Inside the Vatican magazine November-December 2025

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NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI AND CARLO ACUTIS

YOUNG PEOPLE AND SAINTS OF OUR TIME TURKEY

LEBANON

Looking East for the First Apostolic Journey of Leo XIV

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

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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

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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

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EDITORIAL by Robert Moynihan

Pope Leo’s First Christmas In December, the new Pope will celebrate his first Christmas as the Successor of Peter. Elected on May 8, when Christmas comes he will have been Pope for more than 7 months. A reflection...

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 — I wrote in my last editorial that “Pope Leo now faces the many great issues of our time... with a certain humility and good humor...” I also noted that Leo’s brother, John Prevost, had said Leo continues to speak to him every single day by phone. But Pope Leo’s concern now extends beyond his own family to the entire world, and as the months pass, he has begun to speak to the world in an increasingly profound way.

I noticed this new profundity in the Pope’s teaching in midAugust, just after Leo visited the Marian shrine of Mentorella on August 19. (Note: Mentorella is the oldest Marian shrine in Italy, consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 335 A.D. It is also where young St. Benedict spent two years in a cave discerning his own vocation, in about the year 500 A.D., when he was about 20.)

Pope Leo undoubtedly prayed in Mentorella, I wrote, “for the peace that so eludes the world, and for his own mission.”

That next day, speaking at his Wednesday Audience, Leo took forgiveness as his main theme: the forgiveness of Christ. Pope Leo told the faithful that day that Jesus’ love, despite being betrayed, did not allow evil to have the last word. He said that “there is always a way to continue to love, even when everything seems irredeemably compromised.”

Now, two months later, I am persuaded that in August Pope Leo began to find his way, his direction, around the time when he visited Mentorella, the ancient Marian shrine. And, I think, in those days he began to perceive the theme of forgiveness as a key one for his pontificate, and for our Church.

And this has a Christological dimension, appropriate to reflect upon as we approach another Christmas. For at Christmas, we celebrate, as we do each year, with great joy, the arrival into the world, through the “pure vessel,” the Virgin Mary, daughter of Zion, of our hope, the Logos. As I sat down to write this editorial, I reflected, once again, on the fundamental structure of the reality in which we live, and move, and have our being. That fundamental structure is 3-fold: a holy Creator and a good creation; a tragic fall into sin and death; an astonishing redemption, purchased at a great price (the Cross), restoring all, and bringing all, in some way, to an even higher level than they would have been had the fall never occurred.

(O felix culpa! “O happy fault.”)

Seeking to understand better this dynamic, this fundamental structure of creation, fall, and redemption, I went back to those August days, and found, to my surprise, the astonishing words that Leo spoke the week before he went to Mentorella, at his August 13 General Audience.

His theme that day was sorrow for sin, and the way that sincere sorrow can open the door to conversion and joy. To redemption.

Leo focused on Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection by reflecting on the moment at the Last Supper when Jesus reveals that one of his disciples will betray Him. In particular, the Pope explored the passage in which, during the Passover supper, Jesus says: “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”

“Strong words,” the Pope said. “Jesus does not utter them to condemn, but to show how love, when it is true, cannot do without the truth.” Yet, he observed, the way Jesus speaks about what is about to happen is surprising. He does not raise His voice, nor point His finger, nor utter the name of Judas. Rather, the Lord speaks in such a way that each person can reflect personally. The Pope said, “This is exactly what happens: ‘They began to be distressed and to say to Him, one by one, “Surely it is not I?”’” Amazing. Each disciple said: “Surely it is not I?”(!)

“It is not,” Leo said, “the question of the innocent, but of the disciple who discovers himself to be fragile — not the cry of the guilty, but the whisper of one who, while wanting to love, is aware of being capable of doing harm.”

“The disciples’ reaction is not anger, but sadness,” Leo said.

“They are not indignant; they are sorrowful. It is a pain that arises from the real possibility of being involved.”(!)

“Precisely this sorrow, if welcomed with sincerity,” the Pope said, “becomes a place for conversion.”

Now, is not this in some way relevant to our present ecclesial predicament? Is it not the case that each one of us — each disciple — may bear responsibility for the condition of our Church?

“Jesus then adds a phrase that troubles us and makes us think: ‘But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born’ (Mk 14:21).”

“They are harsh words, certainly,” the Pope said, “but they must be understood well: it is not a curse, but rather a cry of pain. In Greek, that ‘woe’ sounds like a lamentation, an ‘alas,’ an exclamation of sincere and deep compassion...”

When the Lord sees evil, Leo explained, He does not avenge it, but grieves. “And that ‘better if he had never been born,’” Leo said, “is not a condemnation imposed a priori, but a truth that any of us can recognize: if we deny the love that has generated us — if, by betraying, we become unfaithful to ourselves — then we truly lose the meaning of our coming into the world, and we exclude ourselves from salvation.” Yet, even at the darkest point, Leo said, the light is not extinguished, but “on the contrary, it begins to shine.”

This is because, Leo said, “if we recognize our limit, if we let ourselves be touched by the pain of Christ, then we can finally be born again.”

Jesus is not scandalized by our fragility, Leo said, for “He knows well” that no friendship is immune from the risk of betrayal.

“But,” Leo reiterated, “He continues to trust, to sit at the table with His followers, and does not give up breaking bread, even for those who will betray Him.” This, he said, “is the silent power of God: He never abandons the table of love, even when He knows He will be left alone.”

“Ultimately, this is hope,” Leo said, “knowing that even if we fail, God will never fail us... And if we allow ourselves to be touched by this love... then we can truly be reborn.”

This, the Pope concluded, enables us to “live no longer as traitors, but as children who are always loved.” Merry Christmas.m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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CONTENTS NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 Year 33, #6

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robert Moynihan ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Christina Deardurff ASSOCIATE EDITOR: George “Pat” Morse (+ 2013) ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christopher Hart-Moynihan CULTURE EDITOR: Lucy Gordan CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: William D. Doino, Jr. CHIEF VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Anna Artymiak WRITERS: Giuseppe Rusconi, Andrew Rabel, Vladimiro Redzioch, Serena Sartini ESSAYISTS: Peter Anderson, Anthony Esolen, Aurelio Porfiri, Matthew Trojacek, Robert Wiesner, Marcellus Roberts 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

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4 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

Year 33, #6

LEAD STORY: POPE LEO CANONIZES TWO YOUNG MEN OF THE 20TH CENTURY Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis: “Masterpieces of holiness”

by Vatican News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Pier Giorgio Frassati: John Paul II’s “Man of the Beatitudes”

by The Frassati Fellowship, New York City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Carlo Acutis, the “First Millennial Saint”

by Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 “They said ‘yes’ to God and gave themselves completely”

by Pope Leo XIV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 The miraculous healing that paved the way for Pier Giorgio’s canonization

by Andrew Rabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 ANALYSIS/Trying to clarify the direction of Leo XVI’s papacy

by Robert Moynihan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 INTERVIEW/Pope Leo: “I find it highly unlikely the Church’s doctrine on sexuality will change”

by Elise Allen (Crux) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 NEWS/Pope names his successor as the important Dicastery for Bishops prefect

by Salvatore Cernuzio (Vatican News) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 NEWS/Pope Leo issues first major document: Dilexi Te, an Exhortation on care for the poor

by Anna Artymiak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 NEWS/The Laudato Si Garden is inaugurated: “Caring for creation is our vocation”

by Linda Bordoni (Vatican News) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 TEXT/Pope Francis’ foundational document Laudato Si, Excerpts

by Pope Francis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 COMMENTARY/Gaza, Zionism and Catholic Social Teaching

by Matthew Tsakanikas, STD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 NEWS/Hebrew Catholic Association launched in Israel

by Madalaine Elhabbal (CNA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 COMMENTARY/Americanism: A Problem Both Old and New

by Aurelio Porfiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 COMMENTARY/ Usury is still a moral problem

by Thomas Storck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 INTERVIEW/A new American bishop goes to “bishop school”

by Anna Artymiak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 CULTURE EDUCATION/Without trying, orthodox Catholic college ranks #1 in “social mobility”

by Christina Deardurff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 PROFILE/The Crisis in Catholic Education: One Man’s Story

by Robert Moynihan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 SCRIPTURE/The Stench of Death; the Savor of Life

by Anthony Esolen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 SPIRITUALITY BEHIND BARS/Observing the Festal Day

by Marcellus Allen Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 URBI ET ORBI: CATHOLICISM AND ORTHODOXY Icon/St. Paul of Thebes

by Robert Wiesner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 East-West Watch/Dark clouds overshadow oldest Christian monastery

by Peter Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 News from the East/Gaza ceasefire “spark of hope”; Catholic-Orthodox Dialog Commission; Vance questions Bartholmew’s ‘autocephaly’ decision; Ukrainian Orthodox Church now illegal

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 FEATURES Art/A Once-in-a-Lifetime Exhibbitin of Beato Angelico

by Lucy Gordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Lord of the World/When Rome falls, the world falls

by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Vatican Watch/A Day-by-day Chronicle of Vatican Events: August, September and October, 2025

by ITV staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 People/Meloni hails St. Francis holiday; Pope marks 70th birthday; China tightens control; Cardinal: Fiducia Supplicans a “bad chapter”; Angelicum’s new Catholic Social Thought series

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Food for Thought/Pizza books make great Christmas gifts

by Lucy Gordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

PROFOUND & PROVOCATIVE CONVERSION STORIES ◆ INTO THE DEEP Abigail Favale

◆ THE TWO

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Matthew Wiseman

his book traces one woman’s spiritual odyssey from birthright evangelicalism through postmodern feminism and, ultimately, into the Roman Catholic Church. As a college student, she experienced a feminist awakening that reshaped her life and faith. A decade later, on the verge of atheism, she found herself entering the oldest male-helmed institution on the planet—the last place she expected to be.

With humor and insight, Favale describes her gradual exodus from evangelicalism and surprising swerve into Catholicism. She writes candidly about grappling with wounds from her past, Catholic sexual morality, the male priesthood, and an interfaith marriage. A thoroughly 21st century conversion and compelling account of recovering an ancient faith after a decade of doubt.

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—Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., Best-selling Author and Philosophy Professor “A beautifully written story of conversion. In this raw and compelling narrative, Favale reminds us that, in the most mysterious of ways, God’s grace can reach all of us.”

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◆ THE GENESIS OF GENDER

Weaving personal experience with expert knowledge, 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.

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JERUSALEMS

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he moving story of a young man’s amazing journey to discover the roots of the Christian faith in the Ancient Near East, which led him from Protestantism through the Messianic movement and into the Catholic Church. This journey took him to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea, the Nożyk Synagogue in Warsaw, and the Judean Desert and into the heart of ancient Jewish tradition: the Hebrew Bible.

Through it all, Wiseman’s relentless desire for truth and consistency kept him searching until he discovered the “beauty ever ancient, ever new”. His powerful stor y is like a course in fundamental theology, in compelling narrative form.

T J P . . . Sewn Softcover, $18.95 “A groundbreaking book that could change the lives of traditional Jews, Messianic Jews, Protestant Christians, and wavering Catholics. Highly recommended!” Ronda Chervin, Ph.D., Philosophy Professor and Hebrew Catholic “Wiseman’s journey is worthy of the Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem. An absorbing, challenging, and ultimately inspiring read.” —Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Author, There and Back Again

Also available ◆ SALVATION IS FROM THE JEWS Roy Schoeman Traces the role of Judaism and the Jewish people in God's plan for the salvation of mankind, from Abraham through the Second Coming, as revealed by the Catholic faith and by a thoughtful examination of history.

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[Re: Moynihan Letter #69, October 10, 2025: Pope Leo XIV] It is, as I suspected but still hoped against, revealing a Pope leaning much in the ways of Francis. He will lose many of the faithful because of this.

Does he not know that America sends billions to impoverished nations (which their governments squander), and that we lay faithful lend our hearts and treasure to the poor directly or through ministries like Cross Catholic or A Woman’s Haven and many others. The Church’s botched (and often corrupt) Catholic Charities attempts to aid immigration included bringing millions into the nation without real vetting, but much worse, became a highway for sex trafficking, human trafficking of women and children and allowing violent criminals in who have raped and murdered our people.

He lives in the Vatican, safely protected by much security and by walls. Many would come to his rescue if needed. This is not an ideal platform for him to speak to us about immigration, while he is safely enclosed in the Vatican gardens and palace.

His revealing answer regarding Cupich and Durbin as well as this document reveal a very disheartening and out-of-touch vision for us.

So discouraging.

Mary P Jones marypatriciajones@gmail.com

DEFEnDInG CUPICH Regarding Pope Leo’s apparent defense of Cardinal Cupich of Chicago’s attempt to give abortion proponent Senator Richard Durbin a “lifetime achievement” award: Durbin, a lifelong Illinois pol, has hovered between being the second and fourth most powerful Senator in the country for the past 10 years — and yet he does not use that power to even seek compromise with pro-life groups in the Senate or here.

I had great hope for the new Pope, a “Chicago guy” who American Catholics, especially those of us in Illinois, could relate to and who could relate to us. This is

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my first disappointment. I expect things like this from Cupich, a disgrace to the Church in my opinion, but I had greater expectations for Leo. Be well and keep fighting the good fight.

By the way, I saw your book, Finding Vigano, in our church library today. Think I will read it.

Joe Piombino j.piombino1@gmail.com

BEnEVACAnTISM Every so often, I am in contact with individuals who espouse what is called “Benevacantism,” the belief that the result of the 2013 conclave was invalid, due to outside interference in the papal election and the purported heterodoxy of Jorge Maria Bergoglio. Thus they consider Pope Francis an antipope.

A probable solution to the dilemma posed by Benevacantism may have been the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost, our new Holy Father, as Pope Leo XIV, on May 8, 2025, where he reportedly obtained over 100 votes on the fourth ballot.

There were 133 cardinal electors, of whom 25 had been appointed by either Pope John Paul II or Benedict — who are not in dispute by “Benevacantists” as cardinals who have been validly appointed, thus having the right to vote in a papal election.

If a minimum of two thirds of those voted for Prevost, which would be 17 (in the absence of interference as had been alleged for Francis), he would have been validly elected from a “Benevacantist” perspective — a likely scenario based on the expressed enthusiasm by this demographic of cardinals (for instance, that of Cardinal Vinko Puljić, the longest-serving voting cardinal) and their relatively small number.

The fact that Prevost, as a cardinal, had “incorrect” bona fides – having been appointed such by Francis in 2023 – is not problematic, as the only prerequisites needed to be elected Pope is that one be a baptized Catholic and a male.

Andrew Rabel Hawthorn Vic AUSTRALIA 3122

GAYS AnD SEMInARIES The high school seminaries should all be closed.

The age spread of current seminarians corresponds with my research that more closeted gays are being ordained in their late 20s and 30s with the goal of being able to continue living in the closet comfortably by becoming priests.

However, because the pool of candidates is so small (today 2.0% of Americans self-identify as gay) it makes sense that numbers are going down. Also, the fact that gays can marry legally has also impacted the recruitment and ordination of gays today.

Projection: More parish closures and seminaries as well. Remember, there is only one seminary left today in all of Ireland.

Gene Thomas Gomulka genegomulka@gmail.com

MUSIC AnD THE ARTS How did it happen that I’m fearful of making the sign of the cross in public, or saying I’m Catholic in case I draw criticism? How is it that we think the church is unscientific or passé when science was created and advanced by Church greats such as St. Albert the Great, St. Bonaventure, Copernicus, Blaise Pascal, and on and on?

And it was the church who laid the foundation for the arts – just go to Rome or Florence! And now I read in ITV about how musical notation was founded by the Church.

It is the 500th anniversary of Palestrina and his foundation of modern music, Gregorian Chant. How can we possibly cower in fear when we are part of such amazing work of God. Carmen Fojo fojo.carm@gmail.com

THE NOVUS ORDO In Christo et Maria! I just finished listening to everything you and Fr. Murr discussed regarding Vatican II. FYI, I 100% concur with what you said and the view of Archbishop Vigano about Vatican II. Like you, I respect Fr. Murr and agree with him on many things, but what he fails to see and admit about Vatican II is the fact that it was literally “hijacked” by a group of extremely “liberal” German bishops in

unison with powerful Freemason prelates, such as Archbishop Annibale Bugnini.

Padre Pio informed Pope Paul VI that the Novus Ordo Mass was “offensive” to Our Lord & Our Lady. By definition, the Novus Ordo Mass that abandoned & destroyed the Roman Rite is obviously “invalid!” The only thing that’s “valid’ about what occurs at a “Novus Ordo Mass” is when the priest says the words of Consecration over the hosts and the wine and changes them into the Body and Blood of Jesus, that’s it!

Lawrence Welch Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

CHARLIE KIRK [Re: Letter #64, 2025, September 11: The murder of Charlie Kirk] I am surprised you didn’t mention that Charlie Kirk’s wife Erika is Catholic and attends St Bernadette’s in Scottsdale, Arizona, to which Charlie accompanied her twice a month on average.

I joined their rosary rally last evening and they briefly referred to the family’s attendance there.

He was also very interested in the Blessed Mother.

Mary Ann Novak mnovak9619@yahoo.com

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Date of Filing: October 1, 2025. 4. Frequency of Issue: Bi-monthly, with occasional special supplements. 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: six 6.

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488 425 H. Total (Sum of G, H1 and H2) 4,095 3,854 I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 90.27% 90.96% 16. Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November/December 2025 issue of this Publication. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THE MASS AnD CALVARY This is an error, Dr. Moynihan: “The Mass is, essentially, a sacred ritual dating back the Jesus Himself, a ritual which, in words and actions, recalls the Last Supper, which occurred on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion.”

The Mass is, essentially, the representation of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary - which He foreshadowed at the Last Supper.

John Myler jtm300@aol.com [The Editor responds: Fr. John, I agree with you.

But note: we celebrate the Institution of the Eucharist as a commemoration of the Last Supper. At that Last Supper, Jesus took bread and wine, and said “This is my body,” and “This is my blood,” and, He said, “Do this in memory of me.”

Of course, his disciples and we soon came to understand that he was already at that moment foreseeing the sacrifice of the next day, so, the first celebration of the Eucharist, which he asked us to re-enact “in memory of me” was, in a sense, prior to the fact.

But that is what you are saying.

But, that also is why I wrote that the Eucharist and the Mass recall the Last Supper.

I should have added: “which itself was celebrated in expectation of the sacrificial and saving events of the next day.”—RM]

CHAnGE OF ERA I often wrestle with Pope Benedict’s emphasis against Relativism. This issue is a touchy one because as Pope Francis said, we are in a “change of era.” Pope Leo has signaled his approach by making Cardinal Newman a Doctor of the Church — the author of “An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine.”

As you said, “the new creation....is not yet fully manifested.” So while complete relativism is a mistake, so also is the idea that words formulated in one era, always and everywhere mean the same thing, no matter the effect of a change of era.

I believe we all need to wrestle with the impact of our change of era. We have generations of experience that the meanings of words can lead to arguments and deep divisions. I believe that the mission of our times is to reconcile

divisions. We all need to pray and be open to the Holy Spirit, and recognize our role in what is “not yet fully manifested.” That may involve some development of doctrine, or “evolution” of doctrine, but it will certainly involve love for Jesus and one another. May we proceed with openness, hope and love.

Robert Graf, D.Min. Springfield, Virginia, USA

THE HOLY SPIRIT I came upon this in your book about Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, Guarding The Flame ... “If we think of China, India, Africa, there are millions of people, at least in the past and perhaps even today, who are not baptized and have not even heard the Gospel, but can we imagine that they give, I don’t know, food to those who hunger?”

I asked Jesus about this, about those who have not even heard the Gospel, and He said: “My Holy Spirit falls where He wills.” To me, that meant that the Holy Spirit is very much working among many.

Claudia Person personcm@comcast.com

Roman Catholic Birthright, I saw no balance whatsoever. Novus Ordo bad, TLM perfect, end of story. No sense of any possible unintended consequences of keeping the liturgy mostly untouched for centuries, even though man himself was changing, and changing radically.

If the goal of the liturgy is our transformation (which it is: see Ratzinger’s Spirit of the Liturgy), then we should not be afraid to ask the question: Are there any changes in the liturgy that would make it more effective in our transformation? It is the perfect sacrifice to the Father on our behalf.

I am not saying the Novus Ordo is a perfect liturgy; clearly much was lost.

However, to not even be able to consider that there were real unintended consequences in celebrating the TLM exclusively shows a lack of intellectual honesty. I find reading Dr. Kwasniewski as balanced as a radical Trump supporter who thinks he can do no wrong.

Tim Keller tim@progressivelanguage.com

CHAnGE In nAME, MAn “THE REAL PRESEnCE” I think I mentioned my film project to you while we were in Rome, “The Real Presence: The Mass,” which shows what happens visibly and invisibly at every Catholic Mass, with narration by some well-known Catholic speakers.

It premiered on EWTN on Holy Thursday.

We are now trying to market it to get as many people to watch it and share it as possible. It is free on YouTube or on our website, www.TheRealPresence.com.

If you like it, would you please share it with as many other people as you can and encourage them to share it as well. If people really understood what we do at Mass, they could never leave the Catholic Church. I believe that this film can also draw non-Catholics to the Church.

Joe Helow jhelow@bellsouth.net

UnTOUCHED LITURGY [Re: Moynihan Letter #57, 2025, August 15, Feast of the Assumption: Archimandrite Boniface Luykx] Thanks for the article, always a fascinating topic.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski isn’t particularly neutral on this topic, nor, I don’t believe, balanced. After reading his Reclaiming Our

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[Re: Moynihan Letter #54, 2025, July 29: Who Leo is...and why he needs us] I enjoyed the story about your encounter at the Pope’s summer residence since we visited there on our Christmas pilgrimage.

I found the story of the Great Debate interesting; however, I put very little credence in someone that was excommunicated [former Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò]. I appreciated the balance you added with your perspective and the letter from then-Bishop Provost. The relating of the name-changing was very interesting, as I can’t imagine the changes a mere man would undergo when being elected Pope.

Roger Youngblut Davenport, Iowa, USA

VIGAnÒ nO ARCHBISHOP First, thank you for your continued reporting on the papacy. Your observations and spirituality are a blessing on those of us trying to make sense of the inner workings of the Church we call home.

I hope, therefore, that you will receive the following in the spirit of humility in which is it offered, and if you disagree or take issue with it, know that I am not offended in the least.

Over the years you have given voice to former Archbishop Viganò. While he was in communion with the Church, giving him a voice to express a viewpoint, however valid or invalid it may have been, was in my estimation appropriate journalism for a publication with a mission such as yours.

But Viganò is no longer in communion with the church, and referring to him as “Archbishop” is borderline scandalous.

It connotes that you do not recognize the action taken by the Church in his regard. I recognize that following his statement, you provided counter points, but I do not believe that this justifies providing a soapbox for a dangerous, schismatic excommunicant.

Vigano’s comments and agenda are given amplification by their inclusion in your Letters, which enjoy great prestige and trust among your readership, and are therefore a grave disservice to them.

I implore you with great urgency to discontinue providing this man — not an Archbishop! — the favor of attention in your Letters and publications.

John S. Brennan Chicago, Illinois, USA

WILLED BY GOD? A quotation from the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” (signed by Francis): “Freedom is a right of every person, each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race, language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings...Therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected too...”

The disturbing sentence is “The pluralism and the diversity of religions...are willed by God in His wisdom...”

So, if God in His wisdom willed the diversity of religions, then why did God send His Son? Why did God’s Son become Incarnate and teach of God His Father, suffer cruelly because of His insistence that that which He, God’s only Begotten Son, was teaching was and is the Truth?

Speaking of diversity of religions, Islam was established denying Who Jesus Christ is, professing that Islam has the faith of Abraham but that Ishmael, not Isaac, was the son God wanted Abraham to sacrifice and therefore Ishmael was the son of

promise...thereby Islam established itself as not worshipping the Living Triune God. Pope Francis, and now Pope Leo XIV, agree with the wording in the above document. I wonder if they read it.

Pope Leo has the responsibility to fulfill the mission that Jesus gave His Apostles.

Care for the earth will happen as people come to know and receive God’s Son. Claudia Person personcm@comcast.com

FROM PRISOnERS I want to thank you for the gift subscription I received during Covid and again for another year. I enjoy the wellwritten and researched articles, especially those on Marian devotion and doctrine. I share knowledge I gain and donate issues to other inmates who express an interest in the Faith.

I now come to you with my hand held out to ask for another gift subscription.

Thanks to you and your generous donors.

