Inside The Vatican

When Benedict XVI resigned as pope, he broke with 600 years of tradition and reshaped the papacy—possibly forever. As people live longer, it is likely future popes will be more willing to follow Benedict XVI’s example instead of remaining and dying in office.

But Benedict’s self-professed intention to be “hidden from the world” has hardly gone according to plan. A collection of controversies including Benedict’s 2019 letter attempting to explain the sexual abuse crisis in the church, the sudden removal of his name from a book that Cardinal Robert Sarah claimed to have co-written with him, and his recent, problematic contribution to church abuse investigators in Germany, have raised questions about future emeritus popes and who controls the messages issued in their names.

Outside the Vatican, a small but vocal movement—including the former deputy prime minister of Italy, Matteo Salvini—continues to claim Benedict is still “my pope” and, in so doing, set him up, against his will, as a parallel authority to Pope Francis.

It is likely Benedict resigned, in part, to avoid being subjected to the sort of manipulation and power-grabbing that Pope John Paul II faced in his final years as leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. But in the nine years since his resignation, Benedict’s legacy and the questions raised about his aptitude to govern are no less contested.

On this deep dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle talks with Gerard O’Connell, America’s veteran Vatican correspondent; Christopher Lamb, author of “The Outsider: Pope Francis and the Battle to Reform the Church”; and Christopher Bellitto, a church historian at Kean University, in Union, N.J., to peel back the layers of papal politics, precedents and history. Together, they examine the title of pope emeritus—and what might need to change in the future to protect popes who retire from the opportunism and scandal we have witnessed in the nine years since the retirement of Benedict XVI.

Links from the show:

Austen Ivereigh: Pope Benedict’s letter on sex abuse is not an attack on Francis (or Vatican II)

Editorial: Discerning when and how a pope emeritus should speak

The Gloria Purvis Podcast: Do Pope Francis and Pope Benedict disagree about Vatican II and the traditional Latin Mass?

David Gibson: Pope Benedict likely won’t be punished for his handling of sex abuse. But his record can point the way forward.

More from our guests:

The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Account of the Conclave That Changed History by Gerard O’Connell

The Outsider: Pope Francis and His Battle to Reform the Catholic Church by Christopher Lamb

Website: Christopher M. Bellitto, Ph.D.

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As a Russian military convoy, 40 miles long, makes its way to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Pope Francis is fighting for peace in Rome. The pope warned against going down the road of conflict, appealed for negotiated settlements, and called for believers worldwide to fast and pray for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday. And it’s not only the pope’s words that speak here, but his actions. 

Pope Francis, without notifying the press, made a personal visit to Alexander Avdeev, the ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Vatican, who is also the personal representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Holy See. He expressed his deep concerns about the war, especially for the elderly, the sick, and the hundreds of thousands of people who will be displaced. Pope Francis then asked the Russian ambassador for a cessation of fighting to allow for negotiations.  

On this “Inside the Vatican” episode, Ricardo da Silva, S.J., standing in for Colleen Dulle, and veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell discuss the actions Pope Francis has taken in the days since Russian military forces invaded Ukraine. The Vatican believes it can be a mediator for peace in this war, but it also has to negotiate through the oft-treacherous and sensitive terrain of interchurch politics as Putin moves to manipulate the split between Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox believers in Russia and Ukraine.

Links from the show: 

Pope Francis on the war in Ukraine: ‘Let the guns be silenced.’

Pope Francis calls Ukrainian archbishop: ‘I will do everything I can’ to help.

Pope Francis speaks with Ukrainian President Zelensky: I pray ‘for peace and a ceasefire.’

Pope Francis visits Russian embassy as invasion of Ukraine continues

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Russian troops entered two breakaway regions of Eastern Ukraine on Monday, Feb. 21 and launched a full-scale invasion on Thursday, Feb. 24. The day before Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia took the decision to initiate war in Ukraine. Pope Francis called for all people to pray and fast for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday, March 2. It was the second time the pope has called for a day of prayer for peace.

On this “Inside the Vatican” episode, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell examine the religious aspects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Colleen asks Gerry, why has Pope Francis refrained from calling out Russia by name?

In the second half of the show, Gerry and Colleen discuss the recent exemption Pope Francis granted to a group of traditionalist priests, giving them permission to continue celebrating the pre-Vatican II Mass.

Finally, Pope Francis spoke at a conference on the priesthood held in the Vatican last week. Gerry recaps the key takeaways from the pope’s speech.

