The Vatican may make “spiritual abuse” a formalized crime in Church law, rather than merely an aggravating circumstance of other crimes.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is forming a working group with the Dicastery for Legislative Texts with “the task of analysing this possibility and presenting concrete proposals” on the matter, according to a paper from the doctrine office dated Nov. 22 and posted online this week.
According to the note, which was signed by DDF Prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and approved by Pope Francis, the term “false mysticism” is an “overly broad and ambiguous expression” in need of refining in certain contexts in the Church.
The term appears in the DDF’s regulations related to “problems and behaviour connected with the discipline of the faith, such as cases of pseudo-mysticism, alleged apparitions, visions, and messages attributed to supernatural origin,” the note observes.
The expression “false mysticism” is also sometimes used by canon lawyers in the context of crimes of abuse, though it is currently not a delict, or crime, according to canon law, the document said. The DDF said that “false mysticism” also appears in the dicastery’s 2024 document Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena, where it is specified that “the use of purported supernatural experiences or recognized mystical elements as a means of or a pretext for exerting control over people or carrying out abuses is to be considered of particular moral gravity.”

Pope Francis has written a note to accompany the Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, a text that captures the results of the two-year-long Synod of Bishops on Synodality which Pope Francis called for in October 2021 that concluded in October 2024. 
In the text accompanying the Document, Pope Francis writes that from its very creation, the synodal path has been characterised by openness to the voice of the Holy Spirit. This spirit has guided the Church across continents, languages, and cultures. ”This journey,” Pope Francis writes, “has allowed the Church to read her own experiences and identify steps to live communion, realise participation, and promote the mission entrusted to her by Christ.”
He describes how this synodal journey actually began at the local level, moving then through national and continental phases. Now that the Assembly has concluded, Pope Francis entrusts the Final Document and its contents back to the local Churches, whom he invites to implement the contents of the Document with discernment, creativity, and respect for their unique contexts.
Pope Francis then goes on to describe the Document as part of the “ordinary Magisterium of the Successor of Peter” and asks that its authoritative nature be respected as such. “It represents a form of exercising the authentic teaching of the Bishop of Rome”, explains the Pope, adding that “it contains elements of novelty but aligns with what I clarified on October 17, 2015, when I stated that synodality is the proper interpretive framework for understanding hierarchical ministry”. However, he clarifies that the Document “is not strictly normative” but rather a call for reflection differently applied in each context.

Pope Francis on November 11 met with the Holy Synod of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, marking an historic first visit to Rome and confirming the good relations of this ancient Oriental Indian Church.
Mar Thoma Syrian Church traces its origins back to the mission of the Apostle St. Thomas in South-Western India in the first century and consists today of about 1.5 million members most of whom reside in the Indian State of Kerala, where it is based.
The Church has communion with the Thozhiyoor (Anglican) Church and maintains an ecclesiastical relationship with the Old Catholic Church, Union of Utrecht, as well as the Church of South India (CSI).
In his address Pope Francis warmly welcomed the Holy Synod and extended his greetings to Metropolitan Theodosius Mar Thoma and the Malankara faith-ful, expressing gratitude for their ecumenical role, in bridging Eastern and Western Christianity. “Your Church,” he said, “rightly defines itself as a “bridge Church” between East and West.”

Catholic leaders from across Europe are in Rome this week to discuss how the Church can best protect children from sexual abuse and how to help those who have already been hurt by it. The Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) is hosting a conference on safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Europe from November 13–15.
The gathering, taking place in the centre of Rome at the head-quarters of the PCPM, includes participants–bishops, priests, re-ligious, and laymen and lay-women – from 25 countries in Europe. Safeguarding practices and strategies, how Church law and civil law interact, how to better help victims, and how to develop safeguarding networks are some of the topics the con-ference will address.
Vatican leaders and repre-sentatives from the European bishops’ conferences commission (COMECE) are also attending the meeting, which will include a keynote address Nov. 14 from Archbishop John J. Kennedy, secretary of the Vatican’s office responsible for the discipline of priests guilty of abuse.
In a message to conference participants Nov. 13, Pope Fran-cis said attendees’ “commitment to this cause [of safeguarding against abuse] is a sign of the Church’s continuing efforts to protect the most vulnerable in our midst.” The pontiff wrote that he is praying for the conference, which he hopes will be “a source of fruitful insights” and that their exchanges “will contribute to a safer and more compassionate Church” and a “deeper commitment to safe-guarding children and vulnerable adults within the Church.”

In Italy’s Valley of Ledro, nestled near the old Austro-Hungarian border just kilo-meters from Lake Garda, locals are rallying to save a 200-year-old fir tree, famously known as the Green Giant. Towering at thirty meters and standing for centuries, this maje-stic tree has weathered wars, snowstorms, and survived the ax of carpenters. Now, it faces a new threat: being cut down and transported to Vatican City as the Christmas tree for St. Peter’s Square.
Residents of Ledro, who see the fir as more than just a tree, have written directly to Pope Francis in hopes of preventing what they deem an anachronistic massacre. They also launched a petition on Change.org, which has garnered 40,000 signatures so far, and secured legal counsel to help block the tree’s removal. Local environmental advocates and community associations argue that cutting down a tree for a holiday display contradicts efforts to combat climate change. Talking about protecting the environment means challenging outdated traditions like these,” they noted in a statement, emphasizing the contradiction of celebrating Christmas by sacrificing a tree that symbolizes nature itself. They propose decorating the fir where it stands in Passo Nota, allowing it to continue shading hikers who stop there after long climbs.
Residents further invoked Pope Francis’ own words on environmental stewardship, referencing his encyclicals calling for respect for nature. “We ask His Holiness to prevent this felling and instead come visit the Valley to experience its natural beauty firsthand,” the letter implores.
Beyond the emotional and environmental reasons, residents also have financial con-cerns. Lorenzo Vescovi, a representative from the Forty-Three Million Committee (a name symbolizing the 40 trees donated by the Ledro Council to the Vatican and the estimated three million Christmas trees cut down annually in Italy), notes that the trans-port of the Green Giant to the Vatican comes with a staggering 60,000 price tag. Many argue that the funds could be better used to address pressing needs within the Ledro community, such as medical care, where shortages of general practitioners are impacting health services.

Pope Francis on November 9 appointed Fr Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap, as the new preacher of the Papal Household, replacing Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, 90, who held that position for 44 years. Cantalamessa, who was elevated to the College of Cardi-nals by Pope Francis in 2020, has been preacher of the Papal Household since 1980, when he was appointed by St. John Paul II. His successor is a professor of biblical exegesis at the Theological University of Northern Italy in Milan and is now tasked with giving the Friday meditations of Advent and Lent, among other tasks, as Cantala-messa did for years, serving three popes (John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis) and the Vati-can Curia.
Pasolini was born on Nov. 5, 1971, in Milan and just turned 53. According to the Vatican Press Office, he made his perpetual vows in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Capuchin on Sept. 7, 2002, and was ordained a priest on Sept. 23, 2006.