Addressing the congregation gathered at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baghdad, Iraq on May 29 for his installation Mass, Patriarch Paul III Nona aimed to offer an encouraging homily, after months of difficulty for the Chaldean Catholic Church, including the unexpected March 10 resignation of his predecessor, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako.

“‘Do not be afraid; only believe,’ these words spoken by the Lord, were not merely a word of emotional comfort,” Paul III began his homily, “it was a radical call to an inner transformation: from the logic of fear to the logic of faith.”

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Nona was elected in April to lead more than 600,000 Catholics belonging to the Eastern Catholic Chaldean Church.

He had served previously as Archbishop of Mosul, Iraq, from which he was forced in 2014 into exile as ISIS took control of the area and Christians fled or were killed, leaving no flock in his archdiocese. He was soon after appointed to lead the Chaldean Catholic diaspora in Australia and New Zealand, serving in that post until his April election as patriarch.

The election came after Sako’s controversial resignation, which concluded a 13-year run as patriarch for the 76-year-old Iraqi prelate. Sako resigned amid controversy over his handling of the resignation of San Diego-based Chalden Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, who stepped down while facing criminal charges of embezzlement from his diocese.

After Shaleta submitted a letter of resignation from his diocesan post in late January, Cardinal Sako consulted with Chaldean bishops about his hope to see the bishop transferred to an administrative post in Baghdad, as a high-ranking official of the Chaldean patriarchate, The Pillar has previously reported.

But despite the firestorm, Sako said in March that his resignation had come freely — rebutting reports that Pope Leo had insisted upon it —“so that I could devote myself quietly to prayer, writing, and simple service.”

“To dispel any misinterpretation,” the cardinal said, “I want to emphasize that no one asked me to do so; I submitted my resignation of my own volition.”

Just a month later, the synod of Chaldean bishops met in Rome to elect Nona, who took the regnal name Paul III.

The bishop was widely considered a front-runner for the post, and a significant break from Sako’s leadership tenure in the life of the Chaldean Church.

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Faith over fear

At the beginning of his homily, the patriarch stressed the importance of maintaining faith in the midst of fear. Reflecting on Mark 5:36 ”Do not be afraid, only believe”, Nona noted that the move from living in fear to faith is one marked by inner transformation.

“Faith, in this context, means seeing what cannot be seen and trusting what goes beyond human logic. It means remaining firm when all guarantees are shaken. It means accepting that God is at work, even in the silence of death,” the patriarch said.

Faith, he continued, provides the foundation to realize that trust does not come because “I understand everything, but because I know the One in whom I believe.”

He emphasized that two virtues — faith and trust — would form the foundation for his new mission as patriarch of the Chaldean Church.

“With trust despite the presence of fear; with faith despite our knowledge of the challenges, and with openness to all despite the temptations of withdrawal and closure,” Paul III said. “Today, I receive this mission and this great task with deep humility and great gratitude.”

Six ‘principal features’

After expressing words of gratitude, Nona outlined “some of the principal features of the new stage into which, with the help of the Lord and under the guidance of His grace, (the Chaldean Church) is about to enter.”

The elements were unity, spiritual life, clergy formation, involved laity, maintaining Chaldean culture, and fraternity with other Churches in the Catholic communion.

And amid long-standing concern that the Chaldean Church would increasingly adopt Latin Catholic culture and practice, Nona emphasized the uniquely Eastern elements of the Church’s identity.

“Our Church in the lands of the diaspora must be regarded as a grace, not as a misfortune. It is a true mission and not merely a draining of the nation from within. The presence of our Chaldean faithful in the countries of the diaspora is a new apostolic hope entrusted to those lands,” he said.

“The existence and continuity of our Chaldean Church in the East, and most especially in Iraq, are essential and foundational for our perseverance as a church and as an ancient people with a deep-rooted history and civilization. We shall do all that lies within our power to strengthen this presence in our homeland of Iraq and throughout the countries of the East,” Nona added.

As part of that preservation, he noted that the Chaldean Church must “must see the Church as sent forth for evangelization, or for a renewed evangelization, of societies that need to hear once again the message of faith, with all the reverence, spiritual strength, and fidelity that distinguish our Chaldean and Eastern Christian witness.”

Clerics, especially, should “live as members of one great body rooted in the East, with a historical and living presence there, and not as isolated entities enclosed within themselves.”

Addressing identity directly, Nona emphasized that “we live in a period and within a global culture that seeks to erase identities, merge cultures, and dilute traditions and inheritances, leaving no firm foundation for any value, principle, or moral and spiritual conduct.”

As a solution, Paul III emphasized the need to ensure that the Chaldean eastern tradition might “be the foundation of our entire journey.”

Maintaining this identity is critical today, Paul III shared, as “it grants us a distinct identity in a time of dissolving identities, with all the dissolution of values and principles that follows.”

He continued: “to preserve one’s tradition is not, as some may claim, a refusal to engage with the modern world. Rather, it is the neglect of tradition, heritage, and language that leads the sons and daughters of that tradition to lose their very identity, through which they are able, in a unique and authentic manner, to express their shared faith, thoughts, and beliefs alongside others who belong to different traditions.”

“We are communities united by one faith in God the Father, in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit, though adorned with diverse and beautiful traditions, rites, and cultures,” Paul III continued.

He compared the common Catholic faith to a garden, “filled with flowers of many colors and fragrances.” This fraternity, he said, is crucial to the strength and survival of the Chaldean Church.

At the heart of the Christian message, he said, “all that has been said will bear no fruit unless we work together, pray together, and stand together in the one service of the Gospel, faithful to the inheritance that has been entrusted to us.”

Amid his homily, Nona offered a brief acknowledgement of his predecessor.

“I offer deep thanks to His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Louis Sako, venerable and blessed, for his long service in our Church, to which he gave most of the years of his life with zeal and passion. We pray that he may enjoy years of rest, stability, and prayer after the weariness of a long journey.”

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The Andorran minister of institutional relations, Ladislau Baró, said in a Jun. 1 interview that the proposal to decriminalize abortion in the country is finished but thorny negotiations with the Holy See might delay the bill.

Andorra has an unusual political arrangement, with two co-princes serving as heads of state: the president of France and the Bishop of Urgell. As a result, legalizing any measure contrary to Catholic teaching can involve delicate political and ecclesial tensions, as a change in the law could theoretically involve the bishop.

The Urgell diocese, which dates back to the fifth century, serves around 212,000 Catholics from its base in La Seu d’Urgell, a town in Spanish Catalonia.

But the diocese also covers Andorra, a prosperous microstate with a population of 80,000 people, nestled between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains.

By law only one of the country’s two co-princes must sign legislation for it to become law, a step usually left to the French president — the other Andorran co-prince — on contentious matters.

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In recent years, the Church appeared to signal tacit acceptance of efforts to decriminalize abortion in Andorra, on the condition that the Bishop of Urgell, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat, would be exempted from formally sanctioning the measure as co-prince.

Andorran Prime Minister Xavier Espot said in March 2025 that the law had been “discreetly” negotiated with the Vatican.

La Vanguardia reported in 2024 that Andorran officials were negotiating with the Vatican on a change to Andorran policy on abortion, and claimed that the Holy See had quietly approved the decriminalization plan that year with Pope Francis’ approval.

The outlet also reported that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with Espot in 2023, together with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s foreign minister, to work toward a compromise on the matter.

Parolin visited Andorra in September 2023 amid rumors that Bishop Joan-Enric Vives, then-Bishop of Urgell, might abdicate as co-prince rather than sign an abortion bill into law, although Parolin ruled out the possibility.

The Vatican secretary of state said in a press conference then that the issue of abortion in Andorra was a “very delicate, very complex question that we need to face with a lot of discretion and a lot of wisdom.”

In his first public appearance as Bishop of Urgel on May 31, Serrano said that “there should be dialogue and support for those who suffer… [especially] women in a difficult position” due to abortion.

This was seen by many as a marked change of tone from his predecessor, Joan-Enric Vives, who had threatened to abdicate if abortion was legalized in the country.

Vives had also rejected the possibility of signing any bill that would go against Catholic teaching into law, saying that “when the Andorran people ask for a Catholic bishop to be their Head of State, they know what it implies.”

The bill would amend the country’s criminal code to remove criminal penalties for women who undergo abortions, and remove professional sanctions for doctors or medical personnel who perform them.

The law would not, however, formally permit abortions to take place in the small nation between Spain and France.

However, once the Church’s position became public, an uproar among Catholics in Andorra and Spain led the Andorran government to backtrack on its plans — and the Church to adopt a firmer stance.

Baró said in the interview that the “technical and philosophical part [of the bill] is written and ready.”

However, he mentioned that the approval of the bill hinges upon negotiations with the Holy See, as the government has the goal of decriminalizing abortion while maintaining the country’s institutional stability.

“It’s not like the Holy See decides upon this topic, the decision is conducted by the Consell General,” Baró said, referring to the country’s legislative power, “and the government must evaluate if the text is adjusted to these goals before presenting the bill,” he added.

Baró also said that he felt they were “very close” to finding an acceptable balance.

