Inside The Vatican

Pope Francis has canceled his scheduled trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate conference on doctor’s orders. In this brief update episode, host Colleen Dulle explains what we know about the pope’s illness so far. Links from the show: On doctor’s orders, Pope Francis cancels trip to Dubai for climate conference Pope Francis punishes Cardinal Burke, revokes Vatican apartment and salary This #GivingTue...

The “Inside the Vatican” team is hard at work on a deep dive episode unpacking what happened at last month’s Synod on Synodality. So this week, we’re bringing you a brief news update. On the day this update is released, Nov. 22, Pope Francis is expected to meet with families of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas, and separately with a group of Palestinians who have relatives in Gaza. He’s expect...

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell analyze Pope Francis’ headline-making decision to oust Bishop Joseph Strickland as the head of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. They also review Gerry’s recent interviews with cardinals and bishops from around the world to learn how these leaders are implementing synodality in their dioceses....

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss Pope Francis’ diplomatic approach to the ongoing war in Israel and Gaza. They also talk about the pope’s historic announcement that he will attend the COP28 Climate Conference in Dubai next month. Read the full show notes and find links to read more here. Please support this podca...

Theologian Catherine Clifford is an expert on ecclesiology and the history of Vatican II, and she was a full voting member of the Synod on Synodality representing North America. She joined host Colleen Dulle in Rome near the end of the synod to explain the major implications the synod has on the Catholic Church’s structures and its hierarchical nature. Read the full show notes and find links to re...

On this special crossover episode of Jesuitical and Inside the Vatican, Zac Davis speaks with his colleagues Gerard O’Connell, Sam Sawyer, S.J., and synod member James Martin, S.J., about the concluding document of the recent synod on synodality in Rome. They discuss: The open debate about women’s ordination to the diaconate Why reference to L.G.B.T. Catholics was not included in the synthesis doc...

In this “Inside the Vatican,” episode host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss the final week of the Synod on Synodality and the Letter to the People of God, released Oct. 25 after the approval of synod participants. The letter is the first of two documents expected from the synod before it concludes its business in Rome on Oct. 29. They also talk abo...

The Rev. Clarence Devadass, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a synod delegate, and a host of the “Catholics at Home” podcast, joins Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell to talk about his experience of bringing together Asia’s diverse cultures in one continental synod document, and how he hopes he has represented those experiences in the synod hall. Read the full show notes and...

In this bonus “Inside the Vatican” episode, host Colleen Dulle interviews Inés San Martín, former Rome bureau chief of Crux and current vice president of marketing and communications at The Pontifical Mission Societies U.S.A. Inés speaks with Colleen about World Mission Sunday, happening on Oct. 22, and the changes that The Pontifical Mission Societies U.S.A. have made following a $10.2 million fi...

Pope Francis has asked synod participants to “fast from public words”—and they’ve been instructed in the synod’s official rules not to speak about their own or others’ interventions in the synod, even after the meeting ends. In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle interviews John Thavis, the former Rome Bureau Chief of Catholic News Service and author of “The Vatican Diaries” a...

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss developments from the second week of the Synod, including the inclusion of L.G.B.T. people, the global migration crisis, the plights of the world’s most impoverished people, and women’s roles—including ordination to the diaconate and positions of influence and authority in the chu...

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle interviews Julia McStravog, a senior advisor on the Synod on Synodality at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, to get an inside look into how the U.S. church organized itself to carry out the national and continental phases of the synod.  Julia played a pivotal role in guiding the U.S. church throughout the synod process. Sh...

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss the first week of the Synod on Synodality. They analyze the strong emphasis from Pope Francis and the synod team to maintain discussions between participants confidential, both during and after the synod. They also provide an overview of synod discussions, including topics like the roles of wo...

Today, we're releasing an episode of America Media's "Jesuitical" podcast, hosted by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis, who are joined by Inside the Vatican's co-host Gerard O’Connell, a journalist who has covered the Vatican since 1985. They bring questions from listeners about the Synod on Synodality, which began this week: How will the discussions inside the synod hall work? How will the synod dea...

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss the opening of the Synod on Synodality and the list of “dubia” sent to Pope Francis by a group of retired cardinals. They also talk about the ecumenical prayer vigil hosted by the Taizé community on Sept. 30 and the retreat that the synod participants attended Oct. 1-3. Colleen an...

This past weekend Pope Francis traveled to Marseille for a meeting of bishops and young people from around the Mediterranean basin, where he delivered a powerful message about integrating migrants into society. On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle recap three major moments from the pope’s visit, before giving a preview of th...

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...