Inside The Vatican

In 2013, Pope Francis hit the ground running. He wanted a poor church for the poor; a church that gave a voice to those living on the margins, especially migrants and refugees. He put ecology and care for creation at the center of the church’s work. Inside the church, attitudes had to change. Authority had to be exercised as service. Everything had to be geared toward the mission of the church to evangelize. He denounced clericalism, called for a synodal church that listens first, and encourages all the baptized to speak their minds.

10 years later, all of this has provoked heated debates in the Catholic Church. Everyone has an opinion about the direction Francis has led his flock. In this special deep dive episode for Francis’ 10th anniversary of election, we’re exploring key themes of the Francis papacy that have sparked intense fear, unexpected joy and furious debate among the faithful. 

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In this news update, America Media’s Executive Producer Sebastian Gomes shares the biggest headlines to emerge from the Vatican this week:

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This week, Pope Francis again confirmed restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, making it clear that permission to celebrate the pre-Vatican II liturgy is reserved to the Vatican and that bishops do not have the freedom to interpret the Pope's previous instruction at whim.

On his recent visit to Africa, Pope Francis told Jesuits in the Democratic Republic of Congo that he has no intention to resign early from the papacy, and that the decision for any pope to resign should not become “a fashion, or a normal thing.”

Finally, we’ve entered the season of Lent. Pope Francis has asked Catholics to journey not alone, but in community with others; who together, sustain, encourage, listen and challenge one another.

Related stories:

Interview: Vatican foreign minister on a year of war in Ukraine, the growing nuclear threat and relations with Putin

Pope Francis reaffirms bishops must get Vatican approval to allow Latin Mass

​​Pope Francis: ‘The pope’s ministry is for life,’ resignation should not become ‘the normal thing’

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Catholics love their saints. But it's not easy to become one. On this special Deep Dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” we take you inside the grueling process of saint-making, which starts at a local diocese and involves dozens of people, a long paper trail with the Vatican, travel for miracle verification and a lot of money.

We’ll hear from Vatican historians and journalists about how the process evolved from folks being devoted to holy people in their cities to a codified Vatican process. We’ll talk with individuals who are working on Dorothy Day's canonization cause in New York about how the significant cost and local politics can lead to causes being delayed indefinitely. And finally, we’ll look into how miracles are verified—and why some people think that ought to change.

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Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican after his six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, which he called a pilgrimage of peace. 

America Media’s associate editor, Ricardo da Silva, S.J. and veteran Vatican reporter, Gerard O’Connell discuss the pope’s visit to these two conflict-ridden, yet faith-filled, African countries. 

Gerry was aboard the plane, traveled with Pope Francis from place to place, and was there to witness the Pope's meetings with the millions of people who lined the streets and stadiums to see him. 

On the show, Gerry shares some of what he experienced among the people of the Congo and South Sudan this past week, and offers us a taste of a church, which he says is amazing and alive.

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Related links:

Pope Francis tells foreign exploiters in Congo: ‘Hands off Africa!’

Pope Francis tells young people: ‘You are the seed of a new South Sudan.’

Pope Francis preaches peace to one million Congolese people at Zaire rite Mass

Pope Francis arrives in South Sudan with a message that ‘may appear blunt and direct’ to its leaders

‘We thank God for the pope’: Takeaways from Pope Francis’ visit to the D.R.C.

Pope Francis: Critics who used Benedict’s death ‘have no ethics’

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Pope Francis has begun his visit to the peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. He will be on the African continent from Jan. 31 through Feb. 5 for his 40th apostolic visit abroad. 

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the first stop on his visit to the African continent, where he will remain until Friday, Feb. 3. Pope Francis has said he is on a “mission of peace” to these African nations. 

The D.R.C. is rich in mineral wealth, and though it won independence in 1960, it has continued to be embroiled in political, tribal and even interreligious conflicts. It is also the largest Catholic community in Africa—45 million Catholics, about 50 percent of the D.RC.’s total population.  