Charles A. Watson #166223 North Central Unit 10 Prison Circle Calico Rock, Arizona 72519 I respectfully request a free subscription to your magazine. I got a hold of the August-September 2016 issue and have fallen in love with it. I would highly appreciate it.

Andres Hernandez BA5417 H-1-36 San Quentin Rehabilitation Center San Quentin, California 94974 I am a brand new convert to Catholicism from Protestantism. I am hoping you would be gracious enough to send me any free resources and/or a subscription to help me grow in the Catholic faith. Thank you so much.

Nathaniel Kyles # 18680-042 Federal Correctional Complex Yazoo Low 1 P.O. Box 5000 Yazoo City, Mississippi 39194 I would like to comment on something a reader wrote last year, only because I am seeing a trend. The reader was outraged that a priest went and prayed at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

People are so blinded by hate that they lose sight of what being a Christian is.

1)Why become upset that the Church would pray for and offer a blessing of one of God’s creatures? 2) We are not supposed to judge one another; 3) What do our republic and constitutional norms have to do with the man’s soul? 4) People criticize Trump for mass deportations, but none of them spoke up about former President Biden’s support for abortion, same sex marriage, etc.

When we lose sight of our spiritual goals, the enemy has a way of controlling our emotions, especially as we ignore God. Smart Comm/Paboc Vincent Buce NB8620 P.O. Box 33028 St. Petersburg, Florida 33733 I am a Greek Orthodox inmate in Florida who has been receiving a donated subscription, but I have been moved a few times recently and have not been able to provide a stable address. Now I am able to once again receive a subscription if you are able to send me one.

Thank you for your generosity.

Donald Sprinkle # P27187 ACI West Unit 52 West Unit Drive Sneads, FLorida 32460 Please join me in continually praying with our Mother Mary’s Immaculate Heart for peace between Russia and Ukraine, and that communion my be restored between our currently separated churches, Orthodox and Catholic.

Let us pray with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s Sacred Heart that we will be one as our Triune is One. Thuan Duc Vu # 1396661/Ramsey 1100 FM 655 Rosharon, Texas 77583

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PoPe Leo Canonizes Two Young Men: Pier giorgio FrassaTi and CarLo aCuTis We, too, can make our lives “masterpieces of holiness” like theirs, the pope tells 80,000 faithful in st. peter’s n BY VATICAn nEWS

Addressing over eighty thousand faithful filling Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, September 7, for the Mass with the canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, Pope Leo XIV said the examples of these two young Saints invite all of us, especially young people, to direct our lives upwards to God and make them masterpieces of holiness, service, and joy.

P

residing over the Mass and canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to their extraordinary witnesses to faith, hope, and trust in God, and to the Lord’s great plan for eternal joy and happiness. The Pope declared the two young Italians Saints at the start of the celebration on a stunningly beautiful late summer day, Sunday 7 September.

In his homily, the Pope reflected on the extraordinary witness of both new Saints.

Recalling words from the first Sunday reading from the Book of Wisdom, the Pope observed that, like King Solomon, these young men sought the gift of wisdom to better understand God’s plans for our lives and world, and follow them faithfully. And in doing so, they used their gifts to bring others

12 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

to God through their example, words, and actions.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to us of God’s plan, to which we must commit wholeheartedly, abandoning ourselves “without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us, with the intelligence and strength that comes from his Spirit,” the Pope recalled. Young people often face crossroads in their lives and have to make difficult choices, the Pope observed; and, recalling the example of Francis of Assisi, he pointed out that the Saint opted for “the wonderful story of holiness that we all know, stripping himself of everything to follow the Lord, living in poverty and preferring the love of his brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and smallest, to his father’s gold, silver, and precious fabrics.”

Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, September 7, for the Mass with the canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis.

On the facade of the Basilica are two tapestries depicting the new saints.

(Photos - Grzegorz Galazka)

Saying “yes” to God So many saints down through history have made similar courageous choices, looking up to God, and, while they were very young, the Pope recalled, offering their “yes” to God, giving themselves complete to Him, “keeping nothing for themselves.” The Pope recalled how Saint Augustine felt a voice deep within him that said: “I want you”, and “God gave him a new direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost.”

Pier Giorgo Frassati, beacon for lay spirituality Describing the life of Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian man of the early 20th century, his participation in Catholic associations and service to the poor, the Pope said that also today “Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality,” since faith was not a private matter and could be lived in community in with membership in ecclesial associations and through generous commitment to political life and service to the poor.

Carlo Acutis, witness of holiness in simplicity Speaking about the witness of young Italian Saint Carlo Acutis, a teenager of our own day, the Pope spoke about how he encountered Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia, recalling their presence at this celebration along with his two siblings, Francesca and Michele. Saint Carlo also found and lived his faith through school, but especially the sacraments cele-

brated in the parish community, the Pope went on to say, noting how “he grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and young man.”

Daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic Adoration, marked the lives of Saints Pier Giorgio and Carlo in cultivating their love for God and neighbor through simple acts of charity, the Pope said. And even as illness struck both of them, cutting their lives short, they continued to bear witness to hope and offer themselves to God, the Pope added, recalling how Pier Giorgio once said: “The day of my death will be the most beautiful day of my life”; and how young Carlo often remarked that “heaven has always been waiting for us, and that to love tomorrow is to give the best of our fruit today.”

Making “masterpieces” of our lives In conclusion, Pope Leo underscored how both Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis invite everyone, “especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces.”

“They encourage us with their words: “Not I, but God,” as Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: “If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end.” This is the simple but winning formula of their holiness. It is also the type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven.” m

Pier GiorGio Frassati: John Paul ii’s “Man oF the Beatitudes”

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t. Pier Giorgio Frassati is a saint for the modern world, and especially for young people. Born in 1901 in Turin, Italy, his time on earth was short— only 24 years—but he filled it passionately with holy living. Pier Giorgio was a model of virtue, a “man of the beatitudes,” as Pope John Paul II called him at his beatification ceremony in 1990. He was described by friends as “an explosion of joy.” As Pier Giorgio’s sister, Luciana, says in her biography of her brother, “He represented the finest in Christian youth: pure, happy, enthusiastic about everything that is good and beautiful.”

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Pier GiorGio Frassati and Carlo aCutis

To our modern world which is prestige of his family. Instead, he often burdened by cynicism and lived simply and gave away food, angst, Pier Giorgio’s life offers a money, or anything that anyone brilliant contrast, a life rich in asked of him. It is suspected that meaning, purpose, and peace dehe contracted from the very peorived from faith in God. From the ple to whom he was ministering in earliest age, and despite two unrethe slums the polio that would kill ligious parents who misunderhim. stood and disapproved of his piety Even as Pier Giorgio lay dying, and intense interest in Catholihis final week of rapid physical cism, Pier Giorgio placed Christ deterioration was an exercise in first in all that he did. These heroic virtue. His attention was parental misunderstandings, turned outward toward the needs which were very painful to him, of others and he never drew attenpersisted until the day of his sudtion to his anguish, especially den death of polio. However, he since his own grandmother was bore this treatment patiently, dying at the same time he was. silently, and with great love.

Pier Giorgio’s heart was surrenPier Giorgio prayed daily, ofdered completely to God’s will for fering, among other prayers, a him. His last concern was for the daily rosary on his knees by his Bottom, Karol Wojtyla, on the thirtieth anniversary of poor. On the eve of his death, with bedside. Often his agnostic father the beatification of Pier Giorgio Frassati, which took a paralyzed hand, he scribbled a place on 20 May 1990 during his pontificate. would find him asleep in this pomessage to a friend, reminding sition. “He gave his whole self, the friend not to forget the injecboth in prayer and in action, in tions for Converso, a poor man service to Christ,” Luciana FrasPier Giorgio had been assisting. sati writes. After Pier Giorgio When news of Pier Giorgio’s began to attend Jesuit school as a death on July 4, 1925 reached the boy, he received a rare permission neighborhood and city, the Frasin those days to take communion sati parents, who had no idea daily. “Sometimes he passed about the generous self-donation whole nights in Eucharistic adoraof their young son, were astontion.” For Pier Giorgio, Christ was ished by the sight of thousands of the answer. Therefore, all of his people crowded outside their action was oriented toward Christ mansion on the day of their son’s joke, either. He relished laughter and began first in contemplation of and good humor. funeral Mass and burial. The poor, Him. With this interest in the balAs Luciana points out, “Catholic the lonely, and those who had been ance of contemplation and action, it social teaching could never remain touched by Pier Giorgio’s love and is no wonder Pier Giorgio was simply a theory with [Pier Gior- faithful example had come to pay drawn in 1922 at the age of 21 to the gio].” He set his faith concretely homage to this luminous model of Fraternities of St. Dominic, and be- into action through spirited political Christian living. came a Third Order lay Dominican. activism during the Fascist period in Pier Giorgio’s mortal remains Pier Giorgio was handsome, vi- World War I Italy. He lived his faith, were found incorrupt in 1981 and brant, and natural. These attractive too, through discipline with his were transferred from the family characteristics drew people to him. school work, which was a tremen- tomb in the cemetery of Pollone to He had many good friends and he dous cross for him as he was a poor the Cathedral of Turin. shared his faith with them with ease student.

St. Pier Giorgio was called by and openness. He engaged himself Pope John Paul II, who beatified Most notably, however, Pier in many different apostolates. Pier Giorgio lived his faith through con- him in 1990, a “Man of the BeatiGiorgio also loved sports. He was stant, humble, mostly hidden ser- tudes.” Thirty-five years later, he an avid outdoorsman and loved hik- vice to the poorest of Turin. Al- has joined the canon of Catholic ing, riding horses, skiing, and though Pier Giorgio grew up in a saints.

(The Frassati Fellowship, mountain climbing. He was never privileged environment, he never New York City) one to pass on playing a practical lorded over anyone the wealth and 14 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

Carlo aCutis: the First “Milennial” saint

C

arlo Acutis was born Carlo’s love for the EuMay 3, 1991, in Loncharist formed his mother’s don, where his parown devotion to the Sacraents were working. Just a ment. few months later, his par“The source of the sanctity ents, Andrea Acutis and Anof Carlo was the Eucharist. tonia Salzano, moved to He used to say the Eucharist Milan. is my highway to heaven,” As a teenager, Carlo was said Antonia. diagnosed with leukemia.

Nicola Gori, the postulator He offered his sufferings for of Acutis’ cause for saintPope Benedict XVI and for Bottom, Assisi, October 10, 2020. Sanctuary of the Renunciation. hood, said that Carlo loved The body of Carlo Acutis is displayed on the occasion of his the Church, saying “I offer God in such a way that invitbeatification under the pontificate of Pope Francis. all the suffering I will have ed others, especially those to suffer for the Lord, for the closest to him, to share in the Pope, and the Church.”

Eucharistic feast.

He died on October 12, “Just think, he managed to 2006, and was buried in Asdrag his relatives, his parents sisi, at his request, because to Mass every day. It was not of his love for St. Francis of the other way around; it was Assisi. not his parents bringing the His cause for canonization little boy to Mass, but it was began in 2013. He was desighe who managed to get himnated “Venerable” in 2018, self to Mass and to convince and designated “Blessed” Ocothers to receive Communion tober 10. daily,” Gori told EWTN Carlo Acutis is the first News. for advice, who connected her with millennial to be beatified.

Before Carlo, Antonia said that From a young age, Carlo seemed a priest, who encouraged her to take she went to Mass only for her first to have a special love for God, even classes to further her Catholic faith. Holy Communion, confirmation and Before that, she «was quite igno- marriage. though his parents weren’t especially devout. “I was not the ideal model rant in the faith things,» she said.

But by Carlo’s exemplary love Through the working of a priest for the Eucharist, “I started to go to of a Catholic mother,” Antonia told she met through her classes, Carlo Mass again,” Antonia said. “And CNA. Like many, Antonia’s faith was was able to receive his first Holy this was actually because of Carlo. formed more by a culture of Communion at just seven years old– Carlo for me was a sort of little savCatholicism than actual catechesis. after which he never missed daily ior.”

But Carlo’s example challenged her. Mass, even while their family travAs a young child, Carlo also She reached out to a faithful friend eled. loved to pray the Rosary. After he NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 15

LEAD STORY

Pier GiorGio Frassati and Carlo aCutis

made his First Communion, he went to Mass as often as he could, and he made Holy Hours before or after Mass. He went to Confession weekly.

He asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages — to the places of the saints, and to the sites of Eucharistic miracles.

He was known for defending kids at school who got picked on, especially disabled kids. When a friend’s parents were getting a divorce, Carlo made a special effort to include his friend in the Acutis family life.

“He was also a normal child!» his mother said. «He used to play with the Playstation. But he forced himself to play once a week only for one hour because he didn’t want to become a slave to these technological games. He wanted to be free.”

And he promoted Eucharistic miracles, especially through a website he built to promote them.

On the site, he told people that “the more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”

When Carlo became ill with leukemia, his life of faith increased.

He was intentional about offering up his suffering for the Church, the Pope, and for people who were suffering with illness.

For Carlo, this highest good of all was God and his will for his life.

“Happiness is looking towards God,” he said. “Sadness is looking towards yourself.” One of his bestknown pieces of wisdom says it all: “God and not me.” In Italian, the phrase has an even greater effect: “Dio, non io.” He also said, “Money is only ragged paper. . . . What counts in life is the nobility of the soul, that is, the way that one loves God and loves one’s neighbor.”

(Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA)

CANONIZATIONS OF THE BLESSED: PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI and CARLO ACUTIS

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV St. Peter’s Square - September 7, 2025 Photo - Grzegorz Galazka

(Impromptu remarks before Holy Mass and the Rite of Canonization:) Good morning, everyone! Happy Sunday and welcome! Thank you! rothers and sisters, today is a wonderful feast for all of Italy, for the whole Church, for the whole world!

Before beginning the solemn celebration of the Canonization, I wanted to greet you all and say a few words, because, while the celebration is very solemn, it is also a day of great joy! I wished especially to greet the many young people who have come for this Holy Mass! It is truly a blessing from the Lord to be here together with all of you who have come from different countries. It is truly a gift of faith that we want to share.

After Holy Mass, if you can be patient for a little while, I hope to come and greet you in the Square. So, if you are far away now, let us hope that we can at least greet each other afterwards. I greet the families of the two Blesseds, soon to be Saints, the official Delegations, the many bishops and priests who have come. Let us give all of them a round of applause; and thank you for being here, consecrated men and women, and Catholic Action!

Let us prepare ourselves prayerfully for this liturgical celebration, with

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16 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

open hearts, and truly desire to receive this grace from the Lord. Let each of us also feel in our hearts what Pier Giorgio and Carlo experienced, namely this love for Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist, but also in the poor, in our brothers and sisters.

All of you, all of us too, are called to be Saints. May God bless you! Enjoy this celebration! Thank you for being here! *** Dear brothers and sisters, n the first reading, we heard a question: [Lord,] “who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” (Wis 9:17). This question comes after two young Blesseds, Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, were proclaimed saints, and this is providential because in the Book of Wisdom, this question is attributed to a young man like them: King Solomon.

Upon the death of his father David, he realized that he had many things: power, wealth, health, youth, beauty, and the entire kingdom. It was precisely this great abundance of resources that raised a question in his heart: “What must I do so that nothing is lost?” Solomon understood that the only way to find an answer was to ask God for an even greater gift, that of his wisdom, so that he might know God’s

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plans and follow them faithfully. He realized, in fact, that only in this way would everything find its place in the Lord’s great plan. Yes, because the greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan.

Jesus, too, in the Gospel, speaks to us of a plan to which we must commit wholeheartedly. He says: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:27); and again: “none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (v. 33). He calls us to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us, with the intelligence and strength that comes from his Spirit, that we can receive to the extent that we empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to his word.

Many young people, over the centuries, have had to face this crossroad in their lives. Think of Saint Francis of Assisi, like Solomon, he too was young and rich, thirsty for glory and fame. That is why he went to war, hoping to be knighted and adorned with honors. But Jesus appeared to him along the way and asked him to reflect on what he was doing. Coming to his senses, he asked God a simple question: “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Legend of the Three Companions, cap. II: Fonti Francescane, 1401). From there, he changed his life and began to write a different story: the wonderful story of holiness that we all know, stripping himself of everything to follow the Lord (cf.

Lk 14:33), living in poverty and preferring the love of his brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and smallest, to his father’s gold, silver and precious fabrics.

How many similar saints we could recall! Sometimes we portray them as great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said “yes” to God and gave themselves to him completely, keeping nothing for themselves. Saint Augustine recounts that, in the “tortuous and tangled knot” of his life, a voice deep within him said: “I want you” (Confessions, II, 10,18).

God gave him a new direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost.

In this setting, today we look to Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati and Saint Carlo

Acutis: a young man from the early 20th century and a teenager from our own day, both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for him.

Pier Giorgio encountered the Lord through school and church groups — Catholic Action, the Conferences of Saint Vincent, the FUCI (Italian Catholic University Federation), the Dominican Third Order — and he bore witness to God with his joy of living and of being a Christian in prayer, friendship and charity. This was so evident that seeing him walking the streets of Turin with carts full of supplies for the poor, his friends renamed him “Frassati Impresa Trasporti” (Frassati Transport CompaThe stamp issued by the Vatican Post Office on the occasion of Frassati's canonization.

Below, two pages from the website "Eucharistic Miracles in the World," conceived and created by Carlo Acutis.

ny)! Even today, Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality. For him, faith was not a private devotion, but it was driven by the power of the Gospel and his membership in ecclesial associations. He was also generously committed to society, contributed to political life and devoted himself ardently to the service of the poor.

Carlo, for his part, encountered Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia — who are here today with his two siblings, Francesca and Michele — and then at school, and above all in the sacraments celebrated in the parish community. He grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and young man.

Both Pier Giorgio and Carlo cultivated their love for God and for their brothers and sisters through simple acts, available to everyone: daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic Adoration. Carlo used to say: “In front of the sun, you get a tan. In front of the Eu-

charist, you become a saint!” And again: “Sadness is looking at yourself; happiness is looking at God. Conversion is nothing more than shifting your gaze from below to above; a simple movement of the eyes is enough.” Another essential practice for them was frequent Confession. Carlo wrote: “The only thing we really have to fear is sin;” and he marveled because — in his own words — “people are so concerned with the beauty of their bodies and do not care about the beauty of their souls.” Finally, both had a great devotion to the saints and to the Virgin Mary, and they practiced charity generously. Pier Giorgio said: “Around the poor and the sick, I see a light that we do not have” (Nicola Gori, Al prezzo della vita: L’Osservatore romano, 11 February 2021). He called charity “the foundation of our religion” and, like Carlo, he practiced it above all through small, concrete gestures, often hidden, living what Pope Francis called “a holiness found in our next-door neighbors” (Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, 7).

Even when illness struck them and cut short their young lives, not even this stopped them nor prevented them from loving, offering themselves to God, blessing him and praying to him for themselves and for everyone. One day Pier Giorgio said: “The day of my death will be the most beautiful day of my life” (Irene Funghi, I giovani assieme a Frassati: un compagno nei nostri cammini tortuosi: Avvenire, 2 agosto 2025). In his last photo, which shows him climbing a mountain in the Val di Lanzo, with his face turned towards his goal, he wrote: “Upwards” (Ibid). Moreover, Carlo, who was even younger than Pier Giorgio, loved to say that heaven has always been waiting for us, and that to love tomorrow is to give the best of our fruit today.

Dear friends, Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces. They encourage us with their words: “Not I, but God,” as Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: “If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end.” This is the simple but winning formula of their holiness. It is also the type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven. n

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 17

INTERVIEW

Fr. JuAn gutierrez: “i don’t think i hAve the FAith For something like this” And yet this young priest wAs indeed heAled through pier giorgio FrAssAti’s intercession — A heAling thAt pAved the wAy to pier giorgio’s cAnonizAtion n BY AnDREW RABEL* Vatican City, September 7,2025. in St. Peter’s Square, Leo XIV greets Fr. Juan Gutierrez, assistant pastor at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church in Los Angeles. He received a miraculous healing through the intercession of Pier Giorgio Frassati, whose canonization he was there to witness.

Opposite page, in the days preceding the canonization, the body of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was exposed in the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva for the veneration of the faithful.

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r. Juan Gutierrez, 38, is as a seminarian, the Lord assistant pastor at St. “I PERSONALLY DID NOT WANT TO BE allowed me to discover that I Frances Xavier Cabrini A PRIEST. BUT THROUGH MY YEARS was born to be a priest.

Church in Los Angeles. He was in Rome earlier this month OF PREPARATION, WITH PRAYER, WITH How did your injury come to attend the joint canonization WORKING WITH GOD’S PEOPLE...THE about? of Carlo Acutis and Pier GiorWell, it was the evening of LORD ALLOWED ME TO DISCOVER September gio Frassati. An immigrant 25, 2017, when I THAT I WAS BORN TO BE A PRIEST” from Mexico, he received a was playing basketball at a gym miraculous healing through the near my seminary in Camarillo, intercession of Frassati, which was approved by Pope California. I was running, and I felt as if someone had Francis on November 25, 2024 — and accepted as part tripped me from behind, hitting my right ankle — of the canonization process. though when I turned around, nobody was there. But I ITV correspondent Andrew Rabel, also in Rome for had heard the sound of a “pop” when it happened. the canonizations, was able to interview Fr. Gutierrez, Immediately after, I couldn’t walk normally. The folwho described in depth the circumstances of the miralowing day at a nearby emergency room, x-rays cle. revealed there were no broken bones; they sent me home with painkillers for a muscle strain.

The first question I want to ask is, what made you After two weeks, I was not showing signs of decide to become a Catholic priest? improvement. It was October 13 that I called my primaFR. JUAN GUTIERREZ: It was a journey of discernment ry care physician, and eventually an MRI on October 31 and even fighting with the Lord, because I personally showed that I had actually torn my Achilles tendon. did not want to be a priest. But through my years of Surgery was recommended to repair the tendon. preparation at the seminary, with the help of my forma“You’re still a young man,” my doctor said. (I was 31 at tors, with prayer, with working with the people of God the time.) The whole process — from surgery, to 10 or 18

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

14 days of rest, to cast removal and then 6-8 months of physiotherapy, to complete recovery — takes about a year.

completely forgot about my injury. I didn’t wear the brace anymore. But I still kept an already scheduled appointment with the surgeon who was to do the surgery.

How did this miracle take place? And what made you invoke, specifically, Blessed Pier Giorgio FrasWhat happened at that conference with the sursati? geon?

After receiving the surgery recommendation, I startWell, I finished my novena with Pier Giorgio ed to research Achilles tendon surgeries, and that started November 9, and I went to see the surgeon about six to worry me — the long recovery process, and the high days later. When the surgeon came into the room, he rate of infection due to low blood supply to the tendon.

So the following day was November 1: in the Catholic Church, the solemnity of All Saints. I went to Mass, and after Mass I stayed behind to pray. While I was praying, I began to think that maybe I should do a novena to ask for God’s help for my injury. Oftentimes, when I do novenas, I invite a saint to come and pray with me. I received an inspiration to my heart: why don’t you make it to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati?

It was something so simple, so casual, but I thought it was a good idea. So I did. It’s as simple as that. I prayed for a few days, a prayer that I created myself — “Lord, through the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, I ask you to help me with my injury.”

I asked for help with my injury; I didn’t ask for healing. So I prayed every day, and after this prayer, I would started to show me the images “I SAID, ‘LORD, I DON’T THINK ‘do a rosary, and that was it. of my MRI, explaining “This is But one day, I went to the how we know that you have a YOU’RE HEALING ME RIGHT NOW, chapel by myself, nobody was torn Achilles, because there is NOT BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE THE there. And when I was kneelthis gap, like a triangle, that is POWER , BUT BECAUSE I DON ’ T THINK ing down, praying, I started to being filled with blood.” feel, in the area of my feet, a I HAVE THE FAITH FOR THIS...’AND I “Now I’m going to check sensation of heat, which I you myself,” he said. He told FELT UNWORTHY” thought was maybe a fire that me that he was going to squeeze had begun in one of the electrimy calf muscles — apologizing cal outlets near where I was kneeling. I was concerned for the pain it would cause — and if my foot moved, that that the fire would gain momentum with all the books meant the tendon was connected. If it didn’t move, that and the wood of the pews, but I couldn’t find the fire, I meant the tendon was not connected. This test is, to my couldn’t smell anything burning. knowledge, about 70% accurate in detecting a torn Eventually, I realized that the source of the heat was Achilles. the area of my injury. And I myself began to remember So I felt him press my calf, and I heard him just make testimonies I’d heard about, that when someone was a noise: “Hmm.” And that intrigued me. But then he healed, they began to feel a sensation of heat. So I said, went ahead and began to palpate the area, and asked, “Lord, I don’t think you’re healing me right now, not “Do you feel any pain?” And I told him, “No, not pain, because you don’t have the power, but because I don’t just a little soreness.” think I have the faith for something like this.” And I felt Then he said, “Now I will push a lot harder, and unworthy, and I was moved to tears. again, I apologize for any pain, but I need to make sure.”

