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Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus address on July 13, 2025, from Liberty Square in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, where he is spending a two-week summer break. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 24, 2025 / 15:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV in a letter this week encouraged the prior provincials of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) to “listen attentively to the Holy Spirit, who continues to guide the Church in the fullness of truth.”

The pope expressed his hopes and prayers for the Dominicans in the letter addressed to Father Gerard Francis Timoner III, OP, master of the Order of Preachers, on the occasion of the general chapter of prior provincials taking place in Krakow, Poland, July 17 to Aug. 8.

‘The most important assembly’ of the Dominicans

The Dominicans emphasized on their website that the meeting, held at Most Holy Trinity Convent, is “the most important assembly” for the order. 

“The deliberations will be very intensive,” the Dominicans stated, explaining that “the friars will work in commissions and plenary sessions, considering hundreds of proposals submitted from around the world — from individual friars, convents, and provinces. Each of these voices expresses a desire to build unity, faithfulness to the charism of St. Dominic, and an even deeper listening to what the Spirit is saying to the Church today.”

Furthermore, they noted that the meetings held within the framework of the general chapter will bring together diverse perspectives — cultural, linguistic, and spiritual — from friars in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe.

“This makes prayer all the more necessary, to open the hearts of the capitulars to the Holy Spirit and help them discover God’s will for the order in these times. We desire that every decision, every word, and every entry in the acts of the chapter be born from prayer, from listening to the Word, and from deep concern for the Church and the world,” they noted.

‘An opportunity for renewal’

In his letter, the pope said: “As you gather during this jubilee year, I trust that these grace-filled days will prove to be an opportunity for renewal, rooted in the hope which never disappoints and in the knowledge that the Lord has called you as preachers to proclaim the good news in the midst of today’s unique challenges.”

“Your chosen theme to address in a more dedicated way your varied forms of preaching to “four publics” — those who do not yet know Jesus, the Christian faithful, those who have fallen away from the Church, and the young people found in these situations — is particularly timely,” he added.

“I pray that your deliberations will enable you to listen attentively to the Holy Spirit, who continues to guide the Church in the fullness of truth,” the pope continued.

Leo XIV also expressed his hope that “this time together will strengthen your commitment to serve the body of Christ in the form of evangelical life chosen by St. Dominic. May your shared experience of fraternity and prayer enhance the bonds of communion that unite you as Dominicans and inspire you to live out your vocation ever more fully as contemplative preachers.”

“In this way, faithful to the charism and the spirituality of your founder, you will surely continue to carry out your mission in the heart of the Church,” he added.

The Holy Father concluded his letter by entrusting the general chapter to Our Lady of the Rosary, who, according to tradition, appeared to St. Dominic de Guzmán — founder of the Order of Preachers — and gave him the rosary, taught him how to pray it, and encouraged him to promote the Marian prayer.

The ‘indispensable foundation’ of the Dominicans

In March of this year, in his Relatio — a report on the current situation of the Order of Preachers, in view of this general chapter — Timoner emphasized that “the form of evangelical life chosen by Dominic is not an adjunct of our apostolic mission; on the contrary, it is an indispensable foundation.”

The report shows a downward trend in the number of professed Dominican brothers, who currently number 5,145 worldwide. A graph shows that after a significant increase between the 1920s and 1960s, when they reached almost 10,000 professed brothers worldwide, a steady decline has been observed in subsequent years.

Timoner emphasized in the Relatio that “Dominican life has various constitutive elements or aspects: religious consecration, common fraternal life, intellectual life, apostolic life, etc.,” noting his surprise that “we sometimes feel the need to ‘balance’ or ‘harmonize’ life and mission, as if there could be a ‘Dominican mission’ that is not rooted and nourished by the ‘Dominican life’ with all its integral elements.”

Spiritually accompanying the general chapter

The Dominicans have invited the faithful throughout the world to “spiritually accompany the chapter,” saying: “Pray for the friars participating in the chapter, that they may be instruments of God’s peace and light.”

They also encouraged people to offer “fasting or the difficulty of daily duties” for this intention, and to ask for “the light of the Holy Spirit for all those who will discern and make decisions.”

“May common prayer ensure that the fruits of the chapter are a blessing for the entire order and the Church,” the Dominicans encouraged.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The “Alta Sartoria” Dolce & Gabbana fashion show took place July 15, 2025, on the pedestrian-only Sant’Angelo Bridge, found directly in front of Castel Sant’Angelo, an ancient mausoleum later used as a papal fortress. / Credit: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images

Rome Newsroom, Jul 24, 2025 / 12:05 pm (CNA).

The Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana put a spotlight on a new design collection inspired by Catholic liturgical garb in a show on the Sant’Angelo Bridge in Rome last week, prompting a discussion about whether it is appropriate to use Catholic imagery for secular purposes.

