The appointment of Gleison De Paula Souza as secretary means that now three out of the four senior positions of responsibility at the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life are held by laypeople.
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
Pope Francis on World Day of the Poor: Do not listen to ‘prophets of doom’ but instead ‘light candles of hope.’
In his homily for the sixth World Day of the Poor, the pope advised Christians not to yield to resignation but instead to “seize opportunities” to spread the Gospel and help the weakest.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis received Father James Martin in private audience for the second time
Pope Francis received James Martin, S.J., for the second time in private audience in the papal library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace this morning, Nov. 11.
Posted inFaith, Interviews
Australia’s Archbishop Costelloe: Women’s ordination and church governance are ‘big theological questions’
“Even if you leave the ordination question aside for a moment, there is still a great need to explore ways of engaging women in all other levels of the life of the church in significant roles. There is still a lot of work to be done.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Exclusive interview: Australian Archbishop Costelloe tells Pope Francis ‘The church in Australia is alive.’
In their first private one-on-one conversation, the president of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, S.D.B., told Pope Francis, “The church in Australia is alive!”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis in Bahrain: What to know and expect
The pope will meet with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, at the interreligious meeting “Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence.”
Posted inInterviews, Politics & Society
Interview: Jesuit Father David Neuhaus says Jerusalem ‘is like a powder keg waiting to explode!’
“Jerusalem, especially the Old City with its shrines holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, is like a powder keg waiting to explode! However, until it does explode, many prefer to simply ignore it.”
Posted inInterviews, Politics & Society
Israeli Jesuit David Neuhaus on the country’s election turmoil and the forgotten plight of the Palestinians
Israelis will go to the polls on Nov. 1 for the fifth time in less than four years. Will the elections bring any significant change in this divided country, or offer any hope for a resolution to the more than 70-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis extends Synod on Synodality’s Roman phase to two sessions in Oct. 2023 and 2024
In a surprise announcement this morning, Pope Francis has announced that the final, Roman phase of the ongoing Synod on Synodality will extend over two sessions from October 4-29, 2023, and in October 2024.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Giorgia Meloni is a Christian and a right-wing nationalist. How will she relate to Pope Francis?
There is much speculation about how Pope Francis and Giorgia Meloni, the future prime minister of Italy, will relate to each other. Their positions on the migrant question appear to be diametrically opposed.