Deep Dive: Why is Pope Francis visiting Iraq?
Pope Francis takes off for Baghdad on Friday, March 5. Once he arrives in Iraq, he will zigzag the country at breakneck speed visiting civic and religious leaders and touring places that are still rec...
3 Mar 202127min
Update: Pope accepts Cardinal Sarah’s resignation
On Sunday, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Guinean prelate with whom he has publicly clashed on a few occasions. Pope Francis was widely expected to accept Cardinal...
24 Feb 20214min
Covid spike, rocket attack cast doubt on papal trip
Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq, scheduled for March 5-8, has been thrown into further question in recent days. Following the discovery of the new UK-based strain of the novel coronavirus, Iraqi authoritie...
17 Feb 202121min
Finally, a woman can vote in a synod
For the first time, a woman will have the right to vote in the Synod of Bishops. Sister Nathalie Becquart, a Xaviere sister, became the first woman to be named undersecretary of the Vatican’s Synod o...
11 Feb 202122min
Pope Francis on U.S. church divisions
Pope Francis made clear this week that he was keeping a close eye on the divisions in the U.S. church, which showed up most recently in the controversy over Archbishop Jose H. Gomez’s statement on the...
3 Feb 202127min
US Bishops and Vatican clash over inauguration statement
Last week, the United States’ second Catholic president was sworn in. The day was tinged with controversy for some U.S. Catholics, though, when the president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, Archbisho...
27 Jan 202121min
Can defendants get a fair trial in the Vatican?
The Vatican’s judicial system is entering a busy season: Soon, it will deliver a verdict in the trial of the former head of the Vatican Bank who was accused of embezzlement; it will hear the abuse tri...
20 Jan 202121min
Pope Francis denounces U.S. Capitol insurrection
The eyes of the world were on the United States last week, when a group of insurrectionists supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building as Congress was certifying the results o...
13 Jan 202124min
