Rimini – We have often spoken about the deviations of certain lay movements, and we have not failed to highlight the critical issues of those realities which, even though rooted in the authentic and precious charism of their founder, end up generating distortions.
In many articles we have explained the essential difference between a true “believing community” and a “sect.” While some struggle to distinguish between “love for truth” and sterile attacks, our commitment has always been to the former, never the latter. In the history of the Church, progress has never been made by the complacent, but by those willing to be uncomfortable, challenging the dominant thinking of their time. And in the saints, we find luminous examples of this.
A Church unable to communicate, unable to evangelize
On the front of communication, we have repeatedly pointed out that the Church suffers from a deep and structural problem. It is not only about the gross mistakes of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication—errors we have exposed in the hope of improvement so that the “voice of the Pope” might reach the world with authority and credibility. The problem is symptomatic of a broader modus pensandi et agendi that has by now become systemic. Whatever interpretations readers may project onto us, the facts remain: and facts, as Silere non possum has always done, are written down, verified, and proven.
In ecclesial communication, however, a sectarian logic also emerges: “I quote you if you are my friend,” “I give you space if we are on good terms.” In Italy, these phrases circulate naturally, echoing the pervasive amoral familism. If you are a friend of the Questore, doors open, decisions are taken swiftly, and favors are granted. If not—or worse, if the Questore is close to your enemy—you are met with silence. After all, dereliction of duty is one of the many crimes the current government wants to erase.
The same applies with the Public Prosecutor: if you are a friend, your case will be pursued, even without merit. If you are not, patience—your file joins the pile, and you can wait for years while the statute of limitations does its job. The logic is simple: either you are under the protection of the powerful, or you are nobody. And many within the Church have clearly absorbed this mentality, offering platforms for the monologues of the powerful.
Journalism and Power
When it comes to journalism, the contamination becomes even more toxic: the do ut des between reporters and prosecutors, between journalists and police. How many abuses by the State Police are systematically silenced by the press? And meanwhile, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni parades through the Meeting of Rimini, delivering slogans and even invoking the deaths of journalists killed by Israeli weapons sold by Italy, no one dares ask why she authorizes wiretaps on journalists at home, why she allows prosecutors and police to raid newsrooms, seize devices, and commit illegal acts against reporters whose only “fault” is publishing uncomfortable truths.
Some Catholics applaud her because she speaks (and the emphasis is on “speaks”) of reforms that echo Christian values. Yet they conveniently forget that in Church–State relations, Meloni has done little for the Church’s actual interests. But many Catholics suffer from short-term memory, especially when their seats of power are at risk. Parades and photo-ops remain the favorite pastime of those who always applaud the powerful, regardless of political color. But the fact is inescapable: the Prime Minister has an allergy to free microphones. Even when confronted with serious questions, she refuses to answer. If Meloni wants monologues, she does not need Rimini: "Palazzo Chigi" and a camera tripod would suffice.
And this brings us back to the essential point: power.
Mauro Giuseppe Lepori and Worldliness
Within the Church, too, we encounter individuals who have understood nothing of the charism entrusted to them, and instead allow the thirst for power to dictate their actions. These figures close monasteries, dismantle communities, and destroy people through real campaigns of slander. This is how a sect works: you are either with us, or you are against us. If you leave, we will destroy you.
At the Meeting of Rimini, as in past years, one such figure was present: Abbot Mauro Giuseppe Lepori, General of the Cistercians. His name is now linked to numerous campaigns against fellow monks and nuns—the latest documented by Silere non possum against the nuns of San Giacomo di Veglia and the monks of Heiligenkreuz, where his pressure even triggered a heart attack in Abbot Maximilian.
Among the exhibition stands, Lepori appeared again: a few handshakes, some photo opportunities, and interviews devoid of anything remotely monastic. Yet everyone remembers when, on Mediaset, Lepori accused the abbess of San Giacomo di Veglia of being “too worldly” simply for promoting the monastery’s wine, the very work that sustained the nuns’ livelihood.
Worldly? No. Sobriety and survival, entirely in line with monastic tradition. Far more worldly, one might argue, is traveling at the expense of the Generalate to speak about ragù and scenic views from monasteries.
© Meeting Rimini
Journalism enslaved to Power
If Meloni only grants interviews to state television with pre-approved questions, the Church is not much different. This explains why some applaud.
Lepori’s defamatory accusations were broadcast on Mediaset, in a staged interview by Ilaria Dalle Palle—a so-called journalist better known for her revealing dresses and glossy poses than for any professional integrity. She tailored her questions not to disturb, but to please. A woman not in search of truth, but of power to flatter. When the San Giacomo di Veglia case broke, Dalle Palle even contacted Silere non possum fishing for details—and for Lepori’s number. We refused to provide it. But Don Alessio Magoga, spokesman of the Diocese of Vittorio Veneto, let slip: “Talk to Dalle Palle, she’s good and balanced.” In ecclesiastical language, “balanced” simply means: “she repeats what I want.”
But a journalist is not a spokesperson. Their duty is to hear all sides, gather evidence, documents, verify, and then tell the story. Many in the Church do not understand this, as the case of Bose also demonstrated. Silere non possum published the secret documents, proving what was really happening. Because truth, whether liked or not, cannot be stopped.
Dalle Palle, by contrast, is no journalist at all. She is, at best, a Sunday-afternoon storyteller for Canale 5. Journalism is something else entirely. And everything we write here is backed up: audios, videos, chats, requests for numbers, complaints about nuns refusing interviews. If someone wishes to object, the evidence is ready.
What did the Mediaset “reporter” actually do? She simply collected Lepori’s version—baseless, undocumented—and served it as if it were gospel, filled with calumnies against the abbess. Because this is how it always goes: women defend women’s rights… until one of them holds power. And if that woman happens to be a nun, then resentment and rancor take over.
The abbess’s true “crime”? Refusing to give an interview to the queen of Canale 5. The result was an embarrassing interview with Lepori, staged in the cloister of the Generalate, followed by articles in tabloid papers riddled with gossip, “it is said that…,” “it seems that…”. Meanwhile, others, accused of “confused commentary,” were publishing official documents with letterheads and signatures. And here arises the inevitable question: who really practices journalism? Those who spread rumors, or those who expose signed documents and official acts?
If a so-called journalist lacks the means to investigate, proves unreliable, obsessed with their social media presence and conspiracy theories, forever chasing a “scoop” to feed their bloated ego—an ego so voracious that nobody trusts them anymore—then they should simply leave the profession.
Because journalism is not parroting gossip handed over by talkers. That is the work of a spokesperson, not of a reporter. Journalism requires investigation, verification, persistence—an uncomfortable but necessary task. Speaking with serious journalists is always better than silence. For when they hold all the evidence, only then can they tell a story that is complete, accurate, and grounded.
And then there are the so-called ladies of television, who project their own frustrations onto religious women, unleashing diatribes against nuns guilty only of opening an Instagram page. The same women who flood social media with low-cut selfies and swollen lips, and then deliver pseudo-serious commentary in the syrupy tones of a Barbara D’Urso talk show.
Hypocrisy as the true scandal
Consistency remains a rare commodity. And the Church is not lacking in figures like Mauro Giuseppe Lepori, whose thirst for power has dragged entire communities into the abyss. These figures persist in persecuting and inflaming vendettas against anyone who dares to step outside the “sect.”
If there was one thing that made Our Lord’s blood boil, it was hypocrisy: «Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing» (Mt 23:27–28).
f.R.A. & F.P.
Silere non possum