An interview with Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, on what the Holy See hopes for from the new Biden administration at the national and international levels.
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 instructs Vatican to provide vaccines for 1,200 of Rome’s poorest people during Holy Week
At the pope’s instruction, the Office of Papal Charities has purchased doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to give to over 1,200 of Rome’s “poorest and most marginalized people” during Holy Week.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Facing a growing budget deficit, Pope Francis cuts pay for cardinals and other top officials
In an effort to reduce a budget deficit exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vatican is cutting salaries for 6,000 higher-level employees.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis names Juan Carlos Cruz, prominent abuse survivor and whistleblower, to Vatican panel
Pope Francis has appointed Juan Carlos Cruz—a well-known Chilean victim of abuse, international advocate for survivors of clerical abuse and a gay man—to the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis: Moral theology must concern reality and people, not just principles
“It is necessary that knowledge becomes practical through listening and welcoming of the least ones, the fragile ones, and the one who is considered discarded by society,” the pope said in a message to moral theologians today.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis spoke out against oppression in Myanmar. Why is he silent on China and Hong Kong?
This is the second installment of a three-part series of interviews with Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq was a historic breakthrough. But will it lead to greater peace in the Middle East?
An interview with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, on Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq and what’s next for Vatican diplomacy in the Middle East.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican sources suspect Pope Francis was distancing himself from CDF statement on same-sex unions in address
According to three sources, it was significant that Francis called on Christians and the church to give witness to Jesus “not with theoretical condemnations but with gestures of love.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican, with Pope Francis’ approval, says priests cannot bless same-sex couples
The Vatican has issued a statement in which it declares that “the church does not have, and cannot have, the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex.” It said Pope Francis “was informed and gave his assent” to its publication.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis celebrates 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines
Pope Francis recalled that when the Christian message first arrived, “You received the joy of the Gospel: the good news that God so loved us that he gave his Son for us. And this joy is evident in your people.”