And Pope Leo wears a bejeweled ornate papal stole over the red mozzetta…
Pope Benedict XVI:
Pope Leo XIV:
Monday, December 8, 2025
DR. ANDREA GRILLO UNDER SCRUTINY BY HIS OWN PEERS AND IT ISN’ PRETTY OR GOOD LOOKING, DEPENDING ON YOUR ORIENTATION…
Press the title to the Silre non possum commentary below for the English version of the commentary which also has a very brief video, with English captions, of a very unhinged liturgist, what some call a terrorist, railing against now sainted, Saint Carlo Acutis, a teenager! I can’t figure out how to post the video, but it is very telling and one can see why Pope Francis would have liked his South American antics, almost like a dictator, although Grillo is Italian, with an Italian accent that sounds like it is from Livorno where my mother was born. I think he is from Boloney, I mean, Bologna, which is near Livorno!
Women deacons and attacks on Carlo Acutis. The petition: “Assess the doctrinal suitability of Andrea Grillo”
Rome – On the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December 2025, a petition was launched addressed to the Dicastery for Culture and Education and to the academic authorities of the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo. It is being promoted by lay faithful, clerics, religious and students who describe themselves as “deeply attached to the ecclesial and academic mission” of the Athenaeum and who are asking for action regarding the position of Prof. Andrea Grillo, a member of the faculty at the same institution. At the heart of the initiative is a concern explicitly described as “ecclesial”: to ensure “a formation that truly conforms to the doctrine of the Church”, in accordance with what is laid down by the Statutes of the Athenaeum and by canon law.
The framework: Statutes “at the service of the Magisterium”
In the introduction to the petition, the promoters recall the General Statutes of the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo, noting that the institution was erected by the Apostolic Authority and is placed “at the service of the universal Church and of the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff”. Among its principal aims, the Athenaeum undertakes to provide students with an integral formation that is “genuinely scientific and in conformity with the doctrine of the Church”. Hence the emphasis on several key passages of the Statutes:
all faculty members must stand out for honesty of life, integrity of doctrine and dedication to duty; if any of these requirements should fail, “they must be removed from their office”, with reference to canons 810 §1 and 818 CIC;
professors of disciplines relating to faith and morals, after making the profession of faith and the oath of fidelity, receive the canonical mission from the Grand Chancellor and carry out their task “in full communion with the authentic Magisterium of the Church and in particular of the Roman Pontiff”;
it falls to the Grand Chancellor to “safeguard the doctrine and discipline of the Church” and, where necessary, to “relieve from the task of teaching for a grave reason” members of the faculty and the rector, in compliance with the procedures laid down.
According to the signatories, these principles – in the light of Donum Veritatis and Veritatis gaudium – outline a clear framework: academic freedom is real, but it is “internal to the faith of the Church” and cannot be separated from communion with the Magisterium.
The objections: ordination of women, Eucharist and attacks on the DDF
The central section of the petition lists a series of behaviours and public positions taken by Prof. Andrea Grillo, in particular:
a systematic attack on magisterial acts such as Summorum Pontificum, in “violent” tones, and support for the ordination of women to the diaconate “and beyond”, presented – the promoters stress – not as a hypothesis for study, but as a goal to be pursued “against the current discipline of the Church”;
repeated criticism of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) and of its documents (Gestis verbisque, Fiducia supplicans, Dignitas infinita), often expressed – in the signatories’ view – in “polemical and denigratory” tones towards those responsible for the offices;
polemical writings and interventions on the figure of Saint Carlo Acutis and on Eucharistic spirituality, in which – the text states – sarcastic and scornful expressions are used not only with regard to the young saint, but also towards the Eucharistic devotion of the People of God, at times portrayed as “obsessive” or “ill-mannered”, with the risk of devaluing the doctrine of the Real Presence and of Eucharistic miracles;
aggressive and denigratory language towards those who defend the current discipline on the impossibility of conferring Holy Orders on women, to the point of generalisations that would go so far as to brand as “psychiatric” groups of faithful who simply adhere to the current Magisterium;
a manner of public intervention which, according to the petition, does not foster theological dialogue, but tends to “ridicule one’s interlocutor”, striking also “a saint of the Church and millions of faithful devoted to the Eucharist and to the Vetus Ordo”.