The luxury brand called the fashion show, part of three days of showcases in the Eternal City, “an homage to clerical tailoring” with creations inspired by priests’ vestments and other ecclesiastical clothing, including “capes, trains, chasubles, dalmatics, soles, bodices, and bibs.”

Images from the July 15 catwalk depict designs with clear ties to traditional Catholic liturgical clothing, including white, lace shirts similar to a priest’s chasuble or the surplice worn by altar servers. While many of the 106 designs were all white or all black, some feature green, red, and purple — colors used by the Church to denote different liturgical seasons.

Dolce & Gabbana declined to give CNA permission to use images from the event, but the designs can be viewed at its website or on YouTube.

Crosses were heavily featured in the collection, and some models wore or carried what appeared to be Catholic objects such as rosaries, thuribles, and metal incense burners used at Mass and other liturgical celebrations.

The runway, lined with movie extras dressed as cardinals, also showcased less clerical- or papal-looking outfits, with white bodices made to look like marble sculptures of St. Peter and St. Paul, inspired by religious art.

“Every creation strikes a perfect balance between solemnity, devotion, discipline, and aesthetic as well as iconographic codes,” according to information from the fashion brand.

Theology student Nicola Camporiondo was not a fan of the fashion show, which he commented on in an Instagram story for his 12,800 followers.

The 19-year-old from Vicenza in northern Italy told CNA he thought Dolce & Gabbana’s use of ecclesiastical style was a “usurpation” of a spiritual and liturgical heritage for the purpose of entertainment and “a mere commodification of the sacred.”

“After the sacred has always been a monopoly of the religious, now fashion agencies are using it for their own worldly and profane purposes,” he said.

Camporiondo, who also shares Catholic content on TikTok, where he has 160,000 followers, said he hopes the show can prompt a reflection for the Church about how people still find traditional Catholic aesthetics fascinating, even while the number of practicing Catholics in countries such as Italy declines.

For Father Alberto Ravagnani, a 31-year-old priest of the Archdiocese of Milan, the Dolce & Gabbana show also prompted a reflection on the Church’s tradition of beautiful art and vestments, but he told CNA he was “very much in favor, I really liked it, because I actually believe it’s a way they’ve given value to tradition.”

The “Alta Sartoria” show took place on the pedestrian-only Sant’Angelo Bridge, found directly in front of Castel Sant’Angelo, an ancient mausoleum later used as a papal fortress. The monument is connected to the Vatican by a 2,600-foot-long raised corridor. Part of the Dolce & Gabbana show took place with St. Peter’s Basilica in the distant background.

The approximately 40-minute, invitation-only fashion show opened with what appeared to be an enactment of a religious procession, including men dressed like altar boys and carrying candles, incense, and small canopies often used for Eucharistic processions. 

While Ravagnani had not seen footage of that part of the event, he thought if a fashion house could help restore “luster, value, meaning, and allure” to a religious practice in decline — even if only for a moment and in a secular context — it might not be a bad thing.

The young priest, who is one of the most followed Catholic “influencers” in Italy, also asked his 250,000 followers on Instagram to share their thoughts about the Catholic-inspired Dolce & Gabbana show.

He said the vast majority of those who responded were against it. Some considered it an outrage to tradition or even blasphemous, while others associated it “with ostentation and wealth” rather than an image of the Church as poor, humble, and simple — but he disagreed.

“Indeed, when it is said that the Church today should be simple and humble, this is true, but it doesn’t mean it should be sloppy or ugly,” he said. “God gave us art, God gave us hands, God gave us intelligence and the ability to create things. And so this ability of men to create beautiful things is a way to collaborate in God’s work.”

Father Alberto Rocca, a priest of Milan who has collaborated with Dolce & Gabbana and was in attendance at the July 15 show in Rome, told CNA the designers’ use of Catholic symbols “pays homage to [the Catholic] tradition.”

“It would be very reductive to see it only as fashion and not as art,” he added, highlighting the craftsmanship of the brand’s clothing as a skill that has otherwise been all but lost from Italian culture.

As director of the Ambrosian Pinacoteca, a Milan art gallery, Rocca was an adviser for a Dolce & Gabbana exhibit with clothing pieces inspired by some of the museum’s paintings. He is also a member of an expert committee for the Venerable Ambrosian Library, which preserves cultural and religious patrimony.

The priest said designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana “have always used certain [religious symbols] because they are part of the Italian context and they are Catholics.”

Dolce & Gabbana declined a request from CNA to comment.

In addition to the show on Sant’Angelo Bridge, the three-day Roma 2025 haute couture event also planned to debut a Dolce & Gabbana jewelry collection in a July 13 show at Villa Adriana, a park at the site of a classical building complex in Tivoli, 18 miles east of downtown Rome, before being rained out.

On July 14, the Roman Forum, with extras dressed as Roman soldiers, was the venue for the unveiling of styles inspired by mythology, Ancient Rome, and Italian 1950s cinema.

The fashion event took place during the run of a Dolce & Gabbana art exhibition, “From the Heart to the Hands,” at the Palazzo Esposizioni in Rome, May 14 to Aug. 13.

