The Irish-born American cardinal and former bishop of Dallas, Tex., is considered a big hitter in the Vatican because of the many important responsibilities that Pope Francis has entrusted to him in recent years.
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
Pope Francis: ‘World War III has been declared.’
In a new interview, Pope Francis more openly criticized Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and clarified his position that NATO is partially to blame for the outbreak of war.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis apologizes for canceling trips to Congo and South Sudan
“I truly feel great sorrow at having to postpone this visit, which means so much to me,” the pope said at his general audience on June 12.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis postpones July trip to Africa due to knee troubles
Pope Francis has postponed “with regret” his visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to South Sudan on the advice of his doctors so as “not to jeopardize the result of the therapy that he is undergoing.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Interview: The future of Catholic teaching on sexuality and family life
Lisa Sowle Cahill, professor of moral theology at Boston College, talks about the legacy of “Amoris Laetitia” for young people and opponents of Pope Francis.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego
Bishop McElroy has demonstrated that he is one of the strongest supporters of Pope Francis’ vision of church among the American bishops.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State under two popes, has died at 94
Cardinal Angelo Sodano died in a Rome hospital last night from complications related to Covid-19, and other ailments related to his advanced age.
Posted inFaith, Interviews
Spanish priest: ‘Amoris Laetitia’ allows the church to ‘untie the knots’ in Catholic morality since ‘Humanae Vitae’
‘Amoris Laetitia’ is more than a theology for marriage and family life.
Posted inInterviews, Politics & Society
Interview: U.S.-Vatican Ambassador Joe Donnelly on Ukraine, China and his meeting with Pope Francis
“You realize that the rest of the world is looking toward Pope Francis as maybe the one person who could end this [war], who could bring peace,” Ambassador Donnelly told Gerard O’Connell.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
After Cardinal Zen arrest, Pope Francis prays for ‘freedom and tranquility’ for Chinese Catholics
Catholics in China in recent years have experienced greater difficulties in the practice of their faith as a result of the crackdown on religion being carried out under the regime of President Xi Jin-ping.