NEWS PROVIDED BY
Lepanto Institute
May 14, 2026
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2026 /Standard Newswire/ — An investigative report from the Lepanto Institute reveals shocking details of a Vatican-sponsored event held last October. The fifth World Meeting of Popular Movements (WMPM) hosted openly professed communists and revolutionists who advocate abortion, gender ideology, and revolutionary politics.
The WMPM was held at Spin Time Labs, a squatter-occupied building notorious for platforming the Communist Party of Italy, participating in pro-abortion activism, and hosting live, nude performances. The Coordinator for the WMPM was photographed in the lobby at one of the nude performances.
“The most dangerous aspect of this meeting is that mandated delegates from local churches accompanied these Marxist groups as part of the Synodal process,” said Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute. “This is a deliberate effort to unite Marxist revolutionaries under the moral authority of the Catholic Church.”
The report provides detailed profiles of key groups on the WMPM Organizing Committee:
• Brazil’s Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (MST) celebrates Karl Marx, reads the Communist Manifesto at family events, marches for “legal and safe abortion,” and links land reform to LGBT activism.
• Italy’s Mediterranea Saving Humans, founded by Marxist activist Luca Casarini, praises Marx, joins communist marches, and celebrates Pride events.
• Argentina’s Unión de Trabajadores de la Economía Popular (UTEP) is tied to Peronist politics and the Bolivarian Revolution and participates in anti-fascist Pride marches.
• Panama’s La Via Campesina: Explicitly calls for “socialist society,” declares “Without Feminism There Is No Socialism,” and demands legalization of abortion and full LGBTQI+ rights
Other profiled organizations include Abahlali baseMjondolo, which advocates “living communism,” and Comite de Unidad Campesina, which has ties to guerrilla fighters, openly calls for revolution, and states its “ultimate goal” is to “build SOCIALISM.”
In his speech to participants at the WMPM, Pope Leo XIV called them “social poets” and “champions of humanity,” declaring, “I am with you.”
“Pope Leo’s expression of solidarity with groups that read the Communist Manifesto and march for abortion is troubling,” said Hichborn. “His personal endorsement and the new mandate for local church participation escalate the concern of embedding these ideologies deeper into Church structures.”
The Lepanto Institute is asking Pope Leo XIV to immediately disband the WMPM, publicly condemn the participating organizations, and discipline involved clerics.
“The Church must not walk together with revolutionaries who reject her teachings on human dignity, the family, and private property,” Hichborn added.
Full report: https://www.lepantoin.org/wp/pope-leo-to-october-meeting-of-marxist-revolutionaries-i-am-here-i-am-with-you/
Summary video: https://youtu.be/C_9D-iq1nMk?si=tlPmkuRl022Vr0t5
SOURCE Lepanto Institute
CONTACT: Michael Hichborn, 540-847-5501, Michael@lepantoin.net