The exhibit of one-of-a-kind creations, first mounted in Milan and Paris, features some of the brand’s most admired pieces from designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who founded the fashion house in 1985.

The grounds at the Sanctuary of La Sainte-Baume. / Credit: Sanctuary of La Sainte-Baume

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 16:17 pm (CNA).

Tucked away in a rocky mountain in southeast France is a cave formed by natural erosion called La Sainte-Baume. It is one of the oldest Christian pilgrimage sites in the world as it is the place where Mary Magdalene is believed to have spent the last 30 years of her life.

Esteemed by St. Thomas Aquinas as the “Apostle to the Apostles,” St. Mary Magdalene is regarded by the Dominicans as a secondary patroness of their order, which was founded in Toulouse, France. Appropriately, the cave remains under the care of the friars in the Toulouse province. 

The Dominicans are charged with the task of welcoming and evangelizing pilgrims who make their way to La Sainte-Baume. (The word “baume” comes from the Provençal word “baumo,” meaning “cave.”) The friars, alongside staff and volunteers, run the hostelry located next to the convent at the foot of the mountain directly below the cave. 

“One striking thing about Mary Magdalene is how many different people are drawn to her,” Frère Vincent-Thomas Rist, a Dominican friar of the Toulouse province, told CNA in an email. “At La Sainte Baume, we get a bit of everything: mainstream orthodox Catholics, hikers on holiday, converts from Islam, sisters on pilgrimage, tall blond women convinced of being reincarnations of Mary Magdalene, traditionalists, liberals, and even Jesuits.”

“We sometimes see a couple of Americans,” he added. “We would be delighted to see a few more!”

The friars also run a variety of retreats, including their “Session des bien-aimés” for families with disabled children, especially those with trisomy, and with the association “Mère de miséricorde” for women who have lost a child in the womb, especially due to abortion. They have also run a program called “Ecole de vie,” where young people in their 20s can spend a few months serving, praying with the friars, and taking courses taught by the friars.

Every two years, the Toulouse friars typically meet together at La Sainte Baume for a few days at the end of June immediately following priestly ordinations.

Novices and student brothers will typically spend a week there every summer, acting as chaplains for student or scout groups. A few friars also tend to spend a week in the small house built into the cliff next to the cave in order to be available for confessions, Rist noted. 

“Mary Magdalene reached the highest heights of holiness after having started off in the lowest realms of serious and degrading sin — whatever those sins were,” he said, explaining the significance of the saint to his order.

“In that respect, she is a model of perfect conversion and a sign of hope for all sinners,” he added. “The faith of the Church rests on her eyewitness testimony, and she is a model for preachers.” 

Another friar, Frère Bruno-Thomas Mercier des Rochettes, OP, of Toulouse also told CNA in an email that Mary Magdelene is “an example for the spiritual life (from conversion to evangelization), for those to whom we preach (and for us as well).” 

“We find in Mary Magdalene an example for our preachers,” he said.

Who is Mary Magdalene? 

St. Mary Magdalene is one of the most prominent women mentioned in the New Testament. Her name comes from the town of Magdala in Galilee, where she was born. 

“The Latin exegetical tradition has often identified Magdalene with the penitent woman in Luke 7 and with the sister of Martha, that is, Mary of Bethany in Luke 10 and John 11,” Mercier des Rochettes said. “If it is one and the same person, we have a lot to say about her! She is always at the feet of Jesus, choosing the best and hearing his word, pouring out precious perfumes for him, faithfully staying at the cross, etc.”

In 2016, the Catholic Church upgraded the July 22 liturgical celebration of St. Mary Magdalene from a memorial to a feast.

A historic view of the Provincial tradition: Mary Magdalene’s journey  

The story of Mary Magdalene’s presence in France, according to Rist, “stems from an oral tradition which eventually got put down in writing in the 13th century.” 

The tradition, which was written down in the 1260s by Dominican Blessed Jacobus Voragine, he explained, holds that Mary Magdalene was forced to flee from persecution on a boat with several others, including Martha. She eventually landed in the South of France, where she evangelized Marseilles before retreating to the cave, where she lived for many years in prayer and penance. 

“This, incidentally, is also a point of contact with the Dominican order,” Rist pointed out. “We once used to be known as the Order of Penance.” 

According to the website for La Sainte-Baume, Mary Magdalene arrived in what is now known as Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a commune in the Camargue region of southern France, around A.D. 47.

“Before dying she went to Saint-Maximin, received holy Communion from the hands of the bishop, and then died,” Rist said. “Her body was kept and pilgrims started coming. When Muslims tried to invade the South of France in the eighth century, her body was hidden in a place which gradually faded out of memory.” 

