<![CDATA[The Catacombs - Pope Leo XIV]]>

<![CDATA[The Catacombs - Pope Leo XIV]]> https://thecatacombs.org/ Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:05:01 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Magnifica Humanitas: Leo Says the Catholic Church Has No Monopoly on Truth]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8325 Tue, 26 May 2026 11:55:15 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8325 Magnifica Humanitas: Leo Says the Catholic Church Has No Monopoly on Truth
From praising false religions as “great spiritual paths,” to synodal discernment, and human dignity without Christ the King,
Magnifica Humanitas gives the game away.

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[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...x1459.jpeg]

Chris Jackson via Hiraeth in Exile substack [Emphasis - The Catacombs] | May 26, 2026

On May 15, 2026, the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Leo XIV signed his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, “on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.” The Vatican presented it publicly on May 25 as a major social encyclical for the digital age.

The title already gives away the disease.

Magnifica humanitas. Magnificent humanity. The grandeur of man. The splendor of the human person.

A Catholic encyclical on artificial intelligence could have begun with God, creation, original sin, the limits of fallen reason, the demonic temptation to “be as gods,” and the public rights of Christ the King over every human invention. It could have warned that modern technology becomes especially dangerous when placed in the hands of men who have rejected grace, law, nature, hierarchy, penance, and the last end of man.

Instead, we get the familiar postconciliar arrangement: Christ appears, but man remains center stage. Grace appears, but as a kind of elevation of human potential. Sin appears, but usually in the social, structural, humanitarian way. The Church speaks, but too often as a concerned moral partner of global civilization rather than the divinely commissioned teacher of nations.

That is the real story of Magnifica humanitas.

The encyclical denounces the reduction of man to data, performance, utility, and economic function. It warns that technology is never morally neutral. It condemns exploitation, trafficking, abortion, euthanasia, digital manipulation, autonomous weapons, and the commodification of the vulnerable.

But this document does something far more dangerous than repeat obvious moral concerns about Silicon Valley. It takes the crisis of artificial intelligence and uses it to reassert the entire postconciliar religion: human dignity without the social reign of Christ, dialogue without conversion, peace without Catholic order, truth without the Church’s exclusive divine commission, and historical “growth” that places the Bride of Christ under the judgment of modern moral fashion.

By the time the encyclical reaches its apology over slavery, the damage has already been done. The groundwork was laid from the beginning.

Babel Condemned by the Chaplains of Babel

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The governing biblical image is Babel. Leo contrasts the tower of pride, domination, uniformity, and technological self-sufficiency with Jerusalem, the city rebuilt in communion and shared responsibility under God.

At first glance, this sounds forceful. The image is obvious enough. Silicon Valley really is building Babel with server farms, biometric databases, predictive algorithms, neural networks, digital currencies, surveillance architecture, and machines trained to imitate the human mind while the human soul is forgotten.

But the encyclical never escapes the world it condemns.

Leo denounces technological Babel, then reaches for the same vocabulary that built the ecclesiastical Babel after Vatican II: dialogue, pluralism, fraternity, shared discernment, human rights, multilateral institutions, synodality, integral ecology, the “civilization of love,” and the autonomy of earthly realities.

The old tower was built by men who wanted unity without obedience to God. The modern tower is built by men who want peace without the Kingship of Christ, dignity without baptism, fraternity without the true Church, and global order without the conversion of nations. Magnifica humanitas sees the technological tower rising and then proposes, as the cure, the theological vocabulary of the last sixty years of surrender.

It notices the machine. It misses the apostasy behind the machine.

The document warns against transhumanism and posthumanism, against the attempt to overcome human limits by technological power. Yet postconciliar theology has spent decades teaching modern man to think of himself primarily in terms of dignity, creativity, freedom, experience, conscience, dialogue, development, and historical becoming. Then everyone acts surprised when the same man, catechized in the religion of self-realization, decides that even nature itself must yield to his will.

The AI crisis did not fall from the sky. It came from a civilization that rejected God’s law and then discovered it could manufacture substitutes for providence, memory, judgment, imagination, authority, and eventually man himself.

The encyclical sees the idol’s face. It refuses to smash the altar.

The Missing Crown

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The central absence in Magnifica humanitas is not a mere lack of religious language. Christ is mentioned. The Incarnation is mentioned. Grace is mentioned. The Eucharist is mentioned. Scripture is used.

That makes the problem worse.

Christ is present, but too often as the revealer of human dignity, the healer of social wounds, the guarantor of fraternity, the companion of humanity, the source of a more humane civilization. He is invoked as the divine sponsor of a better anthropology.

What disappears is Christ the King.

Before the Council, the Church did not approach social questions by asking how the Gospel could deepen mankind’s shared humanitarian project. She proclaimed that every man, family, law, ruler, economy, institution, school, court, and nation must submit to the reign of Jesus Christ.

[color=#71101s]Pius XI did not write Quas Primas so future churchmen could reduce the Kingship of Christ to a private spirituality, a liturgical theme, or a poetic symbol. He taught that the evils of the modern age flowed from the exclusion of Christ and His law from public life. No lasting peace could exist while states and citizens refused the rule of the Savior.[/color]

That doctrine should have thundered through any Catholic encyclical on artificial intelligence.

AI is not dangerous merely because it threatens human dignity. It is dangerous because fallen man, having dethroned Christ, now possesses instruments that amplify his rebellion. Pride, lust, greed, lies, surveillance, sacrilege and apostasy can all grow.

The problem is not simply that man may be reduced to data. The deeper horror is that man, already in revolt against God, now has machines capable of organizing the revolt with terrifying precision.

Magnifica humanitas wants ethical technology, responsible innovation, protection for workers, peace among nations, truthful communication, and safeguards for the vulnerable.

Under what King?

According to what law?

For what final end?

The encyclical keeps circling back to human dignity, fraternity, dialogue, integral development, the common good, and social responsibility. The old Church gave the answer that made the devils tremble:

Christ must reign.

Without that crown, every Catholic-sounding paragraph becomes unstable. The social teaching floats. The moral concern drifts. The humanitarian language expands until it fills the space where the supernatural order should be.

The Conciliar Machine Is Still Running

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Chapter One tells the reader how the whole encyclical works. The Church “journeys” through history. She reads the signs of the times. She respects the autonomy of earthly realities. She engages science. She listens. She discerns. She allows history to become a place where the Spirit teaches her the humanizing power of the Gospel.

There is the engine.

This is the conciliar machine, humming exactly as designed.

The Church no longer speaks first as the divine teacher of mankind, commanding nations to repent, be baptized, submit to Christ, and enter the one ark of salvation. She appears as a pilgrim companion of modern man, a moral interpreter of human experience, a partner in global discernment, a religious voice within the wider conversation of humanity.

That is how Magnifica humanitas arrives at the astonishing claim that the Church “does not claim to possess a monopoly on truth,” because truth is “a good to be shared.”

There is no need to soften this.

That line is a disgrace.

The Catholic Church does not possess truth as a shopkeeper possesses inventory. She possesses the truth because Christ entrusted it to her. She guards it. She defines it. She teaches it. She condemns its counterfeit. She transmits it without corruption. She alone was founded by the Incarnate Word to teach all nations in His name.

The martyrs did not die because the Church was one sincere participant in mankind’s common search for truth. Missionaries did not cross oceans because false religions were fellow “spiritual paths.” The Fathers did not anathematize heresy because truth was a shared conversation. Popes did not condemn indifferentism because all parties held fragments of a larger religious mosaic.

“Mortalium Animos” spoke with the Catholic voice: unity comes by return to the one true Church of Christ, not by religious negotiation among competing communities. The Church does not learn revealed truth from history, from pluralism, from interreligious dialogue, or from the anxieties of modern man. She teaches because God has spoken.

The older voice exposes the postconciliar voice as foreign.

When Leo says the Church has no monopoly on truth, he gives the revolution its slogan.

More excellent points in the rest of the article, here.]]> Magnifica Humanitas: Leo Says the Catholic Church Has No Monopoly on Truth
From praising false religions as “great spiritual paths,” to synodal discernment, and human dignity without Christ the King,
Magnifica Humanitas gives the game away.

[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...x1459.jpeg]

Chapter One tells the reader how the whole encyclical works. The Church “journeys” through history. She reads the signs of the times. She respects the autonomy of earthly realities. She engages science. She listens. She discerns. She allows history to become a place where the Spirit teaches her the humanizing power of the Gospel.

There is the engine.

This is the conciliar machine, humming exactly as designed.

The Church no longer speaks first as the divine teacher of mankind, commanding nations to repent, be baptized, submit to Christ, and enter the one ark of salvation. She appears as a pilgrim companion of modern man, a moral interpreter of human experience, a partner in global discernment, a religious voice within the wider conversation of humanity.

That is how Magnifica humanitas arrives at the astonishing claim that the Church “does not claim to possess a monopoly on truth,” because truth is “a good to be shared.”

There is no need to soften this.

That line is a disgrace.

The Catholic Church does not possess truth as a shopkeeper possesses inventory. She possesses the truth because Christ entrusted it to her. She guards it. She defines it. She teaches it. She condemns its counterfeit. She transmits it without corruption. She alone was founded by the Incarnate Word to teach all nations in His name.

The martyrs did not die because the Church was one sincere participant in mankind’s common search for truth. Missionaries did not cross oceans because false religions were fellow “spiritual paths.” The Fathers did not anathematize heresy because truth was a shared conversation. Popes did not condemn indifferentism because all parties held fragments of a larger religious mosaic.

“Mortalium Animos” spoke with the Catholic voice: unity comes by return to the one true Church of Christ, not by religious negotiation among competing communities. The Church does not learn revealed truth from history, from pluralism, from interreligious dialogue, or from the anxieties of modern man. She teaches because God has spoken.

