The Moynihan Letters

    Letter #81, 2025, Tuesday, November 25: "One flesh," #4     The Vatican today issued a document on the sacral character of marriage entitled Una caro ["One flesh"]. In Praise of Monogamy.     In my last letter, I sent the 2nd part of the full text in English.     The third and final part of the text is below. [...]

    Letter #80, 2025, Tuesday, November 25: "One flesh," #3     The Vatican today issued a document on the sacral character of marriage entitled Una caro ["One flesh"]. In Praise of Monogamy.     Here is the full text in Italian:     Una Caro: In Praise of Monogamy     In my last letter, I sent the 1st third of the full [...]

    Letter #78, 2025, Tuesday, November 25: "One flesh," #2     The Vatican today issued a document on the sacral character of marriage entitled Una caro ["One flesh"]. In Praise of Monogamy.     I wrote: "I intend to send the whole document out when the official English version is completed."     I then received this email from my friend, [...]

    Four hands hold the rings of marriage, signifying the love and fidelity which underlie marriage.     The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith today, November 25, released a doctrinal note on the nature of marriage as an “exclusive union and mutual belonging.”      The document, signed by the discastery's Prefect, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernàndez, was [...]

    Pope Leo XIV. Yesterday in Rome he issued the Apostolic Letter In unitate fidei ["In the unity of the faith"] in commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council, held 1,700 years ago in Nicaea, where he will visit later this week in his first foreign trip as Pope     "Divinization in no way implies the self-deification of [...]

    Doves above the valley which stretches out below the Italian hill town of Assisi, where St. Francis died in 1226. Pope Leo visited here today     A street in Assisi looking out over the valley where St. Francis lived, and died, in the early 1200s, 800 years ago...     A mist-shrouded view of the bell tower of [...]

    Marquise Immacolata Solaro del Borgo has passed away.     Immacolata, an Italian from an ancient noble Italian family, labored for 50 years to improve relations between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and between Russia and the West. She died yesterday in Rome at the age of 95, surrounded by members of her family     In this photo [...]

    Letter #74, 2025, Mon, November 17: Barron and Mueller     The British Catholic convert Gavin Ashenden has just published on his Substack (link) and very interesting and important discussion between American Catholic Bishop Barron and German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller: "Nietzsche, Vatican II, and the Catholic Church as the Antidote to Despair.     Readers should consider subscribing to [...]

    German Vaticanist Paul Badde, looking at the original of the image of the Holy Face of Manoppello.     Badde passed away on November 10, one week ago, in Manoppello, Italy, at the age of 77 after a long illness. He left behind his wife, Ellen, five children, and nine grandchildren     Below, photos from his funeral, held [...]

    German Vaticanist Paul Badde, looking at the original of the image of the Holy Face of Manoppello. Badde passed away yesterday in Manoppello at the age of 77 after a long illness. He leaves his wife, Ellen, and five children. Below, images of the Holy Veil of Manoppello, an image Paul studied and about which [...]