On the show this week, Ricardo da Silva, S.J., interviews Toussaint Kafarhire Murhula, S.J., a priest, political analyst, and the director of Centre Arrupe, a center for research and formation in Lubumbashi, on the country’s southeastern tip, ahead of the first visit a pope has made there in 38 years.

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Links from the show:

Congolese Jesuit on Pope Francis’ Africa visit: ‘Women are expecting some changes to happen’

VIDEO Why Pope Francis will visit South Sudan  

VIDEO Pope Francis is on a mission of peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Pope Francis taps Chicago-born bishop to lead Vatican department that evaluates new bishops

Pope Francis preaches peace to one million Congolese people at Zaire rite Mass

Pope Francis tells foreign exploiters in Congo: ‘Hands off Africa!’

What to expect during Pope Francis’ visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan

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Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former German head of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and an open critic of many of Pope Francis’ initiatives has released a new book, In Good Faith: Religion in the 21st Century, in which he blasts, among others, the Synod on Synodality and papal resignations, and criticizes the pope’s relationship with U.S. President Joe Biden.

The day after Ricardo and Gerry recorded this episode, Pope Francis gave a wide-ranging interview to Nicole Winfield, the Vatican reporter for the Associated Press, in which he addressed a range of topics including homosexuality, his own handling of the sexual abuse crisis, the Vatican’s agreement with China on the selection and appointment of bishops, and his own health. But perhaps most relevant to this episode, Pope Francis responded in the interview to his critics on many fronts.

You can read Ricardo’s summary of the AP interview with Pope Francis here. 

Pope Francis has instructed all bishops traveling to Rome for the first main session of the Synod on Synodality this October to arrive four days early for a silent retreat. The retreat will be led by Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., the former head of the worldwide Dominican order, a popular preacher and writer. The pope has also called the leaders of Christian churches and their faithful to assemble with him in Rome ahead of the Synod to pray for its success alongside the Catholic faithful and bishops who will be there.

Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5, in a long-awaited visit to the Christian churches postponed last year because of his recurring knee troubles. We look at the pope’s weeklong itinerary and tease out his reasons for making this first-ever visit to these two sub-Saharan African countries long blighted by famine and civil unrest, but filled with hope.

Links from the show:

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Pope Francis gave a wide-ranging interview to the Associated Press, on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. It the interview, he addressed a range of topics including- homosexuality, his own handling of the sexual abuse crisis, the Vatican-China agreement, how he responds to his loudest critics and his own health. 

You can read an article summarizing the interview, by Ricardo da Silva S.J., at americamagazine.org.

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The late Cardinal George Pell is now the confirmed author of the once-secret memorandum that sought to discredit the papacy of Pope Francis. This, read in concert with a letter by the cardinal, published posthumously—which characterizes Pope Francis’ succession to the chair of St. Peter as a “catastrophe”—offers stark insight into the dueling forces present within the ranks of the church’s most senior figures.

On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Gerard O’Connell dive into the revelations since the cardinal’s death and recall Cardinal Pell’s anti-Pope Francis actions over the years, which date back to the conclave that elected the present pope. 

“As one Vatican official said to me,” Gerry says, “maybe he saw quite clearly what direction Pope Francis was leading the church and didn’t like what he saw; especially in terms of the position on moral questions but also in the position of moving away from clericalism, giving more responsibility to the laity in the church.”

In the second half of the show, they discuss the latest developments in a class-action lawsuit filed in Quebec, Canada, last summer. The case implicates at least 88 clergy members and notably includes Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, which is the Vatican office that manages the selection process of the world’s bishops. 