The debate around abortion was reignited in April, after French president and Andorran co-prince Emmanuel Macron visited the principate and said in a speech that “many Andorrans reclaim” the issue of decriminalization of abortion, and that “a dialogue was set in motion” to move forward with the proposal “within the respect of the institutions, everyone’s conscience, and tradition.”

The president of the Andorran government and one of the main supporters of the legislation, Xavier Espot, said after meeting with Macron that he thought it was necessary to move forward with decriminalizing abortion “with realism, with prudence, and with ambition” but said there wasn’t a specific timetable to decriminalize the practice.

While the Andorran government insists in gaining at least the tacit consent of the Church to pass the decriminalization of abortion, laws on contentious issues passing without the signature of the Bishop of Urgell are hardly unprecedented.

For example, a law legalizing homosexual civil unions was signed exclusively by then-French president Jacques Chirac, as was the 2019 law of assisted reproduction, signed only by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Last year, the government was also preparing a companion bill that would maintain the country’s ban on performing abortions while providing public funding for women who travel to France or Spain to abort, La Veu Lliure reported. However, the bill has not been part of recent discussions on the subject.

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In an Aug. 28 address to French politicians, Pope Leo XIV said that “Christianity cannot be reduced to a simple private devotion, because it implies a way of living in society imprinted by love for God and for one’s neighbour who, in Christ, is no longer an enemy but a brother.”

“I am well aware that the openly Christian commitment of a public official is not easy,” the pope added, “Neither do I ignore the pressure, the party directives, the “ideological colonizations”, to use an apt expression of Pope Francis, to which politicians are subjected. They must have the courage to say at times, “no, I cannot!”, when the truth is at stake. Here too, only union with Jesus – the crucified Jesus! – will give you this courage to suffer in his name.”

At the end of his September 2025 visit to Belgium, Pope Francis announced he’d open the beatification cause of King Baudoin of Belgium.

In 1990, Baudoin refused to sign a law that would legalize abortion until 12 weeks of pregnancy in Belgium, saying in a message to the country’s PM that he “[feared] that this law will contribute to a palpable diminution of respect for the lives of the weakest among us,” throwing the country into a constitutional crisis.

After significant pushback, Baudouin wrote a message saying: “To those who may be shocked by my decision, I ask them: Is it right that I am the only Belgian citizen to be forced to act against his conscience in such a crucial area? Is the freedom of conscience sacred for everyone except for the king?”

Ultimately, the Belgian government worked out a compromise in which Baudouin declared himself unfit to rule while the government passed the law and then restored him as king a few days later.

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The Katholische Junge Gemeinde adopted a resolution at its May 27-31 annual national assembly keeping the 16th-century English martyr as its patron, “while also acknowledging and critically assessing problematic aspects of his life.”

More served as Lord Chancellor, England’s top judicial officer, from 1529 to 1532. He opposed Henry VIII’s break with Rome and was executed in 1535 for refusing to swear an oath recognizing the king as head of the Church in England.

More was canonized in 1935 and proclaimed the patron saint of statesmen and politicians in 2000. He was portrayed as a hero of conscience in the 1960 play “A Man for All Seasons,” but presented as a harsh fanatic in the 2009 novel “Wolf Hall.”

The KjG, which was founded in 1970 and has around 50,000 members, said that More’s negative features included “his disparaging and polemical attitude toward the concerns and aspirations of the Reformation.”

The resolution also argued that More engaged in “the persecution of so-called heretics — that is, people whose views were deemed contrary to Catholic doctrine — including executions and burnings at the stake during his time in government.”

It also criticized “his rigid adherence to Church structures that he himself recognized as needing reform.”

But the resolution praised More for his “fidelity to conscience,” his humanist ideals, “including education for all genders,” his sense of humor, and the influence of his 1516 work “Utopia.”

The vote came at the end of an internal review process that began after the KjG’s branch in the Diocese of Münster passed a resolution in February 2024 distancing itself from More.

The resolution, adopted by 42 votes to 1, with 1 abstention, was entitled Thomas Morus - ein nicht so nicer Dude! (“Thomas More — not such a nice guy!”). It called for More’s patronage of the KjG to be reviewed at the national level.

The resolution noted that during an educational trip to London, England, in October 2022, members became aware of “critical issues” regarding More, which, it said, conflicted with the KjG’s values. These included his treatment of supporters of the Reformation and his stand for “the traditional values of the Catholic Church.”

In May 2024, the KjG’s annual national assembly voted, by 65 to 2, with 3 abstentions, to form a committee to consider whether More was an appropriate patron saint.

The committee reported back at the KjG’s 2026 national assembly. The resolution approved by members said that during the review “it became clear that there are difficulties in finding a contemporary approach to saints and patronages.”

It said: “Both the traditional perspective and the concept of ‘holiness’ present challenges, arising both from theological considerations and from the personal ways in which members relate to Thomas More.”

“For this reason, we reaffirm our established practice within the association of presenting diverse images of God, role models, and saints — especially in spiritual settings — to enable a variety of paths to faith.”

The resolution explained that the review’s findings would be posted on the KjG website and shared on social media.

It said: “We want to provide members of the KjG at all levels with opportunities to engage more deeply with Thomas More as the association’s patron saint, so that they can develop their own view of the historical figure and their own possible relationship to St. Thomas More.”

A profile of More on the KjG’s website says that the saint serves as a role model for members, encouraging them to think critically, act responsibly, listen to their consciences, and retain a sense of humor.

“Thomas More makes it clear that ‘merely going along with the crowd’ and ‘endless debate’ — without a willingness to make decisions and take action — offer no prospect of success,” it says.

“In many ways, we as young Christians are called upon to make decisions. For example, we must decide how to live out our faith and shape our lives in a way that is relevant to today’s world. The life of the Christian Thomas More can serve as a guide for us in this endeavor.”

The body’s criticism of More, even while voting to retain him as patron, is likely to strike many as surprising.

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Apart from his veneration as a saint and martyr in the Catholic Church, and his being treated as an iconic figure in English Catholic history, he is held in high esteem among English Protestants, too.

The Church of England commemorates More as a “martyr of the Reformation,” and the Anglo-Irish essayist and Anglican clergyman Jonathan Swift described him as “a person of the greatest virtue this kingdom ever produced.”

At the time he was declared patron of statesmen and politicians, Pope St. John Paul II noted that in his own lifetime More was “highly esteemed by everyone for his unfailing moral integrity, sharpness of mind, his open and humorous character, and his extraordinary learning.”

“In fidelity to his principles, he concentrated on promoting justice and restraining the harmful influence of those who advanced their own interests at the expense of the weak,” said the pope, while noting the saint’s “inflexible firmness in rejecting any compromise with his own conscience.”

Noting the modern importance of More’s example, St. John Paul said that More answered the “need felt by the world of politics and public administration for credible role models able to indicate the path of truth at a time in history when difficult challenges and crucial responsibilities are increasing.”

“His life teaches us that government is above all an exercise of virtue. Unwavering in this rigorous moral stance, this English statesman placed his own public activity at the service of the person, especially if that person was weak or poor; he dealt with social controversies with a superb sense of fairness; he was vigorously committed to favoring and defending the family; he supported the all-round education of the young,” said the pope.

“His profound detachment from honours and wealth, his serene and joyful humility, his balanced knowledge of human nature and of the vanity of success, his certainty of judgement rooted in faith: these all gave him that confident inner strength that sustained him in adversity and in the face of death. His sanctity shone forth in his martyrdom, but it had been prepared by an entire life of work devoted to God and neighbor.”

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I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

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The announcement is the latest development in a process that has divided observers over whether the Church has done enough to respond to abuse allegations in the country.

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The announcement came three years after members of the Independent Commission created to study sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal met with diocesan bishops and superiors of religious orders, handing them lists with the names of 114 alleged abusers identified during the period in which they wrote their report.

The outcome was expected, given that Meireles had already been convicted in a civil court for the same crimes. As is standard in such cases, the canonical tribunal awaited the civil ruling before concluding its own proceedings.

Meireles’ case was the last pending canonical case resulting from the lists drawn up by the Independent Commission, thereby closing a cycle.

However, while the Independent Commission presented Church authorities with a total of 114 names, only 10 people were subsequently sentenced to some form of punishment by the dioceses, and the commission’s work was considered decisive in only four of those cases.

The low number of convictions, particularly when compared to the high number of cases that were dismissed, can be attributed to a series of “significant legal hurdles,” says Carla Rodrigues, a lawyer who chairs the National Coordination Team for the Diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults.

Among these hurdles she lists the statute of limitations under civil law, lack of documentary evidence, the death of alleged abusers and the difficulty victims face in reliving these situations within a judicial setting.

“This does not mean the testimonies are not credible,” Rodrigues told The Pillar. “It means that judicial truth and historical, human, or moral truth do not always coincide.”

However, António Grosso, the public face of Portugal’s only association for survivors of clerical sexual abuse, had a different reading of the situation.

“I am not surprised,” he told The Pillar. “The silence, the cover-ups, the formalism and the bureaucracy among the hierarchy of the Church is what leads to this statistic of four in 114. It’s about wanting as little scandal as possible, always putting the victims in second place by disregarding their rights and questioning their testimony. If it hadn’t been for these attitudes, perhaps the almost 50% who have died might have been investigated in time, for example.”

