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Posted on 10/19/2026 1:36:24 PM PDT by ebb tide
A series of new members of the International Theological Commission have been appointed today, comprising the new faces of the organisation which serves as an advisory body to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Working from his recovery room in the Apostolic Palace, Leo XIV finalised the new look of the International Theological Commission (ITC), after the previous members have come to the conclusion of their five-year term. Leo named 24 new members of the ITC, choosing clerics and lay men and women from across Europe and North and South America.
The U.K. is represented by Sara Parvis, an associate professor at the School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh. Meanwhile the USA has two members: Emmanuel Anatolios, who is the chairman of the Department of Theology of the University of Notre Dame, and Boyd Taylor Coolman, who serves associate professor at the Theology Department of Boston College.
Established by Pope Paul VI, the ITC operates under the auspices of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) and as such has the DDF’s prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández as president. Long-serving Vatican official Monsignor Piero Coda serves as the ITC’s secretary, with his position seemingly unchanged.
Though not a prominent role, membership of the ITC affords its members significance influence on the DDF’s theological work and consequently that of the Holy See. As such, the appointment of members who disagree with Catholic teaching on certain points is always notable.
Sara Parvis is one such individual whose inclusion in the new intake has raised eyebrows, given her views in support of ordaining women to the diaconate – a topic on which the Church has consistently ruled against. “The restoration of the diaconate to women would offer a new and particularly ecclesial vocation, whether or not it was coupled with the vocation to religious life,” she argued in one such essay published in 2024.
Another member, Claudia Leal Luna – who serves as professor at the Pontifical “John Paul II” Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome – has argued that the Church’s teaching on morality needs to be update to align with society and in biology. Commenting on the March 2021 Vatican decree which rejected the possibility of blessing same-sex unions, Luna stated that the Catholic Church’s dialogue with modern thought on sexuality was lacking.
“This means”, she said, “that the sexual morality of the Christian tradition has yet to take certain steps forward in line with the philosophy, psychology, sociology, and even the biology of recent decades.”
Luna continued:
“On the other hand, within institutions there is always a core group that safeguards the interpretation of the law and tends to advocate for a more exclusionary interpretation. What we as Catholics can demand is that we be told not only what is excluded, but also what is included. I have no doubt that the current sensibilities of Catholics around the world are experiencing an epistemological shock upon reading this [text rejecting same-sex blessings].”
Also included in the new ITC members is Austrian theologian Jan-Heiner Tück, who is particularly close friends with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Over many years, Schönborn’s theological views led the way for heterodox theologians, with his questioning of Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality and clerical celibacy among other issues emboldening many younger disciples. His influence over high-profile Vatican synods and the current Catechism also made him a key figure around the Vatican, with his arguments still given weight even after his retirement from the Archdiocese of Vienna early last year.
Due to its advisory and consultative nature, the ITC largely stays out of the public eye and has an irregular schedule of publishing documents. Publications from recent years have been few in number, with perhaps the most discussed being the April 2025 text containing a call for a common date for Easter to be shared by all Christians.
The Commission also published a text in early September of this year which focussed on ecological issues, calling for ecological conversion and ecumenical fraternity to address climate concerns. It also described the Eucharist as an “ecological school” from which emanates “a spirituality capable of sustaining and encouraging the ecological conversion that we so urgently need to undertake as the human family.”
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“This means”, she (Luna) said, “that the sexual morality of the Christian tradition has yet to take certain steps forward in line with the philosophy, psychology, sociology, and even the biology of recent decades.”
Luna continued:
“On the other hand, within institutions there is always a core group that safeguards the interpretation of the law and tends to advocate for a more exclusionary interpretation. What we as Catholics can demand is that we be told not only what is excluded, but also what is included. I have no doubt that the current sensibilities of Catholics around the world are experiencing an epistemological shock upon reading this [text rejecting same-sex blessings].”
Leo has picked some perfect heretics to support Tucho Fernandez in his attack on morality, which has been ongoing in the synodal "church".
I hate to say this, but Leo seems to be a younger, more alert, and more energetic version of Francis.
Modernism seems to have a real hold on the Vatican. God help us all.
They should read the Bible, it clearly tells everything one needs to know.
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