The older voice exposes the postconciliar voice as foreign.

When Leo says the Church has no monopoly on truth, he gives the revolution its slogan.

More excellent points in the rest of the article, here.]]> <![CDATA[BREAKING: Leo XIV’s new encyclical makes Christ equivalent to mere human beings]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8322 Mon, 25 May 2026 10:32:34 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8322 BREAKING: Leo XIV’s new encyclical makes Christ equivalent to mere human beings
A first look at Pope Leo's first encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas.'

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Pope Leo XIV
Adri Salido/Getty Images

May 25, 2026
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — While Pope Leo’s new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, tackles transhumanism and new technologies, it also departs from theological Tradition on issues such as human dignity and the doctrine of just war.

On May 25, Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”) at 11 AM Italian time. In the lengthy document, the Pope argues that humanity today finds itself at a crossroads. We have a choice between building a new “Tower of Babel,” marked by self-sufficiency and the idolatry of profit, and rebuilding “Jerusalem,” a project of co-responsibility and communion under the gaze of God. However, the document presents problematic doctrinal elements, particularly the reaffirmation of the doctrine of infinite human dignity by Francis.

Despite its attention to Christ, the encyclical is clearly oriented toward man and his dignity. In fact, by reaffirming Francis’ error of the infinite dignity of man, Leo XIV makes Christ and the human being — regardless of religion and state of grace — equivalent. In other words, Christ becomes the symbol of humanity:

Quote:For this reason, as a believer among believers, I invite everyone to contemplate, in the face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI. […] This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving. It is the mystery of “recapitulation”: the certainty that the Father has decreed to bring all things, those in heaven and those on earth, back to Christ, the one Head (cf. Eph 1:10). In this plan, nothing will be lost that is authentically human. Indeed, everything will be purified and reunited in the One, who gathers every fragment of life, every tear and every authentically human achievement, rescuing them from nothingness and delivering them, redeemed, to the Father.

The document explores the problem of artificial intelligence, but also addresses a wide range of anthropological, social, and political problems. The Pope identifies AI as an “accelerator” that places traditional social categories in crisis.

Magnifica Humanitas begins with a series of general principles from the Social Doctrine of the Church. Among these, in addition to the infinite dignity of man, are the notions of the common good and the universal destination of goods.

The first principle is the “State’s responsibility to ensure cohesion” among individuals and to “harmonize the different sectoral interests with the requirements of justice” so that society may have a “shared vision.”

The second is a guarantee to everyone of the use of natural resources and the products derived from them and also — in one of the document’s most innovative theses — “immaterial and cultural goods” such as patents, algorithms, digital platforms, technological infrastructures, and data. In other words, the encyclical suggests that all this should be state property, or at least strongly regulated by states. It should not be individual property; Magnifica Humanitas assumes that public ownership of material goods guarantees a broader diffusion of the knowledge necessary for present-day development.

“In a context where the wealth of nations depends increasingly on knowledge and technology, when these goods remain concentrated in the hands of a few, without adequate forms of sharing and access, a new imbalance is created that contradicts the universal destination of goods,” the encyclical reads.

Starting from these premises, which in any case depart from their classical theological definitions, three principal theses may be identified within the document.

The first is that technology is not neutral: “Technological innovations, including artificial intelligence, are not neutral, for they can either foster participation and justice or exacerbate inequality, control and exclusion,” Pope Leo writes.

The second is that humanity finds itself at a crossroads: “On the one hand, there is the Tower of Babel, where collective effort follows a plan that dominates and ultimately dehumanizes. On the other hand, there are the ruins of Jerusalem, which under Nehemiah’s direction are rebuilt piece by piece as a project of shared responsibility.”

The third is that Christ should be understood as the model of humanity to be followed in controlling and correcting emerging technologies, and the cultural movements that take their bearings from them, such as transhumanism and posthumanism.

An entire chapter of the encyclical — the fifth — is dedicated to the “culture of power” and the war-related implications of emerging technologies, including AI. In it, Pope Leo XIV addresses the subject of war with a position of clear rupture from historical developments of doctrine, going so far as to state explicitly that the theory of “just war” is now “outdated.”The Pope observes that “without prejudice to the right to self defense in the strictest sense,” just war theory has been “far too often invoked to justify any war whatsoever.” He emphasizes that humanity today possesses much more effective and humane instruments to promote life and resolve conflicts, identifying such instruments in dialogue, diplomacy, and forgiveness. Leo XIV also denounces how the development of weapons systems based on artificial intelligence in fact makes war more “practicable” and less subject to human control.

Developing….]]> BREAKING: Leo XIV’s new encyclical makes Christ equivalent to mere human beings
A first look at Pope Leo's first encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas.'

[Image: GettyImages-2249369406.jpg]

Quote:For this reason, as a believer among believers, I invite everyone to contemplate, in the face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI. […] This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving. It is the mystery of “recapitulation”: the certainty that the Father has decreed to bring all things, those in heaven and those on earth, back to Christ, the one Head (cf. Eph 1:10). In this plan, nothing will be lost that is authentically human. Indeed, everything will be purified and reunited in the One, who gathers every fragment of life, every tear and every authentically human achievement, rescuing them from nothingness and delivering them, redeemed, to the Father.

The document explores the problem of artificial intelligence, but also addresses a wide range of anthropological, social, and political problems. The Pope identifies AI as an “accelerator” that places traditional social categories in crisis.

Magnifica Humanitas begins with a series of general principles from the Social Doctrine of the Church. Among these, in addition to the infinite dignity of man, are the notions of the common good and the universal destination of goods.

The first principle is the “State’s responsibility to ensure cohesion” among individuals and to “harmonize the different sectoral interests with the requirements of justice” so that society may have a “shared vision.”

The second is a guarantee to everyone of the use of natural resources and the products derived from them and also — in one of the document’s most innovative theses — “immaterial and cultural goods” such as patents, algorithms, digital platforms, technological infrastructures, and data. In other words, the encyclical suggests that all this should be state property, or at least strongly regulated by states. It should not be individual property; Magnifica Humanitas assumes that public ownership of material goods guarantees a broader diffusion of the knowledge necessary for present-day development.

“In a context where the wealth of nations depends increasingly on knowledge and technology, when these goods remain concentrated in the hands of a few, without adequate forms of sharing and access, a new imbalance is created that contradicts the universal destination of goods,” the encyclical reads.

Starting from these premises, which in any case depart from their classical theological definitions, three principal theses may be identified within the document.

The first is that technology is not neutral: “Technological innovations, including artificial intelligence, are not neutral, for they can either foster participation and justice or exacerbate inequality, control and exclusion,” Pope Leo writes.

The second is that humanity finds itself at a crossroads: “On the one hand, there is the Tower of Babel, where collective effort follows a plan that dominates and ultimately dehumanizes. On the other hand, there are the ruins of Jerusalem, which under Nehemiah’s direction are rebuilt piece by piece as a project of shared responsibility.”

The third is that Christ should be understood as the model of humanity to be followed in controlling and correcting emerging technologies, and the cultural movements that take their bearings from them, such as transhumanism and posthumanism.

An entire chapter of the encyclical — the fifth — is dedicated to the “culture of power” and the war-related implications of emerging technologies, including AI. In it, Pope Leo XIV addresses the subject of war with a position of clear rupture from historical developments of doctrine, going so far as to state explicitly that the theory of “just war” is now “outdated.”The Pope observes that “without prejudice to the right to self defense in the strictest sense,” just war theory has been “far too often invoked to justify any war whatsoever.” He emphasizes that humanity today possesses much more effective and humane instruments to promote life and resolve conflicts, identifying such instruments in dialogue, diplomacy, and forgiveness. Leo XIV also denounces how the development of weapons systems based on artificial intelligence in fact makes war more “practicable” and less subject to human control.

Developing….]]> <![CDATA[Leo XIV Was Influenced Early On by Liberation Theology]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8254 Tue, 05 May 2026 20:58:34 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8254 Leo XIV Was Early Influenced by Liberation Theology

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gloria.tv | May 4, 2026

The agency KNA notes that Leo XIV's thinking was shaped by the ideas and terminology of Latin American liberation theology, referring to an address he delivered on 2 March 2002 in Iquitos, Peru. This text has been published in a book released today, which contains essays, sermons and speeches from the years 2001 to 2013.

Key quotes from Fr Robert Prevost:

- The reality of unjust poverty and marginalisation is one of the most pressing problems in today's world, not only in the "Third World".

- No one can be a Christian today and remain detached from the "cry of the poor" and the struggle for justice. The destitution of millions of people is a true 'sacrament' of sin in the world.

- Development is an integral part of evangelisation. Pastoral activity goes beyond what is merely "religious", in accordance with the Church's social teaching and the urgency of the preferential option for the poor.' This must be applied not only to indigenous peoples, who are often the poorest of the poor, but also to every form of exclusion that violates human dignity.]]> Leo XIV Was Early Influenced by Liberation Theology

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gloria.tv | May 4, 2026

The agency KNA notes that Leo XIV's thinking was shaped by the ideas and terminology of Latin American liberation theology, referring to an address he delivered on 2 March 2002 in Iquitos, Peru. This text has been published in a book released today, which contains essays, sermons and speeches from the years 2001 to 2013.

Key quotes from Fr Robert Prevost:

- The reality of unjust poverty and marginalisation is one of the most pressing problems in today's world, not only in the "Third World".

- No one can be a Christian today and remain detached from the "cry of the poor" and the struggle for justice. The destitution of millions of people is a true 'sacrament' of sin in the world.