In a shocking move this December, which Gerry believes is “unprecedented,” Cardinal Ouellet filed a $100,000 countersuit for defamation against “Ms. F.” He alleged his accuser had tarnished his name by bringing false accusations against him and claimed he did not even know her. Last Friday, Jan. 13, Ms. F. chose to respond to the cardinal’s escalated action by publicly revealing herself as Pamela Groleau, saying she intends by this move to reclaim her dignity and bring the church to acknowledge the crimes of its clerics.

“I think something else we can expect,” Ricardo says, “which undoubtedly will happen, and which Pamela Groleau herself says in the statement that she made when she revealed her identity, is that this, she hopes, will inspire others to come forward and tell their stories. And so this will open the floodgates.”

And the floodgates have already started to crack. Shortly after recording the episode, Golias Hebdo, a French news magazine revealed that a second woman, known only as “Marie,” had also brought accusations of sexual misconduct against Cardinal Ouellet. 

Links from the show:

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Cardinal George Pell, an Australian prelate who served as the Vatican's first financial overlord, has died. The cardinal was also intimately involved with the present revision of the English translation of the Mass and had been the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted and imprisoned for child sexual abuse. The judgment was later unanimously overturned by a full bench of Australia's high court, but only after he served more than 400 days in maximum-security prisons.

On “Inside the Vatican” this week, hosts Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Gerard O’Connell, delve into Cardinal Pell’s legacy dealing with sexual abuse—not only the charges of which he was exonerated, but also the controversial approach he took in dealing with the clerical sexual abuse of minors when he was the archbishop of Melbourne, which some people argue, Ricardo says, “was much more reform to protect the abusers than those abused.” They also look at his stealthy and much-praised reforms to Vatican finances, when he served as the first prefect for the then-Secretariat of the Economy under Pope Francis, with whom he “was not exactly 100 percent on the same theological vision of church as,” says Gerry. “One of the first things the pope aimed at was the reform of Vatican finances—he knew that that really was a jungle,” Gerry adds. “And so he chose what he called the ranger, the Australian ranger. And he said, ‘You take charge.’”

Cardinal Joseph Zen Zi-kiun, the 90-year-old prelate from Hong Kong, who was arrested on suspicious charges last year, was given special permission to travel to the Vatican to attend the funeral of his friend, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. While in Rome, Cardinal Zen also met with Pope Francis. The meeting sparked questions about what many have thought to be an adversarial relationship between the two. Gerry and Ricardo parse the meeting, which Gerry judges to have been “something great; a healing event, a moment of reconciliation.” For Ricardo, the meeting between the two reveals how “complex these issues are,” he says. And it also reveals a larger move “by certain religious media—Catholic media—to put Pope Francis in opposition to others, or others in opposition to Pope Francis,” he argues. “This is a simplification that doesn’t tell half of the story.”

In the second half of the show, Ricardo and Gerry dig into the news surrounding Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s closest aide and confidant as well as his personal secretary. Gänswein is releasing a tell-all book that he says will answer long-held questions about, among others, the complicated relationship between Pope Francis and the pope emeritus; the drama surrounding the butler responsible for the “Vatileaks” scandal—which sought to expose the Vatican's dirty finances; and the 30-year-old missing person case of Emanuela Orlandi or “Vatican Girl,” as she has come to be known in the title of a Netflix documentary. Ricardo and Gerry address some of the questions the book raises, and whether the book will further compromise the archbishop’s already tenuous relationship with the present pope. 

Gerry has read an advanced copy of the book, and with it, he says that “Gänswein has shot himself in the foot.”

Links from the show:

Australia’s Cardinal Pell dies suddenly at 81

Pope Francis meets with Hong Kong’s Cardinal Zen the day after Benedict XVI’s funeral

Pope Benedict XVI’s secretary, advocate and confidant: What you need to know about Georg Gänswein

Pope Francis has private audience with longtime Benedict aide amid tell-all book fallout

Cardinal Pell blasts Pope Francis in secret memo: ‘This pontificate is a disaster’

‘Vatican Girl’: subject of Netflix’s true-crime show has case reopened by Holy See

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