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Of the original 114 alleged abusers, only a minority could have faced conviction at all, given that 45 had already died and eight were never identified. Among those still living, four were laypeople, and therefore outside the scope of canon law. That means that only 57, exactly half, could have been tried by diocesan tribunals.

Furthermore, at least five of the men on the lists had already been tried and convicted by the time the Independent Commission sent their names to the dioceses.

In all, 43 cases were subjected to some form of canonical proceedings. At least 29 people were acquitted or had their cases dismissed.

At the time that the lists were presented to the dioceses, the focus was on 15 clerics – 14 diocesan priests and one member of a religious order – who were removed from active ministry while their proceedings were underway. In some instances, civil proceedings also took place, but in the majority of cases, the statute of limitations on the alleged events had already expired.

Only two of the 15 ended up facing any form of canonical sanction: Father Luís Miguel da Costa from the Diocese of Viseu, and Meireles from Braga.

The case of Miguel da Costa was already public when the lists were delivered to the dioceses. A civil court gave him a 23-month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay 10,000 euros to a teenager to whom he had sent explicit messages. The court also ordered him to attend a rehabilitation program for sex offenders and undergo psychological and psychiatric evaluations.

The canonical tribunal suspended the priest from ministry for a period of three years and mandated treatment for alcohol dependency, a one-month spiritual retreat during each year of his suspension, and psychological counseling, but refrained from dismissing him from the clerical state, as had happened to Meireles.

The lists presented to the dioceses also included names of priests and religious who were no longer active, due to retirement or illness. Three of these individuals ultimately faced canonical sanctions, bringing to five the total number of listed priests convicted.

When the Patriarchate of Lisbon received its list of accused individuals, it categorized Father José Cruz – who was gravely ill – among those no longer active. However, the priest eventually recovered enough to return to ministry. When Portuguese public broadcaster RTP questioned the patriarchate about his case in 2025, the response was that officials had only just realized an investigation into the alleged abuser had never been opened. An inquiry was initiated, which resulted in a ban on public ministry.

Then there is the case of the notorious Father Frederico Marcos da Cunha. Convicted of murder in 1993, he subsequently fled to Brazil, where he still resides, but without undergoing a canonical trial. The current Bishop of Funchal petitioned Rome about his case, and Marcos da Cunha was formally dismissed from the clerical state in 2024.

There are at least four cases that had already been adjudicated before the lists were made public, but whose outcomes were not publicly disclosed. Consequently, both the number of convictions and acquittals could be slightly higher.

All things considered, there is a minimum of 10 canonical convictions among the 114 names on the Independent Commission’s lists, but only four can be directly credited to the commission’s work. Five individuals had already been tried previously, and another – Father Luís Miguel da Costa – was already facing civil proceedings while the report was being compiled.

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Rodrigues maintains that the low conviction rate is no reason to doubt the sincerity of the diocesan processes and commissions.

She said that while the history of these cases may lead to a distrust of the Church by some people, there has been “a significant shift” in how the Church in Portugal responds to abuse allegations today – in no small part due to the work of the Independent Commission.

“The Commission allowed us to gain a deeper, more systematic understanding of this reality. This had a very powerful impact on the Church in Portugal. Previously, a defensive culture of silence often prevailed, excessively focused on protecting the institution. After the Independent Commission, it became impossible to ignore the scale of the problem and the need for a structural response,” she said.

Among the changes that have come about from the commission, Rodrigues said, are a “greater focus on welcoming and supporting victims” and the “establishment of clearer procedures and protocols for receiving and forwarding complaints,” as well as “increased collaboration with civil authorities, more investment in training and prevention, and the fostering of a culture of protection and accountability.”

There is also a much clearer awareness in the Church of the need to listen to victims and to offer transparency in dealing with allegations, she continued.

“Today, cases are handled with greater professionalism, with increased reliance on specialized lawyers and canonists, closer coordination with civil authorities, and a heightened awareness of the need for thorough procedures,” she said.

“This doesn’t mean the system is perfect or that there is no room for criticism and improvement, but it is inaccurate to say that these cases are treated lightly or in a merely symbolic way,” she added. “Trust is not rebuilt by decree. It is rebuilt over time, with consistency and concrete actions. And we are moving forward on that path.”

Grosso, however, told The Pillar that while there may be more awareness of abuse today, Church authorities have a long way to go in their handling of abuse allegations.

“Before, the Church lived in darkness and cover-up, and few knew what went on inside it in terms of sexual abuse,” he said. “Then the Independent Commission embarrassed the bishops by publishing a 500-page report, with 512 validated testimonies, leaving thousands of faithful in shock.”

“The story of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is no longer the taboo it once was, now it is common knowledge,” he continued. “Meanwhile the president of the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Virgílio Antunes, says that the way the Church has handled the situation can be an example for society. We certainly hope not!”

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It’s the ninth Tuesday in ordinary time, and you’re reading The Tuesday Pillar Post.

Today’s the anniversary of a memorable moment in American history, from all the way back in 1763, when native tribes in the American midwest had banded together to fight a little revolution of their own, working to expel British forts from the Great Lakes region.

Most of that was inspired by a Native American religious revival underway in the 1760s, mostly because of preaching from a Lenni Lenape man named Neolin, who said he’d been given a vision calling native people to reject alcohol, polygamy, greed, and the adoption of European culture as their own.

The military side was organized by an Odawa war chief named Pontiac, whose rebellion eventually won a proclamation that prohibited new British settlements in the land west of the Mississippi.

For his troubles, Pontiac was eventually assassinated by a rival tribe warrior, and became namesake for the automobile brand which dared to create the ignominious, timelessly ugly Pontiac Aztek.

But well before that, Pontiac inspired a pan-Indian raft of sorties and sieges against British strongholds, capturing several forts, and putting the British on their heels in the upper Midwest.

One of the early efforts was at the remote outpost of Fort Michilimackinac, at the top of Michigan’s lower peninsula.

And the plan was ingenious.

Given that attacks had begun just days earlier, local leaders of the Ojibwe and Sauk tribes were better informed about the Native American offensives than was the local British garrison commander. So he was not suspicious when they invited him and his soldiers to view a game of baggatiway, an early form of lacrosse.

The chiefs offered to play the game right at the fort’s gate, so the soldiers wouldn’t have to travel far. And the tribes made a day of it, hosting a festival of music and food for hundreds of revelers, right outside the fort — all dedicated to King George III, in honor of his birthday.

Major George Etherington and his soldiers had a great time. They had some drinks. They relaxed. And since they were going in and out all day, and among friends, they left open the gate to their fortress. It was a great day for the British.

Until it wasn’t.

At a prearranged time, the lacrosse ball sailed close to the fort’s entrance. Dozens of players surged toward it. And at once, they were joined by hundreds of spectators, who shed their blankets to reveal hidden weapons — in a matter of seconds, the game was a full fledged attack. The fort was captured by the end of the day.

Major Etherington was captured. In exchange for his release, he agreed to abandon the area. The fight helped Great Lakes tribes secure promises of better treatment from the British forces in the region.

But here’s why it’s historic. That was all the way back in 1763. And that’s the last time anyone in America actually cared about a lacrosse game.

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The news

Pope Leo issued a rescript last week, making a change to canon law on the process of dismissing a member — the superior, specifically — of a sui iuris monastery of monks or nuns.

If you get your news from fabulists and the kind of website that traffic in scandal-unmoored-from-reality, you might have thought this was a very big deal, or some kind of major slight from Pope Leo against contemplative religious life.

But you don’t get your news from those places, so don’t worry. And this change is actually just closing a small loophole — a lacuna, as we say — in the law, in order to provide for situations where a major superior breaks bad.

It actually allows the Vatican to return to the diocesan bishop some authority he had in canon law, until a 2022 decision from Pope Francis expropriated it.

And here’s a fun kicker: The reason all this happened is because of the lesson learned for the Holy See from the case of the wayward Carmelite nuns of Texas. So that’s the story that keeps on giving. I guess.

Anyway, here’s an explainer on the whole thing.

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And speaking of religious life, there’s been a lot of attention paid this week to the dissolution of a traditionalist UK religious community.

Much of that has suggested that the community’s dissolution was rooted in its liturgical praxis.

But it seems there may be more to the story. Here’s what The Pillar’s been told, and what the community has to say.

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A priest in the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas surrendered himself to local authorities this month, after an internal audit at his former parish alleged that he stole more than $100,000 prior to his resignation.

The priest had already resigned his parish, amid a separate criminal investigation into unspecified potential illegal acts allegedly committed against an adult in 2022.

But despite the charges, there is surprisingly little information available in the court documents against the priest.

“It’s all very close-lipped for $160,000, explained Rob Warren, an expert in Church financial crimes. “Nobody goes to jail for $160,000.”

Warren suggested that the secrecy could stem from other ongoing audits at the priest’s other previous parish assignments.

Here’s the whole story.

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As Pillar readers know, the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X is planning next month to consecrate four priests as bishops without papal permission, despite warnings from the Vatican that such a move will constitute an act of schism.

As the date gets closer, we at The Pillar have started to hear from diocesan bishops, mostly as they ruminate about what they themselves might do after the consecrations, with regard to their own local SSPX communities.