“In the 13th century, a pilgrimage in her honor still existed, but with no relics. The count of Provence started looking for them and found them in what is now the crypt of the Basilica of Saint-Maximin,” he continued. The Dominicans were then installed as caretakers of the site in 1295 by the count of Provence with the support of Pope Boniface VIII, in part because “Dominicans had special authorization to absolve particularly grave sins.” 

“Penitents having committed those sins could conveniently be sent on pilgrimage to venerate the relics of Mary Magdalene and would receive absolution by a Dominican,” Rist said.

“As far as I know,” he told CNA, “dating reveals that the relics belong to a Mediterranean woman from the first century who died around the age of 90. What is certain is that the relics we have now are the ones found in 1279 by the count of Provence.”

A history of Dominican presence

In modern history, the order was forced to leave during the French Revolution in the 18th century, during which the cave was looted and the Dominicans’ sanctuary destroyed. They later returned in 1859 at the behest of the Dominican priest, journalist, and political activist Frére Henri Lacordaire, who had the sanctuary rebuilt.

The Dominican communities at Saint-Maximin and La Sainte-Baume were part of the French Christian resistance to the Nazi occupation. And, according to public records, one Dominican friar, Frére Gabril Piprot d’Alleaume, even founded a school at La Sainte-Baume for Jewish and Christian orphan children who had been hidden from deportation efforts during the occupation. 

While Rist acknowledged that it is “difficult to say” how much of the tradition of Mary Magdalene’s presence in France is authentic, rather than “medieval imagination,” he reflected, “that there is a kernel of truth is not impossible.”

The Dominican further explained that both Saint Maximin and La Sainte-Baume were “important places for early Christians” and that “Mary Magdalene’s possible presence in the area is the best/only explanation we have.” 

Some of Mary Magdalene’s relics are kept in the cave at La Sainte-Baume, while her skull remains in the basilica of Saint-Maximin, which is 30 minutes away by car, according to Rist. A community of Dominican sisters live at Saint-Maximin, which he noted is “the one which in France has recently had the most vocations.” 

“It is quiet,” Mercier des Rochettes said of the cave, noting he was struck in his first visit by “the beauty of the place” in particular. “The mountain is great, and from the top, (at a chapel called Saint-Pilon) you have one of the best viewpoints on the entire Provence,” he said. According to Mercier des Rochettes, the climb is not long, about 45 minutes, “but it is enough to feel the effort.”

“Prepare to take your intentions to Magdalene in her cave, with a few rosaries along the way,” he added. 

“There is always at least one friar at the cave,” explained Mercier des Rochettes, noting that there is a small house “clinging to the cliff” next to it. The cave, which also serves as a chapel, is nestled into the rocky mountainside.

At the foot of La Sainte-Baume, the order has its convent and a hostellry it runs for pilgrims who come to visit the cave.

Every year, on the Sunday closest to July 22, a procession with Mary Magdalene’s skull — contained in a gold reliquary — takes place throughout the streets of Sainte-Maximine.

Zurich, Switzerland. / Credit: Gianfranco Vivi/Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, Jul 22, 2025 / 08:42 am (CNA).

Swiss prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a Zurich councillor and former Green Liberal Party leader after she posted images of herself firing approximately 20 shots at a Christian image depicting the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus.

According to the Swiss news outlet 20 Minuten, the Zurich public prosecutor’s office accuses Sanija Ameti of publicly disparaging religious beliefs and disturbing religious peace under Article 261 of the Swiss Penal Code. 

The code penalizes anyone “who publicly and maliciously insults or mocks the religious convictions of others, and in particular their belief in God, or maliciously desecrates objects of religious veneration.”

The incident occurred in September 2024, when Ameti used an air pistol to shoot at a reproduction of the 14th-century painting “Madonna with Child and the Archangel Michael” by the artist Tommaso del Mazza.

The politician reportedly fired from around 10 meters (about 33 feet), deliberately targeting the heads of Mary and Jesus.

Ameti, who identifies as a Muslim-born atheist, then posted photographs of the desecrated image on Instagram, captioning it with the word “abschalten” — a German term that means “switch off” but that, in the context of firing at the faces of Mary and Jesus, was understood by some as a symbolic act of erasure or elimination.

The images of the desecration, including a close-up of the bullet holes, sparked immediate and widespread outrage.

In total, 31 people filed criminal complaints. Ameti resigned from her leadership position in Zurich’s Green Liberal Party and quit the party entirely in January. She still serves as an independent member of Zurich’s municipal council, however.

At the time, Ameti reacted to the outrage on social media with a short post on X. 

“I ask for forgiveness from those hurt by my post,” she wrote, claiming that she had not initially recognized the religious significance of the imagery and then deleted the images upon realizing it.

According to the indictment, the Zurich public prosecutor’s office considers the act to have been a deliberate “public staging” that constituted a “needlessly disparaging and hurtful disregard” for the beliefs of Christians, with the potential to disturb religious peace.

Prosecutors are seeking a conditional fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (approximately $11,500) and a 2,500-franc penalty (roughly $2,900), as well as legal costs.

