Pope Francis celebrated a private Holy Thursday Mass at the apartment of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the high-ranking prelate whose resignation Pope Francis ordered last September. The dismissal was widely believed to be linked to the Vatican’s $200 million London real estate scandal. Most years, Pope Francis has left St. Peter’s Basilica and opted to commemorate the Last Supper in prisons or refugee housing facilities, where he has washed the feet of women, inmates and asylum seekers. Some have rea...
Apr 07, 2021•20 min
Why does the Vatican advocate for democracy in Myanmar but not Hong Kong? This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss Gerry’s wide-ranging interview with Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher. In the interview, Gerry and Archbishop Gallagher discussed the Vatican’s strategies in China and its hopes for the Biden administration. Gerry took the opportunity to discuss the Vatican’s view on democracy more b...
Mar 31, 2021•24 min
Church historian and Villanova University professor Massimo Faggioli joins host Colleen Dulle to discuss the Vatican’s recent guidelines banning private, individual Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica and restricting celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass (officially called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) to one chapel in the basilica’s crypt. Dr. Faggioli explains how the change is part of Pope Francis’ ongoing effort to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and how the C...
Mar 26, 2021•25 min
Last week’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith document marked a departure from Pope Francis’ usual pastoral tone on LGBT issues, even though the pope had approved its publication. This weekend, the pope spoke against “theoretical condemnations,” posing “gestures of love” as an alternative. America Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell spoke with several Vatican officials who told them that the pope’s comments were an effort to distance himself from the document. Why use anonymous sourc...
Mar 24, 2021•28 min
This week, a statement from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith made global headlines, saying that the church cannot bless gay unions and reiterating that they are “not ordered to the Creator’s plan.” The document said Pope Francis “assented” to its publication, which disappointed LGBT Catholics who had come to appreciate the pope’s more supportive tone. But how closely did Pope Francis really examine the document? This week on “Inside the Vatican,” America’s Rome correspondent Gerard ...
Mar 17, 2021•22 min
Pope Francis visited Iraq March 5-8, and America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell traveled with him. Fresh off the trip, Gerry joins host Colleen Dulle on “Inside the Vatican” to discuss what it was like to travel with the pope on his riskiest trip yet. Pope Francis was determined to visit Iraq despite the increases in violence and coronavirus cases there because he wanted to encourage Iraqis to believe in their country’s future after decades of conflict. In particular, he hoped to bring...
Mar 10, 2021•23 min
Pope Francis takes off for Baghdad on Friday, March 5. Once he arrives in Iraq, he will zigzag the country at breakneck speed visiting civic and religious leaders and touring places that are still recovering from the destruction wrought by the Islamic State. Since ISIS’ takeover of the Nineveh Plain, the area where most Iraqi Christians lived, three-quarters of those Christians have left the country. Pope Francis is intent on encouraging them and affirming the choice of those who have remained. ...
Mar 03, 2021•28 min
On Sunday, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Guinean prelate with whom he has publicly clashed on a few occasions. Pope Francis was widely expected to accept Cardinal Sarah’s resignation soon after his 75th birthday in June, but the pope surprised Vatican watchers this week by declining to fill Cardinal Sarah’s now-vacant post as head of the Congregation for Divine Worship. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle gives a brief update on this news, ...
Feb 24, 2021•5 min
Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq, scheduled for March 5-8, has been thrown into further question in recent days. Following the discovery of the new UK-based strain of the novel coronavirus, Iraqi authorities closed businesses and places of worship, including those where the pope was expected to hold events during his visit. A rocket attack near the Erbil airport on Feb. 15 has also heightened security concerns, as the pope was expected to meet leaders from Iraqi Kurdistan at the airport and depart fro...
Feb 17, 2021•22 min
For the first time, a woman will have the right to vote in the Synod of Bishops. Sister Nathalie Becquart, a Xaviere sister, became the first woman to be named undersecretary of the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops, a position previously reserved to bishops. As is customary for the undersecretary, Sister Becquart is expected to be a voting member of the 2022 synod. Until now, women have been barred from voting in synods. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent G...
