My most humble brilliant comments embedded in text in red.
Also, prior to this message to the DDF, His Holiness, Pope Leo has a private audience with the former Prefect of this once called CDF, Cardinal Mueller!
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIVTO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PLENARY SESSION OF THE DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
Clementine Hall
Thursday, January 29, 2026
[Multimedia]
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you.
Good morning and welcome!
Your Eminences,
dear brothers in the episcopate,
dear brothers and sisters,
I joyfully welcome you on the occasion of your Plenary Session. I cordially greet and thank the Prefect of the Dicastery, together with the Superiors and Officials. I am well aware of the valuable service you provide, with the aim – as stated in the Constitution Praedicate Evangelium – of “assisting the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops in the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic doctrine on faith and morals, drawing from the deposit of faith and also seeking an ever deeper understanding of it in the face of new questions” (n. 69). (Pope Leo in two days has referred to safeguarding the “Deposit of Faith!” Keep in mind that heterodox Catholics don’t like the term “Deposit of Faith” because it implies that the Faith is rigid and can’t be manipulated or changed—but the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith has to push back against those in the synodal Church who want to instrumentalize and change what synodal means in order to take a hammer to the “Deposit of Faith!” Kudos to Pope Leo!)
Your task is to offer clarifications regarding the doctrine of the Church, through pastoral and theological guidelines on often very delicate issues. To this end, in the last two years the Dicastery has published several documents; I recall the main ones: the Note Gestis verbisque, on the validity of the Sacraments (February 2, 2024), which offered clear instructions for resolving doubtful cases relating to their administration; (Yes! Making clear that priests and deacons can’t change the words of baptism and the Consecration of the Bread and wine and also other elements in the Sacraments, renders those sacraments not just illict but also invalid. Cardinal Cupich should take note as it regards that infamous priest and parish in Chicago whose Masses are requently invalid!)the Declaration Dignitas infinita, concerning human dignity (April 2, 2024), which reaffirmed the infinite dignity of every human being, today seriously endangered, in particular by the ongoing wars and by an economy that prioritizes profit; the Norms for proceeding in the discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena (May 17, 2024), which made it possible to resolve cases relating to such events, including that concerning the spiritual experience of Medjugorje, to which the Note The Queen of Peace was specifically dedicated (September 19, 2024); The document "Nota Antiqua et nova," prepared in collaboration with the Dicastery for Culture and Education (January 28, 2025), offers a broad and precise consideration of the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence; the doctrinal note "Mater Populi fidelis," on certain Marian titles referring to Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation (November 4, 2025), which encourages popular Marian devotion, deepening its biblical and theological foundations, and at the same time offers precise and important clarifications for Mariology; finally, the doctrinal note "Una caro. Elogio della monogamia," on the value of Marriage as an exclusive union and mutual belonging (November 25, 2025), which explores in an original way the property of the unity of Marriage between a man and a woman. (It is quite telling that His Holiness, Pope Leo says nothing about Feducia Supplicans which has led to Jesuitical Fr. James Martin, along with the heretical/schismatic Church of Germany to publicly bless mortally sinful unions of all kinds thus undermining the doctrine and dogmas concerning the Sacrament of Marriage.)
This work will certainly greatly benefit the spiritual growth of the holy and faithful People of God. In the context of the epochal change we are experiencing, it offers the faithful a ready and clear word from the Church, especially regarding the many new phenomena that are emerging on the stage of history. It also provides valuable guidance to the Bishops for the exercise of their pastoral action, as well as to theologians in their service of study and evangelization. (Often in the mushiness of statements coming from Pope Francis, it seem to many of us, including your most humble blogger, that in the midst of epochal changes, the Church had to bend to the world. Fiducia Supplicans is an example of this, which truly backfired leading even Pope Francis to clean up his mess. The Consistory to elect the new pope brought up the confusion that had been sown in the Church in the past 13 years.)
I particularly appreciate that in this "Plenary Assembly" you have initiated a fruitful discussion on the theme of the transmission of faith, a topic of great urgency in our time. We cannot ignore that, in recent decades, a break has occurred in the generational transmission of the Christian faith among the Catholic people [1], and that, especially in contexts of long-established evangelization, the number of those who no longer perceive the Gospel as a fundamental resource for their existence is increasing, especially among the younger generations. In truth, there are many young men and women who live without any reference to God or the Church, and while this causes us believers pain, it must also lead us to rediscover the "sweet and comforting joy of evangelization," [2] which is at the very heart of the life and mission of the Bride of Christ. (The blame must be placed squarely on the pope and institutional Church, since Vatican II, for what has happened in this regard, from superficial catechetical materials, to marginalizing and denigrating orthodox Catholics, young ones in particular, who love tradition, the TLM and clarity of doctrine and dogmas. Traditionis Custodis is of that 1960’s mindset that denigrates everything traditional and praises everything novel, heterodox and inane as fresh and new! Place the blame where it rightly belongs!)
As I recalled during the recent Extraordinary Consistory, we “want to be a Church that does not look only to itself, that is missionary, that looks beyond itself, to others”; [3] a Church that proclaims the Gospel, above all through the power of attraction, as my predecessors Benedict XVI and Francis have repeatedly affirmed. [4]
The foundation of the life of the Body of Christ is the love of the Father, revealed to us in the Son made man, present and active in us through the gift of the Spirit: therefore, “it is not the Church that attracts, but Christ, and if a Christian or an ecclesial community attracts, it is because through that ‘channel’ the vital sap of Charity flows, which springs from the Heart of the Savior.” [5]
The Church proclaims Christ, without self-promotion or particularism, and in it each person is and must always recognize himself or herself as simply “a humble worker in the Lord's vineyard.” [6]
Before concluding, I would like to mention another service of yours, for which I am grateful and which I commend to your care: that of welcoming and accompanying, with all benevolence and discernment, the Bishops and Superiors General called upon to deal with cases of crimes reserved to the Dicastery. This is a very delicate area of ministry, in which it is fundamental to ensure that the demands of justice, truth, and charity are always honored and respected.
Dearest brothers and sisters, finally, I renew my gratitude to each of you for the valuable contribution you make to the life and work of the Dicastery and of the entire Church, especially when this contribution is offered in a humble and unassuming way. A sign of this gratitude is the Apostolic Blessing that I wholeheartedly impart to all of you and your loved ones. Thank you.
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