The Swiss civic movement Mass-Voll, which filed one of the original complaints, described the incident as “a clear incitement to violence against Christians.”

Its president, Nicolas Rimoldi, noted that in light of rising violence against Christians across Europe, such acts “lower the threshold for further attacks,” Swiss media reported.

The former Green Liberal Party politician has so far not publicly commented on the indictment.

Reaction of Swiss bishops

The Swiss Bishops’ Conference at the time condemned the act as “unacceptable,” stating that it expressed “violence and disrespect toward the human person” and caused “deep hurt among Catholic faithful.”

The bishops emphasized that “even apart from the religious depiction of the Mother of God,” the act revealed “a fundamental lack of respect for human dignity,” the bishops said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

Bishop Joseph Bonnemain of Chur, Switzerland, said Ameti had written to him personally to express remorse.

In response, he publicly offered his forgiveness and urged Catholics and other believers to do the same.

“How could I not forgive her?” he said, according to CNA Deutsch.

Pope Leo XIV greets residents of St. Martha Home for the Elderly in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, during a visit on July 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 15:12 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday morning visited St. Martha Home for the Elderly in Castel Gandolfo, the Italian town where he is spending his vacation.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff arrived at the residence on July 20 at 10:30 a.m. local time and was welcomed by the community of nuns who run the facility.

The Sisters of St. Martha religious order was founded in 1946 by Blessed Tommaso Reggio. The sisters aim to be “humble presences of peace and hope” for those most in need and to pay “the utmost attention to the quality of relationships and the well-being” of the nursing home’s residents, according to the order’s website.

After spending time praying in the chapel, the Holy Father personally greeted approximately 20 elderly people, all between the ages of 80 and 101.

He also greeted a young nurse and after prayer along with some songs, the pope addressed everyone, highlighting some themes from the songs and referring to Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke.

The pope emphasized how in every person there is a part of Martha and a part of Mary and invited those present to take advantage of this time of life to live the dimension exemplified by Mary: to listen to the words of Jesus and to pray.

Pope Leo emphasized the importance of prayer, saying it is “so important, much greater than we can imagine,” and told the residents that “age doesn’t matter: It is Jesus who wants to draw near to us, who makes himself a guest for us, who invites us to be witnesses, young and not so young.”

“You are signs of hope,” he added. “You have given so much in life” and “continue to be that testimony of prayer, of faith,” a family that offers to the Lord what it has.

After praying the Lord’s Prayer together, Pope Leo XIV spent a while longer visiting the residence and returned to Villa Barberini, where he is residing during his stay at Castel Gandolfo, shortly before 11:30 a.m.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The Muñoz family gives Pope Leo XIV a T-shirt that reads “Da Pope” after Mass in Albano, Italy, on Sunday, July 20, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 14:06 pm (CNA).

A Chicago family vacationing in Rome is making headlines after a video of their encounter with Pope Leo XIV on Sunday went viral.

Marcel and Ann Muñoz, along with their three children, met the pope after Mass on July 20 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Pancras in Albano, a town about 16 miles south of Rome, and gifted him a T-shirt that reads “Da Pope,” — in reference to “Da Bears,” which stems from the old “Superfans” sketches on “Saturday Night Live.”

The Muñoz family were also wearing the custom T-shirts, which were, of course, in Bears colors — navy blue with white text and orange lines.

“He turned left, and he just kind of beelined towards us, so whatever it is, it’s like everyone else is, you know, very nicely dressed for a summer Mass except us — so we did kind of stick out,” Marcel Muñoz said, according to CBS News. “But you know, it’s one of those things where it’s like: ‘Hey, you’re going to be here once. Hopefully, you can catch his attention.’”

“How many people get this opportunity to be in front of the pope, to have his attention, to hold his hand? I kissed his ring, and you know, it’s such — you feel blessed,” Ann Muñoz said.

The family drove 45 minutes to Albano where the Holy Father was celebrating Mass at the cathedral near his vacation home at Castel Gandolfo. 

On Ann’s facebook page, she wrote: “We were late and just stood at the edge before a barricade was up. Then we planted ourselves in the hot sun until Mass was over. We watched it on a screen outside and even received Communion.”

“We were just hoping to catch a glimpse,” she added.

The Muñoz family are Chicago Bears season-ticket holders and said they hope the event kick-starts a winning season for the professional football team.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. / Credit: Archdiocese of Cologne

CNA Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 09:32 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Cologne has dismissed as “obviously baseless” a canonical complaint filed against Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki by German abuse survivors to Pope Leo XIV, calling the allegations unfounded and built on “false assumptions.”

The archdiocese’s response came after the “Betroffenenbeirat” (Affected Advisory Board) of the German Bishops’ Conference submitted a formal Church law complaint to Pope Leo XIV on Friday.

The complaint claimed the cardinal violated his pastoral duties regarding sexual abuse cases, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

“The accusations are obviously baseless and build — certainly unintentionally due to lack of better knowledge — on a series of false assumptions and claims,” the archdiocese stated in a response obtained by CNA Deutsch.