Feb 11, 2021•23 min
Pope Francis made clear this week that he was keeping a close eye on the divisions in the U.S. church, which showed up most recently in the controversy over Archbishop Jose H. Gomez’s statement on the inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden. The statement was seen as being inappropriately confrontational by the Vatican, and stateside sparked responses both of support and opposition among other bishops. Cardinal Blase Cupich, who said on Twitter that the statement had not followed the bishops’ ...
Feb 03, 2021•28 min
Last week, the United States’ second Catholic president was sworn in. The day was tinged with controversy for some U.S. Catholics, though, when the president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, Archbishop José H. Gomez, issued a statement that was seen by the Vatican as being too confrontational towards the new president. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell look at explain the questions that have arisen around the controversial do...
Jan 27, 2021•22 min
The Vatican’s judicial system is entering a busy season: Soon, it will deliver a verdict in the trial of the former head of the Vatican Bank who was accused of embezzlement; it will hear the abuse trial of a former St. Peter’s Basilica altar server; and it’s expected to bring charges against a woman accused of embezzling more than 500,000 Euros from the Vatican while employed under Cardinal Angelo Becciu. This week, the Vatican dropped its effort to extradite the woman from Italy to Vatican City...
Jan 20, 2021•21 min•Ep. 102
The eyes of the world were on the United States last week, when a group of insurrectionists supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building as Congress was certifying the results of last year’s presidential election. Pope Francis said he was “astounded” and denounced the violence and the movement that caused it. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss Pope Francis’ challenge to the U.S. to overcome its d...
Jan 13, 2021•24 min
Welcome to Inside the Vatican’s 100th episode! This week, host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell celebrate their 100th episode, reminiscing on their favorite memories of the last two years of “Inside the Vatican.” They also give updates on Vatican City’s soon-to-arrive coronavirus vaccines and Pope Francis’ recent sciatica flare-up. (Don’t worry, he’s OK.) Colleen and Gerry also dive into a recent legally binding order from Pope Francis instructing the Vatican’s Secretaria...
Jan 06, 2021•21 min
The coronavirus pandemic upended everyone’s plans for 2020—including the Vatican’s. From the first weeks of the pandemic when Pope Francis prayed in the rain in St. Peter’s Square to the London finance scandal to the new standards of transparency ushered in by the McCarrick report, it’s been an unprecedented year in every way. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell recap the biggest Vatican moments of 2020. The hosts focus on three areas ...
Dec 30, 2020•27 min
Pope Francis held two pared-down and socially-distanced Christmas celebrations this week: First, Mass on Christmas Eve in St. Peter’s basilica, and then his “urbi et orbi” address and blessing “to the church and the world.” In both, we heard a common theme from Pope Francis in 2020: a strong call for greater fraternity among people. In this episode, host Colleen Dulle gives a quick update on what the pope said. Read Pope Francis’ Christmas Eve homily Read Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi address Learn...
Dec 26, 2020•4 min
Just after Vatican City ordered enough doses of the coronavirus vaccine for all of its employees and their families, two cardinals who work close to the pope have tested positive for the virus. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the 57-year-old papal almoner who once climbed down a manhole to restore electricity to a building where homeless people were living, was taken to the hospital with pneumonia symptoms. Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, 78, the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, also t...
Dec 23, 2020•23 min
Last week, the Vatican dropped a surprise announcement that Pope Francis would be visiting Iraq March 5-8, 2021. The announcement was surprising not least of all because of the ongoing pandemic and insurgency in the country. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell talk about how the Vatican is weighing the pastoral needs of Iraq’s embattled Christian community and the health and safety concerns for Pope Francis and for the crowds who want ...
Dec 16, 2020•25 min
In October, the Holy See and China renewed their controversial agreement on bishops’ appointments. If both sides are satisfied with how things are going after two years, the arrangement will become permanent. As it stands now, both sides want to see some changes before that can happen. In this special episode of “Inside the Vatican,” America editors Gerard O’Connell and Zac Davis join Colleen Dulle to explain what the Holy See and China each want from the deal. They unpack the story of the histo...
