{"id":62607,"date":"2026-04-12T21:16:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/?p=62607"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:16:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:16:34","slug":"just-what-we-needed-a-theologian-takes-aim-at-the-popes-way-of-the-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2026\/04\/12\/just-what-we-needed-a-theologian-takes-aim-at-the-popes-way-of-the-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"Just what we needed: a theologian takes aim at the Pope\u2019s Way of the Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"theologian<\/p>\n

The bizarre accusations of Claudia Paganini<\/strong> against the Pope. From claims of patriarchy<\/strong> during the Way of the Cross to criticism of his travel choices: but the Church cannot be judged with a secularized mindset<\/strong>.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Criticizing the Pope<\/strong> is the most widely practiced sport in human history for gaining visibility.<\/p>\n

Lately it has also become fashionable, especially among Catholics<\/strong>. That a theologian does it is therefore not surprising; what is surprising are the reasons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The Pope\u2019s Way of the Cross? A stage for masculinity”<\/h2>\n

Claudia Paganini<\/strong><\/mark>, an Italo-Austrian theologian, scholar of media ethics at the University of Innsbruck and activist in the Green Party, has in fact described<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/u> the celebration of the Way of the Cross as a sort of \u201cstage for masculinity<\/strong>.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

She criticized the decision of Leo XIV<\/strong> to personally carry the cross along the entire route.<\/p>\n

While the Pope explained<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/u> that he wanted to send a visible sign of participation in the suffering of the world<\/strong>, Paganini interpreted this gesture as the image of the strong male<\/strong>, capable of bearing the weight and embodying visible and dominant authority.<\/p>\n

The theologian then astonishingly linked Leo XIV\u2019s initiative to a broader \u201cpolitical semantics of the strong leader<\/strong>,\u201d<\/i> comparing the papal gesture to figures such as Donald Trump<\/strong>, Vladimir Putin<\/strong>, and Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Leaders who present themselves as powerful, she says, but create \u201csuffering, devastation, and chaos.\u201d<\/i> Thus the Pope, \u201cthrough the topos of the strong man<\/strong>, offers no counterbalance but instead reinforces a dangerous political rhetoric.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Among the colorful list of bizarre criticisms, there was still someone missing who would detect patriarchy<\/strong> even in the Way of the Cross.<\/p>\n

\n

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 <\/p>\n

Claudia Paganini against the papal visit to Monaco<\/h2>\n

The theologian also criticized the Pope\u2019s trip to Monaco<\/strong>, judging it a \u201clack of theological sensitivity\u201d<\/i> to have \u201cfavored it among all places as a travel destination.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

In her view, it would have been better to visit other places, such as Gaza<\/strong> or Ukraine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The papal visit to Monaco has also been mocked online<\/strong>. Just a few hours ago, the comedian Maurizio Crozza<\/b> also made fun of the pontiff, demagogically recalling that Francis\u2019 first trip was to Lampedusa.<\/p>\n

Aside from the fact that Leo XIV has already made an initial trip to Turkey and Lebanon<\/strong> last December, Monaco is also just one of dozens<\/strong> of destinations Leo XIV will visit this year, including Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.<\/p>\n

Neither Monaco nor any of these destinations was chosen based on GDP<\/strong> or the wealth of its inhabitants.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why the Pope does not go to Gaza or Ukraine<\/h2>\n

The Pope goes everywhere<\/strong>, among the rich and the poor.<\/p>\n

With one exception: where there are real limitations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Places such as Gaza<\/strong>, Iran<\/strong>, or Ukraine<\/strong> are currently extremely delicate geopolitical contexts, and a papal visit would indeed carry enormous symbolic weight but would also cause huge and unpredictable consequences<\/strong>, risking further worsening the situation of the inhabitants.<\/p>\n

From a logistical standpoint, they would also require extreme security conditions<\/strong>, endless agreements between the parties in conflict, and such extensive preparation as to make organizing a trip practically unfeasible.<\/p>\n

Even Pope Francis<\/strong> wished until the very end to find a way to personally visit the only parish in Gaza<\/strong>, but had to give up, limiting himself to calling every evening and constantly supporting his local representatives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Judging the Church with a secularized mindset<\/h2>\n

There is also a rather evident aspect.<\/p>\n

Turning every gesture of the Pope into a sociological statement<\/strong> to be evaluated through metapolitical categories<\/strong>\u2014from criticism of \u201cpatriarchy\u201d to the choice of destinations based on war emergencies\u2014reveals a secularized mindset.<\/p>\n

The Church does not function<\/strong> as a geopolitical actor, nor as a sociological observatory.<\/p>\n

It does not calibrate its actions to conform to feminist narratives or media logic that demands physically showing up at every war emergency, but rather grounds them in a universal mission oriented toward the person and the truth that transcends<\/strong> time, trends, and geopolitical scenarios.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bizarre accusations of Claudia Paganini against the Pope: from alleged patriarchy in the Way of the Cross to his apostolic journeys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":140,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1179,2181,2180],"class_list":["post-62607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-against-pope","tag-against-pope-leo","tag-claudia-paganini"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJust what we needed: a theologian takes aim at the Pope\u2019s Way of the Cross - UCCR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The bizarre accusations of Claudia Paganini against the Pope: from alleged patriarchy in the Way of the Cross to his apostolic journeys.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2026\/04\/12\/just-what-we-needed-a-theologian-takes-aim-at-the-popes-way-of-the-cross\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Just what we needed: a theologian takes aim at the Pope\u2019s Way of the Cross - 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