Inside The Vatican

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and I talk briefly about the horrific fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Then, we’ll update you on Pope Francis kissing the feet of South Sudanese leaders, and the importance of gestures like this one. We’ll also talk about a new letter from Pope Emeritus Benedict that addressed the sexual abuse crisis. We go through some of the questions that journalis...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerard O’Connell and I update you on Cardinal Sarah’s recent comments on migrants, which strike a different tone from what we’ve come to expect from Pope Francis. We also discuss why Pope Francis prefers to have advisors who disagree with him on some issues. Then, Gerry and I will tell you about an international human rights delegation that visited the Vatican as...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerard O’Connell and I take a look at the joint appeal Pope Francis signed with King Mohammed VI of Morocco to keep the city of Jerusalem and its holy sites open to people of all faiths. Then, we unpack some of our main takeaways from Pope Francis’ new apostolic exhortation on young people, “Christus Vivit.” We’ll also look at some criticism of the document and d...

On the last episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry O’Connell and I brought you an interview with Lucetta Scaraffia, the editor of Women Church World, a monthly magazine that comes out with the Vatican’s daily newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. On Tuesday, March 26, she and the entire staff of Women Church World resigned in protest of what they saw as attempts by the new editor of the Osservatore Rom...

Gerry’s out this week, so instead of following our usual format, this week we’re breaking out of the weekly news cycle to bring you an interview about a slow change that’s beginning for some really important people in the Vatican: Women. Lucetta Scaraffia is the editor of Women Church World. Women Church World is the monthly magazine that comes as an insert in the Vatican’s newspaper. Gerry and I...

This week, we’ll update you on Cardinal Pell and several other high-profile cases of abuse. We’ll also talk about Pope Francis’ sixth anniversary as pope. Cardinal Pell was sentenced to six years in prison. He’ll be eligible for parole in three years and eight months, and he plans to appeal the ruling altogether in June. We'll look at his legacy as a reformer of Vatican finances as well as his rec...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry O’Connell and I update you on what has been happening since the sexual abuse summit. First, we take a look at the handbook that the Vatican is putting together on how to handle cases of sexual abuse, and how to put the proper structures in place in each diocese. Gerry and I also examine why Pope Francis is opting for a slower pace of reform—and whether this...

We talk a lot on this show about the church’s sexual abuse crisis, and while Gerry and I try to break down what’s new, we don’t often get to talk about the problems that are at the root of this scandal—or how hearing these stories over and over affects our own faith. Thankfully, there’s a new podcast from America Media that explores all of these questions. It’s called “Deliver Us.” Its host, Maggi...

This week on “Inside the Vatican” Gerry and I are in Rome covering the sexual abuse summit. So this week’s episode might sound a little different—you’ll hear the sounds of Rome, and some of the interviews that Gerry and I have been doing while we’re here. We’ll talk about the surprises that came out of Pope Francis’ opening address to the summit, what happened on Thursday and what we can expect fr...

This week on Inside the Vatican, we’ll fill you in on Cardinal Muller’s recent manifesto, along with updates on the McCarrick case, preparations for next week’s summit on sexual abuse, and information on a bombshell book that threatens to overshadow that summit. “In the Closet of the Vatican” is a salacious new 571-page book that’s expected to be released on the first day of the Vatican’s summit o...

This week, Pope Francis visited Abu Dhabi to meet with religious leaders at the Global Inter-Religious Meeting on Human Fraternity, a conference aimed at combating religious extremism. Where the pope chooses to visit will always be significant. But what makes this trip different from, say, his trip to Panama that we talked about in the last episode of “Inside the Vatican,” is that this is the firs...

Whenever Pope Francis goes on a trip somewhere around the world, he usually invites journalists to join him on the papal plane, and he’ll spend a few minutes taking questions from them. Pretty much every subject is on the table, and some of the pope’s most famous quotes have come from these impromptu press conferences—like his “Who am I to judge” comment about gay priests. But since he’s speaking...

This week on “Inside the Vatican” we look at why the Vatican seems to be lowering expectations for its upcoming international summit on sexual abuse. Then, we talk about World Youth Day, which is being held in Panama this week. Gerry has covered every World Youth Day since the inaugural one in 1985, and he explains how the young people at this event have had a significant impact on their bishops,...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” we explore the topic of women deacons. We feature some clips from America’s exclusive interview with two members of the Vatican’s commission to research women deacons in the early church. Then, Rome correspondent Gerry O’Connell and I unpack what Pope Francis might do next with the commission's research. In the second half of the show, we look at three recent dev...

As 2019 begins, all eyes in the Vatican are turned towards the upcoming summit on sexual abuse, and recent weeks have brought a number of stories that reveal how Pope Francis aims to lead the church on this issue. First, the Vatican confirmed this past weekend that it is investigating a third accusation of abuse against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. On “Inside the Vatican” this week, Gerry O’Conn...

This week before “Inside the Vatican” goes on break, we are giving you a round-up of this year’s top Vatican news—and digging into the questions that remain about these stories going into the new year. We examine whether Pope Francis’ document on holiness “Gaudete et Exsultate” has had an impact beyond its short appearance in the news cycle. We also look at the open questions from this year’s sexu...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” we look at Pope Francis’ recent comments about homosexuality and religious life. His new book on consecrated life, “The Strength of a Vocation,” is based on a long interview and Pope Francis has a number of quotations that have made headlines around the world. “The issue of homosexuality is a very serious issue that we need to adequately discern right from the st...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” we take a look at the newly announced committee that will plan the Vatican’s upcoming, high-stakes summit on sexual abuse. One committee member, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of India, told Crux in October that the meeting “will be successful, or it will be a disaster for the Church.” So, can it succeed in creating lasting change? In this week’s episode, we try to answ...

Full show notes and related articles: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/11/21/has-catholic-infighting-gotten-worse       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Full show notes and related articles: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/11/14/whats-behind-stalled-us-bishops-vote-sex-abuse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For full show notes and links, visit: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/11/07/nuncio-reported-mccarrick-he-became-dc-archbishop-new-book-confirms  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” America’s new Vatican news explainer podcast, producer Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell unpack the final document from the Synod on Young People. The main takeaway from the synod, Gerry says, is the method of listening, discussing and discerning that Pope Francis established. Now it’s up to dioceses to continue dialoguing with young people...

In the first episode of Inside the Vatican, producer Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell give an update on the Synod on Young People, Archbishop Viganò's third letter and relations between the Holy See and North and South Korea. Read more about the Synod on Young People: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/10/04/what-you-need-know-about-2018-synod-young-people Read more...

Each week, Colleen Dulle goes behind the headlines of the biggest Vatican news stories with America’s Rome correspondent Gerard O’Connell. They'll break down complicated news stories that have a whole lot of history behind them in an understandable, engaging way. Colleen and Gerard will give you the inside scoop on what people inside the Vatican are thinking, saying—and planning. Learn more about...