- Development is an integral part of evangelisation. Pastoral activity goes beyond what is merely "religious", in accordance with the Church's social teaching and the urgency of the preferential option for the poor.' This must be applied not only to indigenous peoples, who are often the poorest of the poor, but also to every form of exclusion that violates human dignity.]]> <![CDATA[Leo XIV on Anglican Dialogue: Overcoming Differences, No Matter How Intractable They Seem]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8232 Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:43:05 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8232 Leo XIV on Anglican Dialogue: Overcoming Differences, No Matter How Intractable They Seem

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gloria.tv | April 27, 2026

Meeting for the first time with Anglican Dame Sarah Mullally, who holds the title Archbishop of Canterbury, Leo XIV encourages Catholics and Anglicans to proclaim Christ together.

They prayed together in the Urban VIII Chapel in the Apostolic Palace.

Leo XIV spoke about a fake archbishop who was an Anglican layman, and a pope who was far from saintly.

“When archbishop Michael Ramsey and Saint Pope Paul VI announced the first theological dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics [in 1966], they spoke of seeking the ‘restoration of complete communion in faith and sacramental life’. Certainly this ecumenical journey has been complex. While much progress has been made on some historically divisive issues, new problems have arisen in recent decades, rendering the pathway to full communion more difficult to discern.

I know that the Anglican Communion is also facing many of these same questions at this time.

Nevertheless, we must not allow these continuing challenges to prevent us from using every possible opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world together.

As my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, said to the Primates of the Anglican Communion in 2024, ‘it would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfil our common vocation to make Christ known.’

For my part, I add that it would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear.”]]> Leo XIV on Anglican Dialogue: Overcoming Differences, No Matter How Intractable They Seem

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gloria.tv | April 27, 2026

Meeting for the first time with Anglican Dame Sarah Mullally, who holds the title Archbishop of Canterbury, Leo XIV encourages Catholics and Anglicans to proclaim Christ together.

They prayed together in the Urban VIII Chapel in the Apostolic Palace.

Leo XIV spoke about a fake archbishop who was an Anglican layman, and a pope who was far from saintly.

“When archbishop Michael Ramsey and Saint Pope Paul VI announced the first theological dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics [in 1966], they spoke of seeking the ‘restoration of complete communion in faith and sacramental life’. Certainly this ecumenical journey has been complex. While much progress has been made on some historically divisive issues, new problems have arisen in recent decades, rendering the pathway to full communion more difficult to discern.

I know that the Anglican Communion is also facing many of these same questions at this time.

Nevertheless, we must not allow these continuing challenges to prevent us from using every possible opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world together.

As my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, said to the Primates of the Anglican Communion in 2024, ‘it would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfil our common vocation to make Christ known.’

For my part, I add that it would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear.”]]> <![CDATA[Pope Leo XIV celebrates Francis’ ‘birth into heaven.’]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8200 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:04:20 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8200 They themselves always cite Vatican II upon which they stand, as the foundation of their words and actions...

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Francis’ ‘birth into heaven.’ Will he canonize him?
Marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis' death, Leo XIV praised his predecessor as a ‘devoted shepherd’ who upheld the ‘legacy of the Second Vatican Council.’

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Pope Francis arrives at Commonwealth Stadium to give an open-air mass on July 26, 2022 in Edmonton, Canada.
Cole Burston/Getty Images

Apr 22, 2026
(LifeSiteNews [emphasis mine]) — While celebrating Pope Francis’ “birth into heaven” on the first-year anniversary of his death, Pope Leo XIV said his predecessor took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council.

In a message delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, Leo honored Francis yesterday as a “devoted shepherd,” saying that he, “in continuity with his predecessors, took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council,” Vatican News reported.

Leo’s remarks were given on the first year anniversary of Francis’ death, a day which Leo called Francis’ “birth into heaven,” in the assumption not only that Francis was headed toward heaven, but that he went straight there as a saint. This assumption contradicts Catholic tradition by which, for the good of the deceased, one prays for their souls in the hope of salvation and for deliverance from purgatory.

The assumption that Pope Francis was immediately welcomed into heaven as a saint is also at odds with his legacy of sowing confusion and error by making statements and issuing documents that contradicted perennial Catholic Church teaching, as has been documented in a recently published book.

In his commemoration of Francis, Leo suggested, remarkably, that his pontificate marked a turning point in the Church.

He said Francis recognized that he acted as pope “at a time that has marked – and continues to mark – a change of era, a change of which he was fully aware, offering all of us a courageous witness that represents a significant patrimony for the Church.”

By all indications, Leo appears to embrace the “change of era” marked by Francis’ pontificate. He has praised one of his most controversial – and heterodox – documents, Amoris Laetitia, which suggested Holy Communion may be given to divorced and “remarried” Catholics who are living in grave sin, itself a grave offense that violates Catholic teaching.

Leo has also endorsed Francis’ idea that there is an “infinite human dignity,” when he authorized a study by the International Theological Commission published in February.

Various clerics, and Leo’s own brother, have affirmed that he desires to continue that path of Francis. Vatican Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has said that “Pope Leo has expressed in various ways the need to continue to receive the magisterium of Francis.”

Leo himself has explicitly and repeatedly positioned himself as the inheritor of Francis’s program, stressing continuity on synodality, women’s roles in the Church, ecumenism, curial reform, and liturgical disputes. He stated in a September interview, “I hope to continue in the footsteps of Francis, including in appointing women to some leadership roles at different levels in the Church’s life.”

Leo has also actively championed the Second Vatican Council, sharing his affinity for it with Francis, who said his spirituality comes directly from Vatican II. Leo announced in January that he would be beginning a catechesis series to “closely” study Vatican II, which many priests and scholars have affirmed to be in need of correction.]]> They themselves always cite Vatican II upon which they stand, as the foundation of their words and actions...

Pope Francis arrives at Commonwealth Stadium to give an open-air mass on July 26, 2022 in Edmonton, Canada.
Cole Burston/Getty Images

Apr 22, 2026
(LifeSiteNews [emphasis mine]) — While celebrating Pope Francis’ “birth into heaven” on the first-year anniversary of his death, Pope Leo XIV said his predecessor took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council.

In a message delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, Leo honored Francis yesterday as a “devoted shepherd,” saying that he, “in continuity with his predecessors, took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council,” Vatican News reported.

Leo’s remarks were given on the first year anniversary of Francis’ death, a day which Leo called Francis’ “birth into heaven,” in the assumption not only that Francis was headed toward heaven, but that he went straight there as a saint. This assumption contradicts Catholic tradition by which, for the good of the deceased, one prays for their souls in the hope of salvation and for deliverance from purgatory.

The assumption that Pope Francis was immediately welcomed into heaven as a saint is also at odds with his legacy of sowing confusion and error by making statements and issuing documents that contradicted perennial Catholic Church teaching, as has been documented in a recently published book.

In his commemoration of Francis, Leo suggested, remarkably, that his pontificate marked a turning point in the Church.

He said Francis recognized that he acted as pope “at a time that has marked – and continues to mark – a change of era, a change of which he was fully aware, offering all of us a courageous witness that represents a significant patrimony for the Church.”

By all indications, Leo appears to embrace the “change of era” marked by Francis’ pontificate. He has praised one of his most controversial – and heterodox – documents, Amoris Laetitia, which suggested Holy Communion may be given to divorced and “remarried” Catholics who are living in grave sin, itself a grave offense that violates Catholic teaching.

Leo has also endorsed Francis’ idea that there is an “infinite human dignity,” when he authorized a study by the International Theological Commission published in February.

Various clerics, and Leo’s own brother, have affirmed that he desires to continue that path of Francis. Vatican Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has said that “Pope Leo has expressed in various ways the need to continue to receive the magisterium of Francis.”

Leo himself has explicitly and repeatedly positioned himself as the inheritor of Francis’s program, stressing continuity on synodality, women’s roles in the Church, ecumenism, curial reform, and liturgical disputes. He stated in a September interview, “I hope to continue in the footsteps of Francis, including in appointing women to some leadership roles at different levels in the Church’s life.”

Leo has also actively championed the Second Vatican Council, sharing his affinity for it with Francis, who said his spirituality comes directly from Vatican II. Leo announced in January that he would be beginning a catechesis series to “closely” study Vatican II, which many priests and scholars have affirmed to be in need of correction.]]> <![CDATA[1983 photo shows future Pope Leo marching in communist-organized peace rally in Rome]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8194 Tue, 21 Apr 2026 13:39:36 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8194 1983 photo shows future Pope Leo marching in communist-organized peace rally in Rome
Italian left-wing activist Luca Casarini posted the 1983 image of then-Fr. Prevost at a communist-backed rally,

suggesting the new Pope has not ideologically ‘changed direction.’

[Image: Untitled-20.png]

Fr. Robert Prevost (right) joins a 1983 communist party-led peace protest in Rome, Italy

Apr 20, 2026
(LifeSiteNews) — A newly unearthed photograph taken in Rome in 1983 shows a young Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, participating in a left-leaning mass demonstration against NATO missile deployment.

On April 14 Luca Casarini, an Italian left-wing activist known for his role in the “no-global” movement and, more recently, for his work in migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean, posted an image on his Facebook profile showing a young Father Robert Prevost during a peace march. Several news outlets have since picked up the story.

“You’ve come a long way, brother Robert. But you haven’t changed direction,” Casarini commented in his post.

On October 22, 1983, during a large march for peace held in Rome against the installation of NATO Cruise missiles in Comiso, Sicily, and across Europe, a young Prevost – not long ordained and engaged in studies in canon law – was photographed among a group of members of the Augustinian order carrying a sign reading, “Giovani agostiniani per la pace” (“Young Augustinians for Peace”).

