the Religious Affairs Regulations. For this reason, they imposed a fine of 200,000 yuan (US$ 26,500), which Bishop Shao challenged, insisting that the Church's activities do not violate the law.

As a result, the prelate was arrested for his own “safety”, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) claimed.

His whereabouts are unknown and it is unclear how long he will be held. Among his flock, people are concerned about his safety and health. (Asia News) The news agency of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelisation cites two women who were present at the events and presented the facts to the Ministry of Justice of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), which operates in exile.

It appears Father Martin tried to defend the two women, who teach at the local informal school and help the clergyman in the parish community. The school is one of the many run by Myanmar’s Catholic Church. The public education system no longer exists due to the war that broke out four years ago. (Asia News) BISHOP STRICKLAND: APPOINTMENT “RAISES QUESTIONS” Bishop Joseph Strickland, the Texas bishop removed from his diocese of Tytler in November, 2023, wrote an open letter to Pope Francis that was published March 13, calling on the Pope to reconsider his appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy as head of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. He said, in part, “It is with deep concern and a profound sense of duty that I address the appointment of Cardinal Robert McElroy to Washington, D.C., a decision that raises serious moral and

pastoral questions.

“The grave scandals of abuse and their cover-up have wounded the Body of Christ, and trust in the hierarchy has been deeply shaken. The faithful have the right to demand accountability, transparency, and leadership rooted in truth and justice.

“The placement of any prelate with a history of failing in these areas – particularly in one of the most influential sees in the country – risks furthering the erosion of trust at a time when the Church desperately needs to heal and to stand firm in her witness to Christ.” (ITV staff)

A mosaic by Fr. Marko Rupnik, accused abuser

THE RUPNIK CASE Since the October 27, 2023, papal lifting of the statute of limitations in the case of Father Marko Rupnik, the Slovenian ex-Jesuit who has been accused of spiritual and sexual abuse by at least 20 women, developments have been ongoing. On March 9, three alleged victims shared testimonies of their interactions with Father Rupnik on a prime-time Italian television program, and when reporters tried to speak with Father Rupnik, he refused. Yet, at the same time, the retired bishop of the Diocese of Koper, where Father Rupnik was incardinated in August 2023, told OSV News that the priest “continues his work all over the world.”

When asked about the status of Father Rupnik’s case in December 2024, two years after allegations against Father Rupnik became public, Irish Archbishop John Kennedy, who serves as secretary of the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that “the case is still progressing and, as such, I find that I cannot comment.” (CatholicReview)

THEODORE MC CARRICK, DISGRACED FORMER CARDINAL, DIES AT 94 Theodore Edgar McCarrick, former Metropolitan Archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was dismissed from the clerical state in 2019 for sexual abuse of adults and minors, has died at the age of 94 on April 3, 2025.

McCarrick was a prominent figure in the U.S. Church for many years. Prior to leading the archdiocese of Washington, McCarrick had served as auxiliary bishop of New York, bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey, and archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. In 2018 he was accused of abuse of adults – in particular seminarians – and minors, and was suspended a divinis (a canonical penalty depriving clerics of the right to exercise their ministry), and later that year, he submitted his resignation from the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis obliged the for-

mer cardinal to a life of prayer and penance, until the regular canonical process could be completed.

In February 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that McCarrick had been removed from the clerical state, declaring he had been found guilty of the crime of solicitation in the sacrament of Confession and violations of the Sixth Commandment with minors and adults, with the aggravating circumstance of abuse of power. (Vatican News)

IVORY COAST CARDINAL: STAND AGAINST PRESSURE, CORRUPTION Ivorian Cardinal Ignace Bessi of Abidjan urged Catholic journalists in Ivory NIGERIAN DIOCESE PAYS TRIBUTE TO MURDERED PRIEST Coast to uphold ethical responsibility and The Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria is paying promote truth in media as the country entribute to Father Sylvester Okechukwu, a dioceters a crucial election year while also stresssan priest who was murdered on Ash Wednesday, ing the need for integrity and peace ahead March 5. of the presidential vote.

