He lived through the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and survived. Don Jean Claude tells the Daily Compass how his life has changed since his encounter with Our Lady. He tells us how the apparitions and prophecies of the Mother of Kibeho in Africa are not over, but speak to the people and the Church of today: “This is why we must all listen to Our Lady and put into practice what She says”.

A press release announcing the release of the Italian edition of "From the Depths of Our Hearts" for January 30th puts an end (or almost) to days and days of fierce controversy. The signatures will be "Robert Sarah with Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI" to avoid further speculation. So the truth has been restored, but the wound of a media lynching against Cardinal Sarah and the pope emeritus remains, to which no one - for sure - will apologise. And there is also the "unsolved mystery" of a statement signed by Benedict XVI and Sarah last Friday: it should have been published by the Secretariat of State but all trace has been lost.

Full house at PIME, Milan, for the Daily Compass meeting with Sister Emmanuel Maillard. The nun’s words about our time: “Our Lady in Medjugorje said that ‘there will be trials’ and we will not be strong. The problem is that today we consider our time in this world as our only concern, forgetting that we have a soul. There are young people who don’t even know they have a soul. The world is in agony, because we are at war: but this means that the triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart is close and some are already experiencing it. However, Our Lady asks us to collaborate, by loving her Son Jesus, putting Mass and Eucharistic adoration at the centre of our lives. And, as Ratzinger had already foreseen, by forming many small prayer groups, open to God’s will.”

In the book From the Depths of Our Hearts, Cardinal Sarah deduces the consequences of the teachings of Benedict XVI, especially in the light of the Amazonian Synod which he was present at. By "weakening" priestly celibacy, Sarah says, it is primarily the faithful who would suffer the devastation, because they would be deprived of the visible sign that the priest belongs totally to God. The problem lies with some Western and South American bishops who live celibacy as a burden. And he condemns an alleged "right to the Eucharist": "A community that is formed with the idea of a" right to the Eucharist "will no longer be a disciple of Christ."

We need to prepare because the trials that await us will be very hard, Our Lady said: "Sin will reign" and souls are at risk. But greater than darkness, is the Hope Mary brings us: the place of Salvation is known, "it is the Heart of My Son." If we put Jesus in the Eucharist first, even in the storm we will be in peace and, in the end, we will triumph.

We read Benedict XVI’s part of the book From the Depths of Our Hearts, co-authored with Cardinal Sarah. It starts from the scriptures to demonstrate the need for priestly celibacy and ends with the New Covenant. Celibacy is concerned with dogma, because it is placed at the heart of the interpretation of the Scriptures. "We can say that the sexual abstinence that was functional was transformed automatically into an ontological abstinence."

After the uproar caused by the prepublication of extracts of the book in defense of ecclesiastical celibacy, signed by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah, the sensational about turn by Ratzinger's secretary, Monsignor Georg Gänswein is provoking discussion. He affirmed the pope's ignorance of the co-authored book project, though the facts deny this. And Cardinal Sarah confirms that agreements were clear and shared, and publishes letters from Benedict XVI addressed to him. What’s more the publishers also received the "approval to print" from Gänswein. Perhaps, after the received violent attacks, lies and threats, the secretary wanted to protect the pope emeritus, but he will actually obtain the opposite result: separating the pope emeritus from cardinal Sarah has only made it easier for their enemies to work to eliminate them. Meanwhile, the book will now be published by Cardinal Sarah, "with the contribution of Benedict XVI.” But the content, which is what matters, remains the same.

The co-authored book by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah explodes like a bomb on the attempt to change the doctrine of ecclesiastical celibacy, of which the Synod on the Amazon was a fundamental passage. Now Pope Francis, whose post-synodal apostolic exhortation is awaited, is in serious difficulty: proceeding with the requests of the Synod means creating a fracture in the unity of the Church. But Benedict and Sarah also teach that the unity of the Church is possible only on the Truth. And to those who object to the interventions of the Pope Emeritus, Cardinal Sarah gives a lesson: «With this book, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has not broken his silence. This is the fruit».

At long last someone has decoded what the Chinese woman shouted to the Pope in St. Peter's Square, before being slapped. It was a heartfelt appeal to rethink the Holy See's policy of reconciliation with Beijing, which is sacrificing hundreds of thousands of Chinese Catholics. A gesture that pairs with Cardinal Zen's letter to his confreres. Signs of an intolerable situation that requires our solidarity.

Going on a pilgrimage deepens our faith and that in the Holy Land is the mother of all pilgrimages: "Humbly placing your step where the Son of God put his, not only heightens awareness of the events of His life but above all the Mystery of His abiding presence on earth.” These are Cardinal Burke’s reflections at the end of a pilgrimage he led.

The year 2020 opens with a papal slap on the hand of a pilgrim. The pope apologized, but the episode reveals the truth about his temperament and confirms rumors about his abrupt manners. This makes him more “human,” but relentless media hype has given us a papacy that is more horizontal than vertical. Do we really need this secularization?

The new norms issued by the Holy See remove the Pontifical secret on cases of delicta graviora (the most serious crimes) committed by clerics, such as the abuse of minors. This change takes away any sort of “canonical alibi” for bishops, who can now be prosecuted for the canonical crime of “abuse of the episcopal office” if they do not take action when a priest is accused. However, the new norms have consequences that affect not only open procedures but also closed ones.