The protest, which drew close to a million participants, took place amid heightened Cold War tensions and widespread mobilization for nuclear disarmament, and was organized by a broad coalition of pacifist groups and political organizations, including the Italian Communist Party (PCI), the Italian Communist Youth Federation (FGCI), and peace committees active at NATO bases.

The black-and-white image, which has recently circulated widely on social media platforms, shows Prevost in the front row of demonstrators. According to sources, the photograph was taken by Gianni Novelli, a Stigmatine priest known for his involvement in the Base Christian Communities and for his leadership within Cipax, the Interconfessional Center for Peace.

Novelli played a prominent role in ecclesial networks associated with non-violence and peace activism, and became a leading figure of the so‑called “Catholic dissent” initiative after the Second Vatican Council. After leaving his religious order, he devoted himself to pacifism in an ecumenical sense.

The Base Christian Communities (in Spanish: comunidades de base), which had emerged in the 1960s and 1970s in Italy and Latin America, played a role in fostering grassroots engagement on left-leaning social and political issues. These communities were later viewed with particular interest by Pope Francis.

The unearthed image was first published a decade later, in 1993, in the Italian magazine Mosaico di pace, within a feature dedicated to Christian commitment to non-violence. At that time, the photograph was presented as part of a broader reflection on the involvement of Catholic groups in peace movements during the Cold War period.

Decades after it was taken, the photograph gained public attention again. According to the same sources, in November 2025, Archbishop Giovanni Ricchiuti, national president of Pax Christi, presented a copy of the image to Pope Leo XIV during an official meeting.

The demonstration in which Prevost participated formed part of a wider movement opposing the deployment of Euromissiles in Europe in the late 1970s and ‘80s. The installation of Cruise missiles at Italy’s Comiso air base had become a focal point for international protest, drawing activists, religious figures, and political groups into coordinated action. The Rome rally represented one of the largest such mobilizations in Italy and in the world during that period.

However, the global mobilization against the missiles was part of a broader international landscape of opposition to the Cold War – often encouraged by the USSR, which included pro‑peace propaganda aimed at undermining the U.S. nuclear strategy directed against Russia.

It is perfectly possible Prevost may have taken part more for peace and nuclear disarmament rather than for the organizer – the communists. However, it still appears naïve on his part largely because the organizers were part of the Italian Communist Party (notoriously a cell of the USSR, directly financed with Kremlin funds).

In particular, the Italian Communist Party operated – as historians now widely acknowledge – as a Soviet propaganda outpost. The pacifism promoted by the Russians also served the purpose of internal disruption and of slowing the deterrence efforts of the NATO bloc.

The photo can also be found among the images preserved in the historical archive of the Italian Communist Party. Alongside the Augustinians (see here), members of several other religious orders – such as Franciscans and Jesuits – also took part in the event. The demonstration, held in those days also in other important European cities such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Bonn, brought together people of all religions and political orientations, though it was clearly oriented in an anti‑NATO direction.

The Magisterium of the Catholic Church teaches that socialism in all its forms, including communism, is infallibly condemned. As Pope Pius XI stated in his 1937 encyclical Divini Redemptoris: “Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever. Those who permit themselves to be deceived into lending their aid towards the triumph of Communism in their own country will be the first to fall victims of their error.”

Luca Casarini was personally invited by Pope Francis to take part in the Synod on Synodality held at the Vatican from October 4 to 29, 2023, as one of the lay guests with the right to speak but not to vote. His presence was both highly symbolic and controversial.]]> 1983 photo shows future Pope Leo marching in communist-organized peace rally in Rome
Italian left-wing activist Luca Casarini posted the 1983 image of then-Fr. Prevost at a communist-backed rally,

suggesting the new Pope has not ideologically ‘changed direction.’

[Image: Untitled-20.png]

Fr. Robert Prevost (right) joins a 1983 communist party-led peace protest in Rome, Italy

Apr 20, 2026
(LifeSiteNews) — A newly unearthed photograph taken in Rome in 1983 shows a young Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, participating in a left-leaning mass demonstration against NATO missile deployment.

On April 14 Luca Casarini, an Italian left-wing activist known for his role in the “no-global” movement and, more recently, for his work in migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean, posted an image on his Facebook profile showing a young Father Robert Prevost during a peace march. Several news outlets have since picked up the story.

“You’ve come a long way, brother Robert. But you haven’t changed direction,” Casarini commented in his post.

On October 22, 1983, during a large march for peace held in Rome against the installation of NATO Cruise missiles in Comiso, Sicily, and across Europe, a young Prevost – not long ordained and engaged in studies in canon law – was photographed among a group of members of the Augustinian order carrying a sign reading, “Giovani agostiniani per la pace” (“Young Augustinians for Peace”).

The protest, which drew close to a million participants, took place amid heightened Cold War tensions and widespread mobilization for nuclear disarmament, and was organized by a broad coalition of pacifist groups and political organizations, including the Italian Communist Party (PCI), the Italian Communist Youth Federation (FGCI), and peace committees active at NATO bases.

The black-and-white image, which has recently circulated widely on social media platforms, shows Prevost in the front row of demonstrators. According to sources, the photograph was taken by Gianni Novelli, a Stigmatine priest known for his involvement in the Base Christian Communities and for his leadership within Cipax, the Interconfessional Center for Peace.

Novelli played a prominent role in ecclesial networks associated with non-violence and peace activism, and became a leading figure of the so‑called “Catholic dissent” initiative after the Second Vatican Council. After leaving his religious order, he devoted himself to pacifism in an ecumenical sense.

The Base Christian Communities (in Spanish: comunidades de base), which had emerged in the 1960s and 1970s in Italy and Latin America, played a role in fostering grassroots engagement on left-leaning social and political issues. These communities were later viewed with particular interest by Pope Francis.

The unearthed image was first published a decade later, in 1993, in the Italian magazine Mosaico di pace, within a feature dedicated to Christian commitment to non-violence. At that time, the photograph was presented as part of a broader reflection on the involvement of Catholic groups in peace movements during the Cold War period.

Decades after it was taken, the photograph gained public attention again. According to the same sources, in November 2025, Archbishop Giovanni Ricchiuti, national president of Pax Christi, presented a copy of the image to Pope Leo XIV during an official meeting.

The demonstration in which Prevost participated formed part of a wider movement opposing the deployment of Euromissiles in Europe in the late 1970s and ‘80s. The installation of Cruise missiles at Italy’s Comiso air base had become a focal point for international protest, drawing activists, religious figures, and political groups into coordinated action. The Rome rally represented one of the largest such mobilizations in Italy and in the world during that period.

However, the global mobilization against the missiles was part of a broader international landscape of opposition to the Cold War – often encouraged by the USSR, which included pro‑peace propaganda aimed at undermining the U.S. nuclear strategy directed against Russia.

It is perfectly possible Prevost may have taken part more for peace and nuclear disarmament rather than for the organizer – the communists. However, it still appears naïve on his part largely because the organizers were part of the Italian Communist Party (notoriously a cell of the USSR, directly financed with Kremlin funds).

In particular, the Italian Communist Party operated – as historians now widely acknowledge – as a Soviet propaganda outpost. The pacifism promoted by the Russians also served the purpose of internal disruption and of slowing the deterrence efforts of the NATO bloc.

The photo can also be found among the images preserved in the historical archive of the Italian Communist Party. Alongside the Augustinians (see here), members of several other religious orders – such as Franciscans and Jesuits – also took part in the event. The demonstration, held in those days also in other important European cities such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Bonn, brought together people of all religions and political orientations, though it was clearly oriented in an anti‑NATO direction.

The Magisterium of the Catholic Church teaches that socialism in all its forms, including communism, is infallibly condemned. As Pope Pius XI stated in his 1937 encyclical Divini Redemptoris: “Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever. Those who permit themselves to be deceived into lending their aid towards the triumph of Communism in their own country will be the first to fall victims of their error.”

Luca Casarini was personally invited by Pope Francis to take part in the Synod on Synodality held at the Vatican from October 4 to 29, 2023, as one of the lay guests with the right to speak but not to vote. His presence was both highly symbolic and controversial.]]> <![CDATA[Tribal Leader Makes Case for Polygamy in Cathedral - Leo XIV Remains Silent But Catholics React]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8186 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 17:00:52 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8186 Tribal Leader Issues Polygamy in Cathedral - Leo XIV Remains Silent But Catholics React

[Image: 1e6lsm6fmmruts5dliko4y8ybm0anbfj1xa6cz7?...1776655883]

[Image: 1e6lsm6fmmruts5dliko4y8ybm0anbfj1xa6cz7?...1776655883]

gloria.tv | April 18, 2026

On April 16, during the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Bamenda, Cameroon, Fon Fru Asaah Angwafor IV, the tribal leader of the Mankon community, spoke about polygamy. He made the remarks during an interreligious peace meeting in the cathedral.

He is the hereditary "king" of the Mankon people and rules over culture and spiritual tradition. He presides over pagan rites, such as important funerals and ancestral ceremonies. During these events, he wears ceremonial attire alongside elders. He also identifies as 'Catholic'.

In his speech at the cathedral, the tribal leader stated that 'some cultural practices continue to pose challenges' and cited polygamy as an example.

He expressed gratitude that, within the framework of the 2023 and 2024 Synod, African bishops had been tasked with conducting a study on polygamy and its place in the life of the Church.

The tribal chief went on to say that adulterers in polygamous relationships should be able to fully integrate into the Church without being 'judged or rejected'.

Leo XIV did not respond.