According to the information provided by the “Resist any attempt at corruption and Diocese of Kafanchan, Okechukwu was kidnapped pressure, and flee from anything that could from his residence about 9:15 p.m. on March 4. undermine your ethical duty to the nation,” After being taken by his abductors, the 45-yearCardinal Bessi told some 30 journalists atold priest was killed in the early hours of Ash Wednesday. tending a special Jubilee 2025 event orga“It is yet to be determined why he was killed,” said Father Jacob nized by the Abidjan Archdiocese on FebShanet, chancellor of the Kafanchan Diocese. ruary 1. “With the October 2025 presidenShanet added: “Father Sylvester was a dedicated servant of God who tial election fast approaching,” he said, worked selflessly in the vineyard of the Lord, spreading the message of “journalists and media professionals must peace, love, and hope.” uphold values of integrity and decency.”

A parishioner, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Father The cardinal stressed the importance of Okechukwu as a compassionate and dedicated servant of God, saying, promoting peace during this sensitive peri“He was a father to us all, always there to pray with us and guide us od and urged them to “rekindle hope for the through hard times. Who could do this to such a peaceful Ivorian nation” through prayer and fasting, man?”(CatholicWorldReport) ensuring a peaceful election. (LaCroix) m MAY-JUNE 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 61

Food FoR THoUGHT n BY MOTHER MARTHA

C

onfetti are traditionally an undividable union. Three repalmonds from Avola in resents the Holy Trinity; five: onfetti Sicily’s province of Syrahealth, wealth, happiness, long taly s pecIal ccasIOn andy life and fertility; and seven becuse coated in a hard outer shell of sugar. They are ubiquitous at cause God made the world in many Italian (but not only) celeseven days and there are seven brations as a symbol of good sacraments. fortune and prosperity. At bapConfetti were first mentioned tisms the confetti are obviously by the ancient Roman gourmet pink or blue; at first commuApicius. They consisted of an nions, confirmations and wedalmond covered in a flour and dings, white; at university gradhoney paste. Instead, confetti as uations, red; and at wedding anwe know them today date to the niversaries, yellow for the 20th, 15th century when flour was silver for the 25th, aquamarine eliminated and sugar cane refor the 30th, green for the 40th, placed honey as the common gold for the 50th, and white sweetener. The earliest docuagain for the 60th. ments mentioning the use of When I first lived in Italy during the 1970s, there were sugar cane and confetti are in the local archives of Sulnumerous stores everywhere that sold confetti and their mona, a small town in the Abruzzi, and date to 1492-93. bomboniere (fancy sweet boxes). The name for these fanAround that time, the nuns at the Sulmona’s convent of cy candy containers derives from the French word for Santa Clara started the tradition of tying together sugared candy or “bon bon.” These “boxes” were originally, in almonds with silk threads of different colors to create 18th-century France, made of silver, crystal, and porcebouquets of flowers, bunches of grapes, ears of wheats lain, but in the 1970s predominantly of porcelain. Once and rosaries, as gifts for young brides, noblemen, magisfilled with the appropriate confetti, the store elegantly trates and bishops. packaged them.

Today, glossy paper of different colors Today there are few such stores left, has replaced the silk thread and Sulmona, probably because fewer Italians are getlong been nicknamed “La Città dei Confetting married or marrying at a later age, ti” or “Confetti City,” is still the center of and subsequently having fewer children, Italy’s confetti production, its streets lined if any – not to mention that today’s bomwith stores selling the above-mentioned boniere are more practical: picture confetti creations, but also ladybugs, butframes, keychains, salt-and-pepper shakterflies, comic book and TV characters, to ers and personalized candles, for examname but a few. ples. Not to mention that pistachios, hazel By 1846 there were 12 confetti “factonuts, dried fruits and chocolate can replace ries” in Sulmona, including the Pelino the almond as the filling. which dates to 1783 and is run today by the family’s eigth Confetti are presented in several ways. generation, and the William Di Carlo which dates to 1833 Customarily, wedding gifts, especially from close reland is run today by the family’s sixth generation. An inatives and intimate friends, are presented in person so the teresting family anecdote is that in the first decade of the future couple’s families display on their coffee table a sil1900s, Alfredo Di Carlo immigrated to New York and ver or crystal bowl filled with confetti plus a silver servworked at Tiffany’s as a gemstone setter. To Americanize ing spoon. On that occasion, these V.I.P. guests receive the family, he named his baby son William, but nonethetheir bomboniera. Since they’re expensive, bomboniere less soon sent him back to Sulmona in the custody of his are given to a special few.

