“War is back in vogue, and a zeal for war is spreading,” Pope Leo XIV said in a forceful address on Jan. 9 to ambassadors from the 184 countries that have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
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 inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo says he will hold consistories with the College of Cardinals every year
Leo XIV clearly does not intend to go it alone as pope.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo in Christmas address to Vatican officials asks: ‘Is it possible to be friends in the Roman Curia?’
Mindful that Pope Francis had often used the traditional pre-Christmas address to the Roman Curia to deliver some hard messages, Vatican officials had waited in expectation to see what Pope Leo would say.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo appoints new archbishop of Westminster, marking the end of an era in England
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton, who was born in Zambia and came to the United Kingdom at the age of 2, as the 12th archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic Church of England and Wales.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo picks Chicago-born Ronald Hicks to follow Dolan in New York
In naming Bishop Hicks for this high-profile post, Pope Leo chose a man whom he already knew; they met in 2024 when the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost gave a talk at a parish in the Joliet diocese.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
UPDATED: Pope Leo meets Ukraine’s Zelensky as European leaders discuss controversial U.S. peace plan
Pope Leo and President Volodymyr Zelensky met at a particularly delicate moment in the international effort to arrive at a peace plan that can be accepted by both Ukraine and Russia.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Vatican report says no to ordaining women deacons—for now
“The purely historical perspective does not allow us to arrive at any definitive certainty,” a Vatican report concluded. “In the final analysis, the question must be decided on the doctrinal level.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo on what he was thinking inside the conclave
“I resigned myself when I saw the way things were going…. I took a deep breath, [and] I said: ‘Here we go, Lord. You are in charge; you lead the way.’”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo meets survivors of Beirut port explosion and calls for peace as he concludes Lebanon visit
Pope Leo concluded his visit to Lebanon with a heartfelt appeal at the airport before departing for Rome on Dec. 2: “May the attacks and hostilities cease. We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit. While weapons are lethal, negotiation, mediation and dialogue are constructive. Let us all choose peace as a way, not just as a goal!”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo preaches peace as he visits young people and religious sites in Lebanon
“Peace! Peace!” That is the cry one hears everywhere Pope Leo goes on his second day in Lebanon.