Inside The Vatican

This week, the Vatican is relatively quiet, as Pope Francis and the top Roman Curia officials make their Lenten retreat. As he has done since 2021, the pope has asked each official to make their retreat individually, centered on private prayer and spiritual exercises.Austen Ivereigh’s latest book, First Belong to God: On Retreat with Pope Francis, helps all people of faith do just that. The author joins host Colleen Dulle this week to discuss his proposed retreat, as well as his experience covering Pope Francis both as a journalist and now—with his latest book—as a spiritual writer. He also shares his plans for his third biography of the present pope, focussed on the pope’s trajectory since the Covid-19 pandemic.Find the full episode page and links for further reading here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” producer Ricardo da Silva—filling in for host Colleen Dulle—joins veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell to discuss what Gerry is calling “Argentine Weekend” at the Vatican. This past weekend brought the canonization of Argentina’s first woman saint, along with a surprisingly warm meeting between the pope and Argentina’s new, ultraconservative president Javier Milei. The hosts also debrief the story of “Mama Antula,” the new Argentine saint Pope Francis canonized this weekend.In the second half of the show, Gerry and Ricardo analyze the pope’s meeting with his council of cardinal advisors, to which a female Anglican bishop was invited to speak about women’s ordination.Find the full episode page and links for further reading here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell recap the recent Anglican-Catholic summit that took place in Rome and Canterbury, England. Gerry explains what he sees as the major shift in Anglican-Catholic dialogue from theological discussion to concrete action under Pope Francis.In part two of the episode, Colleen and Gerry analyze a letter Pope Francis sent to Israeli Jews. Why did the pope choose to address a religious group within Israel, rather than the entire nation?Find the full episode page and links for further reading here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Francis’ recent interview with the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa. There, the pope opens up about his feelings of loneliness and once more reaffirms his defense of the Vatican’s declaration approving blessings for couples in “irregular situations.” In the second half of the show, Colleen and Gerry explore the appointment of three new bishops and the approval of a new diocese in China, actions that indicate rapid developments in the Vatican’s complex relationship with China.Find the full episode page and links for further reading here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Francis’ recent meeting with journalists, exploring his views on journalism and comparing them to past popes. They also parse the pope’s comments about declining birth rates across much of Europe and address the politicization of the issue and his call for global economic reforms that promote and support the well-being of young families.Find the full episode page and links for further reading here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Dec. 18, Pope Francis opened the possibility for priests to bless same-sex couples and couples who the church considers to be living in what it calls “irregular” situations.In this roundtable episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle, Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell, and America national correspondent Michael J. O’Loughlin dive into “Fiducia Supplicans,” the Vatican’s declaration on these blessings, examining its content, the reactions it has prompted among bishops and laypeople, and what it might signify for the future of the church. Find the full episode page and links for further reading here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In their first episode of the new year, veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle dissect Pope Francis’ “State of the World” address and reveal his plans for 2024, including significant international trips, high-level Vatican appointments, and the opening of Jubilee Year 2025.Find the full episode page and links for further reading here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cardinal Becciu, convicted in a financial scandal and sentenced to five and a half years in prison, is discussed in this podcast. Topics include the dramatic revelations of the trial, Pope Francis' financial reforms, and the implications of the conviction on the Vatican's ability to preach the gospel.

On Monday Dec. 18, the Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a declaration stating that priests can bless same-sex couples as long as the blessing does not resemble a marriage or coincide with a civil union ceremony. This declaration follows up on a controversial 2021 response from the dicastery that stated same-sex unions could not be blessed in a liturgical context. The new declaration does not overturn the previous teaching against liturgical blessings, but does allow priests to give non-liturgical blessings to couples in irregular situations, such as a same-sex relationship. James Martin, S.J., editor-at-large at America Magazine, discusses the significance of this development, noting that it is a step forward and offers a deeper theological reflection. Requesting a blessing is “a holy desire for God's help,” says Father Martin. “Rather than saying God doesn't bless sin, it’s saying, God blesses all of us in our desire for God’s presence in our lives.” Father Martin believes that this declaration is an important step towards inclusivity and pastoral care for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics, their families and friends. “This is an early Christmas present for the Catholic Church and for so many people who have felt that God really isn’t accompanying them—and that the church, more specifically, is not accompanying them—and now they will feel more accompanied and able to do these things in public.” Read more Pope Francis’ same-sex blessings declaration is a major step forward for LGBTQ CatholicsPope Francis allows blessings of couples in same-sex relationshipsPlease support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle is joined by Mike Lewis, the editor in chief of Where Peter Is, a blog site dedicated to countering criticism of Pope Francis from the small but vocal resistance in the U.S. church. In the wake of Pope Francis’ recent decisions to remove Bishop Joseph Strickland from his diocese in Tyler, Tex. and revoke Cardinal Raymond Burke’s salary and Vatican apartment, Colleen and Mike discuss the long-simmering tensions between Francis and certain voices in the U.S. church, why those tensions are boiling over in this particular moment, and potential opportunities for bridge-building between Pope Francis and his critics.Read the full show notes and find links to read more here.Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices