Pope Francis: “In the next few weeks, I invite you to tackle together the pressing questions that the pandemic has brought to the fore, social ills above all.”
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 calls for prayer and aid for Lebanon after deadly explosion
“Let us pray for the victims, for their families; and let us pray for Lebanon so that it might face this extremely tragic and painful moment and, with the help of the international community, overcome the grave crisis they are experiencing.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis taps layman from American business for Vatican finance role
Maximino Caballero Ledo has extensive experience as a finance leader with Baxter International, a Fortune 500 American health care company.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis discusses climate crisis with well-known Italian journalist
The only reports of Mr. Scalfari’s long conversations with Francis have come from the elderly journalist, who does not record or take notes.
Posted inFaith, News
‘Stop ignoring faith communities’: Cardinal Lacroix on Quebec’s coronavirus response
Cardinal Lacroix explained that he decided to speak out because, as the government slowly seeks to reopen society following coronavirus lockdowns, “millions of believers from the different faith communities in the province of Quebec feel betrayed, ignored, by the authorities.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis welcomes eastern Ukraine cease-fire, also urges care for the elderly
After reciting the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, the pope praised a cease-fire accord in Ukraine and asked young people not to leave the elderly “by themselves” during the pandemic.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Former Vatican ambassador to stand trial in Paris on charges of ‘sexual aggression’ against four men
Pope Francis instructed the Vatican to remove Archbishop Luigi Ventura’s diplomatic immunity in July 2019. The archbishop will now have to respond to his accusers at a trial in November.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Cardinal Scola calls out Pope Francis’ critics: ‘The pope is the pope’
Cardinal Angelo Scola, the runner-up in the last papal conclave, has come out strongly against those, especially within the church, who frequently and increasingly attack Pope Francis.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican publishes handbook for bishops and religious superiors to guide response to abuse allegations
The handbook contain the most up-to-date norms and practices that bishops and superiors of religious orders should follow.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Myanmar’s religious leaders appeal for peace and the common good
The appeal was signed by the more than 40 of the foremost religious figures of this majority-Buddhist state, including Cardinal Charles Maung Bo.