However, some of the faithful in attendance reacted with boos.]]> Tribal Leader Issues Polygamy in Cathedral - Leo XIV Remains Silent But Catholics React

[Image: 1e6lsm6fmmruts5dliko4y8ybm0anbfj1xa6cz7?...1776655883]

gloria.tv | April 18, 2026

On April 16, during the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Bamenda, Cameroon, Fon Fru Asaah Angwafor IV, the tribal leader of the Mankon community, spoke about polygamy. He made the remarks during an interreligious peace meeting in the cathedral.

He is the hereditary "king" of the Mankon people and rules over culture and spiritual tradition. He presides over pagan rites, such as important funerals and ancestral ceremonies. During these events, he wears ceremonial attire alongside elders. He also identifies as 'Catholic'.

In his speech at the cathedral, the tribal leader stated that 'some cultural practices continue to pose challenges' and cited polygamy as an example.

He expressed gratitude that, within the framework of the 2023 and 2024 Synod, African bishops had been tasked with conducting a study on polygamy and its place in the life of the Church.

The tribal chief went on to say that adulterers in polygamous relationships should be able to fully integrate into the Church without being 'judged or rejected'.

Leo XIV did not respond.

However, some of the faithful in attendance reacted with boos.]]> <![CDATA[Cardinal Fernández says Pope Leo XIV is continuing Francis’ legacy, not undoing it]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8185 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:57:16 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8185 Cardinal Fernández says Pope Leo XIV is continuing Francis’ legacy, not undoing it
Cardinal Fernández pushed back on claims of a hard break with the direction of Pope Francis,

saying Leo XIV has asked bishops ‘to continue to receive the magisterium of Francis.’

[Image: shutterstock_2698415899.jpg]

Pope Leo XIV
Riccardo De Luca - Update/Shutterstock

Apr 16, 2026
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Senior Vatican Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández has said Pope Leo XIV is continuing the legacy of Pope Francis.

On April 13, Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated in an interview given to Italian newspaper Il Giornale that it is inaccurate to claim Pope Leo XIV intends to overturn his predecessor’s pontificate, emphasizing instead continuity through specific initiatives and teachings promoted within the Church. The interview marked the approaching first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death, on April 21.

“Every pope has his own personal style and priorities, but to say that Pope Leo wants to erase what was done during the pontificate of Francis is dishonest,” Fernández said.

According to the Argentine cardinal, “One year later, Francis is not yet underground,” and his legacy is more relevant than ever. Pope Leo XIV asks the entire Church to “follow the lesson of humility” that Francis would have imparted with his life and his papacy.

When asked about “a decision or a text” by Francis that, according to Fernández, “changed the way of living the Church,” the cardinal replied: “The fact of applying the hierarchy of truth not only to ecumenism, but to all preaching and evangelization.”

The so-called “hierarchy of truth” is a theological interpretation of the Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio of the Second Vatican Council (no. 11), according to which all the truths of the Catholic faith derive from the same divine source, but not all would have the same weight in relation to the core of the Gospel.

Unitatis Redintegratio asserts that “the whole doctrine must be clearly presented in its entirety” and that “nothing is more foreign to ecumenism than that false irenicism, which distorts the purity of Catholic doctrine and obscures its genuine and precise meaning.” Moreover, the decree recalls that, “When comparing doctrines it should be remembered that there exists an order or hierarchy in the truths of Catholic doctrine, by reason of their different relation to the foundation of the Christian faith.”

In the traditional sense, this means that Catholic dogmas proceed from the fundamental articles of the Creed as conclusions proceed from their premises.

In the neo-modernist sense, adopted by Francis, this concept has been interpreted to mean that some truths would be fundamental and necessary, others less so. This interpretation was condemned under the name of “latitudinarianism” by Pope Pius IX in his 1864 encyclical Quanta cura and in the Syllabus of Errors.

According to what Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, the Church should not “be obsessed with the disjointed transmission of a multitude of doctrines,” but should focus on what is “more beautiful, greater, more necessary”: the kerygma, the Christian proclamation, which – according to the late pope – reduces to the fact that “God loves all men.”

In this sense, Francis extended the concept of the hierarchy of truths, applying it not only to relations with non‑Catholics but also to relations among Catholics themselves.

Amid the interview, Fernández decried “traditionalist groups” who he said “resist” Pope Francis’s “condemnation of the death penalty.” Even with this, regarding the danger of erasing or forgetting what was taught by Francis, the cardinal said there would be no risk under Leo:

Quote:Pope Leo has expressed in various ways the need to continue to receive the magisterium of Francis. For example, to us cardinals, before the consistory, he asked us to read Evangelii gaudium again, and then invited us to reflect on its application. Now he has convened the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences to resume the reception of Amoris laetitia. Certainly, for those who rejected all his teaching or for those who received it only in appearance, [Francis’s] pontificate will have been only a bad parenthesis (forgetting the hermeneutic of continuity).

However, the concept of a “hermeneutic of continuity” developed by Pope Benedict XVI serves to avoid a reading of the Second Vatican Council as a rupture with respect to the standing Tradition. Fernández, instead, employed the expression in a different way, that is, to describe a supposedly necessary pastoral continuity and magisterial direction between Francis and Leo.

Again, according to Fernández, the point from which to begin again in order to communicate the faith anew in a secularized society would be “the experience of a friendship with Christ that enlightens, offers meaning, with the certainty of being loved.” The concept of experience and feeling as foundations of religious life, superior to faith and Tradition, are among the fixed points of modernism, as set forth and condemned by Pope Saint Pius X in the encyclical Pascendi Dominici gregis (1907).]]> Cardinal Fernández says Pope Leo XIV is continuing Francis’ legacy, not undoing it
Cardinal Fernández pushed back on claims of a hard break with the direction of Pope Francis,

saying Leo XIV has asked bishops ‘to continue to receive the magisterium of Francis.’

[Image: shutterstock_2698415899.jpg]

Pope Leo XIV
Riccardo De Luca - Update/Shutterstock

Quote:Pope Leo has expressed in various ways the need to continue to receive the magisterium of Francis. For example, to us cardinals, before the consistory, he asked us to read Evangelii gaudium again, and then invited us to reflect on its application. Now he has convened the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences to resume the reception of Amoris laetitia. Certainly, for those who rejected all his teaching or for those who received it only in appearance, [Francis’s] pontificate will have been only a bad parenthesis (forgetting the hermeneutic of continuity).

However, the concept of a “hermeneutic of continuity” developed by Pope Benedict XVI serves to avoid a reading of the Second Vatican Council as a rupture with respect to the standing Tradition. Fernández, instead, employed the expression in a different way, that is, to describe a supposedly necessary pastoral continuity and magisterial direction between Francis and Leo.

Again, according to Fernández, the point from which to begin again in order to communicate the faith anew in a secularized society would be “the experience of a friendship with Christ that enlightens, offers meaning, with the certainty of being loved.” The concept of experience and feeling as foundations of religious life, superior to faith and Tradition, are among the fixed points of modernism, as set forth and condemned by Pope Saint Pius X in the encyclical Pascendi Dominici gregis (1907).]]> <![CDATA[Pope Leo XIV calls Algiers mosque ‘space proper to God,’ makes silent prayer with imam]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8180 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:38:34 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8180 Pope Leo XIV calls Algiers mosque ‘space proper to God,’ makes silent prayer with imam
Pope Leo XIV touched down in Algeria on April 13, becoming the first pope ever to make an apostolic visit to the country, opening with silent prayer at the world’s third largest mosque.

[Image: Untitled-9-810x500.png]

Pope Leo XIV presides over the Prayer Vigil for Peace at St Peter's Basilica, on April 11, 2026, in Vatican City
Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
Apr 14, 2026
ALGIERS, Algeria (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV visited the third largest mosque in the world in Algiers, Algeria, and paused in silent prayer with the imam. During his last journey in Istanbul, he did not pray in the Blue Mosque.

On April 13, Pope Leo began his apostolic journey in Africa, with the first stop in Algeria – the first papal visit in the country’s history. During his stopover at the Mosque of Algiers, the Pope took off his shoes as required by protocol and paused in silent prayer together with Imam Mohamed Mamoun al Qasimi, showing a change of attitude compared to what he had done at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul during a prior apostolic voyage.

Pope Leo’s recent journey began with a visit to the Islamic place of worship, which ranks as the third largest mosque in the world, after those of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

According to Vatican News, the Pope – after removing his shoes to enter, as required by protocol – remained inside for just under ten minutes, several of which were spent in “silent reflection” beside the imam and before the mihrab, the niche carved into the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca. It is toward this direction that Muslims orient themselves during prayer. According to Islamic tradition, the mihrab symbolizes the presence of God and the centrality of prayer.

Accompanying the Pope were two cardinals: George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers.

As reported by the same Vatican outlet, the Pope then withdrew for a private moment of dialogue with the rector of the mosque, where he expressed “gratitude for being in a place that represents the space proper to God.”

Although the Pope, the imam, the cameramen, and the other operators closest to him had removed their shoes, other people farther from the cameras were visibly inside the mosque wearing footwear, which makes the visit seem more like a staged media display than a sincere gesture of religious reverence.

In November 2025, during his first apostolic journey in Turkey, Pope Leo visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. According to several sources, he took off his shoes as required by protocol, visited the mosque in silence and with respect, but declined the imam’s invitation to join in prayer.

The Vatican had initially announced that there would be a “brief moment of silent prayer” during the Istanbul visit, but later clarified that the Pontiff had chosen to experience the visit as a moment of listening and learning, rather than formal prayer. Later, Leo XIV explained that he prefers to pray in a Catholic church, before the Blessed Sacrament, and that his gesture was not meant to be interpreted as a sign of disrespect toward Islam.]]> Pope Leo XIV calls Algiers mosque ‘space proper to God,’ makes silent prayer with imam
Pope Leo XIV touched down in Algeria on April 13, becoming the first pope ever to make an apostolic visit to the country, opening with silent prayer at the world’s third largest mosque.