Dec 09, 2020•19 min
This weekend’s consistory, where Pope Francis created 13 new cardinals, only 11 of whom were physically present, will go down in history as one of the church’s most unique celebrations. Ordinarily, thousands of guests crowd into St. Peter’s Basilica for the creation of new cardinals, who are fêted before and after the ceremony in countless parties and receptions. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the cardinal-designates’ days before the consistory included no such parties: Instead, the...
Dec 02, 2020•23 min
Pope Francis opens up about his “personal covids”—times of crisis in his life—in a new book called Let Us Dream, written in collaboration with his biographer, Austen Ivereigh. With Mr. Ivereigh’s encouragement, the pope brought his sometimes-lofty ideas for building a new society post-pandemic down to earth. He discloses in a new way how his lung operation as a young man taught him dependence on others and how his so-called “exile” in Cordoba, Argentina after that country’s “Dirty War” unexpecte...
Nov 25, 2020•33 min
Juan Carlos Cruz is an abuse survivor and advocate who has the pope’s hear when it comes to clerical sexual abuse. In 2018, when Pope Francis went to Chile, he was asked about Juan Carlos’ abuser and his bishop’s cover-up. Francis dismissed Juan Carlos out of hand and called his accusations calumny. Soon after, Francis sent investigators to look into abuse in Chile, and they came back with a 2600-page report saying Juan Carlos and his friends had been telling the truth. Pope Francis apologized, ...
Nov 23, 2020•22 min
Last week, the Vatican released its report on how former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was able to rise through the ranks of the church hierarchy despite rumors swirling about him abusing priests, seminarians, and minors. Now, survivors and advocates in countries like Poland, Chile and Mexico want detailed Vatican reports on sexual abuse in their countries to be published, too. “Many people are saying, we’ve had the McCarrick report, now let’s have the Maciel report,” explains Vatican corresponden...
Nov 18, 2020•22 min
The Vatican’s long-awaited report on the rise of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was finally published yesterday. The document reveals that complaints about Mr. McCarrick’s abuse of seminarians reached all the way to Pope John Paul II, and that allegations of his abuse of children reached at least to John Paul’s top advisors. In this deep dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle explain the rise and fall of Theodore McCa...
Nov 11, 2020•23 min
Colleen Dulle gives a brief update on the Vatican’s report on former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, which was published today. Read America Media's full report: Vatican report tracks McCarrick’s rise despite allegations of abuse and misconduct Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 10, 2020•3 min
Many in the Vatican have kept a close eye on the U.S. presidential election, held Nov. 3. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss what advantages and disadvantages each candidate offers in the eyes of Holy See officials. The U.S. election comes amid a surge in coronavirus cases in Italy. Over the weekend, Italy saw more than 30,000 new cases per day, up from the previous peak of 5,000 per day in March. Gerry gives an update on restrictions in Italy and...
Nov 04, 2020•20 min
Pope Francis made headlines last week when he endorsed civil unions for same-sex couples as part of an interview in a new documentary called “Francesco.” Almost immediately, questions emerged about the comments: Was the pope mistranslated? When did he make these comments? Had he been censored? This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell answer these questions “rapid fire,” as Colleen says, and unpack everything you need to know about the pope’...
Oct 28, 2020•20 min
We're sharing an episode of America's 9-part podcast series "Voting Catholic." In the series finale, Sebastian speaks with Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, a leading voice on Catholic Social Teaching in the American hierarchy. How should Catholics prioritize the issues? And what does it really mean to form your conscience? Bishop McElroy is the author of two books: The Search for an American Public Theology and Morality and American Foreign Policy. US Bishops teaching document on the politica...
Oct 26, 2020•28 min
In a new documentary that premiered in Rome today, Pope Francis reiterated his support for civil unions for same-sex couples and slammed the Trump administration’s family separation policy. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss the new documentary, “Francesco,” directed by Evgeny Afineevsky. Gerry interviewed the director, who sought to depict Francis’ papacy through the lens of the social issues the pope has focused on. Colleen ...
Oct 21, 2020•22 min