Eventually I finished my prayer, and went on with So he started to push a lot harder. And he asked me, “Do my normal day. By this point, I had been wearing a you feel any pain?” And I told him, “No. I feel exactly brace on my ankle. But after this prayer in the chapel, I the same.”

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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INTERVIEW FR. JuaN GuTIERREz And I could see him staring at the Though reluctant, I prayed to the Lord floor, puzzled, not saying anything. So that if he wanted me to share my expeI asked him, “Doctor, is everything rience with Monsignor Sarno, I would okay?” And he just looked at me and do so. Eventually, I did. That same day, said, “I don’t think we need to put you he reached out to the Vatican, here in through the surgery anymore,” which Rome. was surprising for me. So I asked him, God put the right people in the right “How come?” And he told me, “Well, places. So Monsignor Sarno requested when I examine you, I am supposed to my permission and the permission of feel the hole, the tear, the gap of the tenArchbishop José Gómez of Los Angedon, and I cannot find it.” les to actually carry out an investigaI myself had been able to feel the gap tion. And both of us said, yes. All for the before, so I knew what he was looking glory of God. for. So the surgeon, knowing that I was a seminarian, looked at me and said, So now it’s eight years later, and “You must have somebody up there Pier Giorgio has been canonized. Do looking after you.” And when he said you still believe it to be a miracle? that, I felt chills just running all over my Yes. One of the things that the Vatibody. I asked him, “Doctor, then is it can looks for in healings like this is that normal for these injuries to close on it is instantaneous, permanent and comtheir own?” And he told me “No. What plete. If one of these three elements is is more common, especially with missing, then it cannot be taken as a ITV correspondent Andrew Rabel, also injuries as old as yours, almost two miraculous healing. That’s why the in Rome for the canonizations, was able months old, is that they will gap. They fact that I didn’t have any need of any to interview Fr. Gutierrez, who described will open even more.” further treatment or physiotherapy in depth the circumstances of the miracle.

I said, “Well, maybe the afterwards also contributes to MRI was wrong, and I didn’t the testimony of the miracu“THE VATICAN LOOKS FOR A really have a torn Achilles.” lousness of this case: my healHEALING TO BE INSTANTANEOUS , And he chuckled a little bit ing was indeed instantaneous, and said, “No. This is the most PERMANENT AND COMPLETE...IF ONE permanent and complete. advanced piece of technology we have! So as of October 31, OF THESE IS MISSING, IT CANNOT BE So here you are in Rome you had a torn Achilles, but TAKEN AS MIRACULOUS. MY HEALING for this event. And what was today I cannot find it.” I asked the canonization like for you?

WAS ALL THREE” him to give me that in writing, It was a ceremony marked and he did. with serenity and peace, and also with beauty and gratSo I went on with my day, being overjoyed in my itude on my behalf. I was listening to Pope Leo making heart, knowing that this was a miracle from God. I used the declaration of Pier Giorgio and Carlo being saints — to call it my “little miracle,” because it’s not a tumor that not to advertise a person, but to give a testimony of has disappeared, or a lost limb that grew back. I knew Christian living. All these things show in our flesh what this was a simple miracle, but a miracle nonetheless — it looks like to be a Christian. This young man was able which I wanted to keep private, not to call attention to to follow Jesus in his youth and make his Christian faith myself. an influence not only for his family and friends, but also for society — because Pier Giorgio was very adamant What made church authorities in Los Angeles get in having Christianity permeate the social life of Italy. involved and eventually reach out to the Vatican?

And these things are taking place right now — more and It wasn’t until 2020 that Monsignor Robert Sarno, more people are starting to discover the testimony and who had just retired from decades in the Dicastery for message of Pier Giorgio which, although he died a hunthe Causes of Saints, came to teach a class at the semidred years ago, are literally current all the same. m nary on how to begin the cause of canonization at the diocesan level. *Andrew Rabel, who hails from Australia, has written By the providence of God, I ended up taking the class for the Catholic press for decades. He is also a only as a favor to a friend. And I began to realize that regular contributor to social media on Catholic maybe what happened to me covered all the requireissues, with a particular interest in saints and in the ments that the Vatican looks for in proving a miracle.

Church's scientific investigation of miracles.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

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ANALYSIS

is pope leo cHarting a definitive course?

Half a year in, observers are trying to clarify tHe direction of leo Xiv’s papacy n BY ROBERT MOYnIHAn Pope Francis's active attention to the issue of global migration is monumentally expressed in the placement of this sculptural group in St. Peter's Square.

In the circles: Chicago Cardinal-Archbishop Blase Cupich, who wanted to honor Senator Richard Durbin, D.-Illinois, as he fully agrees with Pope Francis on this issue.

Facing page circle: former Anglican bishop, Catholic convert and commentator Gavin Ashenden.

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n recent weeks, Leo has spoken out more than in his first weeks as Pope, sometimes raising eyebrows, and sparking sharp criticism: 1) In the summer, he granted his first lengthy interview to a Vatican press corps journalist (Elise Allen of Crux, wife of John Allen, founder of Crux). In these hours of interviews, Pope Leo set forth his position on many contentious issues, sometimes taking more conservative or «traditional» positions, other times in a seemingly more «progressive» way, leaving many observers uncertain about where Leo really would take his stand.

2) More recently, Leo spoke out on the decision of Chicago CardinalArchbishop Blase Cupich’s controversial decision to honor Senator Richard Durbin, D.-Illinois, with a «lifetime service» award, a decision condemned by 10 US bishops (Senator Durbin decided to withdraw himself from consideration for the award).

Here is a portion of a September 30 account of this controversy by Catholic News Agency writers 22

Valentina Di Donato and Madalaine Elhabbal: “Several U.S. bishops condemned Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich’s plans to honor U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, with a ‘lifetime achievement award’ for his work surrounding immigration policy despite his pro-abortion voting record. “’I am not terribly familiar with the particular case. I think it’s important to look at the overall work that a senator has done during, if I’m not mistaken, in 40 years of service in the United States Senate,’» the Pope told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question from EWTN News.

“He said: ‘I understand the difficulty and the tensions. But I think as I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to the teachings of the Church.’ “’Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life,’ the Pope explained. ‘Someone who says I’m

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States’ — I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”

3) Still more recently, on October 8, Leo spoke out on the immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

According to a Daily Beast report on the matter, citing a Reuters report: “Pope Leo has escalated his growing feud with the Trump administration, instructing U.S. bishops to take a stronger public stand against the president’s hardline immigration policies, according to Reuters.

“Meeting a delegation of bishops and social workers from the U.S.-Mexico border at the Vatican on Wednesday [October 7], the first American-born Pope urged them to ‘speak strongly’ on behalf of migrants and refugees affected by Trump’s deportation drive.”

A POPE AT THE CROSSROADS So, some watching Leo, both inside and outside of the Church, are applauding him... and some, both inside and outside of the Church, are

criticizing, even condemning him.

Many are now saying that they finally have the measure of the man, this new Pope, Leo XIV, elected on May 8, just about six months ago, as of November 1. ******** On October 9, Leo published his 1st Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te, on love for the poor (see related story on page 26).

The text is actually dated October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

The first words, Dilexi te (“I have loved you”) are the words of Jesus Christ to the Church in Philadelphia in Asia Minor, in Chapter 3 of the Book of Revelation, verse 9 — the very last book of the Bible... the Book of the Apocalypse...

In the English Standard Version: 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie— behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.

10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.) *** This is the first major document of Leo’s pontificate.

And many are saying that it makes very clear, now, who Leo is, and where he intends to lead the Church.

In issuing this text as his 1st magisterial teaching, Leo has revealed his vision for his pontificate: a vision, he says, which seeks to enter into the very heart of God, “who is always concerned for the needs of his children, especially those in greatest need” — those in poverty, misery and oppression.

Thus, Leo as Pope is and will be concerned for the poor of our world.

He writes: “On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself.”

Then, Leo notes that some sharply criticize this vision: “The fact that some dismiss or ridicule charitable works, as if they were an obsession on the part of a few and not the burning heart of the

England, Elizabeth; he wrote on his Substack, “New English Catholic,” an October 10 article titled, “Leo Laid Bare: Progressive Head and Catholic Heart.” Here is a short excerpt: “So, now, after Dilexit Te, we know. ”Two steps to the left when it comes to, firstly, immigration, and secondly, politics and economics; and one to the right — sex and morals; and a sort of probable semibenign neutral hovering on the Latin Mass so far.

“People are often compartmentalized, of course. It’s sometimes described as ‘bi-lateral identity,’ but in the case of a Pope, politics and faith may be a matter of the head and the heart. [...]

“After the appalling car-crash with reporters where he defended Cupich’s award to Durkin the Democrat senator, and made that highly offensive equivalence be“THE POOR CANNOT BE NEGLECTED tween immigration and abortion, it was becoming clear that Pope Leo IF WE ARE TO REMAIN WITHIN THE had leftish political instincts.

GREAT CURRENT OF THE CHURCH’S “But, unlike Pope Francis, he seemed willing to own the traditionLIFE THAT HAS ITS SOURCE IN THE GOSPEL AND BEARS FRUIT IN EVERY al clothes of the papacy and was relaxed with Latin in the liturgy.

TIME AND PLACE.” “I wondered if what we had was a Pope with a politically progressive Church’s mission, convinces me of head and a Catholic heart?... the need to go back and re-read the “How much of a Catholic heart we Gospel, lest we risk replacing still have to discover...” it with the wisdom of this world.”

LEO ISSUES HIS CALL These are sharp words.

So here we are...

Demanding words.

Pope Leo is issuing his call… and He adds: he has set his course: to embrace and “The poor cannot be announce the “burning heart of the neglected if we are to remain Church’s mission” — to care for the within the great current of the needs of all God’s children, but espeChurch’s life that has its source in the cially those children in poverty, misGospel and bears fruit in every time ery, despair, and hopelessness — to and place.” give hope especially to the hopeless.

How many Catholics will follow “LEO LAID BARE” Leo in this vision?

One of the most perceptive analyAnd how fervently will they folses of the Pope’s text is by Gavin low, in the present political and social Ashenden of Great Britain, a convert circumstances of our world? from the Anglican Church, who for a This is what many are now wondertime was the chaplain of the Queen of ing in Rome... m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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ANALYSIS IS PoPe Leo chArtINg A defINItIve courSe?

TWO STEPS TO THE LEFT…AND ONE TO THE RIGHT? LEO ON SYNODALITY, WOMEN AND THE SO-CALLED “LGBTQ+” ISSUE, AND THE LITURGY EXCERPTS FROM POPE LEO XIV’S FIRST LENGTHY INTERVIEW Elise Ann Allen of the Catholic news site CRUX conducted a lengthy interview with Pope Leo XIV in two hour-and-a-half sessions for her Spanish-language book León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI (in English, Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century. The English version will be published in 2026.)

Church on the topic.

Just a quick follow up on the LGBTQ+ point, it can be a very ideological issue…

What will your own approach be?

What I’m trying to say is what Francis said very clearly when he would say, ‘todos, todos, todos’. Everyone’s invited in, but I don’t invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity. I invite a person in because they are a son or daughter of I think the concept of synodality is still God. You’re all welcome, and let’s get to something many people struggle to know one another and respect one another. understand. How would you define it?

At some point, when specific questions will Synodality is an attitude, an openness, a come up… People want the church doctrine willingness to understand. Speakto change, want attitudes to ing of the Church now, this means change. I think we have to change each and every member of the attitudes before we even think church has a voice and a role to about changing what the Church play through prayer, reflection… says about any given question. I To bring people together and to find it highly unlikely, certainly in understand that relationship, that the near future, that the church’s interaction, that creating opportudoctrine in terms of what the nities of encounter, is an important church teaches about sexuality, dimension of how we live our life what the Church teaches about as church. marriage, [will change].

Some people have felt threatHow much of the reason for In the photo at top, the cover of the Spanish version of ened by that. Sometimes bishops Elise Ann Allen’s book-length interview with Pope Leo XIV. establishing [a study group on The English version is to be released in 2026. or priests might feel, ‘synodality is the liturgy] was related to diviX, has Pope Leo sign a copy going to take away my authority’. Above, Allen, in a photoof on sions surrounding the Tradithe book.

That’s not what synodality is tional Latin Mass, for example about, and maybe your idea of ...? what your authority is, is some- EVERYONE’S INVITED IN, BUT I DON’T There is another issue, which is INVITE A PERSON IN BECAUSE THEY ARE also another hot-button issue, what out of focus, mistaken.

Two of the most prominent OR ARE NOT OF ANY SPECIFIC IDENTITY. which I have already received a hot-button issues that came out I INVITE A PERSON IN BECAUSE THEY number of requests and letters of the Synod on Synodality… [about]... between the Tridentine ARE A SON OR DAUGHTER OF GOD were the role of women in the Mass and the Vatican II Mass, the church and the church’s approach to the LBGTQ+ Mass of Paul VI, I’m not sure where that’s going to go. community. How will you approach them in your new It’s obviously very complicated. role now as pope?

I do know that part of that issue, unfortunately, has In a synodal way. For most people, certainly the become – again, part of a process of polarization – peounderstanding that the role of women in the church has ple have used the liturgy as an excuse for advancing to continue to develop, I think in that sense there was a other topics…I think sometimes the, say, ‘abuse’ of the positive response. I hope to continue in the footsteps of liturgy from what we call the Vatican II Mass, was not Francis, including in appointing women to some leader- helpful for people who were looking for a deeper experiship roles at different levels in the Church’s life, recog- ence of prayer, of contact with the mystery of faith that nizing the gifts that women have that can contribute to they seemed to find in the celebration of the Tridentine the life of the Church in many ways.

Mass. Again, we’ve become polarized, so that instead of The topic becomes a hot-button issue when the spe- being able to say, well, if we celebrate the Vatican II liturcific question is asked about ordination…I at the moment gy in a proper way, do you really find that much difference don’t have an intention of changing the teaching of the between this experience and that experience? m 24

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NEWS

pope names archbIshop Iannone as prefect of dIcastery for bIshops In hIs fIrst appoIntment of a head of a VatIcan department, pope Leo names archbIshop fILIppo Iannone, o. carm.

– who has been serVIng as prefect of the dIcastery for LegIsLatIVe texts – as prefect of the dIcastery for bIshops. n BY SALVATORE CERnUZIO (VATICAn nEWS)

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ference of the Italian he choice of a succesprovince of Lazio. sor as Prefect of the In 2012, he was appointDicastery for Bishops ed viceregent of the Diowas always expected to be cese of Rome by Benedict among the first appointments XVI; later, in 2017, he was

by Pope Leo, following the transferred by Francis to the precedent established by Pope Benedict XVI with his early Archbishop Iannone, is a jurist, and canon lawyer with extensive experience position of adjunct secretary of the Pontifical Counchoice of William Levada to in courts, pontifical universities, and the archdiocese. cil for Legislative Texts.

To assist Iannone in this new mission, three women as members of the follow him as head of the Dicastery for Bishops who Francis appointed in July 2022: Sister Raffaella He became president of then-Congregation for the Petrini, Yvonne Reungoat and Maria Lia Zervino. that Council the following Doctrine of the Faith. year, on April 7, 2018.

Prior to his election as Pope Leo JURIST AnD CAnOn LAWYER Archbishop Iannone, a native of XIV, Robert Prevost headed up the Dicastery for Bishops from January Naples who will turn 68 on December THE TASK OF CHOOSInG 13, is a Carmelite, jurist and canon THE WORLD’S BISHOPS 2023, when he was transferred lawyer with extensive experiArchbishop Iannone is now to Rome by Francis, until the ence in courts, pontifical uni- charged with continuing the work that death of the Pope in April versities and the archdiocese. the future Pope had undertaken for 2025. On September 26, Thus Iannone is yet another two years. The role of Prefect of the Pope Leo XIV appointed appointee with a canon law Dicastery for Bishops is a delicate Archbishop Filippo Ianbackground, as was Leo’s one: assisting the Pope in choosing the none, until now Prefect of newly appointed, second perpastors to whom he will entrust the the Dicastery for Legislative sonal secretary, Italian Fr. many ecclesial communities Texts, as Prefect of the Dicastery throughout the world. After for Bishops, a role that also includes Marco Billeri, in addition to identifying priests to propresidency of the Pontifical Commis- Fr. Edgar Iván Rimaycuna Inga, a Peruvian priest pose for the episcopate, the sion for Latin America. final decision rests with the Archbishop Iannone’s appoint- appointed in May 2025, also Pope. ment is the first nomination of a head a canon lawyer.

He has held various posiTo assist in this mission, of a dicastery made by Pope Leo. The tions in Rome, including Francis appointed three women only other appointment to a serving as a member of the as members of the Dicastery for senior role in a Roman Curia Supreme Tribunal of the Apos- Bishops in July 2022: Sister Raffaella body had been made on tolic Signatura; a consultor to Petrini, current president of the GovMay 22 — just days after the then-Congregation for ernorate of Vatican City State; Yvonne his election — when he Institutes of Consecrated Reungoat, former superior general of named Sister Tiziana MerLife; a member of the Council the Daughters of Mary Help of Chrisletti, a nun of the Institute of for Legal Affairs of the Italian tians; and Maria Lia Zervino, former the Franciscan Sisters of the Bishops’ Conference; president of president of the World Union of Poor, as secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life the Committee for Places of Worship; Catholic Women’s Organizations and a member of the Episcopal Con- (WUFC). m and Apostolic Societies.

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NEWS

Leo Issues HIs fIrst major document: on care of tHe poor Dilexi Te — I Have Loved You — saYs Leo, Is a contInuatIon of DilexiT Nos, francIs’ encYcLIcaL on tHe Heart of cHrIst n BY AnnA ARTYMIAK Giotto, "The Gift of the Cloak," Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.

Facing page: Special visit to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel for a group of one hundred and fifty homeless people, organized by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski of the Office of Papal Charities.

In the rounds: Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny and Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the two cardinals selected to make the exhortation's presentation.

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he end of September ment my own – adding and the beginning of some reflections – and to October marked two issue it at the beginning of long-awaited acts of Leo my own pontificate, since I XIV: on September 26, the share the desire of my appointment of the new prebeloved predecessor that fect of the Dicastery for CHRISTIANS MUST CONNECT CHRIST’S all Christians come to Bishops, and on October 9, appreciate the close conLOVE WITH CARE FOR THE POOR publication of his first teachnection between Christ’s which the Pope presided in St. Peter’s love and his summons to care for the ing document.

It took almost 5 months for our Square, there was a press conference poor. I too consider it essential to new Pope to choose his own succes- at which the exhortation was present- insist on this path to holiness,” adds sor at one of the most important ed at the Holy See Press Office. The Leo. dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the text was kept very secret. The Vatican An encyclical, rather than an Dicastery for Bishops. He entrusted it went to a lot of effort to ensure that exhortation, was highly expected to to the discreet, hard-working and the text wouldn’t be published by any be Leo’s first major document, so the pious Italian Archbishop Filippo Ian- journalists in advance, as has hap- Publication of Dilexi Te on love of the none, O. Carm., a canon lawyer and pened sometimes in the past. poor came as a surprise. However, Dilexi Te is a document inherited rumors about the inherited document until now prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Legislative Texts, and from the late Pope Francis. As Leo were circulating for months. Speakknown for resolving many compli- XIV explains in the introduction, ing to journalists on October 7 — two cated issues. It is significant that Leo “...in continuity with the Encyclical days before the presentation of the XIV is repeatedly appointing for Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis was prepar- document — on his return to Rome important offices people with forma- ing in the last months of his life an from Castel Gandolfo, Leo XIV comApostolic Exhortation on the mented on a question about the tion in canon law.

Leo’s first teaching document, an Church’s care for the poor.” The sub- choice of the poor as the theme of his apostolic exhortation on love for the ject of Dilexit Nos was the human and first exhortation, saying: “Certainly, I poor, Dilexi Te was released by the divine love of the heart of Jesus think it’s the message of the Gospel.

Vatican in the context of the Jubilee Christ, and this final encyclical of his Ultimately, whatever the Pope says or of the Consecrated Life. After the papacy was seen as his spiritual testa- proclaims must always be rooted in Holy Mass for religious men and ment. the Gospel. That’s what we want to “I am happy to make this docu- try to do.” women from around the world, at 26

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A similar situation happened in 2013 after the resignation of Benedict XVI. The Pope emeritus personally entrusted the text of his last unfinished encyclical to his successor, Pope Francis. Then the new Pope decided not to change the original text, but only to add his own final chapter. Lumen Fidei therefore passed into history as a “four-handed” encyclical. Leo XIV, however, preferred to make a stronger contribution to the original text. As Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, one of two cardinals selected to make the exhortation’s presentation, said to journalists at the press conference, this document is “100% Francis and it’s 100% Leo.” Pope Leo signed the exhortation last Saturday, October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, and sent an accompanying letter to the Episcopal College in which he said “may Dilexi Te help the Church to serve the poor and help bring the poor to Christ.” The tone of the document is not in any way strident, and it is simple and accessible to every reader.

Divided into five chapters, it is very Biblically- and theologically-rooted.

In the document, Leo XIV gives a theological definition of an act of mercy so as not to confuse it with philanthropy. The Pope reminds us: “This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us.” And Leo adds that “the preferential choice for the poor is a source of extraordinary renewal both for the Church and for society” — using as an example St. Francis of Assisi.

The church’s preferential choice for the poor expresses God’s preferential love for the poor and his readiness to hear their cry, which we have already learned from the Old Testament. Then, in the New Testament,

Jesus “is a manifestation of this privilegium pauperum” who “presented Himself to the world not only as a poor Messiah, but also as the Messiah of and for the poor.” The Pope reminds us of the passage in the Gospel which shows God’s will of mercy towards the poor.

The Holy Father calls poverty “a multifaceted phenomenon.” As

“there are many forms of poverty,” next to those “who lack material means of subsistence” and “who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities,” there is also “moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom.” Next to the old forms of poverty there are “new ones, sometimes more subtle and dangerous.”

Here Leo XIV appreciates that “the United Nations has made the eradication of poverty one of its Millennium Goals.”

The Pope urges us to change our mentality. “In a world where the poor are increasingly numerous, we paradoxically see the growth of a wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury, almost in another world compared to ordinary people” and we “must not let our guard down when it comes to poverty.” During the press conference both Cardinal Czerny and

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the other cardinal presenter, warned against any attempts to label the Pope’s words as “liberal” or “communist.”

Leo XIV reminds us that the history of the first saints in Rome and the nascent Church shows that they “did not separate belief from social action: faith without witness through concrete actions was considered dead.”

“When the Church kneels beside a leper, a malnourished child or an anonymous dying person, she fulfills her deepest vocation: to love the Lord where he is most disfigured,” writes Leo XIV. There is a beautiful lengthy passage on the relationship of the poor to the early monasteries: “Their silent work was the leaven of a new civilization, where the poor were not a problem to be solved, but brothers and sisters to be welcomed. The rule of sharing, working together and helping the vulnerable established an economy of solidarity, in contrast to the logic of accumulation.

“In addition to providing material assistance, monasteries played a fundamental role in the cultural and spiritual formation of the humblest. In times of plague, war and famine, they were places where the needy found bread and medicine, but also dignity and a voice. It was there that orphans were educated, apprentices received training and ordinary people were taught agricultural techniques and how to read.

Knowledge was shared as a gift and a responsibility. The abbot was both teacher and father, and the monastic school was a place of freedom through truth.”

Pope Leo’s first major document ends with: “Christian love breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies. It spans chasms that are humanly impossible to bridge, and it penetrates to the most hidden crevices of society. By its very nature, Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles and knows no limits.” m

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NEWS

“CarIng for CreatIon Is our VoCatIon” PoPe Leo XIV Inaugurates Borgo Laudato Si’ at CasteL gandoLfo n BY LInDA BORDOnI (VATICAN NEWS) Pope Leo XIV visits the Garden before the inauguration of the Borgo Laudato Si' Advanced Training Center at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. (Photo: pool/Giuliani/Galazka)

Below, singer Andrea Bocelli greets Pope Leo at the Borgo Laudato Si’ inauguration September 5. (photo: andreabocelliofficial on Instagram)

Opposite, the newgreenhouse, a multifunctional and netzero energy complex is the heart of the Borgo Laudato Si’ project.(Photo: Galazka)

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ope Leo XIV on September 5 inaugurated the Laudato si’ Village (Borgo Laudato sì’) at Castel Gandolfo, describing it as a “seed of hope” and a tangible model for ecological conversion.