[Image: Untitled-9-810x500.png]

Pope Leo XIV presides over the Prayer Vigil for Peace at St Peter's Basilica, on April 11, 2026, in Vatican City
Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
Apr 14, 2026
ALGIERS, Algeria (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV visited the third largest mosque in the world in Algiers, Algeria, and paused in silent prayer with the imam. During his last journey in Istanbul, he did not pray in the Blue Mosque.

On April 13, Pope Leo began his apostolic journey in Africa, with the first stop in Algeria – the first papal visit in the country’s history. During his stopover at the Mosque of Algiers, the Pope took off his shoes as required by protocol and paused in silent prayer together with Imam Mohamed Mamoun al Qasimi, showing a change of attitude compared to what he had done at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul during a prior apostolic voyage.

Pope Leo’s recent journey began with a visit to the Islamic place of worship, which ranks as the third largest mosque in the world, after those of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

According to Vatican News, the Pope – after removing his shoes to enter, as required by protocol – remained inside for just under ten minutes, several of which were spent in “silent reflection” beside the imam and before the mihrab, the niche carved into the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca. It is toward this direction that Muslims orient themselves during prayer. According to Islamic tradition, the mihrab symbolizes the presence of God and the centrality of prayer.

Accompanying the Pope were two cardinals: George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers.

As reported by the same Vatican outlet, the Pope then withdrew for a private moment of dialogue with the rector of the mosque, where he expressed “gratitude for being in a place that represents the space proper to God.”

Although the Pope, the imam, the cameramen, and the other operators closest to him had removed their shoes, other people farther from the cameras were visibly inside the mosque wearing footwear, which makes the visit seem more like a staged media display than a sincere gesture of religious reverence.

In November 2025, during his first apostolic journey in Turkey, Pope Leo visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. According to several sources, he took off his shoes as required by protocol, visited the mosque in silence and with respect, but declined the imam’s invitation to join in prayer.

The Vatican had initially announced that there would be a “brief moment of silent prayer” during the Istanbul visit, but later clarified that the Pontiff had chosen to experience the visit as a moment of listening and learning, rather than formal prayer. Later, Leo XIV explained that he prefers to pray in a Catholic church, before the Blessed Sacrament, and that his gesture was not meant to be interpreted as a sign of disrespect toward Islam.]]> <![CDATA[Pope Leo asks French bishops for ‘generous inclusion’ of TLM]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8134 Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:29:33 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8134 Ecclesia Dei, where if the Latin and the incense and the bells are craved, a watered down indult version is provided by the Vatican II church. All the while, very liberal-progressive-modernist clergy are being actively promoted and placed in important positions throughout the Conciliar church by this same pope. Notice this 'ask' is an encouragement with words but nothing actionable is being done by the pope. But Perhaps this maneuver is intended to promote the idea that Pope Leo XIV is sympathetic to tradition while his other, more concrete actions, show the contrary. - The Catacombs

Pope Leo asks French bishops for ‘generous inclusion’ of TLM
"May the Holy Spirit suggest to you concrete solutions that will allow for the generous inclusion of those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo."

[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...40x560.png]

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Pope Leo prays at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, May 20, 2025. Credit: Sipa USA/Alamy Live News.

The Pillar | Mar 25, 2026

In a message to the French bishops’ conference, Pope Leo XIV called for “concrete solutions” to permit the “generous inclusion” of Catholics attached to the Traditional Latin Mass.

A March 18 letter sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Leo encourages the French bishops’ conference to embrace liturgical diversity and find ways to include “those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo.”

It has largely been expected that Pope Leo would eventually lift restrictions on the celebration of the preconciliar liturgy, which were imposed by Pope Francis in 2021. Parolin’s letter is a clear indication that Pope Leo wishes local bishops to move quickly to that end.

The letter says that the pope is “particularly attentive” to the bishops’ discussion on the liturgy, “in the context of the growth of communities bound to the Vetus Ordo.”

“It is troubling that a painful wound concerning the celebration of Mass, the very sacrament of unity, continues to open in the Church,” the letter says.

To heal this wound, it continues, a “new perspective” is needed. The letter says a fresh perspective, “with a greater understanding of each other’s sensitivities, is certainly necessary; a perspective that can allow brothers, enriched by their diversity, to welcome one another in charity and the unity of faith.”

“May the Holy Spirit suggest to you concrete solutions that will allow for the generous inclusion of those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Second Vatican Council regarding the Liturgy,” the letter concludes.

Read the rest of the article here.]]> Ecclesia Dei, where if the Latin and the incense and the bells are craved, a watered down indult version is provided by the Vatican II church. All the while, very liberal-progressive-modernist clergy are being actively promoted and placed in important positions throughout the Conciliar church by this same pope. Notice this 'ask' is an encouragement with words but nothing actionable is being done by the pope. But Perhaps this maneuver is intended to promote the idea that Pope Leo XIV is sympathetic to tradition while his other, more concrete actions, show the contrary. - The Catacombs

Pope Leo prays at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, May 20, 2025. Credit: Sipa USA/Alamy Live News.

The Pillar | Mar 25, 2026

In a message to the French bishops’ conference, Pope Leo XIV called for “concrete solutions” to permit the “generous inclusion” of Catholics attached to the Traditional Latin Mass.

A March 18 letter sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Leo encourages the French bishops’ conference to embrace liturgical diversity and find ways to include “those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo.”

It has largely been expected that Pope Leo would eventually lift restrictions on the celebration of the preconciliar liturgy, which were imposed by Pope Francis in 2021. Parolin’s letter is a clear indication that Pope Leo wishes local bishops to move quickly to that end.

The letter says that the pope is “particularly attentive” to the bishops’ discussion on the liturgy, “in the context of the growth of communities bound to the Vetus Ordo.”

“It is troubling that a painful wound concerning the celebration of Mass, the very sacrament of unity, continues to open in the Church,” the letter says.

To heal this wound, it continues, a “new perspective” is needed. The letter says a fresh perspective, “with a greater understanding of each other’s sensitivities, is certainly necessary; a perspective that can allow brothers, enriched by their diversity, to welcome one another in charity and the unity of faith.”

“May the Holy Spirit suggest to you concrete solutions that will allow for the generous inclusion of those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Second Vatican Council regarding the Liturgy,” the letter concludes.

Read the rest of the article here.]]> <![CDATA[Leo XIV Appoints Former Rothschild Director to Preside Vatican Bank]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8133 Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:11:15 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8133 Leo XIV Appoints Former Rothschild Director to Preside Vatican Bank

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gloria.tv | March 27, 2026

The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, has appointed François Pauly as president of its supervisory board. The move is approved by The Cardinals' Commission, in accordance with the IOR’s statutes.

François Pauly will succeed Jean-Baptiste Douville de Franssu, who led the bank for 12 years, after the April 28 board meeting.

Pauly has worked in the European financial sector for more than three decades. He currently serves as Chairman of La Luxembourgeoise, a Luxembourg-based insurance group.

From June 2021 to 2023, Pauly held senior executive responsibilities at the Edmond de Rothschild Bank in Switzerland. He served as CEO and chaired the executive committee. In this role, he contributed to the group’s broader international activities.

This was during a time of transition for the group following Benjamin de Rothschild's death in 2021.

Pauly has prior experience with Vatican-related financial bodies. Between 2017 and 2021, he served as a member of the board of the troubled Vatican pension fund.]]> Leo XIV Appoints Former Rothschild Director to Preside Vatican Bank

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gloria.tv | March 27, 2026

The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, has appointed François Pauly as president of its supervisory board. The move is approved by The Cardinals' Commission, in accordance with the IOR’s statutes.

François Pauly will succeed Jean-Baptiste Douville de Franssu, who led the bank for 12 years, after the April 28 board meeting.

Pauly has worked in the European financial sector for more than three decades. He currently serves as Chairman of La Luxembourgeoise, a Luxembourg-based insurance group.

From June 2021 to 2023, Pauly held senior executive responsibilities at the Edmond de Rothschild Bank in Switzerland. He served as CEO and chaired the executive committee. In this role, he contributed to the group’s broader international activities.

This was during a time of transition for the group following Benjamin de Rothschild's death in 2021.

Pauly has prior experience with Vatican-related financial bodies. Between 2017 and 2021, he served as a member of the board of the troubled Vatican pension fund.]]> <![CDATA[Pope Leo honors new female pro-abortion ‘archbishop’ of Canterbury]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8127 Fri, 27 Mar 2026 09:07:40 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8127 Pope Leo honors new female pro-abortion ‘archbishop’ of Canterbury
To pretend that this is somehow a blessed vocation and praise Mullally in it and invoke God's blessing

and the inspiration of the Blessed Virgin Mary on it is unspeakably evil.

[Image: Untitled-3-810x500.png]

The congregation reacts as Bishop Sarah Mullally is confirmed as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s Cathedral, on January 28, 2026, in London, England
Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Mar 26, 2026
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has issued a congratulatory letter to Sarah Mullally – the first woman ever appointed “archbishop of Canterbury” and a vocal supporter of abortion and the LGBT agenda. In the letter, Leo praises Mullally’s “weighty” responsibilities, and explicitly invokes the Blessed Virgin Mary as a source of “inspiration” for her new role.

The March 20, 2026 message, published on the Vatican website, was released after Mullally’s installation yesterday. It makes no reference whatsoever to the Catholic Church’s perennial teaching that Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void” (Apostolicae Curae, 1896), that the ordination of women is impossible and contrary to the will of Christ, or to Mullally’s own public record promoting grave moral evils of abortion and homosexual acts.

