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[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV affirms informal blessing for homosexual couples and downplays sexual sinPope Leo affirmed the position outlined in Fiducia Supplicans of informal blessings for those in homosexual unions while opposing a ‘formalized blessing,’ as proposed by German Cardinal Marx.On a return flight from Africa Thursday, Pope Leo XIV responded to a question about the Church in Germany issuing formalized blessings for homosexual couples, saying that the Vatican has objected. He made it clear, however, that the impromptu blessings of homosexual couples and couples in adulterous unions was still permitted as the Vatican document Fiducia Supplicans teaches, contrary...

REVEALED: How Leo XIV presents Vatican II as a rupture with the Catholic pastLeo XIV’s presentation of the nature of the Catholic Church is often difficult, and sometimes impossible, to reconcile with what the Church has always taught about herself.Earlier this year, Leo XIV began “a new cycle of catechesis which will be dedicated to Vatican Council II and a rereading of its Documents.” [1] This weekly catechesis, delivered at the Wednesday audiences, will, he said, be a “valuable opportunity to rediscover the beauty and the importance of this ecclesial event.” [2]Between January 14 and February 11, Leo XIV provided...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Marx implements Fiducia Supplicans ‘blessings’ for ‘couples of all gender identitiesMarx is calling on priests and full-time staff in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising to implement his ‘blessing’ guidelines for homosexuals, gender-confused people, and the divorced and ‘remarried.’Following Pope Francis’ Fiducia Supplicans, Cardinal Reinhard Marx has introduced heterodox guidelines for the “blessing” of homosexual and other “couples” in sinful relationships in his archdiocese.According to a report by Die Tagespost, Marx has called on priests and full-time staff in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising to implement the controversial guidelines “Segen gibt der Liebe Kraft,” which allows...

The church Pope Francis left usEditor’s note: This article is adapted from the Laetare lecture on March 26, given in New York after the author was awarded the Loyola Medal by the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. Pope Francis’ vast legacy will take a generation to unpack. But already it is being developed in Pope Leo XIV, who was “the last surprise of Pope Francis” according to the subtitle of a recent account of the conclave that elected him from America correspondent Gerard O’Connell and Elisabetta Piqué. The cardinals spoke in the weeks before that election a year ago of...

China-Vatican deal on bishops is ‘escalating repression’ of Catholics: Human Rights WatchA sweeping new report documents arbitrary detention, surveillance and intimidation of Catholics, alongside demolished churches, as Xi Jinping's Sinicization campaign intensifies. Chinese authorities are increasing pressure on Catholic communities to join the state-controlled church under tighter ideological and administrative restrictions.On April 15, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report according to which the Chinese government has escalated measures against Catholic communities across the country by strengthening ideological oversight, surveillance systems, and administrative restrictions. The government is particularly targeting underground Catholics who refuse to join the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic...

[Catholic Caucus] The Unexplained Shift in Pope Leo XIV’s January ConsistoryWhy was a traditional format replaced at the last minute—and by whom?ROME, 15 April 2026 — The Vatican announced this week that Pope Leo XIV will convene his second extraordinary consistory of cardinals on June 26-27, but are these meetings being organized with genuine openness, or are they structured to steer toward a predetermined outcome?An extraordinary consistory, from the Latin consistorium (“standing together”), is among the principal ways cardinals assist the Roman Pontiff through collegial action. Convened at the pope’s discretion, these formal assemblies bring together the College of Cardinals...

<p>Senior Vatican Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández has said Pope Leo XIV is continuing the legacy of Pope Francis.</p><p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

Italian bishop backs imam’s presentation of Islam inside Catholic parish churchArchbishop Giovanni Intini attended an April 15 event at an Italian parish where local Imam Khaled Bouchelaghem delivered what journalist Andrea Zambrano called an ‘Islamic catechism. An imam delivered a presentation of the Islamic faith inside a Catholic parish church in Brindisi, Italy, with the participation of the local bishop.On April 15, the parish of San Lorenzo in Brindisi, southern Italy, hosted an event titled “Do You Know Islam? Let us explore together the pillars, the meaning of life, and the celebrations of the Islamic faith,” in which Imam Khaled...

The Catholic Church’s Enemies are Feasting on the “Fruits” of Vatican II Sixty years later, Catholics can no longer ignore its rotten pastoral “fruits” of Vatican II. Robert Morrison examines how ambiguity, false ecumenism, and Rome’s post-conciliar trajectory have fueled confusion, weakened Catholic identity, and emboldened the Church’s enemies.One of the most important things about Vatican II, that both its defenders and critics can agree upon, is that it had a “pastoral” focus. Paul VI made this clear at various times, including during his August 6, 1975 general audience:“Differing from other Councils, this one was not directly dogmatic, but disciplinary...