The project, first envisioned by Pope Francis, brings together spirituality, education, history, nature, art and sustainable innovation as a living witness of the Church’s commitment to care for creation and for the most vulnerable.

Arriving through the main gate of the complex, the Pope was wel-

comed by those who daily serve pilgrims and visitors to the Village.

Walking along a tree-lined avenue, he greeted families, giving life to what he later described as the central theme of “welcome,” a principle that unites the care of creation with solidarity and human dignity.

CALL FOR InTEGRAL ECOLOGY The Holy Father continued his visit in an electric cart, a sign of the project’s commitment to sustainable mobility. He paused in the historic Little Madonna Garden, where earli-

er this summer he had celebrated the first Mass with the new liturgy dedicated to the Custody of Creation.

Proceeding through gardens and ancient ruins, he met workers and their families, thanking them for their care of the land and the over 3,000 plant species cultivated within the Borgo.

At the biodynamic vineyard, he greeted farm workers and blessed animals, including some beautiful horses, highlighting integral ecology as care both for creation and for people.

ANDREA BOCELLI: “THE BORGO LAUDATO SI’ IS A TRUE MIRACLE OF GOODWILL”

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enor Andrea Bocelli on September 6 commented on the inauguration on Facebook: “It was deeply moving to witness firsthand the tangible expression of what Pope Francis so powerfully advocated in his encyclical Laudato Si’: the urgent need for an ecological conversion for our common earthly home.

“A decade later, the project bearing the same name on the grounds of Castel Gandolfo stands as a perfect example of this vision — a true miracle of goodwill, where the splendor of nature and human endeavor meet: ‘a creature among creatures,’ as Pope Leo XIV underlined, entrusted with the sacred duty of care (for nature ‘cannot but speak to us of God’).

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“The joy of witnessing the inauguration of the Laudato Si’ Village — a virtuous center of advanced education, inclusion, hospitality, and sustainability — was made even greater by the honor of singing before the Holy Father, a man of God and a figure of the highest stature, both spiritual and intellectual.

“When, together with my son Matteo, we intoned Dolce Sentire— a prayer that evokes the sacredness and harmony of creation — I felt, as I had not in a long time, the strength of Divine Providence and a renewed serenity in celebrating the universal Church, which in Pontifex Leo XIV has found a new and steadfast Shepherd, a beacon to guide us through these complex times.” n

LITURGY OF THE WORD In THE GREEnHOUSE The culmination of the day came in the newly built greenhouse, a multifunctional and net-zero energy complex that serves as the beating heart of the Borgo Laudato Si’ project. It is also the headquarters of a Higher Education Centre destined to host all sorts of initiatives dedicated to ecological sustainability. There, Pope Leo XIV presided over the Liturgy of the Word and the Rite of Blessing, accompanied in prayer by music offered by tenor Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo.

The Laudato Si’ Higher Education Center is headed by Fr. Manuel Durantes, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, who was appointed by Pope Francis in November of 2024.

He had told reporters September 2, "The message that Pope Francis

wanted to send is that if we, the smallest city-state in the world, can do this, what is the potential for other states that are bigger than us?”

In his homily Pope Leo reflected that “Care for creation is truly a vocation for every human being. We are creatures among creatures, entrusted with the responsibility to care for all that the Creator has made,” he said.

He highlighted that the Borgo Laudato Si’ is to be a “living laboratory” of faith and sustainability.

“What we see today is a synthesis of extraordinary beauty, where spirituality, daily life and technology dwell together in harmony.”m

POPE FRANCIS’ 2015 ENCYCLICAL LAUDATO SI’ The foundational encyclical of Pope Francis on the environment — and on the essential moral duty of men and women to “care for creation” — was Laudato Si’ (“Praised be (you, my Lord)...”), published more than 10 years ago, on May 24, 2015. The encyclical has been praised as prophetic, but also criticized as flawed and even in places simplistic, attributing to the action of men environmental changes due to nature itself. So, the encyclical’s teaching deserves study, and this study may bring further development in the years to come. In any case, here is how the text begins: 1. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord.” In the words of this beautiful canticle, St. Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us.

“Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.”

2. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.

3. More than 50 years ago, with the world teetering on the brink of nuclear crisis, Pope Saint John XXIII wrote an

Encyclical which not only rejected war but offered a proposal for peace. He addressed his message Pacem in Terris to the entire “Catholic world” and indeed “to all men and women of good will.” Now, faced as we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every person living on this planet. (...)

4. In 1971, eight years after Pacem in Terris, Blessed Pope Paul VI referred to the ecological concern as “a tragic consequence” of unchecked human activity: “Due to an ill-considered exploitation of nature, humanity runs the risk of destroying it and becoming in turn a victim of this degradation.” He spoke in similar terms to... the United Nations about the potential for an “ecological catastrophe under the effective explosion of industrial civilization,” and stressed “the urgent need for a radical change in the conduct of humanity”...

5. St. John Paul II became increasingly concerned about this issue. In his first Encyclical, he warned that human beings frequently seem “to see no other meaning in their natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption.” Subsequently, he would call for a global ecological conversion. At the same time, he noted that little effort had been made to “safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology.” The destruction of the human environment is extremely serious, not only because God has entrusted the world to us men and women, but because human life is itself a gift which must be defended from various forms of debasement. Every effort to protect and improve our world entails profound changes in “lifestyles, models of production and consumption, and the established structures of power which today govern societies.” (...)

6. My predecessor Benedict XVI, likewise... asked us to recognize that the natural environment has been gravely damaged by our irresponsible behaviour...

With paternal concern, Benedict urged us to realize that creation is harmed “where we ourselves have the final word, where everything is simply our property and we use it for ourselves alone. The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves.”m

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COMMENTARY

Why the VAticAn cAnnot suPPort isrAeli Actions in gAzA As PoPe emeritus Benedict XVi tried to remind us in 2018, “the stAte of isrAel cAnnot Be regArded As the fulfillment of god’s Promise of lAnd” n BY MATTHEW TSAKAnIKAS, STD*

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A “TWO-STATE SOLUTIOn” ardinal Pietro Parolin, Yet, before October 7, 2023 Vatican Secretary of State, about 140 countries had already sharply criticized Israel’s officially recognized Palestine as “ongoing massacre” of a “largely a state (despite American presdefenseless population’ of Palessure not to do so); and even more tinians in Gaza in an interview significantly, after October 7 sevpublished October 7. eral more NATO and G7 counMeanwhile a host of Christries followed suit — in order to tians, many of them Catholics, stop what the International Court seem to defend Israel’s military of Justice declared were war actions on not only political, but crimes by Israel against persecutreligious grounds. ed Palestinians.

But the portrayal of an Israel Many heroic Israelis and Jews fighting for its life is crumbling around the world have repeatedly under public scrutiny. exposed Netanyahu’s systematic And the justification for persecution of the Palestinians.

Israel’s appropriation of PalestinThey want to see their country ian lands as resting in God’s flourish and heal the festering promises to the Chosen People is The Church's closeness to Palestinian Christian communities: sore of Palestinian “apartheid” false.

Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass in Bethlehem in 2014 in by establishing a “two-state soluWAR OR GEnOCIDE? Manger Square. Behind him, a giant image of the Popes who tion” — a solution already Leaked Israeli Defense Forces preceded him on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land. accepted by 147 of the 193 Unitdata in August 2025 revealed that ed Nations member states. over 83% of the deaths of Gazans were non-combatant civilHowever, they are being undermined by Christians who ians, the majority of them women and children. It’s just among support the inhumane treatment, targeting of innocents and the latest data that has led a majority of the scholars in interoutright mass starvation of Palestinians by an illegally occunational criminal law to declare that the “war” in Gaza is actupying force, based on a kind of “theological Zionism” which ally a genocide. This includes many top Jewish scholars. says that the modern state of Israel must be the “promised One month before the October 7 terror attack by Hamas, land” of the Old Testament, given to the Jews by God Himself.

Tamir Pardo, the retired head of the Israeli intelligence appaThus the forcible incorporation of Palestinian lands into an ratus Mossad, himself called Israel an “apartheid state.” envisioned “Greater Israel” is justified.

In fact, Gaza basically had been Netanyahu’s open-air The Catholics among them might need to reassess not only prison for over a decade. their understanding of Catholic doctrine, but also their knowlAnd most Americans are unaware that leading government edge of who the Palestinians are. It may come as a shock to ministers in Netanyahu’s 2022 cabinet were already advocatsome, but before the advent of the Zionist movement that culing the complete expulsion of innocent Palestinians from their minated in the 1948 creation of the state of Israel, 15% of lands in accord with their theological-Zionist views.

Palestinians were Christians (about 40% Catholic and 50% One year before the attacks by Hamas, continually porOrthodox). trayed as totally “unprovoked,” Minister of National Security ILLEGAL SETTLEMEnTS In THE WEST BAnK Itamar Ben-Gvir reminded Palestinians at the time of his 2022 To make matters worse, while the apparent war of annihiappointment confirmation: “We’re the landlords here. lation has been ongoing in Gaza, Israelis have simultaneously Remember that: I am your landlord.” Palestinians understood been allowing illegal Jewish settler movements to continue to what such “landlords” intended. (Ben-Gvir was appointed in take over Palestinian territories in the West Bank. opposition to the legal advice of the nation’s own Attorney The Trump administration even removed sanctions on the General.)

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settler movements and their leaders positions on the state of Israel and the which, to its credit, the Biden adminPalestinians stem from ancient doctriistration had put in place to stop these nal teachings, including the truth that crimes. the Church is the “New Israel,” as VatThe Palestinian lands of the West ican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Bank are a completely different terriChurch reiterated in 1964, and again tory, physically separated from Gaza; in the definitive Catechism of the the West Bank has absolutely nothing Catholic Church published under to do with Hamas and has been popuPope St. John Paul II in 1997. lated with ancient Christian villages In fact, Pope Emeritus Benedict — such as Bethlehem, birthplace of XVI in 2018 shed additional light on Above, Paul VI on his historic 1964 trip to the Holy Land, to the Holy Sepulchre, and Bethlehem.

Our Lord — since Pentecost in 33 the situation, just three years after the Below, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat meets Pope A.D. Vatican’s formal recognition of the John Paul II in the Vatican in 2000, reciprocating the Over a year ago, in the summer of Holy Father's visit to the Holy Land the previous year. state of Palestine in 2015.

2024, former Prime Minister of Israel In an essay for the academic theoAt bottom, in 2009, Bethlehem,the welcoming Ehud Olmert warned Netanyahu that ceremony for Pope Benedict XVI by the Palestinian logical journal Communio, the journal National Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas.

Netanyahu deserved to be punished he established to help implement the and sent to jail for what is being done authentic ecclesiology of Vatican II to the Palestinians in the West Bank by (Cardinal Karol Wojtyla initiated the illegal Jewish settlers: Polish edition before becoming Pope “Here crimes are committed on a John Paul II), Benedict explained how daily basis, not by soldiers and not the Church handled the 1948 creation against soldiers, but by rioters who are of the state of Israel: Israeli citizens, Arab haters, with the “After the establishment of Israel clear intention of expelling them from as a country in 1948, a theological their homes and the villages where doctrine emerged that eventually they have lived all their lives…As enabled the political recognition of the prime minister, you know about all State of Israel by the Vatican. At its these events. If you choose to ignore core is the conviction that a strictly them too, you won’t be able to deny theologically-understood state — a you heard the warning of the head of Jewish faith-state [Glaubenstaat] that the Central Command and other senior would view itself as the theological IDF commanders.” and political fulfillment of the promisThe crimes became more public es — is unthinkable within history when in July 2025 Vatican News according to Christian faith and conreported on the attack on the Palestintrary to the Christian understanding ian Christian village of Taibeh — the of the promises [to Abraham].” last all-Christian village in the West [emphasis mine] Bank — by illegal Jewish settlers; In other words, the Church could they set fires next to the venerated recognize the state of Israel in 1948 for ruins of a Byzantine Church and the secular or political ends of a homechased villagers from their homes. land for people of a specific ethnicity.

After the attacks on Taibeh, German Ambassador to Israel This is known as “political” Zionism. Concomitantly, the Steffen Seibert condemned all attacks on Christians and other Church accepted Britain’s secular authority over Palestine Palestinians in the West Bank: “Whether the target is a Chrisfrom 1917-1948, which promoted the emigration of European tian village or a Muslim community, these extremist [Jewish] Jews into the Middle East. settlers may claim divine mandate, but in truth they are crimHowever, this secular political recognition should never be inals, strangers to any authentic faith.” perceived as the Church supporting any theological claims by THE CHURCH IS THE NEW ISRAEL the ethnic state of Israel to a divine mandate over Palestinian Even some ideologically ”conservative” Catholics believe lands — “theological Zionism.”

Vatican support for the Palestinians and a “two-state solution” Put simply: political Zionism does not run afoul of Church is somehow a product of post-Vatican II liberalism and doctrine; but theological Zionism most certainly does. “woke” sympathies.

Pope Emeritus Benedict reiterated the Church’s doctrine in One Catholic theorist even called the Vatican’s position a response to then-Chief Rabbi of Vienna Arie Folger’s ques“naïve functional pacifism.” tioning of Benedict’s 2018 Communio essay. The Pope clariNothing is further from the truth. The Vatican’s overall fied: “Without repeating all that I [said] in my [2018 CommuNOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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COMMENTARY WhY ThE VATiCAN CANNOT SuppORT “GREATER iSRAEl” nAÏVE PACIFICISM? nio] text, I would like to reiterate my thesis, which is imporNevertheless, Catholic commentators like American protant not only for Christians, that the state of Israel as such canfessor Daniel J. Mahoney continue to criticize the Vatican’s not be regarded theologically as the fulfillment of God’s principled natural-law stance as “naïve functional pacifism.” promise of land.” After all, it is Jesus Who is the telos — the Writing for the Claremont Institute, Mahony’s August 26, final end — of the promises to the Israelites (cf. Rom 10:4).

2025 article “Christianity and the West, Part II,” states: ACCUSATIOnS OF AnTISEMITISM “The Vatican’s drive toward a naïve functional pacifism It goes without saying that the events of October 7 certainly bodes ill for Catholic-Jewish relations since Israel has were horrific and condemnable, and no one can morally supimplacable (and nihilistic) enemies such as Hamas and is port the criminal attack of non-combatants, no matter who the morally obliged to defend itself. ‘Never again!’ Jews rightly perpetrators are. proclaim. Negotiated settlements have crucial political preNot so clear is why anyone questioning the Israeli narrative conditions that are perhaps best illustrated in the commonsenregarding its subsequent military operation in Gaza and the sical appeal to ‘peace through strength’ that so resonates with role of theological Zionism behind it is called an “antisemite.” tough-minded and morally serious citizens.”

Catholics completely reject antisemitism as it is traditionYet, contradicting Mahoney is the Israeli newspaper ally defined: hatred of people of ethnic Semitic origin. But Haaretz’s report August 2025 report that the recently retired neither can Catholics doctrinally accept the theological Zionheads of every major Israeli intelligence agency said at an ism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, August 4 gathering that the Gaza war was nor the prosecution of his war of annihiactually hurting Israel: “In a rare joint lation and ethnic cleansing of non-comappeal, former Mossad, Shin Bet and IDF batants. heads call for an immediate end to the Several websites have fully docuGaza war, warning it now serves ‘mesmented hundreds of instances in which sianic and extremist goals’ and is leading Prime Minister Netanyahu and members to ‘the loss of Israel’s security and its freeof his cabinet, the Knesset and the milidom’.” tary services have made public comments AUTHEnTICALLY which supported collective punishment, InTERPRETInG SCRIPTURE dehumanization and genocidal intent Christians today should carefully conagainst Palestinians. sider Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution For example, in an October 9, 2023 Peace meetings in the Vatican between Israeli President Shimon Peres, Ecumenical on the Church in order to read Scripture speech, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, with the faith of the Church. Further, it Yoav Gallant, called the Palestinians Pope Francis and Palestinian President should be noted that in no way did Nostra “human animals,” saying, “I have ordered Mahmoud Abbas (2014).

Aetate (the 1965 Declaration on the a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There Church’s Relation with Non-Christian Religions) change docwill be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed… trine on the Church’s relationship to the Jewish people.

We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingThe Final Report of the 1985 Extraordinary Synod of Bishly.” ops was clear that all decrees and declarations must likewise On October 10, 2023, Moshe Feiglin, member of the Knesbe interpreted through the Dogmatic Constitution, specificalset, said :“It is not Hamas that should be eliminated. Gaza ly this passage: “Israel according to the flesh, which wanshould be razed and Israel’s rule should be restored to the dered as an exile in the desert, was already called the Church place. This is our country.” of God. So likewise the new Israel which, while living in this On October 10, 2023, journalist and editor David Mizrahy present age, goes in search of a future and abiding city is called Verthaim declared that “One principle that needs to be abanthe Church of Christ” (Lumen Gentium #9.3). doned today: proportionality. We need a disproportionate The office of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem expressed response. If all the captives are not returned immediately, then the truth of the matter when in March of 2025, the Patriarch’s turn the Strip into a slaughterhouse. If a hair falls from their representative “reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s rejection of head - execute security prisoners. Violate all norms on the way any interpretation that seeks to claim the land of Palestine for to victory…” the Jewish people based on the Torah, as promoted by ChrisOn November 11, 2023, Avigdor Lieberman, former tian Zionism in the United States.” m deputy Prime Minister, said, “There are no innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”

On October 25, 2023, Netanyahu himself, evoking Bibli* Matthew Tsakanikas, STD is a Professor cal justification for the total destruction of the Palestinian of Theology at Christendom College in Virginia, people, said, “We are the people of the light, they are the peoand a member of the Academy of Catholic ple of darkness... we shall realize the prophecy of Isaiah.”

Theology and the Fellowship of Catholics As Jerusalem Patriarch Pizzaballa has remarked, today’s Scholars. His articles and essays on theology brutality is the result of “years of violent and dehumanizing and Catholic social justice have appeared language.” in numerous Catholic journals.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

NEWS

“hebrew catholics” association launches in israel Group aims to support converts’ Jewish identity while practicinG orthodox catholicism n BY MADALAInE ELHABBAL (CnA)

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often rejected Christianity, not just group dedicated to providing for the theology but for the culture,” a welcoming space for Jewhe explained. “Because for Jews, ish converts to Catholicism their heritage and their culture are not recently launched in Israel. just an ethnic thing.”

The Association of Hebrew Jews have often “rejected ChrisCatholics celebrated its official tianity because they were forced to launch with a Mass on August 8, the assimilate or they were expected to eve of the feast of its patron, St. Edith assimilate when that happens,” he Stein, who was a Jewish convert to continued. “And it’s unimaginable Catholicism. for them to stop being Jews because The Syriac Catholic Exarch of it’s their inheritance from God.” Jerusalem, Bishop Yacoub Ephrem “I think being able to maintain Semaan, acted as host for the event The statue of Ecclesia and Synagoga of the Saint that inheritance while being orthoand celebrated the Mass, which took Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to honour the place at St. Thomas Syriac Catholic declaration Nostra Aetate, promulgated on October 28, doxly Catholic, once the Church real1965 by the Second Vatican Council ly knows how to facilitate that for the Church in Jerusalem. people of Israel, it’s going to be a hisYarden Zelivansky, a Jewish con- that’s already in them, as we see it.”

Zelivansky also met with the Latin torical moment,” he stated. vert to Catholicism and member of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal PierIsrael Defense Forces (IDF), who battista Pizzaballa, OFM, and other ORIGInS worked to bring the Association of heads of smaller faith communities “The idea [for the association] is Hebrew Catholics to Israel, told CNA that about 30 people attended the within the Catholic Church, whom he that every culture that Catholicism, said “have all been very excited to see Christianity, was brought to, the faith event. was inculturated into whatever the cul“Here in Israel, we’ve chosen as the where this is going.”

Since most of the group is canoni- ture was,” Zelivansky explained, local patron St. Angelus of Jerusalem, who was a Jewish convert to the faith cally Latin, Zelivansky said he wanted pointing to the expressions of various and grew up in Jerusalem,” Zelivansky to have the patriarch’s approval. “I rites within the Church, which may be said, noting the Carmelite saint’s don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who distinguished by their liturgies and record of evangelism with the local was not himself of a Jewish back- musical expression. ground who understood this issue so However, he said, “for the vast Jewish community. majority of Christian history, Jews who The Association of Hebrew well,” Zelivansky said of Pizzaballa. converted were simply not afforded Catholics was founded by Carmelite R ECEPTIOn In I SRAEL that opportunity for different reasons.” priest Father Elias Friedman, OCD, a Reactions to the Association of Jewish converts to Catholicism who Jewish convert who lived at Stella Maris Monastery on Mount Carmel in Hebrew Catholics will likely be lived in France, Italy, or Germany “mixed,” according to Zelivansky. “were expected to just assimilate into Haifa, Israel.

For example, he said, while secular whatever the local culture was.”

The group plans to host events like “Eventually, a few converts realized the celebration of St. Angelus’ feast Jews will likely remain indifferent, the day as well as observing some of the religious Jewish community might that there’s a need to create this space major Jewish holidays. “A lot of us see take issue with the group, not because to see what it would look like if Jews within the Jewish liturgy and within the they are Christian but because they are could keep their Jewishness as Jewish holidays, since they are origi- Jewish converts. However, he noted Catholics,” Zelivansky said. “And nally from the Old Testament, very, the association’s goal is not to evange- that’s what the [association] is about, very strong Christological elements,” lize per se, but rather to reach people creating that space where you can bring the Jewish culture into the faith, into the Tel Aviv native continued. “So we already converts.

“I think what a lot of people don’t the Church, and see what that looks like plan to celebrate all these holidays in a appreciate, Jews have historically in practice.” m modified way, which brings out Christ NOVEMBER-DECEMBER INSIDE THE VATICAN

33

COMMENTARY

amerIcanIsm, a probLem both oLd and new Leo XIII condemned It; how wILL Leo XIV approach It? n BY AURELIO PORFIRI The Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, donated by the French in 1884.

In the rounds: Top, Pope Gregory XVI (r. 1831-1846).

Below, Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878-1903).

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t the election of the new this country and the whole of American Pontiff, many humanity. were struck by his choice But, certainly, it is not of name: Leo XIV. out of place to try to Indeed, the significance of the understand the mens — name and nationality of the Ponthe “mind” or mentality tiff cannot be underestimated.

— that governs and The reference to Leo XIII (1810– directs this technologi1903) is certainly evocative — cal and scientific potenfirst of the social question that tial. In this, Leo XIII can cerLeo XIII addressed with the very tainly be of help to Leo XIV, important encyclical Rerum and to all of us.

Novarum (1891). But another Indeed, not a few fundamental document of Leo thinkers have warned XIII could hardly have gone of the dangers of develunnoticed: the Apostolic Letter opment guided solely Testem Benevolentiae (1899), by profit and not by ethaddressed to the Cardinal of Balical values. A phrase that timore, James Gibbons — a docstruck me greatly in my ument in which the Pope conadolescence said that “we demns the doctrines that are must not be blindly against summed up under the name “THE PROBLEM OF FREEDOM IS NOT progress, but be against blind “Americanism.” progress.” The new challenges In an article published in POSED IN TERMS OF INDEPENDENCE, posed by artificial intelligence, French in the traditionalist-orioften mentioned by Leo XIV, BUT IN TERMS OF LOVE.” ented magazine Courrier de make us reflect deeply on the priRome in September 2014, the scholar Cristina Siccardi macy that Americanism, as a mentality, gives to “doing” identifies five main points of Americanism condemned in rather than to “being.” In this case, physics precedes metathis Letter: physics, reflection on the consequences of one’s actions.

