The Vatican unveiled its official Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square on Friday evening, surprising some with its depiction of an astronaut and another figure wearing a Darth Vader-esque helmet coming to adore the Christ child.
Colleen Dulle
Colleen Dulle is the Vatican Correspondent at America and co-hosts the "Inside the Vatican" podcast. She is the author of Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter (Image, 2025).
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis talks about Uighurs, George Floyd and Universal Basic Income in new interview
The book-length interview is the product of a series of exchanges between the pope and Austen Ivereigh, his English-language biographer.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Top 5 Takeaways from the McCarrick Report
Today, the Vatican released an unprecedented, 400-page report on who exactly knew how much about McCarrick’s misconduct and how he was able to rise through the ranks.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Who knew about former Cardinal McCarrick’s alleged sexual abuse? Tomorrow, we might find out.
The Vatican’s McCarrick report comes out Tuesday. Here’s what we can expect.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Explainer: What Pope Francis actually said about civil unions—and why it matters
Did the pope “endorse” civil unions? (Yes.) Were Francis’ words mistranslated? (No.) Is this “old news”? (Yes and no.)
Posted inFaith, News Analysis
Explainer: Why isn’t Pope Francis wearing a mask?
A maskless Pope Francis met guests at a crowded indoor papal audience last week, kissing the hands of newly ordained priests and embracing people who pulled their masks down or did not wear masks at all, flouting the Vatican’s coronavirus protocols.
Posted inFaith
A deep dive into the secret archives of Pope Pius XII
Many documents from the Second World War remained sealed until the full archive was finally opened in March.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
German archbishop calls for open debate about women priests in the Catholic Church
Archbishop Stefan Hesse, Germany’s youngest bishop, said he was entering reform talks with an open mind.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Explainer: What the church has done to fight clergy sex abuse since 2018’s ‘summer of shame’
It has been two years since the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report was published, documenting in disturbing detail at least 1,000 cases of abuse by 300 predator priests spanning seven decades.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Explainer: 5 takeaways from the Vatican’s new document on parish reform
What does the Vatican document on parish life mean for Catholics in the pews?