Inside The Vatican

This week, a letter found in a previously sealed section of the Vatican's archives reveals Pope Pius XII may have been aware of the Holocaust and the mass deaths of Jewish and Polish people in Nazi concentration camps. Gerard O'Connell and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., give the latest updates on what we know. Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, announced publicly for the first time that he is...

At the Synod on Synodality’s Roman meetings, lay men and women have both been included for the first time as full, voting members. But, argues the Rev. Louis Cameli, if this synod is not to be a “parliament,” as Pope Francis often warns, perhaps there should be no voting in the synod at all. Father Cameli, who is Cardinal Blase Cupich’s Delegate for Formation and Mission and a priest of the Archdi...

Gerry traveled to Mongolia with Pope Francis from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4. On this episode of “Inside the Vatican”—the premiere of season six—Gerry and Colleen analyze the pope’s trip to the world’s most sparsely-populated country and the message he sought to deliver there. Click here to read the full show page with additional stories and links for further reading. Please support this podcast by becomi...

While much of the world’s attention has focused in recent years on global superpowers Russia and China, the vast and sparsely-populated nation sandwiched between them, Mongolia, has often gone overlooked. Once the seat of the mightiest land empire in history, Mongolia has a rich history and strong cultural identity rooted in Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. The Catholic Church in Mongolia, howe...

World Youth Day wrapped up Sunday, Aug. 6, having gathered 1.5 million young people from around the world. On this special summer episode of “Inside the Vatican,” America editors Ricardo da Silva, S.J. and Gerard O’Connell, who reported on the ground from Lisbon, recap the event with host Colleen Dulle. Links from the show: Spanish teen says she regained her sight at World Youth Day Mass Pope Fran...

America editor Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell report from Lisbon on the opening of World Youth Day in this special episode of Inside the Vatican. An energized Pope Francis arrived yesterday, Aug. 2, giving a speech to Portuguese civic leaders in which he urged them to invest in young people and work for peace, especially in Ukraine. He also celebrated vespers an...

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Two U.S. dioceses recently had visits from Vatican investigators, and one led to the resignation of a bishop. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry unpack what these official reviews mean, then look to some of the younger bishops Pope Francis has been appointing to ensure his legacy. After that, Gerry and Colleen give a preview of what’s happening in the Vatican this summer. Please...

Colleen and Gerry unpack the Synod on Synodality's working document and the clues it provides about the synod’s first global meeting in October. They explain the unique approach of “conversation in the Spirit” and explore the document’s key questions on communion, participation, and mission. Find the full show page and links for further reading here. Please support this podcast by becoming a digit...

We have an exciting new podcast from America Media to share with you. It’s called “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast.”  On each episode listeners will first hear an inspiring homily, especially delivered for the podcast, and then take a privileged peek into the heart and mind of the preacher in a conversation with the host, Jesuit priest and America’s associate editor, Ricardo da Silva, S.J. ...

The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) announced today that the well-known religious artist Fr. Marko Rupnik has been dismissed from the Jesuit order after he was credibly accused of sexually, psychologically and spiritually abusing adult women between 1985 and 2018. Read more: Jesuits expel prominent artist Marko Rupnik after allegations of abuse against adult women Learn more about your ad choices....

Pope Francis has been in the hospital since Wednesday, June 7, recovering from an operation on an abdominal hernia. In this episode, Colleen and Gerry give an update on the pope’s recovery and analyze how the Vatican has been communicating about the pope’s condition. Find the full show page and links for further reading here. Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America...

Pope Francis is back in the hospital for surgery on a hernia that likely formed on the scar from his 2021 colon operation. Also in this episode: A nude man protests in St. Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi visits Ukraine to begin Pope Francis’ peace mission, and Benedict XVI’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, is given a deadline to move out of the Vatican. Find the full show page and li...

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication issued a new document called “Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media.” The document lays out how Catholics should be thinking about their social media engagement—and like the pope’s encyclical Fratelli Tutti, it takes as its model the story of the Good Samaritan, urging people to reach out and listen to those who are d...

Last Saturday, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the head of the Italian bishops conference and a consummate diplomat to visit Moscow, to lead a mission “to help ease tensions in the conflict in Ukraine.” This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell explains why Cardinal Zuppi was chosen for this job despite not being a Vatican diplomat. In the seco...

President Volodymr Zelensky of Ukraine visited the Vatican on Saturday for a private meeting with Pope Francis. The Ukrainian President spent 40 minutes with the pope. Holding his hand to his heart, and speaking in French, Mr. Zelensky told the pope it was a “great honor” to meet him.  The pope has repeatedly expressed his desire to visit the war torn Ukraine but only with the proviso that he can...

Last week, the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors had its first meeting since the shocking resignation of abuse expert Hans Zollner, S.J. His resignation over issues “that need to be urgently addressed” led to a public disagreement between him and the commission’s president, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, O.F.M. [Listen and subscribe to “Inside the Vatican” on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.] In...

Colleen is back! This week on Inside the Vatican, hosts Colleen Dulle (with baby William) and Ricardo da Silva join veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell to discuss Pope Francis’ recent visit to Hungary. The pope used his public messages during the visit to highlight the plight of migrants and refugees, saying “Jesus is an open door.” Pope Francis has been at odds with Hungarian Prime Min...

Pope Francis announced on Monday, April 24, that all the participants at the first assembly of Synod on Synodality will have a vote when they meet at the Vatican this October. This is the first time women will have a vote at such a major church event.  “More than 20 percent of the participants will be non-bishops,” says Gerry. “This can be priests, it can be consecrated women and men, it can be la...

Pope Francis publicly denounced allegations made against Pope John Paul II on Italian television last week by Pietro Orlandi, the brother of Emanuela Orlandi. Last year, Ms. Orlandi’s mysterious disappearance from the Vatican almost 40 years ago, when she was just 15-years-old, inspired “Vatican Girl,” a documentary series on Netflix.   Mr. Orlandi, speaking on an Italian TV program, said that he...

China has breached its long-fought-for agreement with the Vatican on the appointment of bishops. On April 4, Bishop Shen Bin was transferred from the Diocese of Haimen, where he had been an auxiliary bishop, and installed as the bishop of Shanghai, the largest Roman Catholic diocese in mainland China.  Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican Press Office, confirmed the installation in a statemen...

When most people are admitted to the hospital, they stay in bed and recover. Unless, you are Pope Francis! Not even two days after he started treatment for a respiratory infection, the pope took to visiting the sick at Gemelli General Hospital in Rome, last Friday. In the pediatric oncology wards, he played and prayed with sick children. He had a pizza party with his medical team and the hospital’...

The Vatican has rejected the six-centuries-old “Doctrine of Discovery” that helped justify the occupation and takeover of Indigenous Peoples’ lands throughout colonial times, and still today forms the basis of property law in many parts of the world. In the U.S. and Canada, the doctrine has also been used to defend the unjust acquisition of land in legal disputes in their Supreme Courts. The decis...

“Balenciaga Pope!” That is what the internet is calling it.  Photos of Pope Francis wearing a luxury oversized, white puffer jacket, that sells for anywhere up to $6,000, went viral this weekend.  A single tweet of the pope’s updated winter wardrobe invited 25,000 retweets, and Google Trends reported a dramatic increase in pope-related searches.  But, however realistic and convincing the photo mig...

Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital where he is undergoing treatment for a respiratory infection.  The pope was taken to hospital by ambulance today, Wednesday, Mar 29, after he complained that he was experiencing chest pains following the celebration of the Angelus at midday in St. Peter’s Square.  According to sources at the Vatican, Massimiliano Strappetti, the pope’s personal health car...