‘Retraumatizing’ for abuse survivors

The survivors’ advisory board said Woelki misled abuse victims about proper procedures and handled cases negligently. However, the archdiocese countered that recent investigations “were not conducted to clarify the handling of reports of possible sexual crimes, the reporting of perpetrators, and certainly not to work through abuse cases.”

The archdiocese also challenged the canonical complaint’s legal basis, arguing that since civil cases did not address abuse-handling procedures, “the application of the Church law norms mentioned in the letter is therefore completely out of the question.”

The statement also said that under German law, only courts — not prosecutors — can issue legally binding determinations and that no such findings had been made against Woelki.

The Betroffenenbeirat asserted it had “lost all confidence that under Cardinal Woelki’s leadership, abuse cases would be investigated without regard for the perpetrators.”

The board also described Woelki’s behavior as “retraumatizing” for abuse survivors.

The archdiocese dismissed additional allegations about negligent file handling and deception of survivors as vague accusations presented without documentation.

“These are also obviously baseless and decidedly to be rejected,” the statement concluded.

Advisory board structure and role

The complaint was submitted to Trier Bishop Stephan Ackermann, the senior bishop in Cologne’s ecclesiastical province, and addressed to Pope Leo XIV. The archdiocese noted that Woelki would have preferred the authors to engage in direct and open discussion with him.

The Betroffenenbeirat operates as an official advisory body to Germany’s bishops, established in 2019 to institutionalize survivor participation in Church abuse policies.

The 12-member board comprises individuals directly or indirectly affected by clerical sexual abuse and serves as an “expert committee” advising the German Bishops’ Conference on matters of sexual violence, according to its founding documents.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

St. Thomas More. / Credit: Public domain

Canterbury, England, Jul 19, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The skull of St. Thomas More may be exhumed and preserved to coincide with the 500th anniversary of his historic martyrdom, according to a spokesperson for St. Dunstan’s Church in Canterbury, England, the Anglican church in which the relic reportedly currently rests.

As the church begins the initial steps in a “permissions process,” Sue Palmer, churchwarden at St. Dunstan Parochial Church Council (PCC), told CNA the council welcomes input from everyone interested in the saint and “would very much welcome communication with the Vatican.”

“It is unusual to have any relics in an Anglican church, especially those of a Catholic saint, and the PCC see this as an opportunity for ecumenical outreach and cooperation,” she said.

After More was beheaded in 1535 on the orders of King Henry VIII, his head was initially placed on a spike and displayed on London Bridge as a warning to those who dared to challenge the authority of the monarch, but it was later retrieved by More’s daughter, Margaret Roper.

Following her death in 1544, Margaret — along with her father’s head — was buried in the Roper’s family vault in St. Dunstan’s Church, Canterbury, and it has remained there ever since.

However, plans are now in place for the quincentenary of More’s death, which will occur in 10 years, and the church wishes to explore the possibility of exhuming and preserving what remains of the martyr’s relic as a tribute to his significance for Catholics and other Christians across the U.K. and the rest of the world.

A statement issued by St. Dunstan’s Church on July 6, the 490th anniversary of More’s execution, explained: “The 500th anniversary of More’s death is going to throw the spotlight on us and our church as a center of worship, pilgrimage, education, and hospitality because the head is the only remaining relic of Thomas More — his body is somewhere in St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London, but it is not possible to determine precisely where, so St. Dunstan’s Church is really important and the focus in 10 years’ time will very definitely be on us.”

The statement continued: “We won’t be able to keep him to ourselves — ecumenically and globally we have a responsibility both to the relic and to Christians and scholars throughout the world, and judging by the comments in our visitors’ book, having the relic deteriorating in a vault is not good enough for many who venerate Thomas More.”

The statement went on to explain that the work to exhume the relic would need to begin as soon as possible, so the PCC has agreed that, subject to all the necessary permissions, the head is to be exhumed and then what remains of the relic will be conserved and exposed for pilgrims to visit and venerate.

Palmer emphasized that there are no plans to “display” the relic. “It makes him sound like a museum exhibit and our church is not a museum, nor is the relic an exhibit,” she said. “Anything considered would be done in consultation with the diocesan advisory committee, osteoarchaeologists, the wider (Catholic and non-Catholic) community, and anyone else interested in Thomas More. At all times it would be respectful and dignified, and be part of the story of our church and what it has to offer everyone.”

Palmer said there was good evidence to suggest that what remains of More’s skull is certainly within the Roper family vault. 

“Several openings of the vault in the last 200 years have noted the presence of the head in the niche, and the vault was last opened in 1997, so we have firsthand evidence of it still being there,” she said. “More’s body is in St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London, but I don’t believe it’s possible to establish which remains are his.”

