Lay faithful from across Italy are expected to gather in a piazza near St. Peter’s basilica this week to pray for the Church as she faces a catalog of challenges. Recalling Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s words in 2005 excoriating the “filth” in the Church, and his later words on the “terrifying” sin and persecution from enemies within the Church, the organizers wish to draw attention to the extent of the current evils ranged within the body of the Church and to urge the faithful to pray for her.