UPDATE 2/25/2022: Pope Francis personally visited Russia's embassy to the Holy See in a highly unusual diplomatic move. Read Gerry's report: Pope Francis visits Russian embassy as invasion of Ukraine continues

Read more:

Pope Francis declares Ash Wednesday a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine

Praying for peace in Ukraine—even when it feels useless

Pope Francis approves use of Latin Mass for group of traditionalist priests

Pope Francis: Priests need to have these 4 traits in the world today

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Pope Francis has restructured the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s central doctrine office, which also investigates sexual abuse cases that are reported to Rome. With the pope’s Feb. 14 declaration, which goes into effect immediately, the discipline part of the Congregation will become its own section, with its own secretary, separate from the doctrine section. And the doctrine section will have an updated purview that’s geared more towards evangelization, in line with the pope’s ongoing reforms of the Roman Curia.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle explain the changes to the C.D.F. and how they fit into Pope Francis’ larger goal of evangelization.

“[The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith] has two tasks, one to deal with the discipline, with the abuse question, which is torpedoing the real possibility of evangelization. The second is to develop new thinking in the theological field, to enable it to address the challenges that are coming from the world of science, the development of peoples, the cultures, and that are challenges to the church,” Gerry explains.

Colleen and Gerry also examine the urgency of the changes, particularly as the C.D.F. faces a backlog of 4,500 sexual abuse cases with only 18 staff members to investigate them.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis issues major overhaul of the C.D.F.

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Two weeks after the release of a report that accused Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI of mishandling sexual abuse cases when he was the archbishop of Munich and Freising, the former pope responded in a brief letter published Feb. 8 by the Vatican. "I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church,” Benedict XVI writes. “All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate.”

On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle analyze the emeritus pope’s letter and the accompanying, more technical, explanatory note drafted by his lawyer friends. The letter confirms, on the record, that Benedict did not write his 82-page testimony to the German investigators and that the factual error about him attending a 1980 meeting where an abuse case was discussed was not intentional.

Although Benedict expresses regret that abuse happened on his watch, he does not take responsibility for any specific cases and his lawyers maintain his innocence. On the podcast, Colleen and Gerry discuss how the letter has been received and how the events of recent weeks will affect his legacy.

Links from the show:

Pope Benedict asks for forgiveness in a ‘confession’ responding to Munich sex abuse report

Read: Pope Benedict XVI’s penitential letter on Munich sexual abuse report

Pope Francis: I’m no saint. I couldn’t be pope without my friends.

Pope Francis, Joe Biden and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar all issue statements promoting human fraternity

Cardinal Marx: Having married priests ‘would be better for everyone’

Top European cardinal: Church teaching on gay people ‘no longer correct’

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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has responded to accusations that he mishandled four cases of clerical sexual abuse when he was archbishop of Munich and Freising. His response came 20 days after a German law firm released its investigation into how abuse cases in the diocese were handled over a 74-year period. Benedict’s response today is brief, 1.5 pages, most of it dedicated to asking for forgiveness.

While Benedict apologizes for abuse that happened on his watch, he does not take personal responsibility for any specific cases. He thanks those who have supported him, including Pope Francis, and discloses that his 82-page testimony to the investigators was prepared with the help of four lawyer friends.

The letter is also accompanied by a statement from his legal advisors. In the three-page statement, the lawyers take responsibility for a factual error in the testimony, in which they wrote that Benedict did not attend a 1980 meeting where an abuse case was discussed. They also take responsibility for one of the most criticized arguments in Benedict’s testimony—that a priest who exposed himself to minors was not committing abuse because he did not physically touch them.

For more on this story, visit americamagazine.org.

Links from the show:

Pope Benedict asks for forgiveness in a ‘confession’ responding to Munich sex abuse report

Read: Pope Benedict XVI’s penitential letter on Munich sexual abuse report

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An investigation, last month, into sexual abuse in the German archdiocese of Munich and Freising found that when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI served as its archbishop he had mishandled cases of sexual abuse committed by members of his clergy. His successors in Munich, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, have also been accused of mishandling cases of sexual abuse.  

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell continue their analysis into the allegations made in the report and Cardinal Marx’s subsequent response. They also discuss Gerry’s interview with Hans Zollner, S.J., a leading abuse prevention expert based at the Vatican.