So Ed Condon takes a lot at some of the possible ripple effects of the SSPX consecration for communities around the world.

Here you go.

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The president of the Belarusian bishops’ conference said last week that the number of priests in the country is diminishing, making the provision of pastoral care increasingly challenging in the eastern region.

What’s the deal in Belarus?

Luke Coppen reports.

And since we’re talking about Belarus, literally translated as White Russia, here you go:

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Finally, Pope Leo this morning appointed Pillar reader (in a good way) Montse Alvarado as prefect of Vatican’s dicastery for communications.

Montse is, I’m glad to admit, a friend of mine. She’s also qualified for the job in about a dozen different ways, and I’ve got a bunch of thoughts on why and how she got the job in the first place.

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The Marian Franciscans announced May 28 that they had taken the unusual step of dissolving their community because they were unable to secure “practical and canonical support” for future priestly ordinations, despite a growth in numbers.

The announcement raised questions about why a seemingly thriving community would struggle to gain support for ordinations. The news also generated considerable speculation online, with some linking the dissolution to the community’s affiliation with the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Sources with direct knowledge of the community told The Pillar that the dissolution came against a background of problems within the community, allegedly including safeguarding complaints, a lack of due diligence in recruitment, severe asceticism that affected members’ health, and the misleading presentation of the community as a religious order.

For their part, the Marian Franciscans rejected the claims in a June 2 statement to The Pillar.

Who are the Marian Franciscans? What led to their dissolution? And what will happen next?

Who are the UK Marian Franciscans?

The U.K. Marian Franciscans were an offshoot of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, a religious institute founded in 1970 in Italy by Fr. Stefano Maria Manelli and Fr. Gabriel Maria Pellettieri.

Under Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican began an investigation of that institute. In July 2013, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life issued a decree, with Pope Francis’ approval, placing an apostolic commissioner in charge of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

The decree required all members to celebrate the post-conciliar liturgy and to apply for authorization if they wished to offer Mass according to the 1962 Missal. The restriction led to an exodus of members.

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In November 2014, a group of those departing friars arrived in the Diocese of Portsmouth in southern England. Under the leadership of Bishop Philip Egan since 2012, the diocese had a reputation for being open to communities that had struggled to flourish elsewhere — an approach similar to that of Bishop Dominique Rey in the French Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon.

In June 2015, Egan granted the friars oversight of St. Mary’s Parish, Gosport, as they formed the outlines of a new community. On Dec. 8, 2016 — the feast of the Immaculate Conception — the friars launched the radio station Radio Immaculata, which broadcast out of the parish. The station’s YouTube channel had around 33,700 subscribers as of June 2026.

On May 31, 2018, Egan formally established the community as a public association of the faithful, known as the Association of the Family of Mary Immaculate and St. Francis.

The Code of Canon Law defines a public association of the faithful as a grouping of Catholics that strives “in a common endeavor to foster a more perfect life, to promote public worship or Christian doctrine, or to exercise other works of the apostolate such as initiatives of evangelization, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with a Christian spirit.”

A public association can be formed of clerics, of lay people, or a mixture of the two. It is distinct from a religious order.

The Marian Franciscans were inspired by what they described as “the Franciscan-Marian Charism,” seeking to follow the example and teachings of the Auschwitz martyr St. Maximilian Kolbe, who promoted devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary. They wore a grey-blue habit that highlighted their Marian devotion.

Their approximately 20 members professed the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and made a vow of Marian consecration. Their daily pattern of prayer began at 1:30 a.m. and ended at 9:30 p.m.

The community had a notable devotion to the 1962 Missal. Four of its members were ordained priests in July 2019.

In February 2020, the community opened another house at St. Joseph’s in Copnor, an area of Portsmouth. Their profile rose considerably within the Catholic Church in England, thanks to their offering of Traditional Latin Masses, and the organization of holy hours, men’s groups, retreats, and conferences.

Their ministry extended beyond the Portsmouth diocese to communities in London, including the Tyburn Convent. They also played a prominent role in pro-life initiatives and at events associated with Marian apostolates. But their work was affected by Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis custodes, which limited diocesan permissions for Old Rite Masses.

Also in 2021, a charity called Friends of the Marian Franciscans was registered with the U.K.’s charity regulator, with the purpose of supporting “the daily sustenance, accommodation, formation, growth, and development of the Marian Franciscans.”

In November 2022, the friars relocated from Gosport to the Diocese of Dunkeld in Scotland, where they were welcomed by local Bishop Stephen Robson.

A diocesan press release said the community had been drawn to the Dunkeld diocese while searching for new properties, because it had outgrown its existing buildings and their leases had ended. It explained that the friars would serve the Traditional Latin Mass community, while also being available for supply work, if asked.

Robson said: “They are an Old and New Rite traditional Catholic community. Though among themselves and in their own community they celebrate Mass and the Office in the Old Liturgy, they are also able to celebrate Mass in the so-called Novus Ordo or New Rite as in all our parishes in the diocese.”

The press release noted that a corresponding community of 20 sisters, known as the Sisters of the Immaculate and St. Maximilian Kolbe, would also take up residency in the diocese, at the Lawside complex in Dundee.

But the Marian Franciscan communities’ future in the Dunkeld diocese was thrown into doubt when Robson resigned in December 2022, on health grounds at the age of 71.

His successor, Bishop Andrew McKenzie, announced in February 2025 that Marian Franciscan communities would return to the Portsmouth diocese.

The reason for the move was unclear. Several sources in the diocese told The Pillar at the time that they believed the liturgy was a source of tension. But McKenzie did not offer any reasons for the decision in his announcement and the Marian Franciscans did not say publicly why they believed they were asked to leave the diocese.

An initial deadline for their departure was later pushed back to Oct. 31, 2026.

On April 27, 2026, the friars voted to petition Bishop Egan for dissolution of the public Association of the Family of Mary Immaculate and St. Francis. The bishop issued the dissolution decree May 24, in accordance with Canon 320 §2 of the Code of Canon Law, which says that “a diocesan bishop can suppress associations he has erected.”

The public association formally disbanded May 31, eight years to the day after its founding. Its twitter.com profile no longer exists.

The Dunkeld diocese said May 27 that the dissolution only applied to the male community and the convent at Lawside would remain “occupied by the Franciscan Family of the Immaculate Heart and of St Maximilian until further notice.”

The diocese noted the gratitude of local Catholics for the friars’ work.

It said: “The diocese recognises the ministry of the Marian Franciscans, and the prayer, generosity and friendship offered to them by the lay faithful and others who have supported the community over their time in Dundee.”

Bishop Egan acknowledged that the dissolution would “be a cause of sadness and concern for many people who have valued the ministry, prayer, and pastoral presence of the friars.”

In a message to the clergy of the Portsmouth diocese, he said the friars intended to “join another association with a similar charism and in the coming months to relocate.”

Egan said that, in the meantime, he had allowed friars incardinated in the diocese “to wear a different Franciscan habit.”

He also permitted them to continue celebrating Masses, administering other sacraments, and leading devotions at St. Joseph’s in Copnor, St. Agatha’s Ordinariate Church in central Portsmouth, and St. Thomas More’s in Iford, an area of Bournemouth. But “members may not continue to act publicly in the name of the Marian Franciscans.”

Egan said the Portsmouth diocese would work with Dunkeld’s Bishop McKenzie “to address the practical arrangements now required, and the pastoral needs of the lay friars and the community in Dunkeld.”

The Dunkeld diocese announced alternative provision for the Traditional Latin Mass, which will continue to be offered at St. Joseph’s Chapel at Lawside.

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Why were they dissolved?

A briefing document accompanying the press release announcing the Marian Franciscans’ dissolution explained that the friars’ decision came at the end of “a period of discernment about the long-term future of the community in the U.K.”

The document, issued by the trustees of the Friends of the Marian Franciscans and written in Q&A format, said: “Despite growth in numbers and apostolic activity, it was not possible to secure the practical and canonical support needed for formation, sponsorship, and future priestly ordinations. In those circumstances, the friars concluded that petitioning for dissolution was the responsible course.”

The briefing denied that the dissolution request was “the result of, or reaction to, any single incident or series of incidents,” without referring to any specific events.

It said: “The friars’ request for dissolution arose from broader questions about the future viability of the community and its mission in the U.K.”

It added that the friars had considered options other than dissolution, but “no workable path was identified for the community’s continued development in its present form.”

Multiple sources close to the men’s community and its dissolution told The Pillar that the background to the dissolution was more complex.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, made the following claims:

• Members of the association have been subject to safeguarding complaints.

• The association showed a lack of due diligence in recruitment.

• Members engaged in acts of severe asceticism that affected their health (for example, eating spoiled food).

• Members misleadingly presented themselves as belonging to a religious order, rather than a public association of the faithful.

They also noted that a member was hospitalized with mental health problems and later died after being struck by a train. The member’s death was announced in the Marian Franciscans’ email newsletter dated March 25, 2026.

For their part, the community responded to each of the sources’ claims, in a June 2 statement sent to The Pillar by the Friends of the Marian Franciscans.

Regarding safeguarding complaints, the statement said: “The friars do not wish to engage with generic and vague claims about such a sensitive and important topic.”