•Adaptation of discipline and dogma to “modern But to return to Leo XIII, we cannot forget that before needs”; Testem Benevolentiae, he had already issued in 1895 an •Emphasis on individual freedom and on the conseencyclical letter called Longinqua Oceani. In it, the Pope quent action of the Holy Spirit; addresses the US, a country that was destined to become a •Natural virtues valued above supernatural ones; world power, and at one point makes a pivotal observation, •Active virtues valued above passive ones, contempt for especially when read in the light of the previous 1899 Letcontemplation; ter: •As a consequence of the previous point, little regard for “As regards civil affairs, experience has shown how religious life. important it is that the citizens should be upright and virtuThese issues are not just things of the past, but also resous. In a free State, unless justice be generally cultivated, onate today as an American Pontiff must deal with the unless the people be repeatedly and diligently urged to enormous contradictions evident in the America of Donald observe the precepts and laws of the Gospel, liberty itself J. Trump. And here the reflections offered by Leo XIII may be pernicious.” more than 100 years ago can be of great help.

This is a key concept: Freedom, when absolute and not We are all certainly aware of the achievements, espetied to its necessary derivation from a divine order, can cially in the technological and scientific fields, of Ameribecome a form of dictatorship when, in the name of can entrepreneurs and scholars — a precious heritage for “rights,” people are forced to censor themselves in their 34

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

The “Liberté” of the French Revolution.

“Absolute independence does not exist for man”— Gustave Thibon in the round, (1903-2001), a French philosopher and poet nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times (Open Library).

free capacity for speech and expression.

It is certainly in this sense that we must read an encyclical (later much vilified) of a predecessor of Leo XIII, Gregory XVI (1765–1846), Mirari Vos, issued in the year 1832, and including these important paragraphs: “From this most corrupt source of indifferentism flows that absurd and erroneous maxim, or rather madness, that liberty of conscience must be granted and guaranteed to each one: a most poisonous error, to which that full and unbridled liberty of opinion opens the way, which goes on increasing to the detriment of the Church and of the State, not lacking those who dare to boast with unblushing impudence that some advantage to Religion arises from such license. ‘But what death more fatal to the soul can there be than the liberty of error?’ exclaimed St. Augustine [Ep. 166]. For, once every restraint is removed that might keep men on the paths of truth—men who are already inclined to precipitate ruin by nature’s bent toward evil—it is certain that the ‘pit of the abyss’ (Apoc. 9:3) is opened, from which St. John saw smoke rising that darkened the sun, and locusts issuing forth to devastate the earth.

“Consequently, there comes about a change of minds, the corruption of youth, the contempt among the people for sacred things and for the most holy laws; in a word, the most deadly pest of society, since the experience of all ages, even from the remotest antiquity, clearly demonstrates that flourishing cities in wealth, power, and glory were destroyed solely for this cause: excessive freedom of opinions, license of meetings, unbridled craving for novelty. [...]

And yet (ah, sorrowful thought!) there are some who go so far in shameless audacity as to assert, with insulting arrogance, that this flood of errors is more than compensated for by some work which, in the midst of such a tempest of depravity, is brought to light in defense of Religion and truth. [...] But can it ever be said by anyone of sound mind that poison ought to be freely and publicly spread, sold, transported, nay even drunk, because there exists some remedy by the use of which it happens that someone escapes death?”

Does Pope Gregory XVI really wish to prevent us from speaking? No — he merely intends to affirm that error cannot have the same rights as truth. How jarring, even repugnant, this seems compared to a mentality very much alive in the United States, in which “freedom,” like the “liberté” of the French Revolution, refers only to itself.

Yet Pope Gregory XVI’s words contain logic: If I have an appendicitis, will I give the same weight to the opinion of the doctor and to that of the accountant? No — their opinions do not have the same weight. Similarly, will an opinion dictated by a conscience that refers to God have the same weight as that of a conscience that has only itself as a reference?

A beautiful thought by the French poet-philosopher Gustave Thibon can help us in this reflection: “To define freedom as independence hides a dangerous misunderstanding. Absolute independence does not exist for man (a finite being that depends on nothing would be a being separated from everything, that is, eliminated from existence). But there is a dead dependence that oppresses him and a living dependence that makes him blossom. The first of these dependencies is slavery, the second is freedom. A convict depends on his chains, a farmer depends on the earth and the seasons: these two expressions designate very different realities.”

“Let us return to biological comparisons, which are always the most illuminating. What does ‘breathing freely’ consist of?

Perhaps in the fact of lungs being absolutely ‘independent’? Not at all: the lungs breathe all the more freely the more firmly and intimately they are linked to the other organs of the body. If this link loosens, breathing becomes less and less free and, at the limit, stops. Freedom is a function of vital solidarity. But in the world of souls this vital solidarity has another name: it is called love. Depending on our emotional attitude toward them, the same bonds can be accepted as vital links or rejected as chains; the same walls can have the oppressive hardness of a prison or the intimate sweetness of a refuge. The studious child runs freely to school, the true soldier lovingly adapts to discipline, the spouses who love each other flourish in the ‘bonds’ of marriage.

“But school, the barracks, and the family are horrible prisons for the pupil, the soldier, or the spouses without vocation. Man is not free insofar as he depends on nothing or no one: he is free in exact proportion to his dependence on what he loves, and he is a prisoner in exact proportion to his dependence on what he cannot love.

“Thus the problem of freedom is not posed in terms of independence, but in terms of love.”

These are very beautiful words that make us understand that we are all free only if we are oriented toward God and not slaves to ourselves.m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

35

COMMENTARY

usury is still a moral problem Despite changing times, the church’s perennial teaching has never changeD n BY THOMAS STORCK *

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nsofar as people think about making even more usury today, it is usually money, and therefore is understood as the taking of one not justified in simply excess, and often outrageous, charging something for interest on a loan; or sometimes the use of money? any interest on a loan for the The answer to this is purchase of a consumer good.

“No” — for unless a lender And of course, such outrageous can point to some loss exactions are unjust. which he will likely suffer, Nevertheless the Church’s or some gain which he will likeclassical understanding of usly forgo, on account of being ury is different: it is the charging temporarily deprived of his of any interest, in any amount, money, the lender is entitled to no matter what the loan would nothing above the principal be used for, simply because of amount loaned. During the the existence of a loan contract. intense historic debates over The most complete papal usury, theologians and jurists statement of this is found in the clearly separated what was due 1745 encyclical of Pope Benesimply on account of the exisdict XIV, Vix Pervenit, the reletence of a loan — the principal In the 1745 encyclical of Pope Benedict XIV, Vix Pervenit, he vant portions of which run: only — and what might be due argues that “One cannot condone the sin of usury by arguing “The nature of the sin called on account of extrinsic circumthat the gain is not great or excessive...” usury has its proper place and stances. origin in a loan contract. This THE SIN RESTS ON THE FACT THAT Pope Benedict, in the financial contract between conencyclical cited above, immeSOMETIMES THE CREDITOR DESIRES senting parties demands, by its diately goes on to say: MORE THAN HE HAS GIVEN. very nature, that one return to “By these remarks, however, another only as much as he has received. The sin rests We do not deny that at times together with the loan conon the fact that sometimes the creditor desires more than tract certain other titles — which are not at all intrinsic he has given. Therefore he contends some gain is owed to the contract — may run parallel with it. From these him beyond that which he loaned, but any gain which other titles, entirely just and legitimate reasons arise to exceeds the amount he gave is illicit and usurious. demand something over and above the amount due on the contract.”

“One cannot condone the sin of usury by arguing that Accordingly, two chief possible titles to legitimate the gain is not great or excessive, but rather moderate interest were recognized, with the quaint Latin names of or small; neither can it be condoned by arguing that the damnum emergens and lucrum cessans. The first covborrower is rich; nor even by arguing that the money ered the possibility that the lender might suffer some borrowed is not left idle, but is spent usefully...to engage harm, and the second the possibility that he would miss in business transactions. The law governing loans conan opportunity for legitimate gain, arising from lack of sists necessarily in the equality of what is given and access to his money. returned; once the equality has been established, whoIn premodern economies, such instances of harm or ever demands more than that violates the terms of the forgone gain could not simply be assumed. Today, of loan....” course, there do exist numerous investment opportuniFor many today this sounds absurd, a relic of an outties open to everyone. So, one might argue, the modern dated approach to economics that the world discarded practice of regularly charging interest is fully justified several centuries ago. For is not money something on the grounds of lucrum cessans and usury should no which an enterprising person can usefully employ in 36

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

Pius XI’s 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno: On Reconstructig the Social Order and Perfectig it Conformably to the Precepts of the Gospel

longer be seen as a moral question.1 But this is to oversimplify the matter. For it is still the case that the charging of interest has to be justified on account of one of these extrinsic titles. Interest is not due to the lender merely because he is in a stronger economic position than the borrower. Nor can we assume, even today, that we are simply entitled to make use of one of these extrinsic titles. In periods of depression or recession, for example, «the profit expectations of businessmen are likely to be so low that they would not employ men and machines on new investment projects even if you let them borrow temporarily at a zero interest rate.»2 In other words, in such situations a lack of consumer demand makes spending on productive investment unprofitable, so a lender is likely not truly forgoing investment profit, because no profit is to be had. Hence a lender in such circumstances may not licitly invoke the principle of lucrum cessans to justify charging interest.

But what of more normal economic times?

If we keep in mind that interest can be legitimately charged as compensation for an investment opportunity forgone, then a just rate of interest could in principle be formulated based on the expected return of an ordinary investment by which the lender could have profited at that time: “...the criterion [of a just rate of interest] is the just rate of profit from investment. This does not mean that the just rate of interest is exactly the same as the just rate of profit... [for] the profits of any business are due, at least in part, to the activities of those who are running it; and also that ordinary investment involves financial risks which are not inherent in loans of money. Consequently...the just rate of interest will be lower than the just rate of profit. How much lower? Evidently by as much as corresponds to the differential advantage of lending rather than investing.”3 It is interesting that as mainstream an economist as Paul Samuelson implicitly agrees with this evaluation of interest taking: “Let us make the realistic assumption that when I borrow money from you, my purpose is not to hold onto the cash: instead, I use the borrowed cash to buy capital goods...to create a net product over and above their replacement cost. Therefore, if I did not pay you interest, I should really be cheating you out of the return that you could get by putting your own money directly into such productive investment projects!”4

We should note that the Church did not consider investment as such illicit. But unlike investing in a business venture, which is subject to a certain risk, lending at usury demands a return — regardless of whether the borrower’s enterprise succeeds or fails.

When in the early 19th century the Church eased her instructions for confessors and allowed those charging moderate and legal interest to receive absolution, it was not because her doctrine had changed, but because such interest was seen as probable instances of one of the just titles to interest in an increasingly complex economy.

This was also probably the reason why usury began to be identified with the charging of excess interest — anything which at the time was prohibited by civil law.

But the fundamental point here is that even in today’s financialized economy, we cannot ignore morality.

Instead of simply doing what everyone else is doing, Catholics, in economic matters — as in so many other areas of life — have to stop and ask themselves how their behavior comports with the Gospel and the Church’s teaching.

The formal title of Pius XI’s 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno was On Reconstructing the Social Order and Perfecting It Conformably to the Precepts of the Gospel! A tall order, then as now — but an unavoidable duty of Catholics nevertheless. Faithful Catholics today already recognize that we have to work to remake the world’s attitudes toward sexuality; yet we must also recognize that the Gospel, as always understood by the Church, includes remaking the world’s attitudes toward economic morality — both of them parts of our duty to reconstruct the social order according to the precepts of the Gospel. m 1. There were some other titles to legitimate interest, including covering the lender’s expenses and providing for a possible default.

2. Paul Samuelson, Economics (New York: McGraw-Hill, 9th ed., 1973), p. 336.

3. Lewis Watt, «Usury in Catholic Theology» in Richard Mulcahy, ed., Readings in Economics (Westminster, Md.: Newman, 1959), p. 278.

4. Economics, 9th ed., p. 603

* Thomas Storck is a contributing editor of New Oxford Review, a member of the editorial board of The Chesterton Review, and lead host of the WCAT radio/TV program,“The Open Door.” His latest book is Economics: An Alternative Introduction (Arouca Press,2024).

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

37

INTERVIEW

bishop rAlph o’donnell A new AmericAn bishop goes to “bishop school” A prActice inAugurAted by pope John pAul ii in 1994, All new bishops Attend A week-long trAining course At the VAticAn, coVering eVerything from cAnon lAw to crisis mAnAgement to sociAl mediA use. n BY AnnA ARTYMIAK

The Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri announced the appointment of Fr. Ralph O’Donnell as its newly ordained Bishop as of October 28, 2025.

Inside the Vatican correspondent Anna Artymiak interviewed one of these “baby bishops,” as they are sometimes called – Bishop Ralph O’Donnell, the new bishop of Jefferson City, Missouri.

Your Excellency, you are one of the first bishops appointed by Pope Leo. Could you introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us about your vocation?

Sure. I was ordained in 1997. So I’ve been a priest for 28 years, and I’m from the Midwest of the United States — the archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska. I’ve been a parish priest, diocesan vocations director, director of the permanent diaconate, parish pastor again, then vice rector at a college seminary, five years as executive director of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, for the USCCB. The past six years, I was again pastor of a city parish, St. Margaret Mary.

How did you learn about your episcopal appointment and what made you accept when so many priests refuse?

The nuncio for the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, called and informed me that Pope Leo had appointed me the 5th bishop of Jefferson City, Missouri, and asked if I would accept.

I knew of the diocese because it is in my region, and I, when he said the name “Jefferson City,” I said “Missouri,” and he said, “You know of it?” and I said “Yes, because of my work at the seminary” — that was one of the dioceses that sent students to the seminary where I worked. And I prayerfully — in that moment, you’re just aware of your own limits — but I also thought of the Holy Father and his generosity in service, as the whole world watched in May, when he came to the loggia and greeted 38

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

us, and I was inspired to follow in that sense of service.

I think throughout our history, the Church’s history, there have always been challenges for the Church, and so we rely on God’s grace to help us respond with a spirit of humility and service.

Can you tell us a little bit about your motto and code of arms?

We’re still working on that, but my motto is “To serve the Lord with gladness,” from the psalm, and the crest itself has symbols of water — a stream of water through the center, which represents my home diocese, Omaha, which is on the Missouri River, and Jefferson City, the diocese where I will serve as bishop, also on the Missouri River.

The upper portion has the chi ro with the alpha and the omega as a symbol of Christ’s being the beginning and end, the “all” that we do, and the lower portion has the lily, the fleur-de-lis — my childhood parish was Our Lady of Lourdes — and this serves as a way of honoring Our Blessed Mother. I’ve also asked that the fleur-de-lis be stylized in a manner similar to Pope Leo’s, because he is the one who has appointed me.

How do you remember May 8, the election of the Holy Father?

Oh, it was wonderful. I was at a luncheon with at least 300 people in a large dining room, and they put it on the live screens, and we were with our newly appointed archbishop at the luncheon. We were all excited because we had heard that there was a pope elected, and then to find that he has been in the missions of Peru for so many years, but was a native of Chicago, and his kindness and warmth as he looked at all of us for the first time…it was beautiful to see.

You were soon in Rome meeting with Pope Leo. after the election and could He met with us at the Synod see him personally.

Hall. He presented a beautiful Yes, I was at a general audiconference talk to us and then ence with a group of pilgrims gave an opportunity to dialogue from the United States for the with the bishops. And then he Jubilee of Hope, and saw him stayed for each one of us to be from St. Peter’s Square, and he introduced one-on-one, which spoke beautifully of the Good was a real blessing.

Samaritan, and how Christ May I ask you what was the cares for us as, you know, indimost important from what vidually as the Good Samaritan Pope Leo told you?

12 of the 13 new American bishops who attended 2025 in the parable, and that we as a “Bishop He stressed that our call as a School” in Rome pose on the roof of the Pontifical church must care for those who bishop is for the Church, for us to North American College in Rome September 10.

Bishop O’Donnell is fourth from left. (CNS) have experienced difficulty in serve the cause of the Gospel, and this life, like the one who fell in Below: Pope Leo addresses the new bishops at this year’s that we are being sent as servants “Bishop School’ —the first of his pontificate. (Vatican Media) with robbers. And of course, I of faith. Again, this was inspiring had no idea that I would be because he is such a witness of "THE GIFT YOU HAVE RECEIVED IS that personally as the successor of returning to Rome for New Bishop’s School in September. NOT FOR YOURSELVES, BUT TO SERVE Saint Peter. He also was very Before asking about the practical in speaking of charisms THE CAUSE OF THE GOSPEL. YOU Bishop’s School, you said that are well suited to a bishop in your experience was very HAVE BEEN CALLED AS APOSTLES OF living out our life as followers of much focused on vocations. THE LORD”— LEO TO NEW BISHOPS the Lord.

What will you take from that You were also part of the in your new role as bishop? inauguration of the new Borgo I think the Lord continues to Laudato si’ in these beautiful call as he has ever called those gardens of Castel Gandolfo. to vocations within the Church, Yes, I also had the privilege priesthood, religious life, and while in Rome to attend the inauthe dedicated single state, as guration of the new Borgo disciples. As a bishop, I would Laudato Si’. That important prohope to help people recognize ject started by Pope Francis the voice of the Lord calling to involves a director who I have follow Him. Our world is very known from my years of ministry busy, and there are many voices in the United States, and so was to discern, but the Lord’s call is invited to attend. It was remarkspecial in that it’s always with the desire for us to grow able to see the good work that has been initiated to help closer to Him through the gift of whatever vocation is raise the consciousness of the world for the importance of ours. sustainability and the ennoblement of the human person Can you tell us a few words about how New Bishwith the dignity of labor. op’s School works?

Having been a part, as a parish priest, in efforts to be Among the 192 bishop-designates, there were three of mindful of the environment, it was incredible to see this us that would be ordained in the next month and a half. good work advance in such a remarkable way as this new Each day we had a number of lectures given by Prefects center. of the Dicasteries or their secretaries that ranged on topics The date chosen for your episcopal ordination was of spirituality, administration and theology. Then we October 28… would have a period of questions and answers after each Yes, the Feast of Saint Simon and Jude. And I had the speaker, and also we would break into small groups of opportunity to visit Saint Joseph’s Chapel in Saint Peter’s probably seven to maybe 18 bishops within our language Basilica and pray with Saint Simon and Jude — asking group. their intercession that I might worthily serve the Diocese of That was a very powerful experience, in that we had Jefferson City. My mother also has a great devotion to Saint the opportunity to meet bishops from all parts of the Jude, which she reminded me of when I told her the date. world and discuss the topics that were presented and how The Archbishop of Saint Louis, and then my Archbishthey might apply to our individual dioceses. op from Omaha, and my predecessor, the Archbishop of The core moment of your course was personal — Kansas City, Kansas were the consecrators. m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

39

EDUCATION

WiThouT Trying, orThodox CaTholiC College ranks #1 on u.s. neWs “soCial mobiliTy” index Thomas aquinas College finds The honor graTifying buT “ironiC” n BY CHRISTINA DEARDURFF

W

e are in the midst of a general crisis in higher education – an intellectual and spiritual crisis that is creating a generation of muddle-headed, unbelieving young people. One need only glance at the militant abortion apologists, the LGBT activists and the Antifa defenders — not to mention the rash of young, ideologically-indoctrinated assassins of the innocent.

Sadly, most Catholic colleges and universities long ago gave up their claim to truth and thus have been plunged into the very same crisis.

Catholic parents by the thousands have discovered the hard way that the “Catholic” school to which they sent their children was in fact an environment in which students routinely lost their faith, and often became “woke” and radicalized.

Even parents who felt uneasy about these Catholic schools still have believed that without the university diplomas they offered, their children would face future employment woes and pauperism.

Thomas Aquinas College, a classic liberal arts college and an orthodox Catholic institution, has proven them wrong.

In its annual review of American colleges and universities, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Thomas Aquinas College — which has campuses in California and Massachusetts — No. 1 in the United States for “social mobility.”

But the college is quick to point out that the designation is, in fact, “ironic.”

“This honor is greatly appreciated — but also ironic,” says John Goyette, Thomas Aquinas College’s vice president for advancement. “While many schools build their entire academic program around trying to help students improve their socioeconomic status, Thomas Aquinas College is not one of them.”

More than 50 years ago, the college was founded by a small band of Catholic professors in California who were able to read the signs of the times, and saw Catholic education collapsing around them.

They decided to embark on a journey of their own: to establish a unique program of authentically Catholic liberal education, in which students pursue truth and knowledge 40

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

as paths not only to wisdom, but also holiness. And by the grace of God, they succeeded.

They named the college after the great “Angelic Doctor” of the Church, Thomas Aquinas, author of the Summa Theologiae. The college’s integrated curriculum draws entirely upon the Great Books of Western civilization, with four years of philosophy, natural science, literature, mathematics and theology. There are no business classes, no professional-training programs, not even majors and minors.

“Our founders figured that, having honed the powers of comprehension, analysis, and reasoned discourse, our alumni would excel in their future work, but that was never the point,” adds Dr. Goyette. “Students pursue this education not to climb some societal ladder, but for its own sake.

And yet, according to the nation’s most popular college guide, this education better prepares them to ‘get ahead’ than countless other curricula dedicated to that very purpose.”

To determine its Social Mobility Index, U.S. News considers the percentage of students at a given school who qualify for Pell Grants — an indicator of economic need — and looks at their graduation rates relative to the overall student body. “Our high ranking reflects the college’s commitment to its robust financial aid program, which puts this education within reach of every family,” says Dr. Goyette.

“It’s also a testament to our small classes and devoted teaching faculty, who enable students to thrive in a highly rigorous program.”

The college, in fact, turns out to be ideal preparation for excelling in potentially higher-paid professions which require reasoning and analytical skills, such as medicine, law, government service, entrepreneurism and business management, to name a few.

Of the more than 4,000 American institutions included in the U.S. News annual survey, Thomas Aquinas College once again ranks among the top 100 national liberal arts colleges (one of only seven Catholic schools), climbing eight spots from last year to No. 55 overall and No. 63 among “Best Value Schools.” The magazine bases rankings on “17 key measures of academic quality,” ranging from graduation and retention rates to faculty resources and graduates’ average federal loan debt. m

CULTURE

the crisis in cAtholic educAtion: one MAn’s story A successful executive retires...And then finds new purpose n BY ROBERT MOYnIHAn

“T

A "Church crisis" becomes an "educational crisis" Despite the best interpretation put on the data by the National Catholic Education Association, our nation’s Catholic schools are emptying and closing.

Below is a chart showing the general trend over the last 85 years, Above, Cincinnati’s Corryville Catholic School was founded by the Sisters of from the late 1930s until today.

Children First Notre Dame of Namur in 1877.

The number of students went up First, care for the children.

Right, retired corporate executive Bill Schult took a temporary position as a from 2.4 million in 1939 to 5.25 milIf a society is falling apart, teacher’s aide at the inner-city school. lion in 1959, and since then, for 65 if confusion and misery and years, the number has steadily despair are spreading widely, then the thoughtful elders of the declined to just under 1.7 million: society must first focus on the children, on their health, welIn the decade of the 1960s, several fare, education and... on the spiritual formation of their souls phenomena began to occur at once, all for eternity. of them affecting the nation’s Catholic children.

That is the constant message of the Fathers, Doctors and Nuns began to leave their convents. (According to some Saints of the Catholic Church, men like St. John Chrysostom statistics, religious vocations have declined as much as 70% and St. Alphonsus Liguori and women like St. Thérèse of since 1965.)

Lisieux, who died at the age of 24, and many, many more, This meant that there were simply too few nuns to teach in throughout the ages.

Catholic schools.

All of them urged parents and leaders of society to focus These schools, therefore, are now staffed predominantly, first on the children if they wished their society to be at peace often exclusively, by paid lay people rather than unpaid reliand to prosper. gious.

And yet, in the modern Student Enrollment in Catholic Schools over Time the ship (called the “Italian Titanic”).

And that translates into world, far too many of our Catholic school tuitions that children are neglected, forgothave skyrocketed in response. ten, overlooked, and even, Meanwhile, Catholic diotragically, abused. ceses, which often help finanInto this situation of great cially support their parochial need, a leading American schools to greater or lesser Catholic businessman has extents, have in many cases decided to refocus his life, and been crippled by large paydirect all of his organizational outs to clerical abuse victims genius, to this fundamental in recent decades, restricting need: the care and education their available amounts for of children. school funding.

This is his story.

he downfall of society stems from a disregard for children.

