In a surprising and far-reaching decision Pope Francis has announced an extraordinary ldquo Jubilee of Mercy rdquo that will extend from December 8 2015 to November 20 2016 and will involve the Catholic Church throughout the world He broke the news of this ldquo Extraordinary Holy Year of Mer
Gerard O’Connell
Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
Posted inDispatches
International Women’s Day in the Vatican
Women from all continents met in the Vatican on March 8 International Women rsquo s Day to focus on two topics women in society mdash the excluded the marginalized and women in the church ldquo We chose those topics because they are close to the heart of Pope Francis rdquo Chantal G tz the
Posted inVatican Dispatch
The Church’s Asian Soul
During Pope Francis’ recent visit to the Philippines, I had the joy of meeting once again a man I have known for over a decade and greatly respect: Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, the emeritus archbishop of Manila. We talked about many things, but two in particular stood out: the vocation of the F
Posted inDispatches
Vatican Backs Pan-Amazonian Church Network to Protect 30 Million people and the Environment
The Vatican has thrown its weight behind an important new Latin American Church transnational network REPAM created to protect the peoples and respond to the challenges to them and to the natural environment in the Amazon region that stretches across nine countries of that continent nbsp Cardinal
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Partners in Protection
New Jesuit center is ground zero for the protection of children in the Catholic Church
Posted inDispatches
Pope Appoints Robert W. McElroy, Advocate for the Poor, as bishop of San Diego.
Another highly significant U.S. appointment from Pope Francis
Posted inDispatches
Pope Appoints Charles Scicluna, former Vatican Chief-Prosecutor in Abuse Cases, as Archbishop of Malta
Pope Francis has appointed Charles Scicluna the Vatican rsquo s former chief prosecutor of clergy who abuse minors as archbishop of Malta The Vatican made the announcement on Feb 27 though the news had been broken some days earlier by the press in Malta The 55-year-old Toronto-born Maltese prelat
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Road Map for Church Leaders
Pope Francis’ electrifying homily to the new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica on Feb. 15 stands out as one of the richest, most significant and powerful that he has given in his two-year pontificate. Focused on “the Gospel of the marginalized,” it provides a road map for Cat
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Francis and Congress
Visit shows how far America has come since anti-Catholic climate of its early history
Posted inSigns Of the Times
At Consistory, Cardinals Sense Francis Is Getting ‘the Work’ Done
The establishment of two new congregations—the first for Laity-Family Life, the second for Charity-Justice-Peace, which includes a new office for ecology—were among the proposals for reform of the Roman Curia that were presented to the College of Cardinals on Feb. 12 at the opening sessi