Latest

More than 70,000 people attended the 104th German Katholikentag in Würzburg as controversy over liturgical practices and the future direction of the Church in Germany again overshadowed the country’s flagship Catholic lay assembly. Footage circulated online during the event appeared to show a woman holding a chalice and reciting the words of consecration while a […] More than 70,000 people attended the 104th German Katholikentag in Würzburg as controversy over liturgical practices and the future direction of the Church in Germany again overshadowed the country’s flagship Catholic lay assembly. Footage circulated online during the event appeared to show a woman holding a chalice and reciting the words of consecration while a priest stood behind her. If the footage is as alleged, it would constitute a grave liturgical abuse and could not effect the consecration of the Eucharist. The Church has always taught that only a validly ordained priest acts in persona Christi during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Council of Trent and Tradition affirm that the minister of the Eucharist must be a priest: “No one can perform this sacrament except the priest duly ordained.” Canon 900 §1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states clearly: “The minister of the Eucharistic celebration is a validly ordained priest alone.” A laywoman, even one reciting the proper words with apparent intention, lacks the sacerdotal character imprinted by Holy Orders. Attempts by women or lay people to “co-consecrate” have been consistently condemned as invalid and sacrilegious, regardless of the presence of a priest. The priest’s passive stance does not supply what is lacking in the woman’s orders; rather, it implicates him in the abuse. It profanes the Most Holy Sacrament and wounds the faithful. This alleged incident is symptomatic of the ongoing crisis of liturgical experimentation and rejection of apostolic Tradition in parts of Germany. The Church’s doctrine on the male-only priesthood is de fide , rooted in the example of Christ, who chose only men as Apostles, the constant practice of the Apostles and their successors, and infallible teaching. A woman cannot validly consecrate the host under any circumstances; any “host” she handled remained mere bread and wine. The faithful present were not receiving the Body and Blood of Christ from her actions. The four-day gathering, organised by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), was held under the theme “Courage, Let Us Rise!”, and combined liturgical celebrations, political discussions, cultural events and debates about the future of the Church. Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the ZdK, said in her closing remarks that the Katholikentag had been marked by “commitment and solidarity, which instilled courage”. Marc Frings, general secretary of the ZdK, described the gathering as “a broadly based Catholic Congress” and defended the inclusion of groups and speakers from outside the Church’s traditional structures. “We gave secular partners with shared values a platform and space along the Church Mile,” he said. “We also offered participation to those with whom we might have little overlap within the Church. This doesn’t make us arbitrary, but rather open to dialogue.” Frings said the event’s motto had shaped discussions throughout the week “on our panels, in the workshops, in conversations along the Church Mile, and in the many spiritual offerings”. He also highlighted several cultural events connected to the gathering, including Susanne Wagner’s installation Schmerzpunkt , dealing with abuse and cover-ups in the Church, a performance on the Middle East conflict involving Emanuella Amichai, Mohammad Kundos and Bernhard Stengele, and a large mural by the Berlin art collective innerfields titled Our Big Picture of the Future . Bishop Heiner Wilmer, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, said the gathering had demonstrated unity within the German Church despite differing views. “Würzburg has shown that we are on a shared journey, each and every one of us contributing our own charism,” he said. “The bridges over the Main River are symbolic of our ecclesial path. We must build bridges to reach others.” “That is why it is good that this Catholic Congress made strong political statements and an unequivocal commitment to democracy,” he added. “We as a Church will continue to protect the freedom and democracy we have won on a foundation of Christian values, against all slogans that promise us otherwise.” The Bishop of Würzburg, Bishop Franz Jung, said the atmosphere throughout the event had encouraged dialogue between Church representatives and political leaders. “In the events with representatives of political life, I consistently sensed mutual respect and, above all, a genuine interest in engaging in dialogue,” he said. “Given the constant calls today to strengthen democracy, I am convinced that this Catholic Congress provided a very valuable platform for bringing people together for constructive dialogue on this topic.” Jung also welcomed the participation of Dr Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, during one of the major liturgical celebrations. “I am very grateful to Dr Josef Schuster and all those involved that we were able to send such strong signals of interreligious unity during these days,” he said. Organisers said about 34,000 visitors bought tickets for the Katholikentag , while around 40,000 others attended open events and visited the “Church Mile” exhibitions across the city. Roland Vilsmaier, the managing director of the event, said nearly 700 local hosts had provided around 2,500 overnight stays for pilgrims and visitors. The Katholikentag traces its origins to 1848, when the first gathering, then called the General Assembly of the Catholic Associations of Germany, took place in Mainz amid political unrest across Europe. It was organised by the Pius Society for Religious Freedom and later came under the direction of the ZdK. The assemblies continued during Otto von Bismarck’s Kulturkampf in the nineteenth century, though they ceased during the First World War and under the Nazi regime. In the decades after the Second Vatican Council, the Katholikentag became increasingly associated with progressive movements within German Catholicism. In 1968, members linked to the movement were among those who publicly dissented from Humanae Vitae , Pope Paul VI’s encyclical reaffirming the Church’s opposition to artificial contraception.