About 1,500 people are believed to be buried in the crypt of the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, the former parish church of the Tower of London, the name of which refers to the story of St. Peter’s imprisonment under Herod Agrippa in Jerusalem.

Palmer went on to explain that the next steps in the permission process would be discussions with specialists, writing a faculty application for consideration by the diocesan advisory committee, and ultimately waiting for a decision from the commissary general, which she emphasized was “not guaranteed.” The commissary general is the equivalent of a diocesan judge.

St. Dunstan’s church is open seven days a week, with many pilgrims — both individuals and groups — who specifically visit to venerate St. Thomas More.

“Many have expressed a desire to have the relic preserved and possibly placed in a reliquary above ground rather than in a sealed vault as it is at present,” Palmer said. “Conservation and the possible commissioning of a reliquary, as well as obtaining all the relevant permissions, will take time.”

Migrants aboard an inflatable vessel in the Mediterranean Sea approach the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney in 2013. Carney provided food and water to the migrants aboard the vessel before coordinating with a nearby merchant vessel to take them to safety. / Credit: Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 17, 2025 / 17:15 pm (CNA).

Young Catholic Europeans have issued recommendations to leaders on the continent in an effort to address the current migration crisis affecting numerous countries there.

This year’s written contribution by the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) Youth Net centers on solutions for “fostering integration of migrants in the European Union.” The region has seen high levels of immigration in recent years, particularly from the Middle East and Africa.

The paper, published this month, is based on a small-scale survey conducted by COMECE delegates under the auspices of the EU episcopal conferences. 

“Rooted in Europe’s Christian heritage and Catholic social teaching, this contribution seeks to reflect on the call to support just integration processes: to welcome, protect, and actively integrate migrants, whilst addressing key challenges and proposing a way forward for European leaders,” the paper states.

The paper addresses three main issues regarding migration in the EU: social integration of migrants as a “two-way process,” addressing the link between migration and crime rates, and the loss of national identity amid demographic crises.

Respondents of the COMECE survey emphasized the importance of the two-way process of integration, according to the paper, sharing they believed that “while migrants should continue to respect local customs, language, and laws, host societies should also provide opportunities for participation in economic, social, and cultural life.”

Respondents also “stressed the need to balance preserving one’s cultural identity and embracing the values of the host state.”

In light of the responses, the paper urges “both sides to engage in cultural exchange,” with migrants learning the language and customs of the host country and local communities participating in events that promote intercultural dialogue. 

The paper also calls for integration of migrants into society in the professional sphere, noting that “overqualification amongst migrants is an issue that affects both their personal development and the socio-economic advancement of the host countries.”

“The social doctrine of the Catholic Church highlights the deep connection between work and human dignity, asserting that immigration can serve as a resource to the host country for development when migrants fill labor needs unmet by the local workforce,” the paper states. 

The delegates further called on host counties to “facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications and offer tailored vocational training, enabling migrants to engage in work that truly reflects their skills and aspirations.” 

Regarding the link between crime rates and increased levels of migration, the paper states that “the perception of a direct link between migration and crime,” which it says is propagated by politicians and the media, “is not always factual.”

“It is essential to approach this subject with data, see the human person behind the statistics, and create empathy for people who, like so many of the local population, are simply looking for a better life,” the paper states.

Furthermore, the COMECE delegates assert that increased crime rates “tend to be concentrated in regions and areas which have less opportunities or where previous generations of migrant communities have already established themselves.”

Attributing rising crime to newcomers alone is “illogical,” the paper states.

The paper notes various factors that “can make a person more prone” to commit illegal offenses, citing poor integration into society and “having lived in a context of violence in one’s country of origin,” and “lacking a strong social network.”

“As such, integration is a fundamental part of the process for receiving migrants, especially asylum seekers and refugees, who are more vulnerable,” the paper states, recommending EU member states make resources such as language courses, integration programs, and social services more readily available. 

It also recommends streamlining visa programs and “debureaucratizing the job market” as a preventative measure to crime. 

Lastly, in their recommendations to EU member states regarding the preservation of national identity amid rising immigration, the COMECE delegates propose “investing in strong local communities.”

In practice, this means promoting pro-family policies, engaging local communities including churches to promote integration between migrants and citizens, and facilitating more volunteering in local communities to help introduce migrants into society, according to the COMECE delegates.

Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin, chairman of the Irish bishops’ Council for Life (far left), and Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, primate of all Ireland (second from left), stand with young pro-life activists at the 2024 Ireland March for Life in Dublin on May 6, 2024. / Credit: Courtesy of Pro Life Campaign

Dublin, Ireland, Jul 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

One in 6 unborn children’s lives now end in abortion in the Republic of Ireland, according to the Irish Department of Health statistics, which reports 10,852 abortions in 2024 — the highest number on record since the law changed in 2019 following the 2018 referendum.

Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy speaking to CNA said: “That’s a truly horrifying figure, and it’s the opposite of what senior politicians promised the public would happen if they voted for repeal in 2018.”

