Many in Rome believe that 2015 could prove to be a watershed year in the pontificate of the first Latin American pope.
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
Pope Francis Gives the Roman Curia a 15 Point Examination of Conscience
Pope Francis in a hard hitting talk on the eve of Christmas called on all the members of the Roman Curia to examine their consciences on 15 possible ldquo diseases rdquo ldquo illnesses rdquo that they may have contracted during their lives in the service of the church nbsp Addressing the ca
Posted inDispatches
Were ‘Hidden Funds’ Really ‘Discovered’ in The Vatican?
An internal Vatican document examines and disputes claim by Cardinal Pell.
Posted inDispatches
The Vatican Reveals Pope’s and Holy See’s Role in U.S.-Cuba Breakthrough
The following note has just been issued by the Vatican rsquo s Secretariat of State communicating Pope Francis rsquo congratulations to US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro for the historic decision by both Governments to establish diplomatic relations and with the aim of overc
Posted inDispatches
Pope Francis Prays for New Ways of Development in Latin America
The enchanting music and song of the Missa Criolla resounded through St Peter rsquo s Basilica on the evening of Dec 12 as Francis the first Latin American pope celebrated mass on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and expressed the hope that the continent where he was born would distinguish its
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Rome in Review
What an extraordinary year this has been for the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis, who continues to inspire and reach the hearts of people far beyond its boundaries!In this last Vatican Dispatch of the year, I will briefly review what the Argentine pope has done to change the chu
Posted inSigns Of the Times
Pope Remains ‘Not Afraid’
Immediately after his election on March 13, 2013, Pope Francis told himself, “Jorge, do not change, continue being yourself because to change at your age would be ridiculous.” He revealed this interesting personal detail in a wide-ranging exclusive multi-part interview with Elisabetta Pi
Posted inDispatches
Pope Will Create New Cardinals on February 14-15
Pope Francis will hold a Consistory for the creation of new cardinals on 14-15 February 2015 nbsp He has also convened a meeting of the entire College of Cardinals for the two days prior to that event but has not yet disclosed the topic s they will discuss nbsp Father Federico Lombardi S J t
Posted inDispatches
Pope’s New Year Call for Global Mobilization to Eliminate Modern Slavery
ldquo No Longer Slaves But Brothers and Sisters rdquo That is the title of Pope Francis rsquo s Message for the World Day of Peace that will be celebrated on Jan 1 2015 in which he describes modern slavery as ldquo a global phenomenon rdquo and calls for a worldwide mobilization ldquo to e
Posted inDispatches
I Could Feel the Pope’s Great Inner Peace
Last Thursday nbsp December 4 I had the great privilege to sit in on the interview that Pope Francis kindly granted to Elisabetta Piqu for Argentina rsquo s La Nacion newspaper for which she is the Rome correspondent nbsp She is also my wife and author of ldquo Francis Life and Revolution