Many parents seek the preservation of their estates, but not the preservation of the souls of those in their care.” —St. John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.), Father and Doctor of the Church.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 41

CULTURE

EDUCATION: ONE MAN’S STORY

Especially vulnerable to financial pressures are broken One of them is a retired executive named Bill Schult. families in which households are headed by a single parent In an age in which humanity itself is in question – in which (usually the mother). In 2021, the median income for a marAI and algorithms and digital identities are rapidly taking the ried two-parent household was $101,000; for a household place of genuine human interaction – the notion of performheaded by a single mother, $32,000. ing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy oneself, in perFurther, the failure in religious formation since the 1960s son, is becoming almost quaint. has lessened the number of well-catechized, devout teachers Yet Bill Schult, 63, did precisely that. and school administrators, whose primary goal should be to A successful Catholic corporate executive, now retired pass on the Faith and the Catholic intellectual heritage to the from the business world, Bill decided that rather than donatnext generation. ing a sum of money to a diocesan And the situation of the family outreach program or a large is as desperate as that of the Catholic NGO, he would do his school. Nearly half of marriages, part to serve his neighbor by even Catholic ones, end in actually doing his part, himself. divorce.

And the relationship between “Give us a child for 7 years” parental divorce and teen depresAs in most American cities, sion, drug use and legal trouble is there are not many Catholic well-documented. churches left in the inner city of Added to this: social mores in Cincinnati. general, particularly in the area of The religious identity of sexual morality — once presentmany of these communities, ing a set of “guardrails” that once built by Catholic European helped parents, and society, to immigrants, is now heavily Above, a 1957 photo of a Sr. Mary Cordis, 7th & 8th grade enforce at least a modicum of Protestant. school teacher, with her class at Holy Redeemer School familial and social stability — parochial Yet in the heart of Cincinnati, in Madison, Wisconsin. Below, St. Julie Biliart, 19th-century have been relaxed to the point of foundress of the teaching order Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Corryville Catholic School irrelevance. remains a faithful Catholic presence that has endured, shedding light How can the Church cope with into a sometimes dark place. this situation?

The Church has always taught that Certainly we must try to support the teaching and guidance of children authentic Catholic education wherever is not just a nice thing for the students; we can — education that includes the it is a bedrock of society and of human “struggle to arrive at truth” Pope Beneflourishing; and an avenue to the builddict XVI spoke of in his 2012 address ing up of the Body of Christ. to Catholic Educators at the Catholic So there is a long heritage of University of America.

Catholic education; a saying associatThat struggle, he said, is meant to ed with the Jesuits is “Give us a child arrive at a recognition of the Logos — for seven years, and we will give you “God’s creative reason” — and consethe man.” quently a love of Him and His goodEarly spiritual formation — or lack ness as evident in all creation. of it — they recognized, is profoundly But more and more Catholics are etched upon the soul of the human realizing that the institutions we have been relying upon to being. educate our children are not in fact succeeding at this.

The Jesuits are just one religious order that recognized the One answer to this conundrum, some have concluded, tremendous value in the formation of children; another is the may be that we must take matters into our own hands.

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, founded in 1804 by St. Julie Many have done this by leaving the parochial schools to Biliart in Amiens, France. begin homeschooling; others have started small schools in Corryville Catholic is an elementary school founded by their own Catholic communities; a few have cobbled together those Sisters in 1877. It serves children of all faith backa combination of the two, referred to as “hybrid schools.” grounds, and none, and only a small percentage are Catholic.

But there are also a few brave souls who have simply But with a strong sense of community and dedication to decided to go into a school and try to make a difference themacademic and moral excellence, the school, led by its princiselves, with their own time and talents. pal, Mr. Jessie Back, strives to be a source of hope, guidance, 42

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

and opportunity for every child it serves.

school after the Covid lockdowns, and were still wearing masks…the impact has been devastating.

“I have hope that over time, they ‘catch up' from the Covid disaster, and as we continue to emphasize God and faith…But the biggest factor continues to be a safe and loving environment at home,” he adds.

From the boardroom to the classroom “After completing my corporate career, I knew that I wanted to work in the Catholic world, " Bill Schult says.

"I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I knew that I have been given much and therefore much was expected from me.

"So it was out of the question that I would simply retire.

"At first I was embarrassed..."

“When I exited my last company in June 2021, I resolved "To be honest, at first I was embarrassed to be seen by my to take a few months off to do some kind of service before former colleagues doing the work of a teacher's aide. searching for new employment in earnest. Instead I became "When I interacted with visitors to the school, I always aware of an interim (4-month) opportunity as a teacher's aide made sure to tell them that I was 'only there on an interim in an inner city Catholic elementary school, and I took it. basis' and that I would be 'leaving shortly.'

“At the time,” he continues, “I figured I could do anything "But then something strange began to happen. for four months.”

"I began to see my work as a form of service.

This was not Bill Schult’s comfort zone.

"If Jesus could wash the feet of His disciples, why couldn't “When I first arrived at the school in November 2021, I I do all of the things that are part of an aide's job, including hated the work that I was the menial tasks?” assigned,” Schult said. “I thought that I would be tutor"I love you, Mr. Bill" ing, but it was much more "I began to form relationmundane…I was responsible ships with the students and for greeting the children and recognized that they looked up helping them with breakfast to me and even came to me — opening cereal boxes, with insightful questions I had pouring milk and cleaning up not previously considered. spills.

"I began to realize that God “I had just concluded 38 had put me in the lives of these years in Finance and Accountchildren, and had put them in ing, where I led teams of 200 my life for a specific purpose. people including various lev"Rather than being embarels of assistants. rassed by what I was doing, I Bill Schult with one of the students he tutors at Coryville Catholic "I had been to dozens of was happy to talk about it to Elementary School, located in the inner city of Cincinnati, Ohio. countries, and interacted with others when asked… prominent individuals in the worlds of business and even in "I began to love these children and made it my aim to treat politics. them as well as I treat my own grandchildren in every inter"I was largely responsible for strategy and high-level tacaction and exchange. tical execution, and suddenly I was cleaning up milk spills for "I work with children from ages 4 through 10. Many of the a bunch of children.” younger ones have told me 'I love you, Mr. Bill,' as I think they value the stability and consistency I provide (both often missA crisis in education, a crisis in society ing from their lives) and because they recognize that I take an The situation confronting Bill Schult upon his arrival at interest in them.

Corryville Catholic was similar to the one present in virtually "One third grade girl even confided to me that she hoped every American inner city. she might find 'a husband just like you' when she grows up.”

Though he found the children to be delightful — as all Toward a renewal of Catholic education children are, in their native innocence and beauty of soul — I asked Bill Schult what he wished to do about the crisis in the home situations of some were difficult, whether due to Catholic education. financial hardship or familial instability – or, often, both.

"There is little we can do regarding many of the most dif“Some come from broken families,” says Schult. “Some have ficult issues," he said. "At school, we have to continue to let experienced family separation and even neglect. these kids know that God loves them and also what He has in “Many of them have never been told that they are children store for them. That is the most important thing we can do. of God. "I would like to be in touch with others who would like to “I’ve learned that many are starving for that truth. work to get this message across to children. Together we may “When I started, on top of the difficult home lives that be able to do something that will bring about the renewal of many of the children have, they had only recently returned to Catholic elementary education." m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

43

SCRIPTURE

the stenCh oF death, the savor oF LiFe “For we are the aroma oF Christ to God” n BY AnTHOnY ESOLEn * "Raising of Lazarus"

by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, USA Opposite page, “Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb” by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence.

I

have long felt that the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah led up to an anticlimax, at least as it is rendered in English. The owner of the vineyard, who represents God, has done everything he could to tend what he has planted.

He has chosen a good hill, no doubt one that faces the south and the sun. He has fenced it, cleared it of stones, built a tower in the middle of it, set up a wine press, and waited for the harvest. “And he looked for it to yield grapes,” says the prophet, “but it yielded wild grapes” (Is. 5:2). That is how Judah and Jerusalem have rendered back to God the good He has done for them.

But what is wrong with “wild grapes”? That they are not as good as cultivated grapes, I can well believe. Yet where we live in New Hampshire, the edges of woods that face the south are often overhung with wild grapevines of the Concord variety, and the aroma in the warm sun is like what I might imagine from a grape jelly factory. I’ve often plucked a bunch of wild grapes and enjoyed the strong flavor and the sweetness. I suppose that many other people have done so, so that the strongly negative force of the phrase “wild grapes” eludes us.

At such a point we may expect that the trouble lies with a difficulty in translation, and sure enough, it does. The Hebrew for grapes, ‘anabim, is quite simply a completely different word from what the prophet uses for the fruit we in English must end up calling wild grapes: be’ushim. It is not “grapes,” with a pejorative adjective appended. It is something else. But what?

The Hebrew root, ba’ash, means to stink. Forms of that 44

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

word and of its derivatives are frequent in the Old Testament, and they all suggest something odious or shameful.

The suffering Job, sitting on a dungheap, scraping his festering sores with the shard of a clay pot, cannot have smelled sweet, but in the final words of his complaint he insists that he has been morally sound: “If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together; if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners; let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley” (Job 31:38-40; Hebrew bo’shah). Or, as I would put it, since we are not talking about a variety of weeds but only one, “Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and stinkweed instead of barley.” Job is sound, despite the smell of the misery about him.

But usually it is the other way around: the stink is moral, and it floats in the air despite good fortune in the world. An example from Genesis will suffice. A young Canaanite man, Shechem, seizes Dinah, one of the daughters of Jacob, and rapes her. But he loves her and speaks kindly to her, and he asks his father Hamor to arrange a marriage between them. The sons of Jacob give their consent on condition: that all the men on the other side be circumcised — invited into the covenant of Abraham.

Hamor and Shechem agree, and they persuade the rest of their men. But on the third day, no doubt while the men were swollen and raw from the operation, Simeon and Levi slay them, take Dinah away, and despoil the city. They get no thanks from their father Jacob, who will, to his dying day, remember this act with disapproval. “You have

brought trouble on me,” he says, “by making me odious to But there is more than the absence of corruption. In the inhabitants of the land” (Gen. 34:30). For “making me Christ, we have the fragrance of the true sacrifice, which odious,” read “making me stink” – from Hebrew hab’ish, we can take part in, loving as he loved us. “Therefore be the causative of ba’ash, not to stink but to make stink. imitators of God,” says Paul, “as beloved children, as The thing about the stench is that unless you are looking Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offerat what you know must smell bad by its nature, it cannot be ing and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1-2). seen. It lurks underneath.

The Christian life then is also fragrant, though not Hence we can understand all the better the embarrasseveryone will receive it as such: “Thanks be to God, who ment that Martha felt, Martha in Christ always leads us in trialways solicitous for the comumph, and through us spreads fort of others, and sensitive to the fragrance of the knowledge appearances, when Jesus told of him everywhere. For we are the men to roll away the stone the aroma of Christ to God before the tomb of Lazarus. among those who are being “Lord,” she says, “by this time saved and among those who are there will be an odor, for he has perishing, to one a fragrance been dead four days” (Jn. from death to death, to the other 11:39). She would have used a a fragrance from life to life” (2 form of that same verb that Cor. 2:14-16). Those whose David himself, crying out in nostrils are full of death cannot repentance, used: “My wounds savor the fragrance of life. grow foul and fester, because of Nevertheless, we walk with my foolishness” (Ps. 38:5; Christ, no matter what anyone Hebrew hib’ishu). thinks of it. We do not wash our Here for Martha it is the robes in wild grapes. We are, I embarrassment of mortality; the suppose, stuck with that translasmell would be an offense to the tion of be’ushim; but we might man’s memory. And who knows fancy a colloquial alternative, in whether Martha was correct the margin of our minds: “AND WHEN THE SABBATH WAS PAST, MARY about the smell? We are told stinkers. only that Jesus raised Lazarus MAGDALENE, AND MARY THE MOTHER OF JAMES, It is not just that we cannot from that bed of death, and what AND SALOME, HAD BOUGHT SWEET SPICES, SO THAT gnash down such foul stuff. It is lay beneath was not corruption that if we linger among the THEY MIGHT GO AND ANOINT HIM” (MK. 16:1). and a dead man’s bones, but life. stench-fruit, as I might put it, or There is, of course, another tomb in the gospels. We the poison-berries, as Strong’s suggests, we miss the real know that before the beginning of the Sabbath, which we wine. would call sundown on Friday, Joseph of Arimathea and Think of Jacob’s blessing of Judah: “He washes his garNicodemus laid the body of Jesus in a new tomb hewn out ments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes” (Gen. of the rock, in a garden nearby. They wrapped the body in 49:11). We too seek to wash our garments in the blood of linen along with a mixture of myrrh and aloes (Jn. 19:39grapes, that is, in the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, the 42). It was doubtless a hurried affair. Hence, at sunrise on wondrous bunch of grapes from the true and ultimate the day after the Sabbath, the holy women come to do the Promised Land: work properly: “And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they had bought sweet spices, so that they might go and anoint come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, him” (Mk. 16:1). “Sweet spices” — that is Greek aromata, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulawhich Jerome in his Latin translation leaves intact. tion; they have washed their robes and made them white The emphasis is on the sweet smell: but there is no in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:13-14). need for them, and not just because there is no corruption to mask or overwhelm. The risen Christ, as * Dr. Anthony Esolen, faculty member at Thales the poet Herbert puts it, is sweeter than all the Arabian College in North Carolina, has been a professor of litspices: erature and humanities for 35 years and is a poet and The sun arising in the east, author or translator of more than 30 books and over 1000 Though he give light, and the east, perfume, articles. Dr. Esolen publishes a web magazine dedicated to If they should offer to contest language, music, poetry and classic films called Word and With thy arising, they presume. (“Easter,” 23-26) Song with his wife, Debra. m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

45

SPIRITUALITY BEHIND BARS

observing the festal Day During ChristmastiDe, the streams of graCe overflow their banks… n BY MARCELLUS ALLEn ROBERTS *

.

On the opposite page: Pope Saint Leo the Great, whose texts are a source of reflection for the author of this article. He was the 45th Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Catholic Church. He is venerated as a saint by both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. His pontificate lasted from September 29, 440, until his death on November 10, 461.

I

t’s 4 am on Christmas morning. As the bulk of men who woke up for breakfast return from the chow hall and climb back into their bunks, a small contingent of Catholics trickle into the day room. There is a playful, schoolboy air about them as they greet each other with hugs and smiles that radiate lighthearted mischief. They have negotiated a concession with the guard on duty who allows them to remain in the day room until he leaves for shift change.

Some of the men are bright-eyed morning people, ready to cheerfully awaken the dawn. Others had to be shaken awake by elder brothers. Yawns melt into grins and spread broadly across faces as the men, each in turn, deposit their offerings on the steel table about which they have encircled themselves.

“For consider your call, brethren, not many of you were wise according to the flesh...” (1 Corinthians 1:26a RSV2-CE) No gold, neither frankincense, nor myrrh, but an assortment of commissary-bought confections descend on the table. There is enough black-bag instant coffee, creamer, sweetener and cinnamon-flavored fireballs to brew every cup thick as eggnog and syrupy-sweet. The men brought cookies: duplex cremes, vanilla cremes, iced oatmeal cookies, and little green and red sprinkled shortbreads in the shape of Santa Claus and Christmas trees. Plus, barbecue chips, to cleanse the palate and bring out the flavor of the sweetmeats.

The men look around the circle at one another and glory in the small act of devotion that is transpiring. They have come to worship the King enrobed in swaddling clothes who accepts even the most modest gifts. Christ is especially theirs this morning. The excitement of lowly 46

INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

shepherds is all over them. While the rest of the cellblock sleeps, these few have risen early to proclaim the birth of Christ. “...not many of noble birth...” (1Corinthians 1:26b RSV2-CE) This congregation is representative of the nations the Christ Child came to save. They have a Gaspar from Upstate New York. A Balthasar hails from Indiana. Their Melchior was born and raised in a small parish outside New Orleans, Louisiana. All of them, at a point in the past, morally bankrupt. Each of them admittedly poor in spirit. None of them too proud to approach the Child Jesus empty-handed and asking for his blessing.

The goodies on the table will be shared among the men. Sharing between Catholic inmates is a study in compassion, how they learn the love to be shared with the world by expressing it within the household of God first.

But before they indulge, adoration is due to the guest of honor: an Office of Readings for the newborn Lord of Glory.

This celebration begins with the invitatory: “Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him.” (Invitatory Antiphon, Christmas) Maybe, one day, when the right to privacy has been whittled to nothing, the world might tune in to a YouTube channel and witness one of these solemn moments of prison devotion, polished to a shine by the living Gospel — genuine reflections of Christ’s love blinking in and out of existence like the stars of a distant, crystalline galaxy. Be aware, there is a carousel of goodness that spirals outward to the rhythm of the liturgical calendar. During Christmastide, the streams of grace so overflow their banks and flood the deltas of hearts in prison that those

inside the walls become exceptionally Pope Leo the Great exhorts the prisvulnerable to the Glory of God, peace oners and delicately steers their gaze and the goodwill of their fellow men. away from the present condition of No wonder that they can feel it. The their exile, and fixes it on their everinmates who lay snug in their beds testipresent position at the right hand of the fy. They speak to themselves in their Father. He asks that they pierce the hearts, saying, “Here it comes. Here it veil, squint and look as far as the eyes comes, just like in the movies.” of faith can see. In this way, they are The haunting, toy-box melody of reminded that all is well because it Greensleeves drifts uninvited down the ends well. This life is, quite literally, a corridors and finds its occupants tucked Divine comedy, the greatest story ever under, but fast awake. told; the depths of its drama are incaFragments of lyrics. Familiar faces. pable of impeding its promised eterFond memories. Ghosts of Christmas nally happy ending. past. Two cellmates in their separate “Today the whole earth was filled bunks silently surrender a portion of with heaven’s sweetness.” (Responsothemselves to the words of “What Child ry, Office of Readings, Christmas) is This.” Secretly, they both find joy in The guard on duty is watching and the courage of the Catholic cohort listening, paying attention to the that is willing to risk ridicule in activity in the day room. An inmate “DEARLY BELOVED, TODAY OUR order to solemnize the day. Neither begins to sing “Mary Did You SAVIOR IS BORN: LET US REJOICE. cellmate crawls from under the Know?” and the officer surrenders comfort of his covers to join SADNESS SHOULD HAVE NO PLACE ON to the Solemnity. He starts singing THE BIRTHDAY OF LIFE. THE FEAR OF them.”Here it is,” they speak to along, softly and to himself, in themselves in their hearts. “Christ- DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP. LIFE Nigerian-accented English. In his mas. It came. Just like in the BRINGS US JOY WITH THE PROMISE OF mind’s eye, he holds the image of movies. Just like Dr. Seuss said it his wife and children; he sings ETERNAL HAPPINESS.” — POPE LEO would, without the shopping or the sweetly, tenderly, as if they are preTHE GREAT, OFFICE OF READINGS, presents. Just the adorers of the sent with him this Christmas mornCHRISTMAS Babe and their indomitable joy.” ing.

“The Word was made man, The correctional officer speaks Pietro Cavallini, Natività, alleluia. to himself in his heart, saying, Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome.

— He lay among us, alleluia.”

“Those prisoners do not know that (Office of Readings ResponsoI am their brother. I love Jesus too! ry, Christmas) I am far away from my family and The men linked together in homeland. I have not been to Mass liturgical prayer are learning that since I left my country. Maybe I there is no present like the preswill go to Mass after work. Perhaps ence: of a loved one, a brother, a I will go to confession.” stranger, a friend. Aloof from famThe Christmas season is powerily and far from home, these keepful. It is impressive in the way that ers of the Solemnity insulate thema child’s palm is impressive to a selves from the bitter pangs of slab of wet cement. We should go loneliness and separation by being present to one another as far as to say that it is the Trojan horse of the Catholic now, this Christmas.

Faith. The Christ Child accepts gifts from all nations and “Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born: let us welcomes every culture to put its stamp on the holy day. rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of The Bambino only makes one request: The people of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up. Life brings God, regardless of situation and circumstance, must us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.” (Pope Leo always celebrate the festal day with glory to God in the the Great, Office of Readings, Christmas) Highest, peace on the earth, and goodwill toward men. It Today the yoke is gentle and easy, simple and light. is expected of us by both God and man. Merry ChristChrist speaks, through Peter, from the Chair, and banishmas.m es sadness from his celebration. He makes no exceptions, not for the weak and suffering, not for the well living in *Marcellus Roberts is a Catholic Texas prison inmate relative peace. We all have every reason to joyfully glory and Prison Oblate of St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, in God. Kansas, serving a 25-year penance.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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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

SAINT PAUL OF THEBES WITH HIS CHOICE OF LIFESTYLE, PAUL OPENED NEW PATHS FOR THE MONASTIC WORLD

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aint Anthony the Great is generally considered the er, unlike Paul, Anthony was known to live as a monk Father of Monasticism, but he was not the first monk and gradually a community of like-minded men grew up in the Egyptian desert. That honor seems to belong to around him. He continued in his solitary state until Saint Paul of Thebes, who had been living in seclusion around 305, when the surrounding monks finally presince around 243 A.D. vailed upon him to become their formal abbot. All this His parents had died, leaving a small fortune behind. time, Paul lived in the vicinity, but his neighboring Paul’s sister had married, evimonks remained totally ignodently to a pagan; in order to rant of him. obtain Paul’s share of the inherAround the year 342, Anthoitance, this brother-in-law beny had a dream which revealed trayed Paul’s Christianity to the to him the existence and locaauthorities during the persecution of Paul. Anthony went to tions of Decius and Valerianus. find this hitherto unknown Paul fled to the desert in fear of monk and finally the two his life, but, once settled in a ancients met. They conversed cave conveniently located near for a day and a night; they each a clear spring and a fruitful date insisted that the other bless the palm tree, he gave himself over bread brought by the raven. to prayer and fasting.

Finally, they each took an end of He never returned to the the loaf and said a joint blessing, world and lived totally forgotwhereupon the loaf broke in ten for the next hundred years. half; they ate as they continued He had water, and the palm tree their holy discussion. provided his food; he clothed After their meeting, Anthony himself with its leaves, and so went back to his monastery, passed his years in intimate promising another visit soon. communion with God. When He kept his promise, bringing as Paul was 43 years old, a raven a gift to Paul a cloak Patriarch began bringing him half a loaf Athanasius had given to Anthoof bread each day to supplement ny some time before. Alas, by his diet. the time Anthony reached “Saints Anthony Abbot and Paul the Hermit” by Diego Paul was not the first monk Paul’s cave, the old man had Velázquez, Prado Museum, Madrid. in Egypt itself. By this time, died, having attained the great there were already a number of establishments loosely age of 113. Anthony buried Paul with honor, being organized into communities. Most notable among these helped by two lions in digging the grave. Anthony himwere the Therapeuti, who lived a common life more or self honored Paul with the title “The First Monk.” less modeled after the ancient Essene communities in Saint Jerome wrote the first biography of Saint Paul Palestine. But there was as yet no tradition in Egypt at around the year 375. Paul’s cult grew from that beginall of monks living entirely as solitaries or strict hermits. ning, quickly spreading throughout the universal In his choice of lifestyle, Paul was definitely breaking Church. His feast is celebrated by the Roman Church as new monastic ground. well as all the Orthodox Churches. The Order of Saint Saint Anthony ventured into the desert in about the Paul the First Hermit was founded in Hungary in the year 270, well after Paul had begun his seclusion.

13th century. The monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite Anthony knew nothing of Paul and believed himself to still thrives in the Egyptian desert at the site of the holy be the first monk to retire to a desert hermitage. Howevman’s cave near the Red Sea. m page 48

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East-West Watch

BY PETER ANDERSON

DARK CLOUDS OVERSHADOW OLDEST CHRISTIAN MONASTERY

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he oldest continuously figuration,” to change the area inhabited Christian monaround the Monastery into a astery in the world is the luxury mega-resort. The proGreek Orthodox Monastery ject is centered approximately of St. Catherine, located on two kilometers from the the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

Monastery itself. It includes a It was built at the location of large hotel and other tourist three extremely important facilities providing over Old Testament events.

1,000 rooms. There is a large According to tradition, it visitors center. A new was here that Moses saw the enlarged “St. Catherine Interburning bush and learned the national Airport” has been name of God. (Exodus 3:1constructed to accommodate 15) Moses met his wife, Zip600 passengers per hour. The The Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Catherine, located in the Sinai porah, the daughter of Jethro, Peninsula, Egypt. Below, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose relics were Monastery, which survived found on a nearby mountain and brought to the monastery. at the water well located here. for centuries due to its isola(Exodus 2:15-21) Finally, the Monastery is situated at the tion, will now be inundated by tourists. base of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten ComThere is a second threat which may change the character mandments. (Exodus 31:18) Both the bush and the well of the Monastery from a great spiritual center into a museremain at the Monastery today. um. On May 28, 2025, Egypt’s Ismailia Court of Appeals It appears that the first building at the site was the issued a decision which held that the properties of the Chapel of the Burning Bush, which was ordered to be conMonastery are owned by Egypt and are subjected to the structed by St. Helena during the reign of her supervision of the ministries of antiquities and son, Constantine. From 542 to 551, the Basilica environment. This is amazing in view of the fact of the Transfiguration was constructed by the that the monks have possessed the property for orders of Emperor Justinian. It incorporated the 1,500 years. The government of Greece is now site of the original Chapel of the Burning Bush. negotiating with Egypt to ensure that the Greek Justinian also ordered the construction of masand religious nature of the Monastery is presive walls to surround the monastery complex. served.