During the 2018 referendum, pro-life voices warned that abortion numbers would increase dramatically if access to abortion were widened. Mulroy pointed out that 10,852 abortions in 2024 represent a 280% increase from the 2,879 Irish abortions that happened in 2018, the year before the law changed.

Mulroy said the Pro Life Campaign and other groups have asked for a meeting with the minister for health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, to discuss the shocking new figures.

“I personally know politicians, TDs [a Teachta Dálaa is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas], and senators who would have been people who campaigned back in 2018 for a yes vote, who would have been encouraging other people to vote yes at that time for different reasons, who now feel it’s gone too far and are appalled at the figures,” Mulroy said.

During the lead-up to the 2018 referendum vote to widen access to abortion, pro-life campaigners pointed out that in Britain at that time, 1 in 5 pregnancies ended in abortion. 

“Members of the media in Ireland were accusing the pro-life side of scaremongering, and were trying to disprove those figures, and saying that that was never going to happen in Ireland,” Mulroy said. 

“We have nearly caught up with that figure — we’re now at 1 in 6 babies’ lives ending in abortion,” she said. “And Britain, just this last week, released its latest figures, and they’re nearly at 1 in 3 pregnancies ending in abortion. So once you introduce abortion, once you change the law, over time, abortion rates grow, and if there was any doubt about that, there’s no doubt anymore.”

She added: “Even if one accepts at face value the highly debatable claim by abortion advocates that an additional 1,000 illegal abortion pills were purchased annually before the law was repealed, the post-2018 surge in abortions is still staggering. Over 98% of all abortions in Ireland in 2024 were during early pregnancy up to 12 weeks.” 

Speaking to CNA, David Quinn of the Iona Institute highlighted the messaging used by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Irish government at the time of the 2018 referendum. In announcing the referendum, Varadkar had said he was speaking “as Taoiseach, as a medical doctor, and as a former minister for health.”

“Leo Varadkar, when he announced the referendum in early 2018, said abortion would be ‘safe, legal, and rare,’ which clearly is not the case,” Quinn said. “... So would Leo Varadkar consider 11,000 rare? They were spinning a line about it being rare that was convenient to them, and it was convenient to those who voted yes to believe it as well.”

At the time of the 2018 abortion referendum in Ireland, Quinn said many people were led to believe that the subsequent legislation introduced would limit access to abortion. He wondered if the electorate realized the implications of voting yes.

“If they had looked into a crystal ball and seen that it would go above 11,000 or 1 in 6 pregnancies ending this way, would that have given them pause? Would they have realized the law is not half as restrictive as we were led to believe?”

He added: “It was sold to the voters on the hard cases — like the baby is going to die soon after birth. And there was very little focus on the fact that the vast majority of babies aborted will be the healthy children of healthy women. That was barely spoken about. I mean, our pro-life side tried to raise it, but the pro-choice circles and the government very successfully kept the conversation about the hard cases and weren’t telling people that 90% of abortions would take place before 12 weeks.”

Mulroy is pressing for intervention by the minister for health and shared concerns about what people’s expectations were in 2018. 

“We spend a lot of time talking to politicians — even [those] who might not necessarily be coming from a pro-life perspective, but who might share common ground on some of the issues associated with the abortion question. For example the need for more positive alternatives for women in unplanned pregnancy.”

Mulroy said that it is politicians who have “responsibility in the area of public policy.” 

“We’re talking about human lives here,” she said. “It’s not just like any other area of health care, where we’re trying to reduce waiting lists or other things. This is not health care. This is the ending of human lives, and that’s why we are really pushing for a meeting with the minister for health to discuss these figures and really allow us to discuss what’s happened under the abortion law, rather than this polarized situation where the pro-life voice is not allowed at all be at the decision-making table, which has happened in the Irish government in recent years.”

Mulroy does see some small signs of hope in the current Irish government.

“I would see a lot of positives there — the makeup of the current government. This government is supported by a number of independents, and some of those independents are very pro-life.”

She said she thinks Ireland will “hopefully see in the lifetime of this government” some incremental changes, “even if the only focus is to ensure that women in unplanned pregnancy have all of the information they need to parent.”

“Right now, when you ring the government-funded helpline to say that you are in an unplanned pregnancy, you really are only getting one piece of information, and that’s about where the nearest abortion-performing doctor is,” she said.

She added: “No matter what side of the fence you’re on… everyone should be united in and agree that women who are in unplanned pregnancy should get all of that information, and I think that would have an impact on the abortion numbers.”

Quinn is concerned that the issue of abortion numbers is simply not getting enough attention in the mainstream media. 

“It’s not getting enough publicity; it’s not being discussed. Actually, very few people know about it outside pro-life circles. Nobody … on air has been asked, ‘Well, do you think 11,000 is rare? You said it would be rare. So what’s going on?’ Mainly, there’s a conspiracy of silence. It is quite hard to break through the conspiracy of silence. But we’ve just got to keep trying.”