A man previously accused of falsely presenting himself as a Catholic priest has sought forgiveness and asked to return to full communion with the Church The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines has confirmed that a man previously accused of falsely presenting himself as a Catholic priest has sought forgiveness and asked to be received once more into full communion with the Church. In a statement issued on May 12, the archdiocese said that Ruel Ucat had met Archbishop Jose Cabantan and expressed “sincere repentance” for his past actions after days of public controversy surrounding his alleged activities in the southern Philippines. The announcement followed an earlier warning from the archdiocese, published on May 7, in which Church authorities cautioned the faithful against Ucat, identified at the time as Roel Roy Banggo Ucat, saying he had no authority to function as a Roman Catholic priest. The original statement said investigations had established that he was “neither ordained nor incardinated in this Archdiocese nor in any recognised Catholic jurisdiction” and therefore possessed no faculty to administer the sacraments or exercise ministry in the name of the Church. The archdiocese also warned Catholics about a group associated with him known as the “Servants of Mary, Mother of the Poor Congregation”, saying it was not recognised as a legitimate religious institute within the Catholic Church. “The faithful are hereby strongly warned to exercise prudence and vigilance,” the statement said. “Participation in sacraments administered by unauthorized individuals may lead to confusion and, in certain cases, may render the sacraments invalid.” Church officials urged Catholics to verify the canonical status of clergy, particularly in unfamiliar chapels and communities, and encouraged parishioners to report suspicious religious activity directly to diocesan authorities. But less than a week later, the tone of the archdiocese’s public response shifted markedly after Ucat reportedly approached Archbishop Cabantan personally to ask forgiveness and discuss returning to the Church. In its second statement, the archdiocese said: “Mr Ruel Ucat has earnestly sought forgiveness for his past actions and expressed sincere repentance. He recently met with Archbishop Jose Cabantan to discuss his intentions.” It added that Ucat had “formally resigned from his previous denomination” and now desired “to return to the full communion of the Roman Catholic Church as a layperson”. “In doing so, he seeks to renew his faith and reaffirm his commitment to the Church and its teachings,” the statement said. No further details were given concerning the denomination to which Ucat had belonged or the extent of his previous activities while allegedly presenting himself as a priest.

Germany’s planned Synodal Conference is unlikely to meet this November as the Vatican delays approval over its statutes Germany’s planned Synodal Conference is unlikely to meet for the first time this November as originally scheduled, after continued Vatican scrutiny delayed approval of the body’s statutes. Bishop Heiner Wilmer, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, said during the Katholikentag in Würzburg that he no longer expected the inaugural gathering in Stuttgart to proceed on November 6 and 7 because discussions in Rome were still ongoing. “I personally do not expect that we will meet as early as November,” Bishop Wilmer told the broadcaster Phoenix, citing the continuing movement of the proposal “from one discussion to the next”. The Synodal Conference is intended to become a permanent national structure bringing together bishops and lay representatives to deliberate on matters affecting the Church in Germany. The proposal emerged from the Synodal Path, the reform process launched in 2019 following Germany’s abuse crisis. The Vatican has spent months examining the statutes governing the planned body, particularly the issue of joint decision-making between bishops and lay delegates. Rome repeatedly warned during the Synodal Path that no national structure could be established which diminished the authority of diocesan bishops or placed itself above the bishops’ conference. The statutes nevertheless state that the Synodal Conference would deliberate and adopt decisions on “important questions of ecclesial life of supra-diocesan significance”. Despite the delay, Bishop Wilmer insisted he remained confident that the project would eventually move forward, although he acknowledged that “some patience” would be needed while Vatican dicasteries continued their review. The postponement marks another setback for the Synodal Path, which debated proposals including blessings for same-sex couples, changes to Church teaching on sexuality, a greater role for lay governance and the possibility of women’s ordination. Although Vatican officials repeatedly criticised aspects of the process under Pope Francis, the Holy See never formally demanded that it be abandoned. Pope Leo XIV has likewise not intervened publicly against the project since his election. Bishop Wilmer’s remarks echoed those made earlier this year by Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, his predecessor as president of the German Bishops’ Conference, who acknowledged that the Synodal Conference would not proceed without Roman approval. At the beginning of the year, Bishop Bätzing said it would be “a provocation” to move ahead without the consent of the Holy See. The proposed body has continued to face criticism from canon lawyers and several German bishops who argue that it risks creating a parallel structure of authority within the Church. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg all withdrew from the Synodal Path following repeated Vatican interventions. The former Bishop of Eichstätt, Gregor Maria Hanke, also distanced himself from the initiative. The Synodal Committee preparing the future conference subsequently ceased operating directly under the German Bishops’ Conference and instead continued under the sponsorship of an association established by the remaining dioceses. Bishop Oster said in March that he would act “with the universal Church” and was waiting to see how the Vatican responded to the latest proposals. The bishop also noted that German representatives had attempted to reassure Roman officials that the conference would not possess authority over bishops in the strict canonical sense, particularly regarding the distinction between passing resolutions and making binding decisions. “I am waiting with some interest to see how Rome reacts,” the bishop added. “But fundamentally, my position is: if we do it in agreement with the universal Church, then I will participate.” The Bishop of Passau also acknowledged attempts by German representatives to reassure Vatican officials over the wording of the statutes. “The German side tried to make it clear in talks with the Vatican that ‘making resolutions’ is something different from ‘deciding’,” he said. The first meeting of the Synodal Conference had originally been scheduled for Stuttgart this November, with a second assembly planned for Würzburg in April 2027. Photo credit: By Martin Kraft – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138224261

The Vatican has confirmed the release date, title and theme of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical The release date for Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical has been confirmed as May 25. The title of the document has been confirmed as Magnifica Humanitas, and it will focus on preserving the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, according to Vatican News. Although the text will not be released until May 25, it will be signed on May 15, matching the date of the signing and publication of Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII’s best-known encyclical, issued on May 15, 1891. The same date was also chosen in 1931 by Pope Pius XI for Quadragesimo Anno, which developed the Church’s teaching on social order and introduced the principle of subsidiarity. Thirty years later, on May 15, 1961, Pope John XXIII promulgated Mater et Magistra, focusing on economic justice and social development. May 25 also coincides with Pope St John Paul II’s Ut Unum Sint, on ecumenism, which was released on May 25, 1995, and Pope Leo XIII’s Annum Sacrum, released on May 25, 1899, which consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Magnifica Humanitas will be presented at 11.30am in the Vatican’s Synod Hall. Alongside the Pope, a number of significant prelates, theologians and specialists are scheduled to speak. They include Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Prof Anna Rowlands, a theologian and professor at Durham University; Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic and head of research on the interpretability of artificial intelligence; and Prof Leocadie Lushombo IT, professor of political theology and Catholic social thought at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in California. Closing remarks will be given by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, followed by an address and blessing by the Pope. Addressing artificial intelligence, the encyclical will build on recent Vatican interest in the subject. In January 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education issued Antiqua et Nova, a joint note on “the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence”. The document said AI could bring “important innovations” but warned that it also carried the danger of deepening inequality, manipulating public opinion and expanding “the instruments of war well beyond the scope of human oversight”. It added that artificial intelligence “should not be seen as an artificial form of human intelligence, but as a product of it”, and insisted that it “should be used only as a tool to complement human intelligence rather than replace its richness”.

Barbara Butch, the DJ and activist who used the Olympics opening ceremony in 2024 to mock Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, is set to direct a series of immersive art installations inside churches across the French capital during this year’s Nuit Blanche festival Barbara Butch, the French DJ and activist who drew international controversy during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is to direct a series of artistic installations inside churches across Paris during this year’s Nuit Blanche festival. The all-night arts festival, due to take place on June 6 and 7, will feature immersive projects in several historic churches under Butch’s artistic direction, according to the French Christian outlet Tribune Chrétienne . One installation, titled Sous la peau du ciel (“Beneath the Skin of the Sky”), will be staged inside Saint-Laurent Church in the French capital’s 10th arrondissement. Organisers say visitors will be invited to leave recorded “wishes” over the telephone, which will then be combined with atmospheric sounds and digitally altered to create what has been described as “living and evolving sound material”. Festival material describes the work as “an invisible membrane stretched between human hearts and the atmosphere”, adding that visitors will encounter “a living, moving sonic material, made of dispersed intimacies and celestial energies”. The installation has resulted in criticism from some Catholics in France because of Butch’s involvement in the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. During the event on July 26, 2024, Butch appeared in a performance featuring drag artists and a banquet-style tableau which many viewers said resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper . The segment immediately drew accusations of blasphemy and disrespect towards Christianity. The French Bishops’ Conference said afterwards that the ceremony had included “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity”. The controversy quickly spread beyond France, with Christian leaders and politicians across Europe, Latin America and the United States condemning the performance. The World Council of Churches said many Christians around the world had been “angered” by the spectacle. Outside Christianity, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador for the insulting representation of Jesus, a prophet in Islam. Paris 2024 organisers initially said the segment had been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s famous depiction of Christ and the Apostles. