Per Mariam: Mater Dolorosa: News

Pope Leo’s lung cancer surgery successful

Michael Haynes — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:38:49 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Pope Leo underwent surgery for lung cancer on October 13, after doctors discovered a nodule on his lung during routine tests.

According to the Vatican, the Pope’s 90-minute surgery on Tuesday afternoon was successful and completed on schedule with no complications. He was then transferred back to his room after a period of observation, where he asked for some dinner.

After the brief initial update from the Vatican, full details arrived just before 10pm local time on Tuesday, with the signature of the lead surgeon Professor Stefano Margaritora.

Doctors removed the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung using a video-assisted procedure.

Upon tests, the pre-op suspicion of lung cancer was confirmed, with doctors diagnosing the Pope with lung adenocarcinoma – the most common form of lung cancer.

Although the nodule was described as small, the doctors removed a large section of the lung in order to lessen the risk of leaving any potentially cancerous tissue in the body. This can be a common problem when removing cancerous tissue during operations.

However, the Vatican spokesman was clear to note he was not saying the Pope has been given a clean bill of health. The doctors’ expert advice is very much guiding the way in terms of the information which is distributed publicly.

All papal audiences have already been cancelled until October 20, and the Vatican had stated prior to the operation that the Pope would require a week of recovery.

Any decision on pursuing further treatment such as chemotherapy, or a determination on whether the cancer has spread more than originally thought, remains unclear at this early stage. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni was careful not to speculate or exceed the precise information he received from the doctors.

Some have speculated online that Leo knew for some time of his diagnosis. This would seem to contradict the official information, along with that shared by his older brother who told Newsmax on Tuesday that he had only learned of the Pope’s diagnosis after the Sunday Angelus announcement on October 11.

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Leo has kept active and in good health, perhaps in part due to his own knowledge of his family’s history regarding cancer. Both his parents died of cancer and his older brother Louis was diagnosed with cancer in 2017: he is currently in hospital in Florida undergoing treatment.

For now, the Vatican will issue daily updates regarding the Pope’s health and take things very much one day at a time.

The surgery appears to have been successful and the Pope is responding well to it and in good humour, according to what those around him are saying.

Now the Vatican will watch and wait to see if the arduous South American voyage which begins on November 6 will be cancelled, amended, or just proceed as planned.

Live updates: Mariology conference “De Maria numquam satis”

Michael Haynes — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:28:59 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — A high-profile Mariology conference takes place in Rome on October 7 and 8, examining different aspects of Marian theology through the Church’s history and constant teaching. The full schedule and list of speakers is found here.

Live updates will be published here, underneath the headline image below, with the newest at the top…

Pope Leo: Society measured by the ‘care we show for the littlest’

Michael Haynes — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 23:01:00 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — Leo XIV delivered strong calls for the defence of human life at every age during his visit to UNESCO on Friday, before encouraging French Catholics to renew their Catholic life and evangelisation while celebrating Vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Building on themes contained within his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo continue…

Vatican text praises 60 years of ecumenism and ‘new ethic of dialogue’

Michael Haynes — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:32:04 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — The Vatican has released a document marking the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Nostra aetate, praising the ecumenical efforts which the text engendered and calling for a renewed “shift in mindset” to produce a “new ethic of dialogue”.

In a Note published on September 16, the Holy See commented on its ecumenical effor…

Interview: High level Mariology conference to be held next to Vatican

Michael Haynes — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:08:34 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — A high-profile conference is due to take place in Rome next month, as cardinals, priests and lay experts explore prominent issues in the realm of Mariology.

“Of Mary, one can never say enough” is the phrase attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux and which is the title given to a two-day event held in the shadow of the Vatican in a few …

Bishops consecrated in secret for Underground Church in China

Michael Haynes — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:29:40 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — Following the Vatican’s secret deal with China, Catholic bishops are being secretly consecrated to serve the Underground Church in the country, according to new details shared by a fellow underground bishop.

Shortly after the signing of the Vatican’s secret deal with China in 2018, Catholics in the Underground Church professed to feel…

Pope Leo: Vatican II’s liturgical reform ‘necessary’ for greater participation

Michael Haynes — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:34:12 GMT

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Herald) — Pope Leo has firmly defended the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, stating that it was deemed “necessary” in order to make the liturgy “more accessible”.

Closing his series of catechetical talks on Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium, Pope Leo tackled a chief underlying element behind the previous number of…

Timeline: Rupnik case from December 2022 until now

Michael Haynes — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:43:32 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — With the Marko Rupnik case making a return to the headlines this week, after many months of silence – even years – since any substantive update, it is perhaps useful to recall the timeline of the affair.

