Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“I spoke at length about what former members had told me about the way that Opus Dei operates: about how the group abuses the legitimacy conferred upon it by the Catholic Church to lure unsuspecting victims into its clutches,” Gore said following the audience. “I detailed allegations about how the group actively targets young children, how it grooms and manipulates them into a lifelong commitment to serving its interests from the tender age of ten or eleven—without their parents ever being consulted.”

“I ended the meeting by imploring Pope Leo to take action against this abusive group,” Gore added. “I urged him to immediately launch an independent inquiry into Opus Dei abuses headed up by both clerical and lay experts—covering allegations of spiritual, psychological, emotional, physical and financial abuse. “

Founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá in 1928, Opus Dei was established as a personal prelature by Pope St. John Paul II in 1982. The prelature has published a response to Gore’s book.

“Prevention is never just a set of protocols or procedures,” Pope Leo said in his March 16 address. “It is about helping to form, throughout the Church, a culture of care, in which the protection of minors and persons in vulnerable situations is not seen as an obligation imposed from outside, but as a natural expression of faith.”

“It calls therefore for a process of conversion where the sufferings of others are heard and move us to take action,” he continued. “In this regard, the experiences of victims and survivors are essential reference points.”

Pope Leo also said that “it is my expectation that you continue to achieve even greater cooperation” with the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, “so that they may enrich your work with their knowledge.”

Addressing the editorial staff of the Italian public-television news program TG2 on its fiftieth anniversary, Pope Leo said on March 16 that “we all know how difficult it is to allow ourselves to be surprised by facts, by encounters, by the gazes and voices of others; how strong the temptation is to seek out, see and listen only to what confirms our own opinions. But there can be no good communication, nor true freedom and healthy pluralism, without this openness.”

“Always, but especially in the dramatic circumstances of war, such as those we are currently experiencing, the media must guard against the risk of becoming propaganda,” the Pope continued. “And the task of journalists, in verifying the news so as not to become a mouthpiece for those in power, becomes even more urgent and delicate.”

Pope Leo added, “It is up to you to show the sufferings that war always brings to the people; to show the face of war and to relate it through the eyes of the victims, so as not to transform it into a videogame.”

“This is a big challenge that we have to face, because 40% of our high-quality teachers and support staff come from the West Bank on a daily basis,” said Akroush.

Akroush also spoke about restrictions on sending humanitarian aid to the Christian hospital in Gaza, as well as the end of pilgrimages from abroad, on which many Christians depend for their livelihood.

Cardinal Parolin preached that St. Francis offers “effective therapy” to a world marked by an “unbridled desire to possess, by luxury, waste, superfluity, and consumerism.” This therapy, he said, consists in “sobriety, the joy of small things, the sense of being brothers to everyone and everything.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone on March 16.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated evening Mass on Laetare Sunday in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ponte Mammolo (video) as he concluded a series of five weekly pastoral visits to Roman parishes.