Members at last October’s synod, which included cardinals, bishops, women and men religious, lay men and women, noted their concern with the almost total absence of parish priests at the synod assembly.
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 inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican to priests: Stick to the script for Sacraments
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued a doctrinal note approved by Pope Francis that aims to counteract deviations in the administration of the sacraments.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
A short history of Catholic-Anglican relations—and the last roadblocks to unity
In an exclusive interview with Gerard O‘Connell, two bishops—one Catholic, one Anglican—discuss the road ahead toward Christian unity.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis: No peace in Israel and Palestine without two-state solution
“True peace remains distant” between Israel and Palestine until the two-state solution is implemented, Pope Francis said in an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa published today.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis defends blessings of couples in ‘irregular situations,’ including same-sex unions
Pope Francis sought to clarify the declaration on blessings of couples in “irregular situations” in his address today to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis condemns war crimes in Gaza and Ukraine, calls for ban on surrogacy in talk to diplomats
Pope Francis deplored “the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood” and called on the international community “to prohibit this practice universally.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
An Israeli Jesuit priest on the war in Gaza, Jewish-Catholic relations and the future of the two-state solution
“The basic conflict is not between Israel and Hamas. The conflict is between Jewish Israeli nationalism and Palestinian nationalism,” David Neuhaus, S.J., says in this exclusive interview.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican publishes defense of same-sex blessings document in rebuke to critics
“We will all have to become accustomed to accepting the fact that if a priest gives this type of simple blessing, he is not a heretic,” a new press release from the Vatican’s doctrine office states.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis in 2024: The synod, health concerns, the China deal and more
Although Francis is now 87 years old and one of the oldest popes in history to lead the Catholic Church, a glance at his agenda for 2024 reveals that he has no intention of slowing down.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis begins 2024 highlighting the role of women in the church and peacemaking
Pope Francis opened the new year by highlighting in his homily for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and his Angelus message the same day, the central role women have played in salvation history and that they still have for bringing peace to the world.