Zia (Aunt) Chiara. Besides its “factory,” Pelino houses a On the wedding day, confetti in little voile bow-tied two-storied museum of its early machines, tools, publicibags, known as sacchetti, or in little boxes can be used as ty posters, awards, documents, family portraits and phoplace cards. Otherwise, the bride and groom go from tographs, a collection of bomboniere, and the first teletable to table and distribute them to their guests at the end phone to have been installed in Sulmona. of the meal. The groom carries from table to table a silver Nota Bene: Confetti, which take two days to make, bowl full of loose confetti which the bride serves to should contain no flour or starch. To prove its authenticiguests from a large silver spoon. ty, place one in a glass of water. If the water becomes In each sacchetto there are always an odd number of cloudy, it means that starch is present. A sugared almond confetti, and thus an undividable number – to symbolize without starch leaves the water clear! m

:

C

I

62 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2025

’ s

-O

c

Southern Liturgicals “Where art and beauty embrace the sacred”

Find the Perfect Ordination Chalice

We have many beautiful chalices in stock and ready to ship to you quickly! We also have many clergy items suitable for ordination gifts. Let us assist you in picking out the perfect gift for that soon to be ordained Priest!

Prepare for Eucharistic Adoration and Processions Let us help you select a beautiful monstrance, tabernacle, and altar candlesticks for your adoration chapel and sanctuary.

We also carry processional crosses, floor candlesticks, and sanctuary lamps to complement your sacred space.

Reliquaries Tabernacles Clergy Wear Sanctuary Lamps Statuary Clergy Accessories Thuribles Mass Kits Albs and Surplices Altar and Floor Viaticum Kits Altar Linens Candlesticks Religious Jewelry Candles Crucifixes Vestments …and much more 816-A Harding Street When a seminarian purchases a chalice from Southern Liturgicals we will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of that chalice to Lafayette, Louisiana 70503 the Seminary Education fund/Seminary Burse to the respective diocese he is going to be ordained to the priesthood for in his name. We want (337) 456-5892 to give back to lend our support to the Seminarians coming behind that seminarian being ordained to help with the expenses of educating SouthernLiturgicals.com priests. This program is strictly limited to the United States Seminarians as the International wiring fee of funds would make it cost prohibitive.

We are an A mer icanowned and operated company financially supporting the spiritual and academic formation of future priests since 1992.

Ordination Chalices Metalware Ordination Gifts Ciboria Monstrances

Join us on pilgrimage and renew your faith during the Jubilee of Hope!

2025 PILGRIMAGES ITALY: Easter - SOLD OUT April 14 – 24, 2025 USA: Wisconsin: Discovering Mary in the Heartland April 28 – May 2, 2025 ITALY: Journey Toward to the Face of Christ May 24 – June 3, 2025 Pilgrimage to Medjugorje and Retreat to a private island in Croatia – August 20 – 29, 2025 SPAIN AND FRANCE: With Mary from Garabandal to Lourdes – August 21 – 28, 2025 MEXICO: Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Flower World Prophecy September 19 – 26, 2025 ITALY: Jubilee Year and St. Francis of Assisi – September 27 – October 7, 2025 SPAIN: Pilgrimage and Retreat with Fr. Murr – October 23 – 30, 2025 LEBANON: Ancient Monasteries, Modern Saints and Christmas Markets – December 2025 Italy: Christmas December 2025 PILGRIMAGE@INSIDETHEVATICAN.COM ∞ +1.202.536.4555 ∞ InsideTheVaticanPilgrimages.com