Inside The Vatican

We're sharing an episode of America's 9-part podcast series "Voting Catholic." In the series finale, Sebastian speaks with Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, a leading voice on Catholic Social Teaching in the American hierarchy. How should Catholics prioritize the issues? And what does it really mean to form your conscience? Bishop McElroy is the author of two books: The Search for an American Public Theology and Morality and American Foreign Policy. US Bishops teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics: "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" Stay up-to-date with America Media's coverage of the 2020 election: www.americamagazine.org/newsletters You can support this media ministry at www.americamagazine.org/donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a new documentary that premiered in Rome today, Pope Francis reiterated his support for civil unions for same-sex couples and slammed the Trump administration’s family separation policy. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss the new documentary, “Francesco,” directed by Evgeny Afineevsky. Gerry interviewed the director, who sought to depict Francis’ papacy through the lens of the social issues the pope has focused on. Colleen and Gerry discuss the pope’s comments on the family separation policy coming out just weeks before the U.S. presidential election. “It’s cruelty, and separating kids from parents goes against natural rights,” the pope says in a new interview given for the documentary. “It’s something a Christian cannot do.” They also discuss the history behind Francis’ endorsement of legal protections for same-sex couples, which dates at least to Francis’ days as archbishop of Buenos Aires. Read more: Pope Francis declares support for same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vatican City saw seven new cases of the coronavirus this week, marking a sudden second wave of infections in the world’s smallest nation. Four of those infected were Swiss Guards; the other three were Vatican residents. As Vatican employees attempt to trace and test those who may have been exposed to these individuals, the influx of cases has thrown into question whether it is safe to continue papal audiences, where many people ignore social distance protocols and some, including Pope Francis, do not wear masks. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss the Vatican’s existing protocols and why Pope Francis may be hesitant to wear a mask. The hosts also explain Cardinal George Pell’s visit with Pope Francis this week. Is it the final flourish in a “victory lap” around his former rival, Cardinal Angelo Becciu? This week on the show, Colleen and Gerry discuss what they make of the meeting.   Links from the show: Four Swiss Guards test positive as Covid-19 penetrates Vatican Gerard O’Connell: Why is Australia’s Cardinal Pell returning to Rome? Pope Francis welcomes Cardinal Pell after sex abuse trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle unpack their takeaways from Pope Francis’ new encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti.” The hosts discuss the pope’s unique interpretation of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Pope Francis devotes an entire chapter of the encyclical to the story, calling on his readers to imagine whether they are most like the Samaritan or the priest and Levite who pass by the wounded man. He examines today’s social issues in light of the parable, saying that it is rare today for someone to give his or her time as the Samaritan did, and that the Samaritan would have been unable to care for the man without the cooperation of institutions like the inn where the man rested and was treated. Colleen recaps the new developments of the document, including the elevation of Francis’ ban on the death penalty to the level of an encyclical and the doubt he casts on whether modern wars are able to meet the requirements of a “just war” as described in just war theory. Gerry situates the encyclical in the rest of Francis’ pontificate, and the two discuss how “Fratelli Tutti” relates to “Laudato Si’.” The hosts also discuss the document’s impact on Catholic-Muslim relations. Pope Francis has tied “Fratelli Tutti” to the document on human fraternity he signed last year with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and he chose a Muslim judge who worked with both religous leaders to officially present “Fratelli Tutti” at the Vatican. Gerry gives some insights from his interview with the judge.   Links from the show: Gerard O’Connell: In new encyclical, Pope Francis envisions ‘renewed hope’ from universal love, open to ‘every man and woman’ ‘Inside the Vatican’ podcast: ‘Fratelli Tutti’ in 5 minutes Colleen Dulle: VIDEO: Five takeaways from ‘Fratelli Tutti’ James Martin, S.J.: Pope Francis closes the door on the death penalty in ‘Fratelli Tutti’ Gerard O’Connell: First Muslim to ever present a papal encyclical praises ‘Fratelli Tutti’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, was released today. The encyclical, which is the highest classification of papal document, is Francis’ diagnosis of the social problems plaguing our world—and his proposed cures. In this brief Inside the Vatican update, host Colleen Dulle breaks down the document’s main themes. Visit americamagazine.org for full coverage of Fratelli Tutti. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cardinal Angelo Becciu resigned suddenly from his position as head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Thursday night, Sept. 24. In a one-sentence press release, the Vatican announced that the cardinal also gave up the “rights connected to the Cardinalate,” including his titular church and participation in conclaves. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss the accusations of embezzlement and nepotism that Cardinal Becciu said Pope Francis brought against him when asking him to resign. Gerry and Colleen also discuss U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the Vatican this week. Mr. Pompeo has been critical of the Vatican’s provisional deal with China, which is up for renewal this year. He intends to urge Vatican officials not to renew the deal, arguing that continued dialogue with China despite the nation’s human rights abuses will weaken the Vatican’s moral standing. Links from the show: Powerful Vatican Cardinal Becciu resigns amid financial scandal Cardinal Becciu denies wrongdoing, says Pope Francis asking for his resignation was ‘surreal’ The Vatican is ready to renew its deal with China. Privately, officials admit they’re walking a tightrope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 17, two Vatican stories broke that illustrate the difference in style between Pope Francis and the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Pope Francis met a group of parents with L.G.B.T. children, telling them “God loves your children as they are” and “the church loves your children as they are because they are children of God.” The same day, news broke that the Irish priest Tony Flannery, who had been suspended from ministry in 2012 after speaking out in favor of women’s ordination to the priesthood, had been told by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that he could be restored to ministry if he signed an affirmation of church teaching on four hot-button issues including women’s ordination, homosexuality and gender theory. The Vatican has stated that it has been in dialogue with Father Flannery; however, Father Flannery says he has never been contacted directly by anyone from the C.D.F. As in past cases of the C.D.F. disciplining theologians, all communication has come through the priest’s superiors in what veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell calls an “impersonal” and “dehumanizing” process which seems at odds with Pope Francis’ hallmark strategy of personal accompaniment and dialogue. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and producer Colleen Dulle discuss why the C.D.F. appears out of step with the pope. After senior Vatican sources told Gerry that Pope Francis should intervene to change the culture in the C.D.F., the hosts discuss how that might be done. Links from the show: Pope Francis to parents of L.G.B.T. children: ‘God loves your children as they are.’ Suspended Irish priest Tony Flannery calls Vatican inquiry ‘unjust’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend, Pope Francis called on government leaders and those with “public responsibilities” to meet the just demands of protestors. With protests rising around the world, which demonstrators was Francis referring to? Veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell joins host Colleen Dulle to unpack the protests Pope Francis has his eye on, from Greece to Belarus to Hong Kong and the United States. Earlier in the show, Gerry gives an update on the coronavirus in the Vatican. The hosts discuss Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s Covid-19 diagnosis and why Pope Francis is often photographed without a face mask. Links from the show: Cardinal Tagle has tested positive for Covid-19 in Manila, and is in isolation. Pope Francis urges government leaders to listen to protestors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Vatican announced this weekend that Pope Francis will sign his new encyclical in Assisi on Oct. 3, just in time for the feast day on the following day of St. Francis, after whom the Pope took his name. The new document is called “Fratelli Tutti” or “Brothers and sisters, all” in Italian, and if Francis’ previous encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” is any indication, this will be a significant document. “Fratelli Tutti” will likely cover many of the themes that Pope Francis has addressed since the beginning of the pandemic, like solidarity, ecology and the growing wealth gap. Francis is concerned that as wealthy nations gradually control the virus’s spread and reopen, the poor may be left to deal both with continuing infections and the economic fallout of the pandemic. In addition to creating a Vatican coronavirus task force and donating money to pandemic relief efforts, Francis devoted his last five Wednesday general audiences to catechesis on human solidarity in the time of coronavirus. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” we devote the whole episode to that “Covid catechesis,” unpacking Francis’ central ideas of community, the universal destination of goods and care for the environment, which are likely to appear in the forthcoming encyclical “Fratelli Tutti.” Read more: Series: Pope Francis’ coronavirus catechesis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just before Covid-19 paused public life in Italy, the entire “secret archives” of Pope Pius XII (1939-58) opened to researchers for the first time. The opening, which had long been asked for by historians and was announced under Pope Benedict XVI, would make available a treasure trove of documents from Pius’ pontificate, spanning the Second World War and into the Cold War. Some documents from the archive had been released from the 1960s to the 1980s to counter the popular narrative that Pius had been complicit or even cooperated with the Nazi regime. While historians agree the new documents will not likely reveal a “smoking gun” that indicts or exonerates Pius, they expect the archives to shed light on the rationale behind Pius’ decision not to publicly condemn Hitler and the Nazis, instead operating through private channels to stop the deportations of Jews from Italy. In this special edition of Inside the Vatican, host Colleen Dulle interviews historians Robert Ventresca and Massimo Faggioli about the opening of the archives, what we know about Pius’ wartime decisions, and what researchers expect to find. The three discuss, too, the impact these findings may have on Jewish-Catholic relations and on Pius’ ongoing canonization cause. Links from the show: Robert Ventresca Massimo Faggioli: La Croix International | Commonweal | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices