19/12/2025
Bleak Day for Catholic Church — From WOW International Group, Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research:
Christmas greetings dear friends, trustees and patrons,
We are so grateful for your support this past year - a very sad one for us after the death of our founder Dr John Wijngaards on January 2nd 2025. However his inspiration lives on and we'll be sending a year in review in January 2026 showing the ways in which our media mentions, educational material and academic studies have helped to bring about positive progress.
But, in the meantime, we would like to share with you our last publication of this year - revealing the Vatican's cover up of the truth behind their recent decision on women deacons.
Dr Luca Badini Confalonieri of our Institute considers the No from the Commission highlights the lack of good faith from the Vatican.
The entire process he said particularly the selection of members of the study commission and study group has been carried out ‘without transparency’ .He criticized the outcome as deeply wrong both historically and theologically and called for the commission to publish all the materials it relied on.
The main discussion point throughout the Synod on Synodality was the urgent need to include women in official ministry with indications that the prospect of restoring a diaconate to women was really a possibility. Instead, a committee of 10 Vatican insiders — plus not one, but two Popes — decided against it.
“At its last session, held in February 2025, the commission received substantial and significant written material for analysis on the question of the female diaconate,” Cardinal Petrocci, tasked with heading Study group 5, wrote to Pope Leo. It is unclear whether the commission reviewed the material beforehand or read it all during its February meeting; it is also unclear from the report how long the meeting lasted. Whereas other meetings’ dates are recorded (Sept. 13-18, 2021, and July 11-16, 2022), only the final report’s date is given for 2025: Feb. 7.
An article in America states that the report has not been published in full; what was published last week and has often been called the “Petrocchi Commission Report” is actually a summary letter sent from the cardinal to the pope on Sept. 18. Pope Leo ordered the summary to be published last week.
In the letter, Cardinal Petrocchi downplayed the 22 contributions that the commission received after the synod, saying that they came from a limited number of countries and thus, “although the material is abundant and, in some cases, skillfully argued, it cannot be considered the voice of the Synod, much less of the People of God as a whole.” Moreover Cardinal Petrocchi wrote ' many women described their work for the Church, often carried out with great dedication, as if it were a sufficient criterion for ordination to the diaconate. Others spoke of a strong “feeling” of having been called, as if it were the necessary proof to guarantee the Church the validity of their vocation and demand that this conviction be accepted. Many already held diaconal functions, especially in communities without a priest, and believed they were “worthy” of receiving ordination, having, in some way, acquired the right.'
This is clear evidence that Catholics everywhere — even Synodal participants themselves — have been kept in the dark about who the participants were and what was discussed. Below is a forensic examination of all the machinations to deceive and deny women’s role in the church and how the Vatican has dissembled their decision-making process.
The full study is linked plus an extract below: https://www.wijngaardsinstitute.com/petrocchi_commission_women_deacons
We wish you and your loved ones every blessing this Christmas time and a very happy new year!