The Society of Saint Pius X and the Ordination of New Bishops: the end of the post-conciliar eraFr. Davide Pagliarani, the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, has announced that the SSPX plans to proceed with the ordination of bishops this coming July. This plan has been harshly criticized by many Catholics who do not share the heterodox opinions that the Society was founded to oppose. I do not attend SSPX masses and cannot be described as an admirer of the Society (perhaps they do not admire me either). However, I cannot see any serious objections to...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop who said Church treats women ‘as second-class citizens’ appointed to major Vatican postPope Leo XIV has appointed the Australian Bishop Anthony Randazzo as prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts. Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Australian Bishop Anthony Randazzo as prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.On March 25, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Anthony Randazzo, until now Bishop of Broken Bay, Australia, as prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, conferring upon him at the same time the personal title of archbishop.Not content with the Western interest in the female diaconate, the bishop has declared...

[Catholic Caucus] Has the Merciful Approach to Anti-Catholic Errors Worked for the Church?For centuries, the Catholic Church boldly condemned error to safeguard truth and souls. But beginning with Vatican II, a dramatic shift took place—away from doctrinal clarity and toward a new “pastoral” approach rooted in mercy over judgment. From Pius IX’s Quanta Cura to today’s Synod on Synodality, this article examines whether that shift preserved the Church… or helped unleash the very crisis now engulfing it.Blessed Pius IX began his 1864 encyclical “condemning certain errors,” Quanta Cura, with a paragraph that made it perfectly clear that he understood the...

Austrian Catholic dioceses host pro-LGBT Stations of the Cross through lens of ‘queer refugees’Catholic churches in Vienna, Linz, and Graz staged the heterodox Stations of the Cross portraying ‘queer refugees’ in order to ‘live out (queer) diversity,’ according to a participant.Catholic dioceses in Austria have been hosting an LGBT-themed Way of the Cross that reinterprets the stations according to the supposed experiences of “queer” refugees.The ecumenical project “Fluchtweg” (Escape Route) tries to connect the Passion of Jesus and the Stations of the Cross with the contemporary experiences of “queer people” who had to flee their home countries, according to the...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE: Dutch bishop says Church in Netherlands has collapsed, warns Germany may be nextDue to heterodox ‘reforms’ after Vatican II, just 2% of Catholics in the Netherlands now attend Sunday Mass, down from 96% in some parts of the country, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts told LifeSiteNews.Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Bishop Georg Baetzing –former German bishops' conference presidentsDutch Bishop Roberts Mutsaerts has warned the Catholic Church in Germany that it will suffer a collapse like the Church in the Netherlands if its continues with the heretical Synodal Way.In an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews journalist Andreas Wailzer, Bishop Mutsaerts, the auxiliary bishop...

[Catholic Caucus] 28,000 German Catholics sign petition against pro-LGBT school curriculum endorsed by bishops German Catholics have handed over a petition with 28,000 signatures demanding the retraction of pro-LGBT guidelines for Catholic schools endorsed by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK).The Catholic initiative Certamen launched a petition in response to the heterodox document called “Created, Redeemed, and Loved: Visibility and Recognition of the Diversity of Sexual Identities in Schools,” published by the DBK last year. The petition calls for the document’s withdrawal and has garnered 28,000 signatures, and was handed over to Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers last Sunday. Timmerevers serves as chairman...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal says Church cannot “continue to exist” without women’s ordination Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich has said he cannot see how the Catholic Church can endure in the long term if women continue to be excluded from ordained ministry.Speaking at a symposium in Bonn, he said, according to Kath.Ch: “I cannot imagine how a Church can continue to exist in the long term if half of the people of God suffer because they do not have access to ordained ministry.”The Archbishop of Luxembourg made the remarks during a conference examining synodality and curial reform, where he reflected on how his...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV and the Myth of Restoration: Why the Francis Agenda ContinuesLeo XIV is not launching a post‑Bergoglian restoration, but rather a reorganization of the Curia grounded in cohesion — inclusive and structural — rather than doctrinal unity. Through appointments, decisions, and ecclesiological orientations, a substantial continuity with Francis emerges in terms of objectives, even if the methods differ, opening scenarios of profound transformation without any return to the Wojtyła–Ratzinger model.In recent weeks, several important appointments have been interpreted by various analysts, Italian and otherwise, as a sign of a cautious reform of the Curia by Pope Leo...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican ends probe into priest accused of ‘physical and psychological abuse’ at youth campsThe Vatican closed the canonical case against Fr. Valentino Salvoldi after declining to waive the statute of limitations, mirroring the earlier dismissal of the civil case.The Vatican has closed the canonical case against an Italian missionary priest accused by more than 20 people of sexual and psychological abuse.In 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that it would not lift the statute of limitations in the case of Father Valentino Salvoldi, an 80‑year‑old priest from the Diocese of Bergamo, accused by at...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Promotes Amazon Archbishop - Open to Married Priests and Amazonian RiteLeo XIV has appointed Archbishop Mário Antônio da Silva, 59, as the new Archbishop of Aparecida. The archdiocese is significant because ithouses Brazil's National Shrine.Born on October 17, 1966, he was ordained a priest on December 21, 1991, for the Diocese of Jacarezinho. Benedict XVI appointed him as Auxiliary Bishop of Manaus in 2010. Francis promoted him to Bishop of Roraima in 2016 and to Archbishop of Cuiabá in 2022.He is President of Caritas Brazil.Monsignor da Silva participated in the Amazon Synod in October 2019. He...