But citing the Q&A document, the statement said that “‘The friars’ request for dissolution was not the result of, or a reaction to, any single incident or series of incidents [safeguarding related or otherwise]. The friars’ request for dissolution arose from broader questions about the future viability of the community and its mission in the UK.’”

“Moreover, it is noteworthy that Bishop Egan has permitted the friars who are incardinated in the Diocese of Portsmouth to wear a modified habit and to ‘continue the Masses, sacraments and devotions celebrated at (various locations in the diocese).’ In his public statement, he also ‘recognizes with gratitude the ministry of the Marian Franciscans.’”

“Bishop McKenzie of Dunkeld in his statement also publicly recognized the friars’ ministry and the support and generosity of the lay faithful for them. These statements do not align with there being serious, substantiated safeguarding concerns about the community.”

Regarding a lack of due diligence in recruitment, the statement said: “The friars have a diligent approach to welcoming new vocations. No one is permitted to even visit the religious community for discernment until they have had a personal one-to-one Zoom meeting with the community’s vocations director.”

“Specific questions are asked to establish whether the candidate is deemed suitable for religious life. A medical report of good health is also required before admission, as well as other important documentation.”

“No system of vetting and discernment is perfect, but any instances where critical information later came to light were the result of the candidate withholding information rather than a lack of due diligence on the part of the friars.”

The statement also described the accusation of severe asceticism affecting health as untrue.

It said: “There is no evidence to show that any of the members’ health has been affected by ‘acts of severe asceticism.’ The friars are generally all in good health and have certainly never been instructed to eat spoiled food. Mouldy food is thrown away.”

“The friars rely completely on Divine Providence and do not buy food of their own accord, relying totally on donations from benefactors. Sometimes they do receive food donations which may be past their ‘best before’ date. These are checked carefully before being served at the community meals — if they have spoiled, they are disposed of.”

“This is another calumnious accusation seeking to falsely imply that there are ‘serious problems’ within the community, but with no factual basis or evidence.”

Concerning the claim that members misrepresented themselves as members of a religious order, the statement said: “The Family of Mary Immaculate and St. Francis were a public association of Franciscan friars. In his statement, Bishop Egan referred to the members of the association as ‘friars.’”

“It is a normal, contemporary practice for new religious communities to begin as either private or public associations of the faithful before being erected as institutes of diocesan right. To their knowledge, the friars have never claimed to be a religious institute or a religious order and would ask the accuser to provide evidence of this.”

“The friars wear an approved Franciscan habit and live a Franciscan form of life, all with the approbation of their bishop. If people have thought they are a religious order, then they are mistaken, but this mistake cannot be blamed on how the friars have presented themselves.”

“Even if friars ever presented themselves as belonging to a religious order, it would have been an innocent mistake, never done to confuse or deceive, which the accuser seems to imply.”

The statement added: “Without knowing exactly how the friars supposedly misled people in this way, it is almost impossible to respond, but a canon lawyer that the trustees have consulted says that it is often poorly understood, even among bishops, that Rome actually expects members of a public association, like that of the Marian Franciscans, to wear a habit, to use religious names and titles, and to live as if they were already a religious institute.”

Concerning the recently deceased member, the statement said he was offered support and accompaniment throughout his battle with mental health issues. He was no longer living in the community and no longer a friar at the time of his death, and the friars remain close to his family.

“Some of the trustees knew the ex-friar and his family personally and witnessed the kindness and care with which the friars sought to help their brother in his mental health struggles,” it said.

How have people reacted to the dissolution?

A May 29 article in the German Catholic weekly Die Tagespost said the Marian Franciscans were once considered “one of the most remarkable spiritual success stories in English Catholicism” and their dissolution was symbolically significant for the local Church.

Joseph Shaw, the chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, said May 30 that members of the community accepted their present situation with “exemplary and touching” docility.

In a statement that noted his personal encounters with the group, Shaw said: “The inability of the Church in England and in Scotland to make use of these men should be a source of national embarrassment.”

“No doubt their style is not everyone’s cup of tea. But there is no community or association or, for that matter, parish priest, who is everyone’s cup of tea, and the lack of priests in our countries has got to the point that many dioceses are putting up with all sorts of human imperfections to fill gaps in pastoral care.”

“These men have their limitations, because all human beings do, but they are also intelligent, kind, and totally committed to the Faith.”

He added: “It is difficult to avoid the impression, in fact, that it is this very commitment, this zeal, which is the source of their problems. Perhaps I am wrong about that, and I don’t want to be uncharitable to anyone involved. But even the impression, let alone the reality, of this, is a terrible warning sign for the Church in our islands.”

The briefing document issued by the trustees of the Friends of the Marian Franciscans invited Catholics to mark the community’s dissolution by praying for the friars and offering them pastoral support at a time of transition.

It said: “This is a moment of real sadness for many, but also one of gratitude for the prayer, service, and witness the community has offered. It will be understood by many as a significant and difficult transition in the life of the Church locally.”

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Alvarado will replace Paolo Ruffini as prefect effective November 1, becoming the first non-religious female to serve as a Vatican prefect.

Born in Mexico City, Alvarado worked between 2009 and 2023 at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where she became chief operation officer. Since 2023 she has served as president and COO of EWTN News, the news division of EWTN.

Ruffini began serving as perfect of the dicastery in 2018, when he took over the position from Msgr. Dario Viganò, who resigned in disgrace amid a scandal caused by his release of a digitally doctored image purporting to show a letter from then-pope emeritus Benedict XVI.

Ruffini’s own tenure in the job has been at times controversial, with the prefect coming in for particular criticism in 2021 when he defended the Vatican media team’s frequent use of artwork from the disgraced former Jesuit Marko Rupnik, despite the emergence of decades of sexual abuse allegations.

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During the general congregations ahead of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, numerous cardinals reportedly voiced frustration with the current state of Vatican communications, prompting speculation that the new pope might move to overhaul the department.

On Feb. 13, Leo appointed Sr. Nina Krapić, M.V.Z., then an official of the Dicastery for Communication, as deputy director of the Holy See Press Office.

The Dicastery for Communications was established by Pope Francis on June 2015 and is in charge of overseeing Vatican News, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano – the Vatican’s newspaper – Vatican Media – which is in charge of photo and video services – the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican publishing house and printing press, and the Filmoteca Vaticana.

Alvarado said in a statement that “while this appointment was unexpected, I receive it with a sincere desire to serve the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate. And I am grateful to Paolo Ruffini for his leadership throughout the last years and look forward to continuing, in friendship and hope, the important work of strengthening the dicastery so it may continue to serve the Church in Rome and everywhere to communicate Christ to the world.”

Alvarado’s appointment could mark a significant shift in the Vatican’s perception of the EWTN media network itself.

In a Q&A session with Slovak Jesuits in 2021, Pope Francis said that “There is, for example, a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope.”

“I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the Church does not deserve them. They are the work of the devil,” a comment that was largely interpreted to be directed at EWTN, which had given space to several voices critical of Francis.

America Magazine also reported that on a March 2021 papal trip to Baghdad, the pope told EWTN’s reporter publicly that the network “should stop speaking badly about me.”

—

Addressing his departure this week, Ruffini said in a statement: “I have entered the final lap of the race, before the moment when — in the long journey that is our working life — having reached the age of 70, the age set for retirement, I will pass the baton to Montserrat Alvarado as the next prefect.”

“I am grateful to the big family of [the] dicastery,” Ruffini said, “for the journey we have taken together over these eight years. We are beginning now the process over the coming months for a smooth transition in order to help the dicastery continue to grow in service to the Holy Father and in its mission of serving in a spirit of unity and openness.”

Ruffini’s replacement was expected as he turns 70 years old in October, the age at which Vatican lay officials must tender their resignation to the Pope.

However else Ruffini’s term as prefect is remembered, his frequent defense of the Vatican use of Rupnik’s artwork is likely to play a major role in the story.

In June 2024, Ruffini was asked at a Catholic media conference about the removal of artwork by Rupnik from public ecclesiastical spaces and communications after criticism from he alleged victims.

“I don’t think we have to throw stones, thinking it is the way of healing someone,” Ruffini said, going as far as suggesting that while Rupnik’s work might be upsetting to some victims of sexual abuse it might be healing for others.

Ruffini also stated that that removing publicly displayed art is not a reasonable act of “civilization,” suggesting that even if Rupnik is convicted at the DDF of grave sexual abuse, the Vatican may not support the public removal of his art.

Rupnik has been accused of sexually abusing some 30 religious sisters. Some of the allegations involve claims of sexual abuse which reportedly occurred directly in the context of designing and creating his works of art.

Paulina Guzik of OSV News followed up on Ruffini’s remarks, asking if removing Rupnik’s artwork would demonstrate a greater closeness to victims.

Ruffini retorted, “You think so? Well, I think you’re wrong. I think you are wrong. I really think you are wrong.”

“Removing, deleting, destroying art does not ever mean a good choice,” he said. “This is not a Christian response.”

Rupnik’s art was taken down from all Vatican websites in June 2025. The dicastery did not provide an official explanation for the decision.

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I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

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I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

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Curiously, Pope Leo’s amendment amends an amendment to canon law promulgated by Pope Francis just four years ago, in 2022.

