From the 5th to 8th March Pope Francis will be in Iraq, barring last-minute impediments. His trip brings him to a country still hostage to internal and international conflicts, and with a decimated and persecuted Christian community. The Pope has no magic wand but everyone is expecting him to pronounce words of truth and justice that hold the strength of the Word of God; a cry that calls the oppressors to conversion.

The Vatican has issued a decree on health emergencies that discriminates against workers who do not get vaccinated, with consequences up to and including dismissal. This decision is unjustifiable from a moral and legal point of view, because there is no state of necessity and there is no certainty about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines. A subsequent Vatican note to dampen the controversy does not change the substance of the measure.

The new measures for religious appointments that will come into force on May 1st in China, dictate how Catholic bishops are to be nominated, but totally ignores the recently renewed agreement with the Holy See. It is added confirmation that Vatican policy has failed. It’s a very serious blot on this pontificate and calls into question the concept of what is fidelity to the Church.

What was the source of St Joseph’s inner turmoil in the face of Mary’s divine motherhood? Two different interpretations of the scant Gospel story have emerged over time. They are known as the ‘respect’ theory and the ‘suspicion’ theory. Both postulate Joseph’s renowned justness, but differ as to when Mary’s spouse learned of the mystery of the Incarnation and what motivated him to dismiss her in secret. Let us look at them together.

The Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people between 1918 and 1920, also affected Padre Pio and his family. His sister Felicita and nephew Pellegrino died from the virus. The saint from Pietrelcina lived through this further suffering by submitting everything to God's will. He made a vow, committing himself to pray only for others, and thanks to his intercession many were healed. The Daily Compass interviews Stefano Campanella, author of the book “La pandemia di Padre Pio”.

With today's celebration we begin a journey which should make us aware that, every day, the truth of Christ is represented to us; that is, we are called to rediscover the beneficial strength of His presence on a daily basis and to understand that the path the Church invites us to walk is a secure path.

The best term to describe the current state of the Church is confusion, that is regarding the very identity of the Church. Each of us, as living members of the Mystical Body of Christ, is called to fight the good fight against evil and the Evil One, and to stay the course of the good, the course of God, with Christ.  There is confusion about the very nature of the Church and its relationship to the world.

A tragic and sudden death at only three and a half years old, breaks the hearts of an entire family already excruciatingly traversed by pain. Yet the story of Sara Mariucci, a little girl from Gubbio, and of Mummy Morena, Our Lady of Copacabana venerated in Bolivia, over time reveals itself to be an immense story of God's love. So much so that streams of faithful flock to Sara's tomb today to pray to her like a saint.

A recent letter issued from the Congregation for Consecrated Life overturns the aim that guides virginal and religious consecration: the search for God. Instead, the document proposes the ideology of a horizontal brotherhood, where Jesus Christ is seen as an “optional” or, at best, a useful means in the wake of the encyclical "Fratelli Tutti" (Brothers All ), which is often cited and proposed as a model.

The Polish Parliament has decreed that 2021 will be celebrated throughout the nation as the Year of Cardinal Wyszyński, future Blessed. "The Primate led us through the tragic years of Communism," revealing himself to be "the man of Providence." Imprisoned by the ‘Red’ regime, he "endured everything heroically." "He worked side by side with Wojtyła, and upon the latter’s election to the See of Peter, he said, 'It was Our Lady who did it!'". The Daily Compass interviews Poland's ambassador to the Holy See, Janusz Kotański.

From the earliest centuries of Christianity, saints and ecclesiastical writers have seen in the virginal marriage of Joseph and Mary a figure of the spousal union between Christ and the Church, the loftiest historical sign of the great mystery of which Saint Paul speaks. Hence the opportunity for a new celebration of the "Feast of the Marriage," which would be a valuable aid for pastoral work on marriage.

The power of the media has contributed to the present considerable confusion in the Church about the meaning of the Papacy. On the one hand, the renunciation of Benedict XVI has engendered the idea of the coexistence of ‘two Popes’, which is absolutely inconceivable. On the other hand, Pope Francis, between the relativisation of his role and ‘paradigm shifts’, risks preaching ‘a human brotherhood without Jesus Christ’ and engaging in a dialogue with Islam under the banner of religious relativism. It is necessary to rediscover the Christ-centred character of the Papacy. Cardinal Gerhard L. Müller publishes an article on the true meaning of the Papacy.

- THE FULL TEXT OF MÜLLER’S SPEECH (IN GERMAN)