Gerry reveals the pope emeritus’ contribution to the report was assembled by at least two German lawyers who were given a document that proved Benedict attended a 1980 meeting where one of the four abuse cases was discussed. Despite having the evidence, the lawyers wrote that Benedict was not present at the meeting, and Benedict signed their report. In a statement, Benedict attributed the mistake to an editing error.

Colleen and Gerry also recap Pope Francis’ recent address where he counseled parents of L.G.B.T. children to never condemn their child, and the broader context within which this advice was given.

Links from the show:

Inside the Vatican: The German Synodal Way, Explained

Inside the Vatican: What you need to know about Pope Benedict’s record on sexual abuse

Father Hans Zollner on the German sex abuse report, Pope Benedict and the future of the church

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An investigation into sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising released Jan. 21 found that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the current archbishop, had mishandled cases of clergy sexually abusing minors during each man’s time as archbishop of Munich.

On Jan. 24, Pope Emeritus Benedict issued a statement correcting a key part of his 82-page contribution to the investigators, raising questions about how the aging former pontiff’s contribution was assembled.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell explain what we know so far about the four cases Pope Emeritus Benedict was implicated in. Gerry and Colleen also discuss some of the issues with Benedict’s contribution to the investigation, including the factual error, and how the contribution might have been handled differently.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis vows justice for sex abuse victims after German audit faults Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict corrects statement to German abuse report, was present at meeting where abusive priest was discussed

Pope Benedict’s correction to the Munich abuse report sparks a debate among German Catholics

Vatican editorial on abuse report: Don’t use Pope Benedict as an ‘easy scapegoat’

‘Deliver Us’ podcast: What Can We Do to Hold Bishops Accountable?

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In 1977, driving on a rural, dusty road between Aguilares and El Paisnal, a Jesuit priest named Rutilio Grande S.J. was shot and killed by El Salvador’s government security forces. The assassination helped escalate a bloody period of civil war in which Catholics like Oscar Romero (1985), six Jesuits at the Central American University in San Salvador (1989), and four American churchwomen (1980) were martyred. While Romero became a Catholic household name and celebrated saint, not many know the story of his friend and fellow priest, Rutilio Grande S.J.

That’s about to change. On January 22, 2022, Rutilio Grande will be beatified, after his cause for canonization was delayed by what Pope Francis called “misunderstandings and slander.”

In this “Inside the Vatican” deep dive, host Colleen Dulle talks with scholars, friends and relatives of Grande to learn what inspired this Jesuit’s ministry among the people which led, ultimately, to his martyrdom.

Read more:

Father Rutilio Grande: the (future) patron saint of breaking mental health stigma?

Padre Tío Tilo: Rutilio Grande’s niece talks about her childhood with her martyred uncle

4 lessons from Rutilio Grande, priest, prophet and martyr

Eileen Markey’s book: A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sr. Maura

Sr. Ana Maria Pineda’s book: Rutilio Grande, Memory and Legacy of a Jesuit Martyr

Rodolfo Cardenal’s book: The Life, Passion, and Death of the Jesuit Rutilio Grande

Radio YSUCA at the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas, UCA

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A long-awaited report on how sexual abuse cases were handled in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising between 1945 and 2019, was released today, and it accuses both Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, of mishandling abuse cases.

The report looks back at abuse cases spanning more than 70 years, which includes Pope Emeritus Benedict’s five-year tenure as archbishop of the diocese. The lawyers accuse Benedict of mishandling four abuse cases, saying that he allowed two priests who were criminally prosecuted for abuse to continue working as priests, and that no action was taken against them under church law.

Pope Emeritus Benedict denies all allegations of wrongdoing. His personal secretary responded to questions from journalists today, saying Benedict would “examine the text with the necessary attention.”

Cardinal Marx, the current archbishop of Munich and Freising, is also accused of mishandling two cases of sexual abuse. He was not present at  the presentation of the document, but said he watched the livestream. In a statement a few hours later, Cardinal Marx asked for forgiveness and said that while the report is important for coming to terms with the past, the priority should be on care for the victims. He said that the diocese would carefully study the report and discern a way forward.

A Vatican spokesman told journalists today that the Vatican would study the almost 1,900-page report, which detailed the cases of 497 victims and 235 abusers. The spokesman said “The Holy See believes it has an obligation to give serious attention to the document” and reiterated the Vatican’s sense of shame and remorse for the abuse of minors by clerics and its commitment to ensuring safe environments for young people.

Read more:

Vatican to study German abuse report that faults Pope Benedict

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