Several centuries later, the relics of St. Catherine A third threat is a dispute which recently of Alexandria were found on a nearby mountain occurred between the monks and their abbot. On and brought to the Monastery.

July 30, 2025, fifteen of the twenty-two monks The Monastery preserved some of the most important voted to depose Abbot Damianos, who also holds the title early Christian manuscripts. The foremost is the Codex Archbishop of Sinai, Pharan and Raitho. A period of turSinaiticus, dating to the mid-fourth century. It contains a moil followed. Following mediation efforts by the Greek majority of the Greek Old Testament and is the oldest comgovernment, Abbot Damianos, who has held his position plete copy of the New Testament. It is now in the British since 1974, agreed to resign. On September 14, 2025, the Museum. The Monastery presently contains the world’s monks elected a new abbot, Archimandrite Symeon largest collection of Byzantine icons which predate the Papadopoulos. In an extremely encouraging sign of future destruction of icons during the iconoclasm heresy. unity, the vote was unanimous.

Although the Monastery has encountered challenges The Monastery clearly needs help from others to preduring the past fifteen centuries, it is now facing modern serve its spiritual nature. Hopefully, public opinion will challenges that threaten its very nature. In 2021, Egyptian cause the Egyptian government to maintain the great spirPresident Sisi launched a project, called “The Great Transitual tradition of this most holy place. m InsideTheVatican.com t UrbietOrbiCommunications.com t +1-202-536-4555

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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: M AT T H E W T R O J A C E K

NEWS from the EAST POPE LEO: GAZA CEASEFIRE “SPARK OF HOPE” completed, the revised first draft — on infallibility — will be As the cease-fire in Gaza held on Sunday, October 12, considered next year by the Coordinating Committee, with Pope Leo XIV welcomed the peace agreement for giving “a the hope of preparing it for consideration at a Plenary Meetspark of hope in the Holy Land.” He encouraged “the parties ing of the Commission. (OrthodoxTimes) involved to courageously continue along the path mapped out, towards a just, lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspiMULTIPLE ORTHODOX JURISDICTIONS rations of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.”

AT POPE’S COMMEMORATION OF MARTYRS The 20-point agreement that started with the cease-fire and ECUMENICAL SERVICE the exchange of hostages and prisHierarchical and clerical repreoners is mainly attributable to the sentatives from at least nine Orthowork of President Donald Trump, dox Churches attended Pope Leo’s who pressured Israeli Prime Minisecumenical service dedicated to the ter Netanyahu into accepting the Commemoration of Martyrs and plan, with the assistance of officials Witnesses of the Faith in the 21st from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, who Century, held at the papal Basilica pushed Hamas to do likewise. of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls on Pope Leo recalled that the “two Sunday, September 14. years of conflict” that started on The service featured hymns, October 7, 2023, “have left death readings, and prayers led by Orthoand ruin everywhere, especially in dox, Catholic, Protestant, and Orithe hearts of those who have brutalental representatives, including sevly lost their children, parents, eral female Protestant pastors.

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls.

Pope Leo’s ecumenical service dedicated to the Commemoration friends, everything.”

The first Orthodox cleric at the of Martyrs and Witnesses of the Faith in the 21st Century He was referring to the some mic was Archbishop Ilia of Helsinki 2,000 Israelis who have died, and hundreds more Israelis and All Finland of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, who wounded in that conflict, and the more than 67,000 Palestinioffered a short prayer: ans who have been killed and over 167,000 wounded in these “Let us remember those who facing death, placed their past two years. Most disturbing of all are the number of chiltrust in God alone, proving their faith in resurrection and dren who have been killed in the conflict, an estimated 18,000 those who, embracing Christian faith, were killed because of of them, and the number of W.C.N.S.F.s—“wounded child, no their Baptism. Let us also remember with them the witness surviving family”—compiled by U.N. officials.(NCR) of the Gospel of all denominations, catechists, and missionaries, whose lives were cut short for having led others to love CATHOLIC-ORTHODOX DIALOGUE the Lord Jesus. This is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

COMMISSION CONCLUDES WORK The last prayer to be offered was the Our Father, which The Coordinating Committee of the Joint International everyone present said together, each in his own tongue.

Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman (OrthoChristian) Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, under the co-presidency of Cardinal Kurt POPE LEO HOLDS FIRST AUDIENCE Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting FOR ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS Christian Unity, and Metropolitan Job of KAREKIN II Pisidia, Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstanKarekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, tinople, met from 8–12 September 2025 at the was received in audience by Pope Leo XIV on Holy Metropolis of Rethymno and AvlopotaSeptember 16, the first meeting between the mos, Crete. two. Since his election twenty-five years ago, The work of the Coordinating Committee Catholicos Karekin has met with Saint John began with the consideration of two draft texts.

Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

These texts, on the historical and theological The meeting unfolded in “a fraternal and issues related to Infallibility and the Filioque cordial atmosphere, during which various were drafted by two subcommittees formed ecclesial issues were discussed, and the Armenfollowing the decisions taken by the Coordinatian Patriarch emphasized the fate of the ArmeniKarekin II, Catholicos of All ing Committee in Bari, Italy, in 2024. Once ans of Artsakh,” said Archbishop Khajag Armenians page 50

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Barsamian, representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Etchmiadzin to the Holy See. The Patriarch extended an invitation to the Pope to visit Armenia, Archbishop Barsamian continued, and both reaffirmed the necessity of peace founded on justice. (VaticanNews)

ALL ACTIVITIES OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH NOW ILLEGAL On August 27, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) issued an order to “recognize the Kyiv Metropolis Of The Ukrainian Orthodox Church… as affiliated with a foreign religious organization, the activities of which are prohibited in Ukraine in accorVANCE QUESTIONS ECUMENICAL dance with Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Protection of PATRIARCHATE ABOUT GRANTING the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Reli“AUTOCEPHALY” TO ORTHODOX CHURCH OF gious Organizations’ [Law 3894].” This order was expected UKRAINE as Metropolitan Onufry (head of the UOC) had written a letter Ukrainian political analyst Kostiantyn Bondarenko has to DESS on August 16 informing the government agency that revealed purported details of the September 15 White House the Kyiv Metropolis would not comply with DESS’s order to meeting between Vice President J.D. Vance and Patriarch eliminate certain claimed signs of affiliation with the Russian Bartholomew, as shared in a discussion with blogger OlekOrthodox Church. sandr Shelest.

The Order triggers three actions that DESS must now take.

Vance, a known advocate for religious freedoms, reportThe first is that DESS now sends “an order to eliminate vioedly confronted the Patriarch about the persecution of the lations” to all religious organizations Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. which are affiliated with or are a part of Bartholomew attempted to justify his the Kyiv Metropolis. The list of them stance by referencing historical events like posted by DESS included 52 eparchies of the Holodomor and Stalinist repressions. the UOC and many monasteries. As one The Americans, however, reportedly found will recall, Law 3894 prohibits the activthis claim unconvincing. ities of all religious organizations which The Patriarch was also questioned about are affiliated with a religious organizahis ties to former U.S. Secretary of State tion which is affiliated with the Russian Mike Pompeo, including Pompeo’s role in Orthodox Church. the creation of the Orthodox Church of The second action is that notice is Ukraine. sent “to the State Property Fund of Vance supposedly suggested the EcuUkraine, local self-government bodies, menical Patriarchate may have received His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch other legal and natural persons, in money from the U.S. government in Bartholomew met privately with U.S. President respect of whom there is information exchange for granting autocephaly to the Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, September 15, 2025. (The Ecumenical Patriarchate). about their provision of property to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. (UOJ) relevant religious organization [the Kyiv Metropolis, UOC], for the early termination of the rights DURING U.S. VISIT, BARTHOLOMEW WARNS OF to use the property, including the early termination of lease DANGERS OF NATIONALISM agreements for the relevant property concluded with the reliDuring his Apostolic Visit to the U.S. in Washington, D.C., gious organization, the cancellation (early termination) of on September 16 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew decisions on the provision of the relevant property for use;” attended a dinner hosted in his honor by Michael J. Rigas, From the language of the Law, it appears that effective immeDeputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. diately it is illegal for anyone to provide property for use by Bartholomew issued a pointed warning about the dangers the Kyiv Metropolis, UOC. of nationalism in religion, urging instead a renewed global The third required action is to file with the court a claim to commitment to dialogue, coexistence, and the dignity of terminate the Kyiv Metropolis itself. Under Law 3894, the every human being. claim must be filed with the appellate administrative court for “As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to Kyiv. The appeals court must consider the case “within one pursue the kingdom of God, not any kingdom of man, no matmonth after the opening of the appellate proceedings.” ter how inviting,” the Ecumenical Patriarch told an audience Additionally, Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Serof ambassadors, diplomats, clergy, and U.S. officials. vice of Ukraine (SBU), has stated that the SBU has been The Patriarch acknowledged that many Orthodox churchinvestigating more than 170 cases against priests of the UOC es are structured around national identities, shaped by culture for treason or inciting enmity. It is my understanding that and history. But he was emphatic that the role of the church is UOC bishops and priests are being placed under suspension not to reinforce nationalism. “Religion was used to consoliby the SBU for contending that the government-favored date peoples around specific governments, giving coherence Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) does not have valid ordito earthly empires, kingdoms and nation-states,” he said. “But nations, is not a Church, and does not have Grace. It is has not the human family arrived at a point when such rigid claimed that making such assertions is inciting interreligious forms of conformity no longer serve the interest of the peohatred. (PeterAnderson) m ple?” (OrthodoxTimes) InsideTheVatican.com t UrbietOrbiCommunications.com t +1-202-536-4555

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Of Books, Art and People

A Once-in-A-Lifetime exhibitiOn Of beAtO AngeLicO n By Lucy Gordan Probably a self-portrait of Fra Angelico in the “Strozzi Altarpiece”

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the Vatican. It’s his only surblockbuster exhibition viving work in the Vatican celebrating Fra Angeliand in Rome. He died at the co (c.1395-1455), betDominican Convent next ter known as “Beato (Blessed) door to the Church of Santa Angelico,” is on display until Maria sopra Minerva; he’s January 25, 2026 at two locaburied there. The words chistions in Florence. Palazzo eled on his grave say: Strozzi, a Renaissance palace, “When you praise me, since 2006 has been the locadon’t say that I am a famous tion of the city’s major tempopainter. Instead say that for rary art exhibitions; the San love of Jesus I gave everyMarco Museum is the former thing I had to the poor. The Dominican convent where this things that seem to be imporfriar-painter, the founding fatant on Earth are not the ther of Renaissance art in Flothings that are important in rence, lived and worked. To“The Deposition” or “Strozzi Altarpiece.” (Photo: Courtesy of the Ministero day it’s home to the world’s della Cultura-Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Toscana-Museo di San Marco). Heaven. I am brother John, largest collection of his fres- Below, ‘Franciscan Triptych.’ (Photo: Courtesy of the Ministero della Cultura- from Florence, the flower of Opificio delle Pietre Dure) Tuscany.” coes and of his paintings, To return to the exhibition, as the press release explains, these all displayed in their own newly-opened room. the construction of San Marco “represents a crossroads of reA word about Fra Angelico: Born near Fiesole, a few ligious devotion, culture and political power in 15th-century miles uphill from Florence, he joined the Dominican Order Florence” — for Fra Angelico’s artistic vision was deeply there in 1407. The first payments he received as an artist date rooted in religious devotion. Moreover, Cosimo the Elder de’ to January/February 1418 for paintings, now lost, in Fiesole’s Medici (1389-1464), the omnipotent banker/politician as well church of Santo Stefano del Ponte. Two decades later, in as lover of the arts, who’d commissioned the architect Mich1436, when the new Dominican Convent of San Marco in elozzo to build the complex, thereby became the devoted paFlorence, commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici, was complettron of its artist-in-residence Fra Angelico. ed, Fra Angelico was one of the friars who “Fra Angelico” is curated by Carl moved there. It remained his home for the Bradon Strehlke, Curator Emeritus of rest of his life except for the decade the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with 1445-1455, when he worked for Stefano Casciu, the Regional DirecPopes Eugenius IV (r. 1431-1447) tor of Tuscany’s National Museand Nicholas V (r.1447-1455) in ums, and Angelo Tartuferi, the the Vatican, with a brief interformer Director of the recentlylude in 1447 when he painted reopened San Marco Museum. some frescoes for the cathedral It marks the first major exhibiin Orvieto. tion in Florence dedicated to the At the time of his death on artist exactly 70 years after February 18, 1455 he was fres1955’s monographic show. coing Pope Nicholas’s small Thus, a once-in-a-lifetime exprivate Chapel, depicting in perience! bright colors and with gold leaf The more than 140 worksdecorations the lives of St. of-art, which include paintings, Stephen and St. Lawrence in 00 52 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

drawings, sculptures and ilpainting — are his early exluminated manuscripts, are amples of the “Sacra Conon loan from some 70 leadversazione” where he’s ing museums and cultural painted the Virgin and institutions. Among them saints in a unified space or are the Louvre, the Gemälscene, thus no longer sepadegalerie in Berlin, the rated by frames. One examMetropolitan, the National ple here is the “San Marco Above, Last Judgment (Photo: Courtesy of the Ministero della Cultura, Direzione Gallery in Washington Altarpiece,” the star of the regionale Musei nazionali Toscana, Museo di San Marco).

Bottom, Crucifixion (Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).

D.C., the Vatican Museexhibition, along with the ums, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the “Deposition” or “Strozzi Altarpiece” in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and numerthe first room. Other highlights are “The ous libraries, churches and collections in Franciscan Triptych” whose central Italy and internationally.

Madonna and Child are the exhibition’s During the four years of “Fra Angelilogo, on loan from the San Marco Museco”’s preparation, several of the paintings um; “The Last Judgment,” the upper panwere meticulously restored and many of el of an altar piece, also on loan from the the altarpieces that had been disassemSan Marco Museum; “The Reliquary bled by Napoleon and dispersed over 200 Tabernacles of Santa Maria Novella” on years ago were reunited for the first time. loan from Boston’s Isabella Stewart GarIt’s an undertaking that makes “Fra Andiner Museum; and ”The Crucifixion” on gelico” truly a unique and unrepeatable loan from the Met, possibly Fra Angeliexhibition. co’s only signed work, to name but a few.

All the works explore Fra Angelico’s The “San Marco altarpiece”, commisartistic development, the influence of sioned by Cosimo de’ Medici and his Giotto’s frescoes of St. Francis in Assisi, brother Lorenzo and painted between which Fra Angelico certainly would have 1438 and 1442, was dismantled in 1678seen, and his relation to other contempo79, much earlier than the other reassemrary painters such as Lorenzo Monaco, bled altarpieces on display. It was excepMasaccio, Filippo Lippi and Jan van Eyck, who introduced tionally and miraculously reassembled for this exhibition him to the Flemish practice of depicting detail, as well as to with 17 of its the 18 known surviving elements, now in nine sculptors like Lorenzo Ghiberti, Michelozzo and Luca Della different museums. Its main panel depicts the enthroned VirRobbia. gin and Child surrounded by angels and saints, in a new Renowned for his unmistakable style of harmony, light square format; its nine predella panels narrates the legend of and spirituality, evolving from a late Gothic legacy of goldthe Medici patron sants, Cosmas and Damian. leaf backgrounds and one-dimensionality, while embracing Instead, the San Marco Museum is the exhibition’s spirithe principles of the emerging Renaissance: three-dimensiontual home. Here, the painter’s frescoes, around 50 in number, ality, greater detail, chiaroscuro, and anatomical accuracy, laid the foundations of the Florentine Renaissance, in which The central panel of the San Marco altarpiece Fra Angelico created paintings celespirituality and artistic vision coabrated for their mastery of perspecti- (Courtesy of the Ministero della Cultura-Opificio delle Pietre Dure) lesce. They’re immediately visible in val space and light. the overdoors of the cloister and in At Palazzo Strozzi the exhibition the Chapter House, and then upstairs is divided into eight sections: Santa in the corridors of the friars’ dormitoTrinità, The New Language, San ry and in each one of their cells. Each Marco, The Silhouetted Crucifix, different, all of them were painted by Holy Faces, The Great Commissions, Fra Angelico himself or under his diRome and the Medici. Fra Angelico’s rect supervision. masterpieces explore his artistic deAt the top of the stairs leading to velopment, his innovations, his extrathe dormitory is Fra Angelico’s Anordinary attention to detail and his innunciation, one of the iconic images fluence on and collaborations with of Renaissance art and certainly one other artists, as well as his relationof his best-known works. ship with Cosimo de’ Medici and This Annunciation isn’t Fra Anwith numerous Florentine institugelico’s first painting on that theme tions, both religious and lay. One innor his only one in the convent. This novation — a turning point in Italian fresco wasn’t intended just for esthet00 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 53

Of Books, Art and People closed Monday. The splendid ic purposes. Running across the catalog, in separate Italian and loggia at the bottom of the fresco English editions, costs 80 euros. there’s an inscription that instructs Nota bene: Fra Angelico, the viewer: Virginis Intacte Cum whose favorite subjects were the Veneris Ante Figuram Preterevndo Madonna and Child and the AnCave Sileatvr Ave. It means that, nunciation, was not only appreciwhen you stand before the image ated by Cosimo de’ Medici and of the Ever-Virgin, take care that his fellow contemporary artists. you don’t neglect to say an Ave, A little more than a century after thus a reminder for the monks to his death, the author and fellowpray. painter Giorgio Vasari, who His other frescoes, also intendwrote the Lives of the Artists said ed for contemplation by the friars, Fresco of The Annunciation in the Convent of San Marco. depict religious scenes primarily (Photo: Courtesy of the Ministero dela Cultura-Direzione regionale the friar had a “rare and perfect Musei nazionali Toscana-Museo di San Marco). talent… It is impossible to think from Christ’s life and the New Testament. The Museum’s galleries, besides the Fra Angeli- of enough good things to say about this holy father, who co Room, contain other works of exceptional historical val- was so humble and modest in everything that he did and ue: the “Last Supper” by Ghirlandaio, panel paintings by said, and whose pictures were painted with such cleverness Uccello and Fra Bartolomeo, as well as glazed terracotta and holy faith.”

Thus, he has been called “Beato Angelico” for centuries sculpture by the Della Robbia family.

To book tickets in advance, click on www.palaz- because it was thought that he’d been blessed by God to zostrozzi.org for the exhibition located in Palazzo Strozzi, have been such a holy man and to have had such a unique open daily from 10 AM to 8 PM, on Thursday until 11 PM. talent. However, it wasn’t until October 3, 1982 that St. To book the San Marco Museum, click on www.ticketsflo- John Paul II officially “conferred beatification.” In 1984 he rence.com, open Tuesday-Friday 8:15 AM to 1:45 PM, Sat- made him the patron of Catholic artists. This means that the urday 8:15 AM to 6:50 PM, Sunday 8:15 AM to 7 PM, friar is now on this way to being made a saint. m

00 54 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

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THE END EXCERPTS fRom LoRD of THE WoRLD

WHEn RomE faLLS, THE WoRLD faLLS 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 III, THE VICTORY, CHAPTER I, SECTIOn III — CHAPTER II, SECTIOn II (After Rome’s destruction, Fr. Percy Franklin, elected secretly by three remaining cardinals as the new Pope Silvester, lives in exile in Nazareth. A faithful Syrian priest is his chaplain.)

The Pope lifted His hand to His eyes for an instant, then smoothed it down His face.

He nodded across to a dim patch of white walls glimmering through the violet haze of the falling twilight.

“That place, father,” He said, “what is its name?”

The Syrian priest looked across, back once more at the Pope, and across again.

“That among the palms, Holiness?”

“Yes.” “That is Megiddo,” he said. “Some call it Armageddon.”

CHAPTER II I At twenty-three o’clock that night the Syrian priest went out to watch for the coming of the messenger from Tiberias. Nearly two hours previously he had heard the cry of the Russian volor that plied from Damascus to Tiberias, and Tiberias to Jerusalem, and even as it was, the messenger was a little late.

These were very primitive arrangements, but Palestine was out of the world — a slip of useless country — and it was necessary for a man to ride from Tiberias to Nazareth each night with papers from Cardinal Corkran to the Pope, and to return with correspondence. It was a dangerous task, and the members of the New Order who surrounded the Cardinal undertook it by turns.

In this manner all matters for which the Pope’s personal attention was required, and which were too long and not too urgent, could be dealt with at leisure by him, and an answer returned within the twenty-four hours.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 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.

It was a brilliant moonlit night. The great golden shield was riding high above Tabor, shedding its strange metallic light down the long slopes and over the moorlike country that rose up from before the house-door—casting too-heavy black shadows that seemed far more concrete and solid than the brilliant pale surfaces of the rock slabs or even than the diamond flashes from the quartz and crystal that here and there sparkled up the stony pathway. Compared with this clear splendor, the yellow light from the shuttered house seemed a hot and tawdry thing; and the priest, leaning against the door-post, his eyes alone alight in his dark face, sank down at last with a kind of Eastern sensuousness to bathe himself in the glory, and to spread his lean, brown hands out to it.

This was a very simple man, in faith as well as in life. For him there were neither the ecstasies nor the desolations of his master.

It was an immense and solemn joy to him to live here at the spot of God’s Incarnation and in attendance upon His Vicar. As regarded the movements of the world, he observed them as a man in a ship watches the heaving of the waves far beneath. Of course the world was restless, he half perceived, for, as the Latin Doctor had said, all hearts were restless until they found their rest in God. Quare fremuerunt gentes?… Adversus Dominum, et adversus Christum ejus!

As to the end—he was not greatly concerned. It might well be that the ship would be overwhelmed, but the moment of the catastrophe would be the end of all things earthly. The gates of hell shall not prevail: when Rome falls, the world falls; and when the world falls, Christ is manifest in power. For himself, he imagined that the end was not far away. When he had named Megiddo this afternoon it had been in his mind; to him it seemed natural that at the consummation of all things Christ’s Vicar should dwell at Nazareth where His King had come on earth — and that the Armageddon of the Divine John should be within sight of the scene where Christ had first taken His earthly sceptre and should take it again.

After all, it would not be the first battle that Megiddo had seen. Israel and Amalek had met here; Israel and Assyria;

God as depicted by British poet William Blake as the “architect of creation,” now in the British Museum, London

Sesostris had ridden here and Sennacherib. Christian and Turk had contended here, like Michael and Satan, over the place where God’s Body had lain.

As to the exact method of that end, he had no clear views; it would be a battle of some kind, and what field could be found more evidently designed for that than this huge flat circular plain of Esdraelon, twenty miles across, sufficient to hold all the armies of the earth in its embrace? To his view once more, ignorant as he was of present statistics, the world was divided into two large sections, Christians and heathens, and he supposed them very much of a size. Something would happen, troops would land at Khaifa, they would stream southwards from Tiberias, Damascus and remote Asia, northwards from Jerusalem, Egypt and Africa; eastwards from Europe; westwards from Asia again and the far-off Americas. And, surely, the time could not be far away, for here was Christ’s Vicar; and, as He Himself had said in His gospel of the Advent, Ubicumque fuerit corpus, illie congregabuntur et aquilae.

Of more subtle interpretations of prophecy he had no knowledge. For him words were things, not merely labels upon ideas. What Christ and St. Paul and St. John had said—these things were so.

He had escaped, owing chiefly to his isolation from the world, that vast expansion of Ritschlian ideas that during the last century had been responsible for the desertion by so many of any intelligible creed. For others this had been the supreme struggle — the difficulty of decision between the facts that words were not things, and yet that the things they represented were in themselves objective.

But to this man, sitting now in the moonlight, listening to the far-off tap of hoofs over the hill as the messenger came up from Cana, faith was as simple as an exact science. Here Gabriel had descended on wide feathered wings from the Throne of God set beyond the stars, the Holy Ghost had breathed in a beam of ineffable light, the Word had become Flesh as Mary folded her arms and bowed her head to the decree of the Eternal. And here once more, he thought, though it was no more than a guess—yet he thought that already the running of chariot-wheels was audible— the tumult of the hosts of God gathering about the camp of the saints—he thought that already beyond the bars of the dark Gabriel set to his lips the trumpet of doom and heaven was astir.