The promoters make it clear that they acknowledge that the theologian “can and must raise questions, explore and argue, even in areas that are the subject of theological discussion”. However, in this specific case, they consider that the content of certain theses, the way in which they are put forward (as a systematic opposition to current doctrine), and the tone judged “contemptuous” towards the sensus fidei of the People of God would appear incompatible with the “integrity of doctrine” required of professors and with the obligation to exercise theological freedom “within the faith of the Church and in full communion with the Magisterium”.
The reference to Donum Veritatis: right of the faithful and limits of dissent
To support its requests, the petition cites two passages of Saint John Paul II in the instruction Donum Veritatis on the ecclesial vocation of the theologian: “The faithful have the right to receive the word of God in its integrity and purity. The task of theology is to serve this right, helping the People of God to understand the faith ever more deeply” (no. 7); “Public dissent from the teaching of the Magisterium cannot be considered a legitimate expression of theological freedom” (no. 32).
In the light of these criteria, the signatories maintain that when the teaching of a theologian in a pontifical institution takes the form of a public, systematic and polemical challenge to the Magisterium and of a contempt for the sensus fidei of the faithful, this creates “a fracture with the very mission of the ecclesiastical institute that hosts him”.
The statutory norms invoked
The petition expressly recalls several articles of the General Statutes of the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo:
Art. 3 §1 – Purpose of the Athenaeum: to ensure a formation that is “genuinely scientific and in conformity with the doctrine of the Church”;
Art. 5 §§1-3 – Duties of the Grand Chancellor: to safeguard doctrine and discipline, to receive the profession of faith and the oath of fidelity of the rector and full-time professors, and to “appoint full-time professors and relieve them of the task of teaching for a grave reason”;
Art. 18 §§1-3 – Requirements for remaining in office: all professors must stand out for honesty of life, integrity of doctrine and dedication to duty; when one of these requirements is lacking, “they must be removed” (canons 810 §1 and 818 CIC), by means of a procedure that safeguards the right of defence;
Art. 20 §§1-3 – Rights and duties of professors: freedom of research and teaching within the faith of the Church; for professors of disciplines relating to faith or morals, the obligation to carry out their task “in full communion with the authentic Magisterium of the Church”.
According to the signatories, the body of positions taken by Prof. Grillo – on the ordination of women, Eucharistic doctrine, Saint Carlo Acutis, the work of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the tones used in public debate – would raise “serious doubts” about the continued presence of the integrity of doctrine and the full communion with the Magisterium required for teaching in an ecclesiastical faculty.
What the promoters are asking for
The petition sets out three specific requests to the competent authorities:
A formal review of the doctrinal suitability of Prof. Andrea Grillo, in the light of his writings and public interventions on: the ordination of women and ordained ministries; Eucharistic doctrine and popular devotion; his relationship with the Magisterium and with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
That this review take place using the instruments provided for by the Statutes and by canon law, including – if necessary – the appointment of an ad hoc Commission to examine systematically the professor’s writings and statements, guaranteeing his right to present clarifications and defences.
Should it emerge, at the end of the inquiry, that contents and behaviours are not compatible with Art. 18 §1(integrity of doctrine) and Art. 20 §3 (full communion with the Magisterium), that there be – “according to law” – a removal from the teaching post at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo, in application of canons 810 §1 and 818 CIC.
The promoters further ask that “adequate information be given to the academic community and to the faithful” on the outcome of the procedure, with respect for persons but also for “the right of the faithful to sound doctrine” and for the assurance that “ecclesial institutions do not fund the systematic calling into question of the Magisterium”.
“Not masters of the faith, but servants of the Word”: the appeal to sign
The petition concludes with a reference to Pope Francis: “We are not masters of the faith, but servants of the Word”. From this awareness, according to the signatories, arises the duty to ask that academic and theological responsibilities be exercised “in full coherence with the ecclesial nature of the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo and with the rights of the faithful”.
The text states that when a professor “by virtue of his chair, weakens the faithful’s trust in the doctrine of the Churchand despises the sensus fidei of the People of God”, it falls to the competent authorities to intervene “in order to safeguard communion and truth together”.
The promoters invite faithful, clerics, religious and students who share these concerns to sign the petition and to circulate it in their own ecclesial and academic settings, as a concrete gesture of co-responsibility in the life of the Church and in safeguarding the theological formation offered by a pontifical institution. Those who wish to join may do so here, uniting themselves to the request that at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo theological teachingshould always and clearly be “at the service of the Church and in full communion with her Magisterium”.
fr.B.V. and M.P.
Silere non possum
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