And according to the Vatican, the amendment to Francis’ amendment was a move that began with Pope Francis, and was already well in the works by the time of Leo’s 2025 election to the papacy.

So what did Pope Leo change, and why? The Pillar explains.

What changed?

The Apostolic See announced on Thursday that Pope Leo had effectively made a change to canon 699 of the Code of Canon Law.

The change clarifies that the Vatican can give permission — in specific cases — for a diocean bishop to dismiss the major superior of an autonomous monastery, if the monk or nun in question has committed some serious offense, including “habitual neglect of the obligations of consecrated life; repeated violations of the sacred bonds; stubborn disobedience to the legitimate prescripts of superiors in a grave matter; grave scandal arising from the culpable behavior of the member; stubborn upholding or diffusion of doctrines condemned by the magisterium of the Church; public adherence to ideologies infected by materialism or atheism,” illegitimate absence, or some other grave cause, spelled out in the group’s particular law.

The dismissal must come after a process, by which proofs are collected, a warning is issued, and the superior in question is given the opportunity to defend themself.

Dismissal is a serious matter in religious life, it means that the person is no longer a religious, and the obligation and rights of religious life are no longer theirs.

The decision can be appealed to the Vatican.

And just so we’re clear, what’s an “autonomous monastery?”

Some monasteries of monks or nuns are called “autonomous monasteries,” which means they are internally governed, rather than part of a religious order with a major superior in authority over numerous monasteries.

Such monasteries — most of which are monasteries of nuns — can only be erected with the consent of the Apstolic See, and most are subject, for the most part, to the direct authority of the pope and his curia.

So what was the policy before the change?

Well, when the Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1983, the law gave the diocesan bishop the right to dismiss any member of an autonomous monastery accused of the grave matters mentioned above, presuming a proper process toward dismissal was followed, and with the final decree of dismissal confirmed by the Apostolic See.

But in 2022, Pope Francis made a change to this, as part of a raft of changes on religious law. The pope’s change allowed for the major superior to dismiss a malfeasant member, rather than the diocesan bishop, in a move widely taken as an effort to reinforce the autonomy of the religious monastery, and the authority of its religious superior.

Leo’s rescript this week doesn’t revoke that authority; it allows for the prospect of the diocesan bishop stepping in, with Vatican permission, if the superior is the religious who is a problem.

I read on twitter.com that this is a “revolutionary” change? Is that true?

Not really. Leo’s rescript still means that the diocesan bishop has actually less default authority to intervene in the monastery than he did before Francis’ 2022 changes. It’s really just an effort to solve a rare and acute problem: What happens when the superior of an autonomous monastery goes rogue, denies the faith, or rejects publicly the Church’s doctrine?

Ok, but why did Leo address this situation? Of all the problems in the Church, this one doesn’t seem that common!

Thursday’s rescript indicated that the solution Leo offered was already in the works in the Francis pontificate, and had already received a “favourable opinion” from the previous pope.

And sources close to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life told The Pillar that the reason any of this came up for discussion is a case already familiar to Pillar readers: That of a former Texas Carmelite, formerly Mother Teresa Agnes of Jesus Crucified Gerlach, who led a Carmelite monastery in the Diocese of Fort Worth, and was accused of drug abuse, personal misconduct, and — eventually — of rejecting the authority of the Apostolic See.

While Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson was deputized by the Apostolic See to address the situation — including the prospect of dismissing Gerlach — canonical experts questioned the source of that authority, given Pope Francis’ changes to canon law on dismissal, and the nuns themselves pushed back on Olson’s efforts to intervene in the matter, saying they rejected his authority.

While the Holy See was clear in its support for Olson’s authority, the situation revealed a lacuna, or gap, in the letter of the law — Pope Francis’ 2022 changes did not anticipate the prospect that a monastery’s superior might have potential for dismissal, and would not be the appropriate leadership figure to dismiss themselves — at least without a conflict of interest.

The rescript was meant effectively to close that legal gap with a plan for what could happen if an autonomous monastery’s superior were accused of grave misconduct in future.

For its part, the monastery was eventually suppressed, and the woman living on its property have been dismissed from religious life. The former nuns have claimed to associate themselves with the Society of St. Pius X, a de facto traditionalist association of priests at odds with the Holy See, and claim that Gerlach remains their superior. And the monastery’s property was transferred to a civil corporation — in a move widely regarded as canonically invalid — without the permission of the Holy See.

So what happens now?

In Texas, nothing. The situation of the Texas Carmel has reached its conclusion. But in the event of a similar situation elsewhere in the world, the authority of the Vatican’s religious life office — and of the local diocesan bishop — will likely be much more clearly understood, in light of Pope Leo’s rescript.

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The priest resigned last fall after becoming the subject of a separate criminal investigation into unspecified potential illegal acts allegedly committed against an adult in 2022.

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Father Richard Storey, 55, surrendered to the Leawood, Kansas Police Department on May 23. He was charged with theft of property or services worth $100,000 — a crime classified as a level five felony charge which can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.

The alleged financial crime occurred while Storey was pastor at Curé of Ars Parish in Leawood, Kansas — a township located in the Kansas City, Kansas area. Storey was installed as pastor at Curé of Ars in 2015 and served until his resignation in September 2025.

Authorities say that the theft of $160,000 occurred between Jan. 1, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2025. A statement released by the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas said the archdiocese is “fully cooperating with local law enforcement” and is conducting an internal canonical process.

“This news is deeply painful for all of us in the Catholic community, particularly given the nature of the allegations involving resources entrusted to the Church through the sacrifice and generosity of the faithful,” Archbishop Shawn McKnight said via the press release.

Cure of Ars staff reported the missing $160,000 to authorities after conducting an internal audit at the parish following Storey’s resignation. This financial review followed standard diocesean protocol for parishes to undertake an audit when a change in pastoral leadership occurs, the archdiocesan press release noted.

Additionally, parishes are required by the archdiocese to conduct audits every three to four years. The last audit at Curé of Ars had taken place in 2022.

“During the course of the review, information was identified that warranted referral to law enforcement. The Archdiocese shared this information with the Leawood Police Department, which serves the jurisdiction where the parish office is located,” the archdiocese’s statement said.

During the last year of his pastorship, Storey launched and coordinated a $12 million capital campaign at Curé of Ars. To date, the “Cultivating through Christ Capital Campaign” has raised $6,434,054.50. The campaign is raising money to replace the church’s roof and refurnish the interior.

The capital campaign was approved by the archdiocese in late January 2025 and remains ongoing.

Curé of Ars intends to file an insurance claim to recover the financial losses.

Storey has not issued a plea and is due in court June 2. He posted a $25,000 bond on May 23.

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Storey resigned as pastor of Curé of Ars on September 17, 2025 after the Prairie Village Police Department notified Storey and the archdiocese that he was under investigation for unspecified potential illegal actions against one adult.

In a statement released September 17, the archdiocese said, “The Prairie Village Police Department has informed the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas of a criminal investigation involving Father Storey concerning another adult. The Archdiocese is fully cooperating with authorities so they can investigate the serious allegations being made against Father Storey.”

Prairie Village is a township that borders Leawood to the north.

The archdiocese, at the time, said that they had initiated a preliminary canonical investigation and temporarily suspended Storey from the public exercise of ministry.

The Prairie Village Police Department announced this investigation in their own September 17 press release acknowledging that the police department had opened “a criminal investigation into an allegation reported to have occurred in Prairie Village. The investigation involves an adult victim and a pastor of Cure of Ars Parish in Leawood.”

A criminal report obtained by The Pillar states that the alleged offense began on March 12, 2022 and occurred until November 11, 2022. The incident was reported three years later on September 9, 2025 at 9:21 am.

The report lists one victim but information about the victim and the alleged crime has been redacted.

A detective with the Prairie Village Police Department told The Pillar on May 28 that the investigation into Father Storey remains ongoing and thus could not comment on the details of the investigation.

Asked about any connection to the indictment filed by the Leawood Police Department, the detective said, “That is their separate investigation and I have no knowledge of it.”

Prairie Village has not filed any charges against Storey yet.

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Two simultaneous investigations present a unique aspect to Storey’s case, said Robert Warren, an assistant professor of accounting at Radford University, a retired IRS investigator, and an expert in theft and fraud in ecclesiastical contexts.

Warren told The Pillar that the dual cases complicate the situation surrounding both investigations.

“Rarely do you have a priest where there’s two ongoing criminal cases against him,” Warren said. “You have an adult saying the priest committed a crime against them many years ago and we don’t know what that is. We don’t know how it’s connected to the current case. That makes it weird.”

A second unusual aspect Warren noted is the lack of available information about the financial case. When a person is indicted, typically the indictment has detailed information about the case.

The indictment, obtained by The Pillar, included a list of witnesses and a brief complaint that states, “That on or between the 1st day of January, 2021 and the 31st day of December, 2025, in Johnson County, Kansas, Richard Edward Storey, did then and there unlawfully, feloniously and willfully obtain or exert unauthorized control over property, with the intention to permanently deprive the owner, to wit: The Archdiocese of Kansas City and the Cure of Ars Catholic Church, of the possession, use or benefit of the property, of a value of $100,000.00 or more, a severity level 5 non-person felony.”