Instead, Leo XIV opens with the salutation:

“To The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally Archbishop of Canterbury”

He continues:

Quote:“I know that the office for which you have been chosen is a weighty one, with responsibilities not only in the Diocese of Canterbury, but throughout the Church of England as well as the Anglican Communion as a whole… In asking the Lord to strengthen you with the gift of wisdom, I pray that you may be guided by the Holy Spirit in serving your communities, and draw inspiration from the example of Mary, the Mother of God.”

This invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – the Theotokos, the model of perfect obedience to God’s Will – is particularly scandalous. To hold up the Mother of God as inspiration for a woman pretending to exercise a priestly and episcopal office that the Church has always declared Christ reserved to men – not to mention for a leader who actively promotes abortion and same-sex “marriage” – is a mind-bending scandal.

Leo XIV quotes Pope Francis saying “it would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfil our common vocation to make Christ known.”

He adds:

Quote:Dear sister, I willingly make these words my own, for it is through the witness of a reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community that the proclamation of the Gospel will resound most clearly.

With these fraternal sentiments, I invoke upon you the blessings of Almighty God as you take up your high responsibilities. May the Holy Spirit come down upon you and make you fruitful in the Lord’s service.

Please stop. Please, please stop!

I’m sorry, my friends, that we need to keep banging this drum. But since most of the cardinals and bishops see Leo XIV as doing good for the Church, we must speak, we must point out the staggering damage he is causing to the One True Faith.

First off, Sarah Mullally, whom Leo here salutes, is explicitly pro-abortion and pro-LGBT. In a 2012 blog post, she declared herself “pro choice rather than pro life,” explaining: “I would suspect that I would describe my approach to this issue as pro choice rather than pro live [sic] although if it were a continuum I would be somewhere along it moving towards pro life when it relates to my choice and then enabling choice when it related to others.”

As “bishop” of London in 2022, she actively promoted “LGBT+ History Month” and launched a diocesan advisory group focused on “the pastoral care and inclusion of LGBT+ people in the life of our church communities.” Multiple LifeSite reports have shown her to be a “strong supporter of same-sex marriage,” a stance that has triggered massive controversy in the Church of England: conservative Global South Anglicans (representing tens of millions) have broken communion with Canterbury, and the Primate of Nigeria denounced her appointment as “devastating” and a rejection of biblical teaching.

Secondly, the Church has affirmed over and over again that women cannot be priests and that the Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void.” So to pretend that this is somehow a blessed vocation and praise Mullally in it and invoke God’s blessing and the inspiration of the Blessed Virgin Mary on it is unspeakably evil. It massively confuses the faithful and goes right along with Leo’s own intervention a few months ago where he scandalously said to the Anglicans and other non-Catholic Christian leaders that “we are already one.”

The full text of the Leo’s message is available on the Vatican website.

Pray for the conversion of Leo XIV, that he may govern the Church with fidelity and stop presenting another gospel where all sects are one and which downplays the most serious violations of the moral law.

And let us pray the Rosary, the weapon given to us by Our Lady herself, for the restoration of full Catholic truth – in other words, the Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart.]]> Pope Leo honors new female pro-abortion ‘archbishop’ of Canterbury
To pretend that this is somehow a blessed vocation and praise Mullally in it and invoke God's blessing

and the inspiration of the Blessed Virgin Mary on it is unspeakably evil.

[Image: Untitled-3-810x500.png]

Quote:“I know that the office for which you have been chosen is a weighty one, with responsibilities not only in the Diocese of Canterbury, but throughout the Church of England as well as the Anglican Communion as a whole… In asking the Lord to strengthen you with the gift of wisdom, I pray that you may be guided by the Holy Spirit in serving your communities, and draw inspiration from the example of Mary, the Mother of God.”

Quote:Dear sister, I willingly make these words my own, for it is through the witness of a reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community that the proclamation of the Gospel will resound most clearly.

With these fraternal sentiments, I invoke upon you the blessings of Almighty God as you take up your high responsibilities. May the Holy Spirit come down upon you and make you fruitful in the Lord’s service.

Please stop. Please, please stop!

I’m sorry, my friends, that we need to keep banging this drum. But since most of the cardinals and bishops see Leo XIV as doing good for the Church, we must speak, we must point out the staggering damage he is causing to the One True Faith.

First off, Sarah Mullally, whom Leo here salutes, is explicitly pro-abortion and pro-LGBT. In a 2012 blog post, she declared herself “pro choice rather than pro life,” explaining: “I would suspect that I would describe my approach to this issue as pro choice rather than pro live [sic] although if it were a continuum I would be somewhere along it moving towards pro life when it relates to my choice and then enabling choice when it related to others.”

As “bishop” of London in 2022, she actively promoted “LGBT+ History Month” and launched a diocesan advisory group focused on “the pastoral care and inclusion of LGBT+ people in the life of our church communities.” Multiple LifeSite reports have shown her to be a “strong supporter of same-sex marriage,” a stance that has triggered massive controversy in the Church of England: conservative Global South Anglicans (representing tens of millions) have broken communion with Canterbury, and the Primate of Nigeria denounced her appointment as “devastating” and a rejection of biblical teaching.

Secondly, the Church has affirmed over and over again that women cannot be priests and that the Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void.” So to pretend that this is somehow a blessed vocation and praise Mullally in it and invoke God’s blessing and the inspiration of the Blessed Virgin Mary on it is unspeakably evil. It massively confuses the faithful and goes right along with Leo’s own intervention a few months ago where he scandalously said to the Anglicans and other non-Catholic Christian leaders that “we are already one.”

The full text of the Leo’s message is available on the Vatican website.

Pray for the conversion of Leo XIV, that he may govern the Church with fidelity and stop presenting another gospel where all sects are one and which downplays the most serious violations of the moral law.

And let us pray the Rosary, the weapon given to us by Our Lady herself, for the restoration of full Catholic truth – in other words, the Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart.]]> <![CDATA[Pope Leo praises Francis’ Amoris Laetitia, asks for ‘courage to persevere on this path’]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8098 Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:33:20 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8098 Pope Leo praises Francis’ Amoris Laetitia, asks for ‘courage to persevere on this path’

'Amoris Laetitia offers valuable teachings that we must continue to examine today,' Pope Leo wrote in a message celebrating the tenth anniversary of the document.

Pope Leo XIV

Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Mar 19, 2026
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has praised Amoris Laetitia as a guiding text for the Church.

On March 19, Pope Leo issued a message marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, in which he described Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation as a “luminous message of hope” and confirmed its central role in contemporary teaching on marriage and the family.

“On 19 March 2016, Pope Francis offered the universal Church a luminous message of hope regarding conjugal love and family life,” Pope Leo wrote. “On this tenth anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reflection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage to persevere on this path.”

In his message, the Pope explicitly placed Amoris Laetitia alongside Familiaris Consortio issued by John Paul II. “Since the Council, the two Apostolic Exhortations, Familiaris Consortio – issued by Saint John Paul II in 1981 – and Amoris Laetitia, have both strengthened the Church’s doctrinal and pastoral commitment to the service of young people, married couples and families.”

The comparison between John Paul II’s exhortation and Francis’ appears strongly ideological. In Familiaris Consortio, John Paul II provided pastoral guidelines regarding irregular situations. Referring to civil marriages contracted by Catholics, the Pope taught that “this situation is not acceptable to the Church” and urged bishops “to make these people understand the need for consistency between their choice of life and the faith that they profess.”

When speaking instead of couples who are separated or divorced but not remarried, the Pope called on the Church “to support such people more than ever … so that they can preserve their fidelity even in their difficult situation.” Divorced persons, in particular, “being well aware that the valid marriage bond is indissoluble, refrain from becoming involved in a new union and devote themselves solely to carrying out their family duties and the responsibilities of Christian life.”

As for divorced and remarried Catholics, John Paul II spoke explicitly of an “evil that is affecting more and more Catholics as well,” a problem that “must be faced with resolution and without delay.”

“The Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried,” John Paul II wrote.

On the contrary, Amoris Laetitia says – contradicting John Paul II and many others – that “it can no longer simply be said that all those in any irregular situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule.”

This thesis is undeniably heterodox and probably – together with Dignitas infinita – the most problematic one put forward by Francis. Furthermore, Francis’ admission of the possibility of giving Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics was not only implicitly suggested in the document itself, but explicitly confirmed by Francis on September 5, 2016, in a letter responding to the bishops of the Buenos Aires pastoral region. “There are no other interpretations,” he stated.

Later, on October 2, 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith answered a series of questions submitted by Cardinal Dominik Duka, confirming that Amoris Laetitia has to be considered – via a rescript of the Secretariat of State – as “authentic magisterium.” If accepted, this apostolic exhortation would place in crisis not only the Church’s perennial doctrine on Marriage, but also its teaching on the Eucharist and confession.

Pope Leo recalled Francis’ insistence on “mutual listening” within the People of God, particularly the need to engage directly with families. He also remembered that “Pope Francis affirmed the need for new pastoral methods, … overcoming a reductive conception of the norm.”

“Amoris Laetitia offers valuable teachings that we must continue to examine today,” the Pope wrote. For this reason, Leo XIV also announced that he has convened the presidents of episcopal conferences worldwide for an extraordinary meeting in October 2026 to pursue further “synodal discernment” on family issues.

“In light of the changes that continue to impact families,” Leo explained, “I have decided to convene the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from around the world in October 2026, in an effort to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris Laetitia and taking into account what is currently being done in the local Churches.”