He might be wrong at this time, as others had been wrong at other times, but neither he nor they could be wrong for ever; there must some day be an end to the patience of God, even though that patience sprang from the eternity of His nature. He stood up, as down the pale moonlit path a hundred yards away came a pale figure of one who rode, with a leather bag strapped to his girdle.

II It would be about three o’clock in the morning that the priest awoke in his little mud-walled room next to that of the Holy Father’s, and heard a footstep coming up the stairs. Last evening he had left his master as usual beginning to open the pile of letters arrived from Cardinal Corkran, and himself had gone straight to his bed and slept. He lay now a moment or two, still drowsy, listening to the pad of feet, and an instant later sat up abruptly, for a deliberate tap had sounded on the door. Again it came; he

sprang out of bed in his long night-tunic, drew it up hastily in his girdle, went to the door and opened it.

The Pope was standing there, with a little lamp in one hand, for the dawn had scarcely yet begun, and a paper in the other.

“I beg your pardon, Father; but there is a message I must have sent at once to his Eminence.”

Together they went out through the Pope’s room, the priest, still half-blind with sleep, passed up the stairs, and emerged into the clear cold air of the upper roof. The Pope blew out His lamp, and set it on the parapet.

“You will be cold, Father; fetch your cloak.”

“And you, Holiness?”

The other made a little gesture of denial, and went across to the tiny temporary shed where the wireless telegraphic instrument stood.

“Fetch your cloak, Father,” He said again over His shoulder. “I will ring up meanwhile.”

When the priest came back three minutes later, in his slippers and cloak, carrying another cloak also for his master, the Pope was still seated at the table. He did not even move His head as the other came up, but once more pressed on the lever that, communicating with the twelvefoot pole that rose through the pent-house overhead, shot out the quivering energy through the eighty miles of glimmering air that lay between Nazareth and Damascus.

This simple priest had scarcely even by now become accustomed to this extraordinary device invented a century ago and perfected through all those years to this precise exactness — that device by which, with the help of a stick, a bundle of wires, and a box of wheels, something, at last established to be at the root of all matter, if not at the very root of physical life, spoke across the spaces of the world to a tiny receiver tuned by a hair’s breadth to the vibration with which it was set in relations.

The air was surprisingly cold, considering the heat that had preceded and would follow it, and the priest shivered a little as he stood clear of the roof, and stared, now at the motionless figure in the chair before him, now at the vast vault of the sky passing, even as he looked, from a cold colorless luminosity to a tender tint of yellow, as far away beyond Tabor and Moab the dawn began to deepen. From the village half-a-mile away arose the crowing of a cock, thin and brazen as a trumpet; a dog barked once and was silent again; and then, on a sudden, a single stroke upon a bell hung in the roof recalled him in an instant, and told him that his work was to begin.

The Pope pressed the lever again at the sound, twice, and then, after a pause, once more—waited a moment for an answer, and then when it came, rose and signed to the priest to take his place.

The Syrian sat down, handing the extra cloak to his master, and waited until the other had settled Himself in a chair set in such a position at the side of the table that the face of each was visible to the other. Then he waited, with his brown fingers poised above the row of keys, looking at the other’s face as He arranged himself to speak. That face, he thought, looking out from the hood, seemed paler than ever in this cold light of dawn; the black arched eyebrows accentuated this, and even the steady lips, preparing to speak, seemed white and bloodless. He had His paper in His hand, and His eyes were fixed upon this.

(To be continued) m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

57

VATICAN WATCH

By Matthew Trojacek with CNA Reports - Grzegorz Galazka and CNA photos

AUGUST

among bidders. It also aims to promote cost effectiveness and to simplify bureaucratic steps to avoid delays. (CNA)

MONDAY 11 POPE LEO XIV APPROVES MEASURES FOR WEDNESDAY 6 FAMILIES OF EMPLOYEES POPE COMMEMORATES Pope Leo XIV has approved a series of measures that ATOMIC BOMBING ANNIVERSARY benefit Vatican employees, expanding paternity leave, the In a message on the 80th anniversary of the atomic rights of parents with disabled children, and granting bombing of Hiroshima, Pope Leo XIV called on the interfamily subsidies. national community to renew its commitment to lasting A document published August 11 and signed by Maxpeace and an end to nuclear weapons. imino Caballero, prefect of the secretariat for financial af“True peace demands the courageous laying down of fairs of the Holy See, lists the “Provisions for the Family” weapons—especially those with the power to cause an inapproved by the Holy Father following an audience on describable catastrophe,” Pope Leo said in a letter adJuly 28. dressed to Bishop Alexis M. Shirahama These resolutions were previously of Hiroshima. “Nuclear arms offend our unanimously accepted by the council of shared humanity and also betray the digthe Labor Office of the Holy See, a body nity of creation, whose harmony we are composed of representatives from varicalled to safeguard.” ous entities of the Holy See and the VatReferencing the phrase “war is alican Governorate as well as their respecways a defeat for humanity,” coined by tive employees. his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo furRegarding paternity leave, the pontiff ther stated that “in our time of mounting established that a father is entitled to five global tensions and conflicts,” the memdays of 100% paid leave after the birth of ory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should a child. “urge us to reject the illusion of security Parents of children with proven severe founded on mutually assured destrucdisabilities will be entitled to three days tion.” of paid leave per month, which may be “It is thus my prayer that this solemn taken in a row as long as the child is not anniversary will serve as a call to the inhospitalized full time. ternational community to renew its The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X In addition, a monthly subsidy was incommitment to pursuing lasting peace processes to St. John Lateran Basilica on its troduced for families with severely disfor our whole human family,” the Holy pilgrimage on the occasion of the Jubilee abled or incapacitated members as well Father concluded. (CNA) Year 2025 as for pensioners in the same situation. (CNA) SUNDAY 10 THURSDAY 21 VATICAN PUBLISHES REGULATIONS ON THOUSANDS JOIN SSPX JUBILEE AWARDING PUBLIC CONTRACTS PILGRIMAGE TO ROME The Vatican issued an update to its public procurement Nearly 8,000 Catholics from 44 countries joined the regulations to streamline steps in the Holy See’s contract680 clergy and religious of the Priestly Society of Saint ing processes while maintaining integrity and transparenPius X (SSPX) on its pilgrimage to Rome on the occasion cy. of the Jubilee Year 2025.

On three different days, August The new general executive decree was signed on Au19-21, the pilgrims entered the Holy Doors of first the gust 5 by the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Basilica of Saint Mary Major, then Saint John Lateran Maximino Caballero Ledo, and took effect on August 10.

Basilica, and finally Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The decree contains the implementing regulation from While the Society was not allowed to celebrate Mass Pope Francis’ 2020 apostolic letter in the form of motu at any of these major churches in Rome together with all proprio regarding “Norms on Transparency, Control, and the pilgrims, they were officially mentioned by the VatiCompetition in the Procedures for the Award of Public can in the calendar of the Jubilee Year, and seating was Contracts of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.” provided for them in these different churches.

The apostolic letter was later amended by the subsequent Priests of the SSPX told LifeSite that they were thrilled 2024 motu proprio titled “To Better Harmonize,” which and joyful about the possibility to pray and sing at Saint updated the Holy See’s code of contracts.

Peter’s together with all their confreres and faithful. (LifeThe decree reaffirms the Vatican’s mission to provide Site) equal treatment to operators and to prevent discrimination 58 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

Pope Leo XIV in conversation with Joseph Khalil Aoun, President of Lebanon, in the Vatican on June 13, 2025.

Below, on September 13, Pope Leo XIV received Brian Burch, the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See

SEPTEMBER SATURDAY 13 nEW U.S. AMBASSADOR PRESEnTS CREDEnTIALS TO LEO XIV On September 13, Pope Leo XIV received Brian Burch, the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for the formal presentation of his letters of credence.

According to a U.S. embassy statement, the two men discussed the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as “protecting religious freedom, the Vatican’s relationship with China, and the AI revolution.”

Regarding the assassination of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk, “Pope Leo underscored that our political differences can never be resolved with violence and told Ambassador Burch that he was praying for the widow of Mr. Kirk and his children,” the embassy said.

The ambassador also presented the Pope, who turned 70 on September 14, with a personalized birthday cake.

Burch, 50, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 2 in a 49-44 vote.

He was nominated by President Donald Trump in December 2024 and succeeds former ambassador Joe Donnelly, who served under the Biden administration. (CNA) THURSDAY 18 POPE LEO On VATICAn FInAnCES: “I’M nOT LOSInG SLEEP OVER IT” Pope Leo XIV downplayed concerns of the ongoing financial crisis at the Vatican in a recent interview, arguing that “things are going to be OK” regarding the Holy See’s finances even as more work is needed.

The Holy Father made the remarks as part of a wideranging interview with Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen.

The interview appears in Allen’s biography on the pontiff, “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century,” published in Spanish on September 18.

An English version of the book will be published in early 2026.

Allen asked Leo about the financial situation of the Vatican, noting that the Pope has previously indicated that the crisis is “not as bad as it’s sometimes been made out to be.”

The Holy See’s pension fund has been facing a major shortfall after years of budget deficits.

Admitting that the Vatican has to “continue to work” to address the issue, Leo told Allen: “I’m not losing sleep over it.” (CNA)

OCTOBER MOnDAY 6 POPE: VATICAn CAn USE OUTSIDE BAnKS Pope Leo XIV has permitted the Holy See’s main financial body to use financial institutions outside the Vatican for its investment activities, reversing Pope Francis’ 2022 instruction to move all funds to the so-called Vatican bank in the wake of Vatican investment controversies.

In the legal order, Leo said the Vatican’s asset management body, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), should generally use the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) — better known as the Vatican bank — for its investment activities, unless the competent bodies “deem it more efficient or convenient to use financial intermediaries established in other countries.”

The Pope said he consulted experts and evaluated recommendations from the Council for the Economy for the rescript, called Coniuncta Cura (“Shared Responsibility”). (CNA) TUESDAY 7 POPE LEO’S FIRST InTERnATIOnAL TRIP WILL BE TO LEBAnOn Pope Leo XIV is planning to visit Lebanon November 30-December 2 on his first foreign visit, the Vatican announced — a trip that would give history’s first American Pope a chance to speak in broad terms about peace in the Middle East and the plight of Christians there.

A visit to Lebanon is the second leg of a planned visit to Turkey November 27-30 to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea with the Orthodox Church.

Speaking to Vatican News’ Olivier Bonnel, the Apostolic Vicar of Beirut, Bishop César Essayan, said that the Pope’s visit to Lebanon would be “a great sign of hope” in a war-torn region.

“We sincerely hope," he added, "that his visit will bring a breath of peace and be a moment of renewal for us all, and that we will recognize that there is no path for humanity other than that of peace through dialogue, justice and respect for the dignity of every human being.”

Leo, like his predecessor Pope Francis, has consistently called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, especially as Israel’s offensive has raged on in Gaza.

The last Pope to visit Lebanon was Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012. (Vatican News) m NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN

59

PEOPLE B M Y

ATTHEW TROJACEK with Grzegorz Galazka photos

AUTHORESS GIVES POPE LEO COPY OF NEW BOOK ON CASTEL GANDOLFO Italian Maura Mauro, a secretary by profession, gave Pope Leo a copy of her new book, Castel Gandolfo: Summer Residence of the Popes Over the Centuries on August 15 at the town on Lake Albano where Leo now spends almost every Tuesday.

Subtitled “Pilgrim’s Guide,” the book is described as a “simple guide for the discerning traveler. With its pictorial representations and accompanying comments, it takes you on an intriguing journey through the rich history of Castel Gandolfo, celebrating its beauty and inspiring curiosity.”

After meeting Pope Leo and giving him a copy of her book, Mauro remarked, “It was a thrilling moment to meet the Holy Father, especially here in this town which is not only a natural wonder, but has fascinating historical significance.”

The Pope’s summer residence is located on a lake that was once a desolate lava field, result of a nearby volcano’s eruption. Millennia later, underground springs fed craters that merged into a lake, and in the 13th century BC, the ancient Latin town of Alba Longa — today’s Castel Gandolfo — was founded on the now-fertile land. (Vatican Media)

POPE MARKS 70TH BIRTHDAY AT SUNDAY ANGELUS: ‘I GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD AND TO MY PARENTS’ On Sunday, his 70th birthday, Pope Leo XIV presided at the recitation of the Angelus with pilgrims in Saint Peter’s Square.

From the early morning hours, the square had filled up with the faithful carrying banners, flags, and congratulatory signs to celebrate the Pope’s milestone.

Leo was visibly moved when musical groups in the square played “Happy Birthday,” a gesture greeted with applause, cheers, and the waving of signs bearing messages of gratitude and blessing.

“Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, commemorating the discovery of the cross by Saint Helen in Jerusalem in the fourth century and the return of the precious relic to the Holy City by the Emperor Heraclius,” the Pope said at the start of his reflection.

At the close, he turned to a more personal meaning of the day: “Dear friends, it seems that you know that today I turn 70 years old. I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers. Many thanks to everyone!

Thank you! Have a good Sunday!” (CNA)

MELONI HAILS RETURN OF NATIONAL HOLIDAY IN HONOR OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI Italy’s parliament voted on October 1 to restore a national holiday in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the country’s patron saints, almost half a century after it was abolished.

The annual holiday will fall on St. Francis’ feast day on October 4, with the measure taking effect from next year, which marks the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the decision, saying St. Francis was beloved by all Italians.

“The national holiday will be an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary man and to remind us, each year, who we are and what unites us,” she said in a statement.

The new law frames the holiday as a tribute to his values of peace, brotherhood and the protection of the environment.

The lower house backed the bill by a vote of 247 to 2, showing broad cross-party support.

The holiday was first introduced in 1958 but scrapped in 1977 as part of an austerity drive. (Reuters)

tending a parochial school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on August 27—prompting some to ask whether they could be considered martyrs killed “in hatred of the faith.”

“If the diocese or other local ecclesial entities present these figures to us as witnesses of the faith, we will examine them and see if we can include them in the list,” said Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Vatican Commission of New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith.

As Fabene and other experts explained, the Commission’s selection criteria are not the same used by the Church to formally recognize a martyr through beatification and canonization. “They are two totally distinct things,” the archbishop said. (CNA)

VATICAN EXPERTS SAY MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING VICTIMS COULD QUALIFY AS “NEW MARTYRS” Vatican experts said on September 8 that the two children killed in last month’s shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church could one day be included on a list they are compiling of “new martyrs and witnesses of the faith.” Harper Moyski, 10, and Fletcher Merkel, 8, were killed while at-

NEW CHINESE BISHOP ORDAINED, DIOCESE SET UP WITH VATICAN NOD Bishop Joseph Wang Zhengui was ordained as the bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Zhangjiakou, a suffragan of the Beijing archdiocese, on September 10 with approval from Pope Leo XIV. Bishop Wang’s appointment comes along with the

60 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

suppression of the Xuanhua and Xiwanzi dioceses erected in April 1946

by Pope Pius XII and the creation of the new diocese in their place.

The decision to suppress the dioceses was made “in the desire to promote the pastoral care of the Lord’s flock and to attend more effectively to its spiritual good,” the Vatican Press Office said in a statement.

Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing, who chairs the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), led Wang’s ordination service at the Church of the Holy Family in Zhangjiakou City.

The Vatican and the Chinese government renewed their agreement on the appointment of bishops in October 2024 for a four-year term.

(UCANews)

CHINA’S NEW REGULATIONS “TO CONTROL CLERGY BEHAVIOR ONLINE” China’s communist regime has published a new set of sweeping regulations to control the online behavior of religious clergy, with provisions to punish violators.

The new rules from the National Religious Affairs Administration, titled “Regulations on the Online Behavior of Religious Clergy,” were published on September 15, said an article in online publication Bitter Winter.

The new rules take “the digital leash on clerical personnel” to a new level of precision, says the September 18 article in the Italy-based magazine on religious liberty and human rights, which translated the regulations from Mandarin to English.

The regulation applies to all religious clerics operating within China—including those from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and even foreign clergy active on the mainland.

Online preaching and religious education are permitted only via platforms operated by registered religious organizations (temples, churches, seminaries) that hold a government-issued Internet Religious Information Service License.

(UCANews)

CARDINAL AMBONGO, LEADER OF THE ENTIRE AFRICAN EPISCOPATE: “FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS WAS A BAD CHAPTER IN POPE FRANCIS’ PONTIFICATE”

In Gniezno, the Polish city where Christian unity has often been celebrated across centuries, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu spoke with a candor that is becoming increasingly characteristic of African Catholic leaders. For the Congolese prelate, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the controversial Vatican declaration Fiducia supplicans remains a wound that cannot simply be ignored.

Ambongo, who serves as archbishop of Kinshasa, did not hesitate to describe the text — authorizing the possibility of blessing same-sex couples — as “a bad chapter” in the pontificate of Pope Francis. What troubled him most, he told OSV News during the September 11–14 Meeting of Gniezno, was not only the content but also the process: a document released in the middle of the Synod on Synodality, without open discussion among bishops, clergy, or faithful.

Reactions in Africa were immediate and fierce. From lay Catholics to bishops, Ambongo recalled “indignation and anger” spreading across the continent. “I realized I had to act,” he said.

Rather than encouraging emotional outbursts, the cardinal asked each episcopal conference to study the text carefully and present reasoned responses. The fruit of that labor was a seven-page document that Ambongo carried himself to Rome. Pope Francis received him, he explained, listened to his concerns, and granted permission for the African bishops’ response to be published— firmly stating “No to the blessing of homosexual couples in African churches.” (Zenit)

POPE LEO XIV’S ALMA MATER LAUNCHES NEW SERIES ON CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas has launched “Fraternitas: An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought,” a 20episode video series that explores the foundations of Catholic social ethics. The series is the first project of the university’s new digital platform, Angelicum Media.

Dominican Father Philip-Neri Reese, professor of philosophy at the Angelicum, as the university is commonly known, told the Register that the series aims to give a “comprehensive account of Catholic social thought,” which “came to mind precisely because it’s such an important part of our faith and it’s such a profoundly misunderstood part of our faith.”

“We want to make it clear to people what Catholic social thought is and what it isn’t,” said Father Reese, who is also director of the Angelicum Thomistic Institute, “because for many people, they think of Catholic social thought as sort of social activism just dressed up in theological language, and it absolutely isn’t.”

Catholic social doctrine, he emphasized, “is part and parcel of the Catholic tradition from the very beginning of the Church.” (NCR) NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 INSIDE THE VATICAN 61

Food FoR THoUGHT n BY MOTHER MARTHA ly-owned business. The book feaizza, specifically the art of tures over 100 recipes, the most the Neapolitan pizzaiulo or our izza ooks popular being “Hellboy” (a soppizza chef, was inscribed on pressata pie topped with dry-cured UNESCO’s List of Intangible Culspicy sausage and hot honey), tural Heritage in December 2017.

“Mo Cheeks” (a tomato and pecorino pie with guanciale), This year four new titles about pizand “In Ricotta da Vegan” (a ricotta pie made with vegan za appeared on bookstores’ sausage and cheese). shelves or to order on the interLike Pizza from the Heart, The Scarr’s Pizza Cookbook is net. They all recount the owner Scarr Pimentel’s first cookbook. After learning the trade at pizzaiuoli and their restaurants’ some of New York’s famous pizzerias (Ballato, Lombarstories; each volume contains di’s, Artichoke, L’Asso and Joe’s), in 2016, Scarr, of Doseveral recipes, some traditional minican descent and born and bred in Manhatand others unique. tan’s Harlem, opened Scarr’s PizWe the Pizza: Slangin’ Pies za at 35 Orchard Street in Manhatand Savin’ Lives ($28.67) was tan’s Lower East Side — in atmoswritten by Philly born-and-bred phere, more like a bar or a diner entrepreneur Muhammad Abdulthan a comfortable sit-down restauHadi, who’d studied criminal justice. It tells the story of rant. It’s the only pizza-by-the-slice Philadelphia’s Down North Pizza. Owned and operated exrestaurant in New York city that clusively by former inmates, the pizzeria’s mission is to remills its own flour. duce recidivism by giving former inmates a second chance Scarr’s Pizza Cookbook of 30 through training and meaningful work. For this outstanding recipes is, from start to finish, a wellcontribution Muhammad received the 2024 James Beard illustrated step-by-step guide on how Leadership Award. to make great pizza at home. Here In addition to classic pizza you’ll learn how to mill your own flour, where to source the recipes, a chapter of We the Pizza freshest ingredients, and how to make the best sauces and is devoted to vegetarian and vegan toppings. pizzas like “No Better Love” made Michele Pascarella, the founder of London’s Napoli on with four cheeses and the arrabbithe Road, was named the best pizza maker on the planet at ata-inspired “Norf Sauce.” InFerrarelle World Top Pizza Europa Awards 2023 and Best stead, the meat and seafood pizzas’ Pizzeria in Europe in May 2024. chapter features the iconic “Roc the Born in 1991 in Maddaloni in the Mic” pepperoni pie as well as the province of Caserta, at age 11 he smoky berberè-brisket “Tales of a began working as a dishwasher in Hustler” and “Say Yes,” topped with a pizzeria there until one day the jerk turkey sausage, roasted butternut squash, kale, ricotta, owner asked him to make a pizza. and lemon-honey drizzle. Additional recipes are by PhiladelAfter graduating from hotel phia’s well-known chefs, Marc Vetri and Marcus Samuelsschool, in 2016 Pascarella moved son, strong supporters of Muhammad’s project. to England and the next year startThe book also includes detailed historical information ed his business making pizzas at about incarceration in the United States and first-hand acmarkets across London from his counts of their prison life from Down North’s staff. three-wheel Ape Piaggio truck In Pizza from the Heart ($28.67) Paulie and Mary Ann complete with a wood-fired oven. Now, 8 years later, he Giannone write about their love for each other and their muowns two hugely popular restaurants, both named Napoli on tual love of pizza so you feel as if you’re there at the table the Road: one in Chiswick and the other in Richmond. The with them at the beloved Paulie Gee’s pizzeria in the Greenfirst pizzaiolo to introduce the typically Neapolitan highpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The story becrust pizza to the UK, he changes their menus completely at gins in 2010, when at the age of 56, Paulie left a career in the start of every season. His iconic pizzas are “Ricordi d’incorporate IT to turn his hobby into his retirement plan. Now fanzia” (“Childhood Memories”) inspired by his mother’s he and Mary Ann have pizzerias and slice shops all over the ragù, and “Cheesewick” with its topping of different Italian US: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Columbus, New Orleans and cheese and Stilton. His first book Napoli on the Road: ClasChicago, to name just a few. sic & Seasonal Recipes for Neapolitan-style Pizza Plus AnPizza from the Heart is the couple’s first cookbook. Here tipasti, Desserts and Drinks includes 65 recipes organized by they share their secrets about how to make pizza at home, season as well as recipes for Neapolitan street-food and stoboth in a conventional oven as well as a wood-fired pizza ries of his youth in southern Italy. m oven, and also how to have a successful marriage and joint-

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62 INSIDE THE VATICAN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025

Celebrate the Triumph of Jesus Christ Easter in Italy Pilgrimage March 30 – April 9, 2026

Join us on pilgrimage and renew your faith during the Jubilee of Hope!

Easter in Italy Pilgrimage March 30-April 9, 2026 Our Easter 2026 pilgrimage will begin almost a week before Easter in Assisi — the city of St. Francis — in the Umbrian hills near the very center of Italy. Assisi is one of the loveliest, most peaceful cities in the world. The very light and air of the city seem filled with the presence of the spirits of St. Francis and St. Clare.

During this Holy Pilgrimage, we will also travel to Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict. Tucked beneath sparkling, snow-caped mountains, Norcia is the scene of a poignant and unforgettable Good Friday procession.

Our final and climactic destination is the eternal City itself – Rome – where we will attend Easter Vigil Mass, and then Easter Sunday Mass, celebrated by Pope Leo XIV and continue the festivities on Easter Monday (“la Pasquetta”) in Manoppello, at the shrine of the miraculous Holy Face. These liturgies, celebrating the triumph of Jesus Christ over sin and death, are among the most splendid and joyous in the Church’s calendar.

Join us for this joyous Easter celebration!

Visit us online for more information on this moving spiritual pilgrimage.

PILGRIMAGE@INSIDETHEVATICAN.COM ∞ +1.202.536.4555 ∞ InsideTheVaticanPilgrimages.com