Additionally, an affidavit – typically available to the public – was not available upon request. Affidavits detail how an alleged crime was committed. Without the affidavit, there is no documentation of how Storey allegedly stole the $160,000.

“It just seems like all of these things are getting pulled,” Warren said.

He pointed to the ongoing capital campaign as a potential avenue for illegal activity.

In his work, Warren said, he has seen fraudulent activity frequently occur around large fundraising campaigns.

“A lot of times, if you want to steal money and you’re raising money for the capital campaign, but you’re not spending it yet, you’ll take the money from the capital campaign,” Warren said. “Or when you’re spending the money in the capital campaign, it’s even better because it’s hard to keep track of the spending.”

The lack of documents, though, is particularly surprising considering the relatively low amount that Storey allegedly stole from the parish, he said.

“It’s all very close-lipped for $160,000. If it was the normal $160,000, you are just getting probation. Nobody goes to jail for $160,000,” Warren said. “For $160,000, there’s a lot of intrigue here.”

Warren suggested that the secrecy could stem from other ongoing audits at Storey’s other previous parish assignments.

Storey was the pastor at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Overland Park between 2009-2015 and a parochial vicar at three rural parishes in Osage County between his ordination in 2004-2009.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas has not responded to The Pillar’s request for comment by press time.

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The society’s leadership announced this week the names of four men who are slated to receive consecration at the hands of the society’s bishops, who themselves were illicitly consecrated in 1988.

As the SSPX has continued to insist the consecrations will proceed despite repeated warning from the Holy See that such an act is constituted an excommunicable offense in canon law, the superior, Rev. Davide Pagliarani, has laid out the society’s self-justification for its actions and continued existence.

In response, the Vatican has reminded the SSPX leadership that their theological and ecclesiological arguments are themselves sufficiently opposed to Church teaching and authority as to make the consecrations acts of schism, a second canonical crime also carrying the penalty of excommunication.

Crucially, a statement from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith noted that “formal adherence to the schism constitutes a grave offence against God and entails the excommunication established under Church law.”

A Vatican legal interpretation cited by the DDF clarified that “formal adherence” and therefore excommunication would be difficult to determine broadly in members of the laity who attended SSPX churches and liturgies, even frequently, and could only be considered on a case-by-case basis.

However, as regards priests and deacons of the society, the Vatican’s legal opinion held that “it seems clear that their ministerial activity within the schismatic movement is a more than evident sign that the two requirements mentioned above (n. 5) are met and that there is therefore a formal adherence,” and therefore the latae sententiae excommunication for schism.

While the Vatican’s canonical advice might be, in some senses, clear enough, the necessary consequences in the event the consecrations go ahead remain somewhat unclear. And among diocesan bishops with SSPX clergy and churches in their territories, questions have begun to be raised about who can and should do what, in the event of the consecrations and acts of schism.

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In the now likely event that the SSPX does go ahead, the overwhelming priority of the Holy See, and the pope personally, is likely to be the fate of the laity who have associated themselves, formally or informally, with their network of churches.

A number of options might be considered by Pope Leo to help foster the “generous provision” for Catholics attached to the old rite of the Mass which he has previously called for among diocesan bishops.

If one or more of those options could be said to represent an effort to “pull” Catholics out of the SSPX orbit and keep them within the communion of the Church, though, the Vatican will likely have to consider a number of “push” options against the SSPX hierarchy and clergy, who have laid out arguments to persuade laity within their orbit that the society is a spiritually credible moral authority relative to Rome.

The most immediate and most likely step will be a formal declaration of the schism and excommunications incurred by those directly participating in the episcopal consecrations scheduled for July. This would likely follow the lines of a similar declaration issued by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988.

However, were the Vatican to stop there, it could set up a potential grey area for society clergy to exploit and confuse Catholics about the nature and status of the SSPX. They could, for example, argue that a limited declaration of schism only pertaining to the bishops means that the priests of the society (and therefore their ministry) is not schismatic nor subject to canonical sanction — and thus Catholics could continue to attend SSPX liturgies without qualm of conscience.

This confusion would be substantially compounded if Leo were to not revoke the general faculties extended by Pope Francis to SSPX priests allowing them to hear confessions and witness Catholic marriages.

Such faculties, being granted by the pope, would need to be revoked by a similar papal act and could be argued to remain in force even if SSPX clerics would, according to standing Vatican legal advice, meet the criteria for “formal adherence” to schism.

Below the level of direct papal action, though, a number of other canonical and pastoral options remain on the table for various levels of Church authority to consider.

At the level of the Holy See, it is possible for the DDF to issue a further declaration that the society is, following the July consecrations, itself in a state of schism. The Vatican could then expressly forbid Catholic clergy from ministering in its churches or through its organization, and bar laity from seeking the sacraments from those who do so.

While this would be superficially straightforward to write, it does contain something of a canonical wrinkle, in as much as the Holy See does not recognize the SSPX as a “society” legally speaking — that is to say the Church does not accept it as a legitimate organization in the Church or recognize it as existing in canon law.

The Vatican has and does speak of the society as a “real thing,” in as much as it recognizes its leadership as speaking for a self-identified group. But from a strictly canonical standpoint, it would seem like Rome would first have to recognize the existence of the society qua legal body in order to outlaw it as schismatic.

Absent the formal recognition of the SSPX, and thus the legal rationale for acting against its members as a group, any canonical treatment of the SSPX clergy would have to proceed on a more local or even case-by-case individual basis.

Put simply, the DDF does not have the manpower and resources — and is unlikely to want to acquire or devote them — to compile and process a complete list of SSPX clergy and make individual declarations regarding their formal adherence to schism and incurring of an excommunication.

However, the challenge here would seem to be logistical, not a complexity of cases. The existing Vatican legal advice is that “ministerial activity within the schismatic movement is a more than evident sign” of schism sufficient to declare an excommunication — meaning that it is the volume of cases globally that presents the challenge, even if each individual case is open and shut, from a legal perspective.

But simply leaving the existing legal opinion unenforced would itself create the potential pastoral confusion already discussed.

Instead, a more practicable option might be for the DDF to release a more explicit statement on the exact status and canonical consequences of ministry by clerics in the SSPX, and make clear the precise terms under which, for example, an excommunication for schism could and should be declared regarding its priests.

Such a statement could then be taken up by those bishops at the diocesan level when and where they perceive there to be a pressing pastoral need for action.

As importantly, the practical administrative burden for a diocesan bishop to identify SSPX clerics operating with the diocesan territory out of the society’s churches and issue the necessary declaration of the automatic excommunications for schism having been incurred would be of a much more manageable scale.

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A final potential option open to the hierarchy would be for diocesan bishops to proscribe the SSPX as a forbidden society at the level of particular law, basically recognizing it as an organization outside of the Church and incompatible with the faith.

This is slightly different, in an important way, from, for example, the DDF declaring the entire SSPX to be a schismatic society, since to go into schism one must start from a position of communion, and since the SSPX does not legally exist within the Church is cannot, as a group, be said to have left it.

A prohibited society, on the other hand, is the canonical designation of an external group, membership of which can then be punished canonically up to and including with an excommunication as deemed appropriate by the legislator.

Exactly such a designation was made by the U.S. Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1996, in a law which banned Catholics from joining a range of prohibited societies under pain of excommunication, with the SSPX listed along with the Freemasons and Planned Parenthood.

While SSPX sympathizers would no doubt strongly dispute being legally classed alongside masonic lodges and abortion providers, it is worth noting that the legitimacy of the Lincoln law was appealed to Rome at the time; it was upheld by the Vatican and the law remains in force in the diocese.

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In the event that the SSPX consecrations do proceed as planned in July, there will be, in all likelihood, a reflexive aversion among many in the Church to imposing or declaring penalties against any but the most necessary and narrow number of people.

This is culturally and historically understandable. In the years since the Second Vatican Council, the predominant current of thought within Church leadership has often appeared to consider canonical discipline as opposed to “pastoral concern,” rather than the two being necessarily linked.

However, the series of statements from the Vatican concerning the consequences of the planned SSPX consecrations suggest that, under Pope Leo, due process and clear application of the law is a priority.

The real test for local bishops, and the real message for local Catholics, will come as those consequences are or are not brought into force.

Having clearly and explicitly laid out the nature and danger of the SSPX’s schismatic manifesto, if the Church’s hierarchy declines to match its words with actions, it could leave many seeing the SSPX’s own actions as a schism without effects, and thus no schism at all.

This is, ironically, very close to what the SSPX leadership argue.

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Archbishop Iosif Staneuski of Minsk-Mohilev told Vatican News’ Belarusian service that the priest shortage made it difficult to realize plans to establish a Belarusian Catholic pastoral center in Rome, known as the Belarusicum.

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The interview with Belarus’ leading churchman, published May 28, offered a rare insight into the current state of the Church in the predominantly Orthodox Eastern European country, which has a population of around 9.5 million and borders Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.

A 2016 state survey estimated that Catholics form 6% of the population, though the proportion may be higher. Many have an ethnic Polish background and most are Latin Catholics.

Staneuski, who was in Rome to attend the May 25-28 plenary assembly of the Italian bishops’ conference, said it would be hard to send priests to oversee a proposed Belarusian pastoral hub, based in a Rome parish, because clergy were needed at home.

