Not far away from where I am at the moment, Christians gathered in a church in Jordan to bury one of their own. Instead, a funeral became the scene of another terrible loss of life. Reports from Karak say that nine people were killed and around 40 injured when gunmen attacked mourners at St George's Greek Orthodox Church on 23 October. There is something particularly disturbing about violence directed at a funeral. The mourners had gathered in prayer to commend the dead to God's mercy, console the bereaved and affirm the Christian hope of the Resurrection, a place of sanctuary became a place of terror. Jordan is also a significant location. Its Christian communities have ancient roots and the country has long presented itself as a place where Muslims and Christians can live together in relative peace. An attack upon a church therefore raises questions not only about the security of a religious minority, but about the protection of a shared civic life. Authorities have described the attack as terrorism, although the perpetrators' affiliations and motives had not been established in the initial reporting. Condemning this atrocity does not require inventing explanations for it. Religious freedom means more than permission to believe privately, it means being able to worship, gather, mourn and bury our dead without fear of violence. We must pray for the victims and their families, but we should also recognise the wider responsibility to defend that freedom for every religious community. A society's commitment to coexistence is tested not by its ceremonial declarations of tolerance, but by whether people can enter their places of worship in safety. reuters.com/world/middle-eas…

I am one of seventeen catechumens and confirmants who will be recieved into the Catholic Church in our cathedral in Reykjavík on November 1st, All Saints Mass. People of all ages, young and older, former protestants and atheists. Our church is vibrant and reverent.

They were denied entry. They processed anyway. Faithful Catholics whose only “fault” is that they remain grateful to Pope Benedict for Summorum Pontificum, were denied entry into St. Peter’s Basilica, where they hoped to conclude their procession through the Pilgrim’s Door and recite the Credo over the bones of the first pope. They came anyway, and went as far as they could. God bless them and their loyal hearts.

Dangerous people that would invade Saint Peter’s Basilica…with prayer.

Some theories are circulating online about the Latin Mass pilgrimage, spread by people unconnected with it. Some clarity below — Organisers asked for permission for the Vatican Mass, via a letter delivered directly to Pope Leo by Bishop Schneider in December. The pilgrimage is in its 15th year, and is always held on the same date. Organisers received no answer about the Mass until August, when the Secretariat of State replied to say they could not have Mass in the Vatican. Pilgrimage organisers then announced publicly that no Mass would take place in the Vatican. Instead, pilgrims would process into the Vatican at 1pm on the Saturday, and then go to St Mary Major for a 3pm Mass. Permission for the procession into the Vatican was granted in April 2026. Weeks after this, in September, St Peter’s announced an event taking place at 3:30pm at the Altar of the Chair (used by the pilgrimage last year for Mass). Then this week – just yesterday I am told – organisers received another letter from the Secretariat of State informing them they could not even process into the Vatican as planned, and as permitted since April. Basilica events are not the prerogative of the Secretariat but of the Archpriest & the Fabric of St Peter’s: hence why the Secretariat of State’s involvement is so strange. On Saturday, pilgrims walked through the streets up to the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square – accompanied by Italian state police – where they were stopped by the Vatican as this was the limit of the Italian police’s jurisdiction. Then they were informed that their usage of St Mary Major’s had changed: they could only be inside for an hour. Thus meaning that the planned and authorised pontifical solemn Mass would have to be a low Mass. Also St Mary Major’s informed pilgrimage that no official photos could be taken

Good grief. Again, I attend the TLM in Rome with the ICKSP and with the FSSP when I'm in the States. I have attended this TLM pilgrimage many times over the years. I am NOT a journalist or blogger who gets paid to rage. I am, however, someone who has been organizing pilgrimages like this for decades and knows exactly how the Vatican and the churches work. The news over the last few days is that the TLM pilgrimage Mass was not allowed in Saint Peter's Basilica, that the Vatican threw together an event to block them, that the group was denied entry into the basilica to pray, and that they were only allowed one hour at Saint Mary Major at the last minute, with no photos. Let me break this down... Celebrations for the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis were being planned as early as 2021. Meetings took place with Pope Francis in 2022 to discuss the events. In January 2025, the Italian government met with Vatican officials to plan the events. In January 2026, Vatican News referenced planned events to take place throughout the year. So despite what some are saying, the Franciscan event that is happening today was not thrown together to block this Mass at the last minute. In fact, this event coincides with a huge event that starts tomorrow in Assisi, where 5,000 people have registered and which Pope Leo was originally scheduled to attend. When the organizers requested the Mass for this day, they were told the altar was already reserved and offered another day or another location. They chose another location, Saint Mary Major. No scandal. As for the procession, the group was not banned from entering. They were not allowed to process in. They could not carry their flags and banners and would have to enter through security like everyone else. If you check the photos, you'll see that the line at that time was over an hour long. So if they arrived at their scheduled time of 1 p.m., it would have been difficult to get through security and across town in time for their 3 p.m. Mass. 👏🏻 Props to the PR people who positioned the group for a photo in front of the walls set up for construction of the Nativity scene instead of moving them over a few feet for an unobstructed view of the basilica! 👏🏻 Last year, we were able to process in because there was a dedicated entrance for the Jubilee with very little wait. Anyone could process in (unfortunately), which is why we ended up with some inappropriate processions. But that was an exception during the Jubilee. Normally, groups cannot just process beyond the piazza, as was the case today. As for the Mass at Saint Mary Major, they allow one hour for Mass. I have been here with cardinals leading pilgrimages of hundreds of people. Do you know how much time they were allowed for Mass? One hour. Saint Mary Major says on their Mass reservation form and in their confirmation emails that private groups are allowed one hour. Could they have made an exception? Sure, but they don't usually for cardinals bringing busloads of people, so why would they here? And for the photos during Mass, permission to use a professional photographer has to be requested well in advance. Did the organizers know this and make the proper request? I don't know. Professional photos on Vatican property, including Saint Peter's Basilica, Saint Peter's Square, Saint Mary Major, Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and the Scala Santa, require special permission. I've been making these requests for years. It's simple, but getting a reply takes time. It is the Vatican, after all. So perhaps they did not have permission or even ask for permission. There is plenty to question in the Church, but if you're not looking for clicks, this looks more like poor planning and poor communication, possibly on both sides, than some grand conspiracy.