On Sunday, May 29, Pope Francis announced he would create 21 new cardinals this year, including American Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego and several other surprise choices. 16 of the new cardinals are under 80 and will be able to vote in a conclave, meaning Pope Francis has now appointed just under two-thirds of the current cardinal-electors. As of December, that number will rise to 69 percent. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Co...
Jun 03, 2022•25 min
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco announced Friday, May 20, that he would bar Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, from receiving holy communion in his diocese, which is also Ms. Pelosi’s home diocese. His decision comes after a lengthy and polarized debate over the past two years among U.S. bishops over whether to mandate a blanket ban on pro-choice politicians receiving communion. Ultimately, and after direct intervention from the Vatican, the U.S. bis...
May 26, 2022•24 min
On May 11, Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 90-year old pro-democracy prelate of Hong Kong, along with three other advocates for democracy in China, were arrested and questioned on accusations that they were “colluding with foreign forces.” Cardinal Zen was released less than a day later. Following his arrest, the Vatican issued a statement in which it said it is “following the development of the situation very closely.” On “Inside the Vatican” this week, veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell and ho...
May 19, 2022•23 min
Pope Francis gave a brief and unexpected interview to James Martin, S.J., for Father Martin’s new L.G.B.T.-focused publication, Outreach, a subsidiary of America Media. In the brief interview, the pope reminds L.G.B.T. Catholics that “God is Father and he does not disown any of his children” and gives advice to those who feel rejected by the church. Father Martin joins host Colleen Dulle on this bonus episode of “Inside the Vatican” to unpack the “mini-interview”, how he was able to interview th...
May 13, 2022•18 min
Despite his hopes to declare victory over Ukraine May 9, Russian president Vladimir Putin instead used his speech that day to rehash his complaint that the West and NATO had forced him to send troops into Ukraine. More surprising was that Pope Francis echoed Putin’s sentiments in an interview that earned him condemnation by the Wall Street Journal editorial board. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle unpack the pope’s comments. ...
May 12, 2022•29 min
In a new interview with the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis revealed some of the details of his communications with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban. He also reflected on why he chose to appeal publicly to the Russian ambassador to the Holy See to end the war, rather than communicate privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Collee...
May 05, 2022•23 min
Pope Francis will not visit Kyiv as hoped and has suspended his meeting with Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, planned for July in Jerusalem. In an interview with La Nación, an Argentine daily newspaper, published on April 21, the pope said he had made the decision to suspend his meeting with Kirill because the Holy See’s diplomatic arm advised him that “a reunion between the two at this time could give rise to much confusion.” This week on “Inside The Vatican,” co-pro...
Apr 28, 2022•22 min
Catholics worldwide celebrated Holy Week as the latest Russian offensive began in Ukraine. In this episode of Inside the Vatican, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell examine how the war was addressed in the Vatican’s Holy Week services. Gerry and Colleen explain the controversy that led to one of the Stations of the Cross reflections, which was co-written by a Russian and Ukrainian woman, being changed before the service. They also review how the pope’s physical...
Apr 22, 2022•28 min
Crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square on April 10 for the Vatican’s first public Palm Sunday Mass in two years, and Pope Francis began the busiest liturgical week of the year while still dealing with acute knee pain. Afterwards, he called for an Easter truce in Ukraine. On “Inside the Vatican,” Rome correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Francis’ message of peace and how he is likely to expand it later this week. The two also look at what mobility challenges Pope Fran...
Apr 14, 2022•23 min
Last week, Pope Francis apologized to representatives of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit people for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential schools that suppressed Indigenous culture and were often the site of abuse. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss what the apology meant to Indigenous leaders. Pope Francis also told the Indigenous delegations that he hopes to visit Canada this summer, in addition to his alread...
Apr 07, 2022•26 min
This week, Pope Francis is meeting with leaders of the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people who have traveled to Rome from Canada. They want to tell the pope about their experiences at the state-funded, church-run residential schools that took indigenous children from their communities in an effort to assimilate them to the dominant Canadian culture. Last year, the country and the church were shocked by the discovery of hundreds of human remains that were found buried on the sites of former re...
Mar 31, 2022•34 min
On Saturday, March 19, unexpectedly and with no fanfare, the Vatican published the new 54-page constitution for the Roman Curia, called “Praedicate Evangelium” or “Preach the Gospel.” Among other changes, it made evangelization the Vatican’s top office, opened leadership of top Vatican offices to any baptized Catholic, and made the protection of minors a permanent part of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’...
Mar 24, 2022•24 min
As Russian airstrikes on Ukraine continue and its ground efforts meet fierce resistance from the Ukrainian army, the Vatican is stepping up its efforts for peace. On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Francis’ latest moves, including Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s call with the Russian foreign minister, Cardinals Michael Czerny and Konrad Krajewski’s mission to Ukrainian refugees, the pope...
Mar 17, 2022•27 min
When Benedict XVI resigned as pope, he broke with 600 years of tradition and reshaped the papacy—possibly forever. As people live longer, it is likely future popes will be more willing to follow Benedict XVI’s example instead of remaining and dying in office. But Benedict’s self-professed intention to be “hidden from the world” has hardly gone according to plan. A collection of controversies including Benedict’s 2019 letter attempting to explain the sexual abuse crisis in the church, the sudden ...
Mar 10, 2022•37 min
As a Russian military convoy, 40 miles long, makes its way to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Pope Francis is fighting for peace in Rome. The pope warned against going down the road of conflict, appealed for negotiated settlements, and called for believers worldwide to fast and pray for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday. And it’s not only the pope’s words that speak here, but his actions. Pope Francis, without notifying the press, made a personal visit to Alexander Avdeev, the ambassador of the R...