He said that in the eastern Mogilev region, one priest had to travel hundreds of kilometers between the three parishes he served.

He also noted that priests from Poland, who have worked in Belarus for decades, are increasingly unable to extend their stay in the country, leading to the loss of experienced clergy.

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Tensions between the governments of Poland and Belarus rose after the controversial re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020, which sparked mass protests, and the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, facilitated by Belarus.

As relations with Poland deteriorated, the Belarusian government began to view Polish priests with rising suspicion. Human rights groups reported this month that three Polish priests serving in the Vitebsk diocese and five in the Minsk-Mogilev archdiocese were refused permission to extend their residency.

Staneuski discussed the possibility of recruiting priests from further afield than Poland, including Africa and Asia. He said there was theoretically no barrier to this step, despite differences of culture and language, but the Belarusian Catholic community should aim to be self-sufficient.

“Every family, state, and Church is a family of families,” he commented, appealing to families to promote priestly vocations.

Publicly available statistics for Belarus’ four Latin Catholic dioceses end in 2022-2023 and therefore do not give the current picture described by Staneuski. The figures show an overall growth in the number of priests in the first decades of the 21st century, pointing to the continued resurgence of the local Church following the collapse of communism in 1991.

But there are marked differences between dioceses. The best-supplied diocese is Grodno, which is located in the west of the country, where the Catholic presence has traditionally been strongest. But even there the total number of priests has plateaued since 2016.

The three dioceses that cover the east of the country — Minsk-Mohilev, Vitebsk, and Pinsk — have markedly few priests. This is especially challenging for Minsk-Mohilev, which is geographically the second-largest diocese in Belarus, after Pinsk, and has the worst ratio of Catholics per priest. The further reduction in the number of priests in the archdiocese described by Staneuski is likely to have increased the pastoral burden on remaining clergy.

Welcoming priests from Africa and Asia is a possibility for the Church in Belarus. But there are significant obstacles. The clergy would likely undergo state vetting, might struggle initially with the Belarusian language, and would need to immerse themselves in the country’s distinctive culture and history to be pastorally effective.

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But it doesn’t go all the way down. Way down at the bottom of my heart, underneath many, many layers of grousing and complaining, there is an unshakeable, bedrock belief that everything is going to turn out okay.

Everything!

EVERYTHING.

Maybe not right now, maybe not even during my lifetime, maybe not until the whole world had burned, perished, and wafted away, but eventually. It will work out.

I attribute this belief to Bach.

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Happy Friday friends,

I know we’ve had an encyclical this week, and the news of the Church hasn’t stopped either. And we’ll get to all of that in a moment.

But I wanted to talk about something else, which has been the real focus of my week. In recent days, I lost a friend. Catherine, Miss Catherine to me.

We were, in the eyes of the world, probably pretty unlikely friends. I am who I am and she was, at the time of her death last week, an 84-year-old lady — in the old school, loaded sense of the word — and a lifelong resident of her particular corner of Southeast Washington D.C.

I’ve known Miss Catherine for fifteen odd years and she was always an outsized character, a one-woman weather front of personality and emotion; possessed of a warmth and love that could be almost stifling in its embrace, though it could, when her sense of propriety was offended, break into a thunderclap of righteous correction.

I was asked earlier this week how I ought to be styled in the order of service, since I was serving as a pallbearer. Did I want to be listed as “Edward” or “Eddie,” the latter being how she used to address me. “She only ever called me Eddie, so use that,” I said.

“Well, I heard her call you a lot of things,” I was reminded. And it is true, many of them were memorably colorful. “She did,” I agreed, “but she called me all of them with love.”

Miss Catherine loved me with a generosity and fullness which, if anything, was only multiplied for my daughter after her birth, whom she jealously referred to only and simply as “my girl.” While imparting parenting advice to me over the years, she retold the whole history of her neighborhood, which has changed much through the decades but over which she once exercised an almost jurisdictional sway, and among whose children she was, to her satisfaction, known as “The Warden.”

In her latter years, as age and health took their toll and stays in hospitals and rehab facilities became more frequent, she’d complain often about the execrable food, which was a kind of mortification of the flesh all its own. I made it my special mission to try to smuggle her in brisket, ribs, mac and cheese, and anything else I could get past the orderlies.

To her annoyance, I never made it through with a beer.

But by far her greatest complaint and strongest desire was always to go home. She finally made it back this last time, dying within minutes of passing her front door. It was, many of us remarked, something of a double homecoming, and clearly a mutual fruit of her indomitable spirit and the Father’s grace.

Often, she’d relate painful episodes, to be sure, but never once did I hear her voice regrets, properly speaking — and never did I hear from her a word’s empty piety or polite hypocrisy. Her life was what it was, in all its shades, and there was, in the end, nothing left in her but gratitude and an impatient desire to go home.

I miss Miss Catherine keenly, we all do. She was a third grandmother to me, and to my wife and daughter. But for all the stories and names and advice, what she imparted to me most vividly was the virtue of a life lived fully and with thanks.

She departed amid love and full of faith. What else is there to aspire to?

Here’s the news.

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The News

The U.S. Supreme Court announced this week that it will not take up a petition from the USCCB, which requested the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging fraud over the conference’s promotion of the Peter’s Pence collection.

The lawsuit stretches back to 2020, following media reports that the collection, which is widely viewed as principally for the support of the poor and needy across the globe, is actually primarily used to fund Vatican administration.

What exactly is the lawsuit alleging? And what’s the controversy with Peter’s Pence? The Pillar explains it all right here.

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Pope Leo has created a commission to administer a Vatican-owned hospital founded by Padre Pio that allegedly accrued a €250 million debt.

That’s a quarter of a BILLION euros. In debt.

The Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza is a large hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo founded by Padre Pio in 1956 and overseen by the Vatican Secretariat of State.

So how did that happen, and what does the hospital say? Read all about it here.

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The Diocese of Salford in England announced this month the opening of the canonization cause for Pedro Ballester Arenas, who died of cancer in 2018 at 21 years of age.

Ballester was born in Manchester to a Spanish family and asked for admission as an Opus Dei numerary in 2013, receiving a cancer diagnosis just months later.

During his illness, Ballester became known for his cheerfulness and apostolic zeal, helping dozens return to the faith, receive baptism, or embrace their vocations — while still remaining a regular young man who enjoyed fishing, whisky, and tennis, according to those who knew him.

What is it about Pedro Ballester that stood out? How did he gain his reputation for holiness?

The Pillar spoke with his family, friends, and priests who knew him, to find out.

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Whatever else happens this summer, Pope Leo is certain to face a test of resolve in the face of the Switzerland-based Society of St. Pius X, and the group’s commitment to consecrate new bishops despite a papal prohibition against the move.

To some, the pope’s SSPX showdown raises questions about obedience and authority in a hierarchical Church. But to others it raises questions about how Leo will deal with the messy remnant of his predecessor’s effort to curtail the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, especially amid its apparently growing popularity among younger Catholics in the West.

Addressing that situation will be more than a test of resolve for Leo. It will be a test of the pontiff’s canonical and pastoral creativity, in the face of a circumstance which has shown itself unwilling to simply go away.

In an analysis this week, JD looked at the options open to the pope, and what seems the most likely next move.

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Speculation began soon after Pope Leo’s election last year about the appointments the pontiff would soon make within the structures of the Roman curia.

But while anticipation mounted in Leo’s early months, the pope demonstrated soon that he would make changes slowly. And even while there were at his election several curial prefects beyond the customary retirement age of 75 or with soon-to-expire periods of services, the pontiff has appointed to date only three new prefects, and a new papal chief of staff.

So who is next to cycle out of Vatican senior leadership? Edgar Beltran takes a look right here.

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A formerly high-ranking Russian Orthodox bishop was released without charge this week, two days after he was arrested by Czech police on suspicion of drug possession.

Czech authorities released Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) and an unnamed driver and camera operator May 26, as investigators await the results of laboratory tests on white substances seized from his car May 24 during a vehicle inspection near the town of Unhošť in the Central Bohemian Region.

Hilarion, once seen as a potential successor to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, has denied possessing or transporting illegal drugs. The Moscow Patriarchate expressed support for the bishop, saying the arrest raised questions “regarding legality and observance of procedural norms.”

The metropolitan has since returned to Russia, with some suggesting he “fled” the country, and with others saying he’d been “recalled to Russia” — which sounds ominous.

Read the whole story here.

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A modest proposal, explained

In his newsletter Tuesday, JD offered a thought ahead of the looming episcopal consecrations announced by the SSPX.

M’colleague posited that there would seem to be no ecclesiological or canonical obstacle to the Bishop of Rome exercising his authority to erect a legal bar ad validitatem to render the consecrations without sacramental effect.

As a canonical thought experiment, which is explicitly what JD framed it as, it seemed a very reasonable one to me. I was expecting a lively discussion to follow — and it has.

Though I have been surprised by the number of people who, instead of debating the advisability of the idea, which I think is very much up for debate, instead decided to make a stab at debunking his premise, which seems pretty solid to me.

So, in the interests of public education, let me walk you through exactly why and how I think Pope Leo could, if he wanted to, move to impede the validity of the SSPX consecrations.

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