The text does not specify whether the participants will represent regional, national, or continental episcopal conferences – or all of these.

The decision to convene all the bishops and to discuss family pastoral care with them is in continuity with Pope Leo’s strongly collegial, almost parliamentary approach to governing the Church. Pope Leo has already announced his intention to convene regular consistories in order to discuss and decide together with the cardinals on matters such as liturgy, synodality, mission, and the nature of jurisdiction.]]> Pope Leo praises Francis’ Amoris Laetitia, asks for ‘courage to persevere on this path’

'Amoris Laetitia offers valuable teachings that we must continue to examine today,' Pope Leo wrote in a message celebrating the tenth anniversary of the document.

Pope Leo XIV

Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Mar 19, 2026
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has praised Amoris Laetitia as a guiding text for the Church.

On March 19, Pope Leo issued a message marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, in which he described Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation as a “luminous message of hope” and confirmed its central role in contemporary teaching on marriage and the family.

“On 19 March 2016, Pope Francis offered the universal Church a luminous message of hope regarding conjugal love and family life,” Pope Leo wrote. “On this tenth anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reflection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage to persevere on this path.”

In his message, the Pope explicitly placed Amoris Laetitia alongside Familiaris Consortio issued by John Paul II. “Since the Council, the two Apostolic Exhortations, Familiaris Consortio – issued by Saint John Paul II in 1981 – and Amoris Laetitia, have both strengthened the Church’s doctrinal and pastoral commitment to the service of young people, married couples and families.”

The comparison between John Paul II’s exhortation and Francis’ appears strongly ideological. In Familiaris Consortio, John Paul II provided pastoral guidelines regarding irregular situations. Referring to civil marriages contracted by Catholics, the Pope taught that “this situation is not acceptable to the Church” and urged bishops “to make these people understand the need for consistency between their choice of life and the faith that they profess.”

When speaking instead of couples who are separated or divorced but not remarried, the Pope called on the Church “to support such people more than ever … so that they can preserve their fidelity even in their difficult situation.” Divorced persons, in particular, “being well aware that the valid marriage bond is indissoluble, refrain from becoming involved in a new union and devote themselves solely to carrying out their family duties and the responsibilities of Christian life.”

As for divorced and remarried Catholics, John Paul II spoke explicitly of an “evil that is affecting more and more Catholics as well,” a problem that “must be faced with resolution and without delay.”

“The Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried,” John Paul II wrote.

On the contrary, Amoris Laetitia says – contradicting John Paul II and many others – that “it can no longer simply be said that all those in any irregular situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule.”

This thesis is undeniably heterodox and probably – together with Dignitas infinita – the most problematic one put forward by Francis. Furthermore, Francis’ admission of the possibility of giving Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics was not only implicitly suggested in the document itself, but explicitly confirmed by Francis on September 5, 2016, in a letter responding to the bishops of the Buenos Aires pastoral region. “There are no other interpretations,” he stated.

Later, on October 2, 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith answered a series of questions submitted by Cardinal Dominik Duka, confirming that Amoris Laetitia has to be considered – via a rescript of the Secretariat of State – as “authentic magisterium.” If accepted, this apostolic exhortation would place in crisis not only the Church’s perennial doctrine on Marriage, but also its teaching on the Eucharist and confession.

Pope Leo recalled Francis’ insistence on “mutual listening” within the People of God, particularly the need to engage directly with families. He also remembered that “Pope Francis affirmed the need for new pastoral methods, … overcoming a reductive conception of the norm.”

“Amoris Laetitia offers valuable teachings that we must continue to examine today,” the Pope wrote. For this reason, Leo XIV also announced that he has convened the presidents of episcopal conferences worldwide for an extraordinary meeting in October 2026 to pursue further “synodal discernment” on family issues.

“In light of the changes that continue to impact families,” Leo explained, “I have decided to convene the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from around the world in October 2026, in an effort to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris Laetitia and taking into account what is currently being done in the local Churches.”

The text does not specify whether the participants will represent regional, national, or continental episcopal conferences – or all of these.

The decision to convene all the bishops and to discuss family pastoral care with them is in continuity with Pope Leo’s strongly collegial, almost parliamentary approach to governing the Church. Pope Leo has already announced his intention to convene regular consistories in order to discuss and decide together with the cardinals on matters such as liturgy, synodality, mission, and the nature of jurisdiction.]]> <![CDATA[1995 photo shows Pope Leo XIV participating in Pachamama ritual]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8094 Thu, 19 Mar 2026 11:50:40 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8094 UNEARTHED: 1995 photo shows Pope Leo XIV participating in Pachamama ritual
Exclusive to LifeSiteNews, this explosive revelation will feature prominently in Fr. Charles Murr's forthcoming book on the new pontiff.

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Fr. Robert Prevost (now Pope Leo XIV) present at a Pachamama ritual in 1995
LifeSiteNews
Mar 18, 2026
(LifeSiteNews) — In an explosive revelation that will feature prominently in his forthcoming book on the new Pontiff, Faith & Reason co-host Father Charles Murr has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV – then Father Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, actively participated in a pagan Pachamama “Mother Earth” agricultural ritual while attending an official Augustinian theological symposium.

The story was first brought to light by Fr. Murr, who has spent months meticulously compiling documentation for his upcoming book on Leo XIV. Three Augustinian priests have now independently confirmed to Fr. Murr that Robert Prevost is clearly visible among the kneeling participants in the central photograph. Although none of the three were present at the 1995 ritual itself, they immediately and unmistakably recognized their confrere from the published image.

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The image appears in the official proceedings of the IV Simposio-Taller “Lectura de San Agustín desde América Latina” (São Paulo, January 23-28, 1995), published as the book Ecoteología: Una Perspectiva desde San Agustín (México, 1996). The official caption beneath the photo of kneeling participants reads:

Quote:Celebración del Rito de la pachamama (madre tierra), que es un rito agrícola ofrecido por las culturas del Sur-Andino en el Perú y Bolivia.

Celebration of the Rite of Pachamama (Mother Earth), which is an agricultural rite offered by the cultures of the South-Andean region in Peru and Bolivia.

[Image: WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-12-at-17.56.17-1.jpeg]

The same volume includes a large group photograph explicitly captioned “Foto de todos los participantes del Simposio Sao Paulo Brasil,” placing the future Pope squarely among the attendees of an event that openly celebrated the Pachamama ritual as part of its “ecotheology” program.

[Image: WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-12-at-17.56.10-2.jpeg]

Fr. Murr told Faith & Reason: “The man who is now Leo XIV was documented kneeling in a pagan earth goddess ritual in an official gathering of his own religious order. The implications for the direction of the Church under this pontificate are profound.”

Fr. Murr has obtained high-resolution scans of the proceedings (including the clear kneeling Pachamama photograph) from the Salesian Central Library in Buenos Aires, Argentina (stamped call number 276.04 ACU :504 / 30.161, Biblioteca Central Salesiana, No. 30161).

This Faith & Reason exclusive marks the first public presentation of evidence that will form a central chapter in Fr. Charles Murr’s forthcoming book on Pope Leo XIV.

Another image from the book shows that in addition to the Pachamama ceremony, the participants celebrated a Mass, and Prevost (Leo) can be seen standing and holding hands with other participants in the same spot where the Pachamama ritual took place.

[Image: WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-12-at-17.56.23-1.jpeg]

Yet another photo from the event, showing all the participants of the symposium, also confirms Prevost’s attendance.

LifeSite confirmed the photos of Leo at the ritual were in fact him by comparing images from the same period found in the Augustinian Spanish-language magazine OALA, where he is named “Roberto Prevost.”

On the Faith & Reason episode today, Fr. Murr noted how this violates the First Commandment and how the martyrs of the Church gave their lives rather than participate even slightly in ceremonies to false gods.

The Vatican Press Office was approached for comment but has not yet responded.]]> UNEARTHED: 1995 photo shows Pope Leo XIV participating in Pachamama ritual
Exclusive to LifeSiteNews, this explosive revelation will feature prominently in Fr. Charles Murr's forthcoming book on the new pontiff.

[Image: photo-prev-e1773690852992-810x500.jpg]

Quote:Celebración del Rito de la pachamama (madre tierra), que es un rito agrícola ofrecido por las culturas del Sur-Andino en el Perú y Bolivia.

Celebration of the Rite of Pachamama (Mother Earth), which is an agricultural rite offered by the cultures of the South-Andean region in Peru and Bolivia.

On the Faith & Reason episode today, Fr. Murr noted how this violates the First Commandment and how the martyrs of the Church gave their lives rather than participate even slightly in ceremonies to false gods.

The Vatican Press Office was approached for comment but has not yet responded.]]> <![CDATA[Leo XIV Told Bishops: "Far-Right Ideology Biggest Threat"]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8012 Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:01:00 +0000 Stone]]> https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?tid=8012 Leo XIV Told Bishops: "Far-Right Ideology Biggest Threat"

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gloria.tv | February 23, 2026

Pope Leo XIV reportedly told Spanish bishops that the rise of far-right ideology was his “greatest concern in Spain”.

According to ElPais.es on 23 February, he said this on 17 November during an audience with the executive commission of the Spanish Bishops Conference (nine prelates).

El País, citing two senior churchmen familiar with the discussion, reports that the Pope cautioned that "extremist" movements are attempting to "win the Catholic vote" and instrumentalise the Church for partisan political ends.

The paper adds that the bishops were surprised by how directly the Pope focused on the political issue of the right, rather than other concerns they had presented to him.

Following the meeting, the bishops changed their stance on stalled abuse compensation negotiations and expressed support for the government's immigration plan.]]> Leo XIV Told Bishops: "Far-Right Ideology Biggest Threat"

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