On Monday, Messa in Latino (MiL) wrote that reliable Vatican sources had informed them that Rupnik would soon be acquitted i…

SSPX makes canonical appeal against excommunication

Michael Haynes — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:00:00 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — The Society of Saint Pius X has issued its formal response to the Holy See’s Decree of excommunication, thus initiating a process which results in the temporary suspension of the penalties of the Decree.

On 11 July, the Society sent a “preliminary recourse” to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), marking its formal respo…

SSPX rejects Pope's request and consecrates four bishops

Michael Haynes — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:24:20 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — Four new bishops have been consecrated for the Society of Saint Pius X today, against the direct wish of Pope Leo XIV, in an action which the Holy See has warned would incur the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication.

Newly consecrated Bishop Pascal Schreiber processes through the field at Écône. ©SSPX

Before a crowd of more than …

Leo urges SSPX against consecrations: Praises their love of Tradition and promises 'dialogue'

Michael Haynes — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:57:43 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Pope Leo XIV has sent a personal appeal to the Society of St. Pius X, urging them to halt the planned July 1 episcopal consecrations as it would be a “sin of extreme gravity.”

Just 24-hours before the SSPX plans to consecrate four new bishops, the Pope sent his much awaited final appeal to the Society, seeking to call off the …

EXCLUSIVE: Cardinal Burke on the Consistory and SSPX consecrations

Michael Haynes — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:27:59 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Cardinal Raymond Burke has given his assessment of the recent Extraordinary Consistory along with the upcoming episcopal consecrations of the Society of Saint Pius X, noting some remaining concerns about the consistory format, while lamenting the planned consecrations.

Speaking with Per Mariam following the recent consistory, …

Cardinal Muller: Push for lay homilies stems from denial of ‘sacramental priesthood’

Michael Haynes — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:37:38 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Cardinal Gerhard Müller has added his voice to the Vatican’s in opposing a move by the German bishops to have lay people delivering homilies during Mass.

“One cannot arbitrarily divide up priestly powers and outsource them in a functionalist manner,” he warned, “unless one denies the sacramental priesthood altogether in a Prote…

Full testament of Cardinal Ruini: A key aide to Pope John Paul II

Michael Haynes — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:02:29 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The full testament of Cardinal Camillo Ruini – a key aide of Pope John Paul II – has been published, containing reflections on his long career and the three popes he served under as a prelate.

On June 16, Cdl. Ruini died in Rome at the age of 95.

Ordained in 1954, he was consecrated bishop in 1983 and made cardinal by John Paul …

Here's what will happen at next week's Vatican Consistory

Michael Haynes — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 14:39:28 GMT

UPDATED June 22: This June 17 report was updated on June 22 after the Vatican published details confirming the report below, and providing additional information about the cardinals leading the reflections in the consistory.

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Details of the upcoming consistory reveal that just around two hours are outlined for the customary fr…

Leo to visit Notre-Dame and Lourdes, during his September trip to France

Michael Haynes — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:15:11 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Details of the Pope’s September voyage to France have been issued by the French episcopate, with highlights being Leo visiting the recently restored Notre-Dame in Paris and the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

As announced by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline on June 9, Leo XIV will visit some of France’s most prominent Catholic sites w…

Head of Spanish bishops rejects spirit of Amoris Laetitia days before Pope's visit

Michael Haynes — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:20:29 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The head of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference has de facto rejected the substance of Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia, writing that Holy Communion is not permitted for married people now living in new relationships.

Issuing a pastoral letter on June 1, to mark the upcoming feast of Corpus Christi, Archbishop Luis Argüello outlined c…

Synod office washes hands of Study Group 9's homosexuality report

David McLoone — Fri, 15 May 2026 22:37:25 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The official Vatican body behind the Synod on Synodality has washed its hands of a controversial study group document – which included testimonies from two “married” homosexual men and implied same-sex “relationships” are not inherently sinful – while conspicuously declining to address whether the report contradicts Catholic t…

Cardinal Müller: Synod's homosexuality report leads to ‘heretical relativization’ of marriage

Michael Haynes — Fri, 08 May 2026 15:19:54 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Cardinal Gerhard Müller has issued a blistering critique of the latest study group report from the Synod on Synodality and its platforming of anti-Catholic, pro-homosexual ideology.

The great welcome form LGBT advocates to the Synod Study Group 9’s recent report, is – says Cdl. Müller – greatly revealing. The report’s text hig…

Traditional Redemptorists reject validity of popes since Vatican II

Michael Haynes — Sat, 02 May 2026 10:34:20 GMT

(PerMariam) — The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer have issued a strident statement condemning the teaching of Vatican II, and rejecting the legitimacy of the popes since the council.

The “Modernist presence within the structures and hierarchy of the official Church has gone beyond critical mass to a near saturation point.” Thus reads a portion of the new …