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the ceremony, later disputed that interpretation and said the scene had instead been inspired by pagan imagery linked to the Greek god Dionysus. Art historians subsequently pointed to similarities with The Feast of the Gods , a 17th-century painting by the Dutch artist Jan van Bijlert. Butch defended the performance in media interviews after the backlash. Speaking to French media, she rejected accusations that the ceremony had mocked Christianity and said critics had misunderstood the artistic intention behind the sequence. Following the controversy, Butch said she had received online abuse and threats. Her lawyer later confirmed that legal complaints had been filed. Born in Paris in 1981, Butch has built a career as a DJ and LGBT activist in France. She has publicly described herself as “a fat, Jewish, queer lesbian” and has campaigned on issues linked to body positivity and lesbian visibility. She first became known on the Paris club scene after performing at venues including Rosa Bonheur and La Machine du Moulin Rouge. In recent years she has also appeared on French television and was named “LGBTI personality of the year” in 2021 by the Association of LGBTI Journalists. Nuit Blanche, first launched by the City of Paris in 2002, regularly transforms public buildings, museums and churches into exhibition spaces for modern art installations and experimental performances. Churches across the French capital have frequently hosted concerts, sound exhibitions and light displays during previous editions of the festival.

Sources close to the Society of St Pius X have dismissed speculation that Fr Daniel Themann will be among those consecrated bishop this summer Sources close to the Society of St Pius X have dismissed speculation that Fr Daniel Themann will be among the priests consecrated bishop during the Society’s expected episcopal consecrations on July 1, AdVaticanum can reveal. The Australian district superior had been widely discussed in SSPX circles in recent months as a possible candidate for episcopal consecration, particularly following the circulation of a false communiqué on April 1 claiming that decisions had already been made regarding new bishops. But multiple sources have told AdVaticanum that Fr Themann has personally indicated he would instead be reassigned to the United States and was not under consideration for consecration. One source told AdVaticanum that Fr Themann had personally moved to dampen speculation shortly after the circulation of the false April 1 communiqué, reiterating that preparations were already under way for his reassignment to the United States. The source said Fr Themann had spoken openly about the move to those working closely with him and had “spoken to the Sisters under him explicitly about it”. The source added: “It was at the start of April he spoke to Father Themann, after the fake April 1 communiqué. Father reasserted that he was going to be reassigned to the United States and that preparations are already made for a real reassignment to the US.” Another SSPX source said Fr Themann again rejected the rumours several weeks later following Mass, insisting that his future role in America had effectively already been settled and would be ongoing rather than temporary. According to the source, Fr Themann was “adamant” that he would not be among those selected for consecration. The source said: “After May 3, after celebrating a Low Mass, Father was adamant that the position in the US is now confirmed as an ongoing position and he’s not going to be selected for consecration.” A further source within the SSPX general house in Switzerland told this publication that no announcement concerning Fr Themann was expected and that clergy had become increasingly reluctant to discuss the matter because of the level of speculation surrounding the consecrations. The source said: “Fr Daniel Themann is sick of being asked one way or another, so there will be nothing.” The source added: “No one wants to make any comment even off the record, not even an anti-comment, because everything has an implication for who it may or may not be.” The SSPX has not publicly confirmed any of the names of those to be consecrated this summer. The speculation is unsurprising given that Fr Themann has emerged in recent years as one of the Society’s more prominent English-speaking superiors. An American priest, he entered the SSPX after studying industrial management and completing work in business and manufacturing before beginning priestly formation at St Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, Minnesota. He was ordained priest in 2009 by Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais as part of one of the seminary’s largest ordination classes. After serving in the United States and teaching at the Winona seminary, Fr Themann was appointed rector of Holy Cross Seminary in Goulburn, Australia, in 2015 by the then superior general, Bishop Bernard Fellay. During his five years as rector, Fr Themann oversaw the formation of seminarians from across the Asia-Pacific region before succeeding Fr John Fullerton as district superior of Australia and New Zealand in 2020. In that role, Fr Themann has supervised the Society’s chapels, schools and apostolates across both countries while also serving as chairman of the board of St Thomas Aquinas College in Tynong, Victoria. The Society’s last episcopal consecrations took place in 1988, when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops at Écône, Switzerland, without papal approval, leading Rome to declare that the bishops had incurred automatic excommunication. The excommunications were later remitted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Photo credit: St Thomas Aquinas Seminary