Inside The Vatican

This special deep dive episode recaps the 2024 VaticanRoman meeting of the Synod on Synodality, featuring interviews with five synod delegates about the tensions and unexpected breakthroughs in the Synod hall—and outside it. The episode brings listeners inside Synod meetings with archival audio, and parses the synod’s final document, which Pope Francis adopted as part of the church’s magisterial t...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., filling in for Colleen Dulle, speaks with Gerard O’Connell about Pope Francis’ recent interview on Italian TV. In the interview, given on the eve of the U.S. presidential inauguration, the pope announced that by March he would appoint a woman to lead the Vatican City-State government. He also criticized President Donald Trump’s mass d...

The Vatican has approved new guidelines from the Italian Bishops’ Conference, allowing gay men to enter seminaries if they commit to celibacy, as expected of all seminarians regardless of sexual orientation. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss whether this signals a shift in admissions policy and the potential implications for seminarians worldwide. They a...

Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy as archbishop of Washington and Sister Simona Brambilla, an Italian Consolata missionary, as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Her appointment makes her the first woman to lead a major Vatican department and to have a cardinal as her deputy. On this week's episode of “Inside the Vatican,”...

The Catholic Jubilee Year, established in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII, is rooted in the Jewish tradition of releasing prisoners, forgiving debts, and restoring harmony every 50 years. During the Jubilee, Catholics can receive plenary indulgences, which remove the temporal punishment for sins that have already been forgiven and can be offered for others, such as those in purgatory. In this episode o...

On his 88th birthday, Pope Francis revealed he survived two assassination attempts during his 2021 apostolic visit to Iraq, a journey already recognized as high-risk. In this episode of Inside the Vatican, Colleen and Gerry examine this shocking disclosure and other insights from his forthcoming autobiography, Hope, with excerpts released to mark the occasion ahead of its January publication. They...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell take a closer look at  Pope Francis’ latest consistory, which created 21 new cardinals on Saturday, Dec. 7. In the second half of the show, they discuss the pope’s call for an end to the death penalty in the United States and for ceasefires in the world’s wars before Christmas.  Please support this podcast by becoming a digital...

On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell investigate Pope Francis’ new letter on the final synod document, his address to experts of the International Theological Commission on developing a theology of synodality and Gerry’s interviews with Archbishops Charles Scicluna and Timothy Costelloe. They also unpack Pope Francis’ hope to leverage the 2025 Jubilee Year to...

In this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss Hope Never Disappoints: Pilgrims Toward a Better World, a new book being released this week in which Pope Francis calls for the investigation of allegations of genocide in Gaza. They also unpack the Pope’s celebration of the eighth World Day of the Poor on Sunday, Nov. 17 with a lunch shared by 1300 poor and...

Inside the Vatican’s Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell unpack the Vatican’s response to the re-election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States. They also cover several stories, including a new AI model of St. Peter’s Basilica developed in part by Microsoft, new Vatican appointments and a slate of Jesuit news out of Rome.  Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subsc...

On this week’s episode, host Colleen Dulle interviews Catholic author and academic Michael W. Higgins to discuss his new book, “The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis.” They unpack the pope’s responses to scandals, his reform efforts, and his spiritual and intellectual formation—all of which have profoundly shaped his moral voice at the helm of an evolving church.  Find full sho...

Gerry and Colleen unpack their takeaways from the 2024 Synod on Synodality’s final document  and from the 2021-2024 synodal process as a whole. In the second part of the show, Colleen interviews Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark about what the experience at the synod means for the U.S. church and how bishops exercise authority. More from this episode: An English translation of the Synod's Final D...

On this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., interview Dr. Catherine Clifford, a professor of systematic and historical theology at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa, Canada, who served as an elected member of the 2024 Synod on Synodality’s drafting commission for the final document They discuss the meetings on the discernment of women deacons that happen...

On the eve of the highly anticipated publication of the final report for the Synod on Synodality, Inside the Vatican host Colleen Dulle and Jesuitical host Zac Davis speak with their colleague and synod delegate James Martin, S.J., about his experience this month inside the second assembly. Zac and Colleen discuss: - The atmosphere at this year’s synod assembly compared to last year’s - How contro...

The “Inside the Vatican” team is together in Rome—live and in person—for the Synod on Synodality’s final week. Host Colleen Dulle, veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell and producer Ricardo da Silva, S.J., discuss last week’s most contentious story out of the Vatican: the scheduled meeting of Study Group 5, which is considering ways to increase participation for women in the Church, inclu...

On this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., are joined by Rev. Matthew Laferty, a Methodist minister who works for the World Methodist Council and represents the Methodist church’s relationship with the Catholic Church and the Vatican. They discuss how the Catholic Church’s current Synod on Synodality is inspiring deeper conversations and greater unity...

The 2024 session of the Synod on Synodality has reached its halfway point. In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” producer Ricardo da Silva, S.J., reporting from Rome, provides an overview of the second week of the synod. Then, joined by Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell, the two explore some central themes that are beginning to emerge from this session of the synod, including the growing r...

On this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle is joined by Laurence Gien, a survivor of clerical sexual abuse who spoke about his experience as part of a penitential celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Oct. 1, 2024. Calling for healing for survivors and administrative urgency from the church to address their pain, Mr. Gien saw his testimony as an important sy...

The second session of the Synod on Synodality began with a penitential liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica, where a victim of child sexual abuse shared his story for the first time during an official liturgy there. This underscored the church's commitment to naming its sins, greater transparency and accountability. On this episode of Inside the Vatican, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspon...

Colleen Dulle and Gerard O'Connell tackle your burning questions in a special mailbag episode of “Inside the Vatican.” Tune in for their answers on issues that matter to ordinary Catholics. What real changes can we expect from the Synod on Synodality? Why won’t Pope Francis travel to Paris for the grand reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral this December? And how is the Vatican responding to the rapid...

This episode of “Inside the Vatican” was originally slated to be our mailbag Q. and A. episode, but with so much news, Gerry and Colleen are focusing this week on the most newsworthy moments from Pope Francis’ visit to Belgium. Sexual abuse was a main issue going into this visit; what was less expected were the criticisms the pope faced on the role of women in the church and society. In the second...

Among the youngest people in a room of mostly bishops, Julia Oseka and José Manuel De Urquidi were in the first group of lay voting members at a synod, as delegates to the Synod on Synodality held at the Vatican last year. In an episode of “Inside the Vatican” recorded last month, José and Julia join host Colleen Dulle for an interview about their experience at the synod: a month of deep listening...

On Sept. 19, the Vatican officially recognized Medjugorje as a place of pilgrimage and popular piety, stopping short of confirming the supernatural origin of the apparitions. The next day, Pope Francis, in a fiery speech to global grassroots organizers, criticized the wealthy for obstructing social justice and advocated for higher taxes on billionaires, an end to sports betting, and a universal ba...

Pope Francis’ 12-day Southeast Asia visit ended in striking contrast to its start, reports veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell. Singapore’s relatively empty streets upon his arrival gave way to 55,000 supporters in the stadium for his final Mass, where he took extra time to greet and bless children. On the flight back to Rome, resuming his now-anticipated press conferences, Pope Francis...

Pope Francis continues his longest international visit to date: an almost-two-week tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. Veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell reports live from Dili, the capital city of Timor Leste, sharing insights into the pope’s historic visit to Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste—where nearly half of the country’s population gathered to celebrate Mass with him—and preview...