Mar 03, 2022•29 min
Russian troops entered two breakaway regions of Eastern Ukraine on Monday, Feb. 21 and launched a full-scale invasion on Thursday, Feb. 24. The day before Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia took the decision to initiate war in Ukraine. Pope Francis called for all people to pray and fast for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday, March 2. It was the second time the pope has called for a day of prayer for peace. On this “Inside the Vatican” episode, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspo...
Feb 25, 2022•29 min
Pope Francis has restructured the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s central doctrine office, which also investigates sexual abuse cases that are reported to Rome. With the pope’s Feb. 14 declaration, which goes into effect immediately, the discipline part of the Congregation will become its own section, with its own secretary, separate from the doctrine section. And the doctrine section will have an updated purview that’s geared more towards evangelization, in line with t...
Feb 17, 2022•22 min
Two weeks after the release of a report that accused Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI of mishandling sexual abuse cases when he was the archbishop of Munich and Freising, the former pope responded in a brief letter published Feb. 8 by the Vatican. "I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church,” Benedict XVI writes. “All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate.” On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” vetera...
Feb 10, 2022•27 min
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has responded to accusations that he mishandled four cases of clerical sexual abuse when he was archbishop of Munich and Freising. His response came 20 days after a German law firm released its investigation into how abuse cases in the diocese were handled over a 74-year period. Benedict’s response today is brief, 1.5 pages, most of it dedicated to asking for forgiveness. While Benedict apologizes for abuse that happened on his watch, he does not take personal responsi...
Feb 08, 2022•4 min
An investigation, last month, into sexual abuse in the German archdiocese of Munich and Freising found that when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI served as its archbishop he had mishandled cases of sexual abuse committed by members of his clergy. His successors in Munich, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, have also been accused of mishandling cases of sexual abuse. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell continue thei...
Feb 03, 2022•25 min
An investigation into sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising released Jan. 21 found that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the current archbishop, had mishandled cases of clergy sexually abusing minors during each man’s time as archbishop of Munich. On Jan. 24, Pope Emeritus Benedict issued a statement correcting a key part of his 82-page contribution to the investigators, raising questions about how the aging former pontiff’s contribution was assembled. This...
Jan 27, 2022•28 min
In 1977, driving on a rural, dusty road between Aguilares and El Paisnal, a Jesuit priest named Rutilio Grande S.J. was shot and killed by El Salvador’s government security forces. The assassination helped escalate a bloody period of civil war in which Catholics like Oscar Romero (1985), six Jesuits at the Central American University in San Salvador (1989), and four American churchwomen (1980) were martyred. While Romero became a Catholic household name and celebrated saint, not many know the st...
Jan 21, 2022•43 min
A long-awaited report on how sexual abuse cases were handled in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising between 1945 and 2019, was released today, and it accuses both Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, of mishandling abuse cases. The report looks back at abuse cases spanning more than 70 years, which includes Pope Emeritus Benedict’s five-year tenure as archbishop of the diocese. The lawyers accuse Benedict of mishandling four abuse cases, sa...
Jan 20, 2022•3 min
Pope Francis addressed ambassadors from the 183 countries that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See about his top international priorities on Monday and, surprisingly, devoted a portion of his talk to the problems he sees with “cancel culture.” This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell take a look at the pope’s talk and why he thinks cancel culture is a threat to international cooperation. “Under the guise of defending diversi...
Jan 13, 2022•29 min
Pope Francis has an “action-packed” agenda this year, but the relentless spread of Covid-19 worldwide could complicate his plans to visit countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. But whether or not the pope is able to travel internationally this year, Gerry says he “is clearly not planning to slow down,” and has much work to do from his desk at the Vatican. Chief among the pope’s tasks this year is the completion of the reform of the Roman Curia which will culminate with the issuin...
Jan 06, 2022•31 min
Pope Francis’ Christmas messages to “the church and the world” (“Urbi et Orbi”) and to the Roman Curia focused this year on the theme of humility. “He is the word of God who became an infant, capable only of crying, and in need of help for everything,” the pope said. “He wished to learn how to speak, like every other child, so that we might learn to listen to God, our Father, to listen to one another and to dialogue as brothers and sisters.” This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle ...
Dec 30, 2021•7 min
On Saturday, Dec. 18, the Vatican issued some clarifications about its restrictions on the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass. These restrictions had been published in July in Pope Francis’ letter “Traditionis Custodes,” or “Guardians of the Tradition.” Since then, The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship had received some questions about the restrictions, so they put together the most common ones and provided yes or no answers—a format the Vatican sometimes uses called a “responsum ad dubium” or “r...
Dec 21, 2021•6 min
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell take a look back at this year in Vatican news. This year brought three risky papal trips to Iraq, Hungary and Slovakia, and Cyprus and Greece, all undertaken during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the meantime, Pope Francis’ health came into question when he underwent surgery on his colon in mid-July. Gerry recaps the pope’s trips and gives an update on his recovery. Within the Vatican, the pope continued ...
Dec 16, 2021•34 min
Pope Francis traveled to Cyprus and Greece from December 2-6, casting a spotlight on two nations that receive tens of thousands of migrants and refugees each year. On his flight from Rome to Cyprus, Pope Francis told journalists that he was making the trip to “touch the wounds of humanity.” America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell was among the reporters traveling with the pope. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” he speaks with host Colleen Dulle about the experience, and how Pope Franci...
Dec 09, 2021•31 min
Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh covered and participated in the Latin American ecclesial assembly in Mexico City last week. It was the first meeting of its kind, bringing together about 1,000 bishops, priests, religious and lay people to discuss the region’s pastoral needs in a synodal way. On “Inside the Vatican,” Austen joins host Colleen Dulle to discuss his experience at the meeting and what lessons the Latin American church can teach the rest of the world about synodality. Colleen and Aust...
Dec 02, 2021•32 min
