Inside The Vatican

On July 27, 2021, a trial began inside the Vatican Museums before a bench of three judges of the Vatican City State’s court. Now, more than 600 days since arguments began in the specially remodeled Vatican rooms, the trial continues. At the center of the trial is Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the substitute for General Affairs at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State from 2011-18, the equivalent of the Vat...

President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua suspended diplomatic ties with the Vatican over the weekend in what appears to be retaliation for the pope’s strong public criticisms on March 10 of his “rude dictatorship,” likening it to “a communist dictatorship in 1917, or a Hitlerian one in 1935.” These comments were made by the pope in an interview with Infobae, an Argentine news outlet. “I have no other...

In 2013, Pope Francis hit the ground running. He wanted a poor church for the poor; a church that gave a voice to those living on the margins, especially migrants and refugees. He put ecology and care for creation at the center of the church’s work. Inside the church, attitudes had to change. Authority had to be exercised as service. Everything had to be geared toward the mission of the church to...

In this news update, America Media’s Executive Producer Sebastian Gomes shares the biggest headlines to emerge from the Vatican this week: Pope Francis announces his visit to Hungary in April 2023 Pope Francis says he does not ‘condemn capitalism’ in new book Pope Francis calls for greater dialogue, fraternity and peace between Pasletinians and Israelis, and prays for the migrants who perished in...

This week, Pope Francis again confirmed restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, making it clear that permission to celebrate the pre-Vatican II liturgy is reserved to the Vatican and that bishops do not have the freedom to interpret the Pope's previous instruction at whim. On his recent visit to Africa, Pope Francis told Jesuits in the Democratic Republic of Congo that he ha...

Catholics love their saints. But it's not easy to become one. On this special Deep Dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” we take you inside the grueling process of saint-making, which starts at a local diocese and involves dozens of people, a long paper trail with the Vatican, travel for miracle verification and a lot of money. We’ll hear from Vatican historians and journalists about how the proce...

Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican after his six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, which he called a pilgrimage of peace.  America Media’s associate editor, Ricardo da Silva, S.J. and veteran Vatican reporter, Gerard O’Connell discuss the pope’s visit to these two conflict-ridden, yet faith-filled, African countries.  Gerry was aboard the plane, traveled with Pop...

Pope Francis has begun his visit to the peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. He will be on the African continent from Jan. 31 through Feb. 5 for his 40th apostolic visit abroad.  The Democratic Republic of Congo is the first stop on his visit to the African continent, where he will remain until Friday, Feb. 3. Pope Francis has said he is on a “mission of peace” to these Afr...

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former German head of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and an open critic of many of Pope Francis’ initiatives has released a new book, In Good Faith: Religion in the 21st Century, in which he blasts, among others, the Synod on Synodality and papal resignations, and criticizes the pope’s relationship with U.S. President Joe Biden. The day after Rica...

Pope Francis gave a wide-ranging interview to the Associated Press, on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. It the interview, he addressed a range of topics including- homosexuality, his own handling of the sexual abuse crisis, the Vatican-China agreement, how he responds to his loudest critics and his own health.  You can read an article summarizing the interview, by Ricardo da Silva S.J., at americamaga...

The late Cardinal George Pell is now the confirmed author of the once-secret memorandum that sought to discredit the papacy of Pope Francis. This, read in concert with a letter by the cardinal, published posthumously—which characterizes Pope Francis’ succession to the chair of St. Peter as a “catastrophe”—offers stark insight into the dueling forces present within the ranks of the church’s most se...

Cardinal George Pell, an Australian prelate who served as the Vatican's first financial overlord, has died. The cardinal was also intimately involved with the present revision of the English translation of the Mass and had been the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted and imprisoned for child sexual abuse. The judgment was later unanimously overturned by a full bench of Australia's high cou...

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was laid to rest just before noon (Rome time) on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, where the mortal remains of many pontiffs reside.  About 50,000 people came to the Vatican to pay their final respects to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI—who served the Catholic Church for nearly eight years before his historic retirement in...

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at 9:34 a.m. Rome time, today, Saturday, December 31st, 2022. On this special update episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell joins host Colleen Dulle for a conversation on the emeritus pope’s funeral arrangements, his legacy, and Gerry’s memories of him. Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope and took the name Benedict XVI in 2005...

In a surprise statement at the end of his public audience on Dec. 28, Pope Francis appealed for “a special prayer” for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI because, he said, “he is very sick.” Just after the audience, Francis went to visit Benedict at his residence in the Vatican. On “Inside the Vatican” this week, veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle give an update on the f...

In the last few days, much more information has come out detailing the timeline of the abuse allegations and restrictions against Marko Rupnik, S.J., the Jesuit priest-artist who was, we now know, excommunicated for absolving a woman with whom he had a sexual relationship. On this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and producer Ricardo da Silva, S.J., who is filling in for...

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell give an update on the new facts that have emerged in the case of the Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik, who was suspended from parts of his ministry in response to allegations of abuse against him. The facts are difficult to confirm, so this week on the podcast Colleen and Gerry also explain the proce...

The Slovenian Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik has been barred from hearing confessions or offering spiritual direction after allegations that he spiritually and sexually abused adult members of a religious order of women in Slovenia. On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell explain what is known about the case. Up next, the Vatican’s webs...

Last week, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, several members of the America Media team had an exclusive two-hour sit-down interview with Pope Francis; it was published Monday the 28th. The interview was wide-ranging and included questions on political polarization, lack of trust in the U.S. bishops conference, the war in Ukraine, transparency on sexual abuse cases, women’s ordination, enco...

Exclusive: Pope Francis denounces polarization, talks women’s ordination, the U.S. bishops and more in a new interview with America Media! It’s an exciting time for America Media! We've transformed the organization under the leadership of Matt Malone, S.J. into a modern media entity that leads the conversation on faith and culture. There is no doubt that this transformation will continue at Americ...

For Thanksgiving week, “Inside the Vatican” is bringing you a brief update on a few of the top Vatican stories from the last week. Up first, the way Catholics calculate when to celebrate Easter could be changing. This past Saturday, Nov. 19, Pope Francis met with Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, which is an Eastern Christian church based in Iraq. In the meeting...

Pope Francis met with America editor-at-large James Martin, S.J. in the Vatican’s apostolic palace on Nov. 11 for 45 minutes. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Father Martin joins hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell to discuss their exchange, which focused mostly on ministry to LGBT Catholics. Gerry explains the significance of the meeting’s duration—about twice as long as most heads of stat...

At a meeting of the French bishops’ conference, a letter from Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard was read aloud, in which the cardinal admitted that he had “conducted himself in a reprehensible fashion” with a 14 year old girl, adding, “My behavior necessarily caused in this person grave and lasting consequences.” On “Inside the Vatican” this week, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Ger...

The first global report for the Synod on Synodality came out last week, and it’s the Vatican’s first official word on what they’ve been hearing in listening sessions since August 2021. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” producer Ricardo da Silva, S.J., joins host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell for a roundtable discussion on what stood out in the synod document. Ri...

Host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell dig into three eye-catching Vatican stories this week: First up, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke at a dinner for EWTN’s Europe-based staff, stressing the importance of Catholic media being in communion with the pope rather than “fan[ning] the flames of polarization.” He prayed that a “spirit of communion...