Pope Francis announced several times that he hoped Cardinal Zuppi would go to Beijing on a peace mission, but it has taken a long time for the Chinese to agree to accept him.
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 inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Ukrainian bishops tell Pope Francis his praise for Russian heritage was painful and disappointing
The Ukrainian bishops did not hold back during a nearly two-hour private audience with the pope.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis: Synod proceedings will be secret to avoid ideology and gossip
On the plane home from Mongolia, Pope Francis answered several questions about this October’s synod of bishops.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis hosts interreligious gathering as he concludes memorable visit to Mongolia
Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has constantly looked to the peripheries both in the choice of countries to visit and men to make cardinals.. And he has consistently looked to the East where he detects the first signs of a new springtime for the Catholic Church
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Chinese Catholics among those who welcome Pope Francis during Mongolia visit
Among the hundreds of onlookers from several countries at the back of the square were many Catholics from mainland China, present in defiance of an order from the authorities in Beijing prohibiting not only the bishops of mainland China but also the country’s Catholics from traveling to Mongolia.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis on those upset by his criticism of ‘reactionary’ U.S. Catholics: ‘Let’s move on’
Onboard his flight to Mongolia, Pope Francis said he knew some people were upset by the remarks, but the church must keep moving forward. “They got angry, but let’s move on, move on.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
China forbids Catholic bishops and faithful from joining Pope Francis in Mongolia
No bishop from mainland China has been allowed to travel to Mongolia as Pope Francis makes the first-ever visit by the leader of the Catholic Church to this vast landlocked country sandwiched between China and Russia.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Pope Francis speaks out against his critics in the U.S. Catholic Church
Pope Francis commented that the situation in the Catholic Church in the United States is “not easy,” where “there is a very strong reactionary attitude” that “is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally.”
Posted inFaith, Of Many Things
Pope Francis is one of the oldest popes in history—but he’s showing no sign of slowing down.
87 is the new 60 at the Vatican.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis makes surprise appointment of missionary as Lisbon Patriarch
Bishop Valério’s nomination came as a surprise to many since Pope Francis had named Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar, auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, a cardinal on July 9. It had been wrongly presumed then that the pope would appoint the cardinal-elect as the new patriarch after the World Youth Day celebrations.