Inside The Vatican

Fresh off the papal plane, Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell joins host Colleen Dulle to discuss Pope Francis’ response to his question about the U.S. bishops’ debate over denying communion to pro-choice politicians.

“Every time the bishops have not dealt with a problem as pastors they have taken sides politically,” the pope told Gerry. “What must a pastor do? Be a pastor. Don’t go condemning.” He added that he had never denied anyone communion.

In the second half of the show, Gerry and Colleen recap the pope’s packed visit to Hungary and Slovakia this week and give their takeaways.

At the end of this episode, Gerry described Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova’s emotional farewell to the pope. After our recording, local news outlets in Slovakia reported that the president’s father had passed away a few hours before the pope’s departure.

More on the papal press conference:

Pope Francis: ‘I have never denied Communion to anyone.’ by Gerard O’Connell

Early Takeaways: Pope Francis on Biden, Bishops, Abortion and Communion by Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless

Pope Francis speaks about abortion and Communion: Don’t ‘excommunicate’ pro-choice politicians by Junno Arocho Esteves - Catholic News Service

Pope Francis said he doesn’t understand why people refuse to take Covid-19 vaccines by Nicole Winfield - Associated Press

Gerry’s coverage of Pope Francis’ trip:

Pope Francis in Budapest calls on the Hungarian Catholic Church and its pastors ‘to be builders of bridges and promoters of dialogue’

Pope Francis urged priests to limit homilies to 10 minutes in a speech to religious in Slovakia

Pope Francis to populist leaders: Do not use the cross for political purposes

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Pope Francis is visiting Hungary and Slovakia next week, and America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell will be traveling with him. 

On this week’s show, Gerry and host Colleen Dulle lay out the basics of the trip and examine some of the political and spiritual issues the pope will be looking to address in these two former Soviet Bloc nations.

After that, the hosts look at the health questions surrounding this trip: Pope Francis is still recovering from colon surgery, and new variants of Covid-19 make large events risky even in highly-vaccinated countries like Hungary. Colleen outlines the Covid restrictions for the papal trip, and Gerry gives the latest on Pope Francis’ recovery and how it could impact this papal trip.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis denies reports that he considered resigning due to ill health

In first interview since his July operation, Pope Francis says his life was saved (for the second time) by a nurse

Where else will Pope Francis travel in 2021?

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This summer, Pope Francis made the controversial decision to place significant restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Latin Mass. He said that a survey of the world’s bishops showed that John Paul II and Benedict XVI’s generosity in allowing the pre-Vatican II Mass to be celebrated had been “exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the church...and expose her to the peril of division.”

In this special deep dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle unpacks Pope Francis’ decision, the history behind it, and how it has affected devotees of the old Latin Mass. With a church that seems even more divided after this decision, the question remains: Where do we go from here?

This episode features interviews with:

Fr. John Baldovin, SJ, professor of historical and liturgical theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and author of several books on Vatican II

Rita Ferrone, author of several books about liturgical renewal and a contributor to Commonweal magazine and PrayTellBlog

Jonathan Culbreath, a Latin teacher and writer on Catholic Social Teaching who has attended the Latin Mass since the late 1990s

Links from the show:

Rita Ferrone: “A Living Catholic Tradition” | Commonweal Magazine

Jonathan Culbreath: “I love Latin Mass and Pope Francis. Please don’t let a few (very loud) traditionalists ruin it for the rest of us.” | America Magazine

James T. Keane: “Explainer: What is the history of the Latin Mass?” | America Magazine

Gerard O’Connell: “Pope Francis restricts celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass in new decree” | America Magazine

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Pope Francis has issued a motu proprio–an authoritative declaration made on the Pope’s personal initiative–to restrict the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass in the Catholic Church.

The decision overrides and reverses a previous decree of Pope Benedict XVI, who allowed priests to celebrate the pre-Vatican II Mass without limitation. Francis has become increasingly concerned that the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Mass, sometimes called the "extraordinary form," has created division in the church and even hostility towards the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

His decree grants bishops the full authority to authorize and regulate the pre-Vatican II Mass in their diocese. “I desire,” Pope Francis wrote, “to press on ever more in the constant search for ecclesial communion.”

Follow America's coverage of this developing story at americamagazine.org

Pope Francis restricts celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass in new decree

Explainer: What is the history of the Latin Mass?

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Pope Francis is in the hospital recovering from a scheduled intestinal surgery he had on Sunday afternoon, July 4. According to Vatican statements based on the pope’s doctors’ reports, his recovery is going well and he can expect to be in the hospital for about a week.

The pope underwent surgery for symptomatic stenotic diverticulitis, which is a colon condition that causes part of the intestine to become too narrow for food waste to pass through, causing abdominal pain. The surgery involves removing the narrow section and reattaching the healthy parts. It’s a fairly common procedure, and medical experts say a man of Pope Francis’ age should be able to make a full recovery within a week.

Links from the show:

July 7: Pope Francis suffered severe restriction of the bowel, continues to make ‘satisfactory’ progress after surgery

July 6: Pope Francis’ recovery going well, results of post-op tests are good, doctors say

July 5: Pope Francis ‘in good general condition’ after surgery, expected to remain in hospital for one week

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No, it’s not a schism.

On this special deep dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle looks at the German synodal way: What is it, why is it happening, and why do some critics think it could lead to a schism in the Catholic Church?

This episode features interviews with:

Links from the show:

Take the “Inside the Vatican” listener survey!

The German Synodal Path, Explained

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On May 21, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising and a top advisor to Pope Francis, submitted his resignation to the pope, saying he wanted to take “institutional responsibility” for the sexual abuse crisis.

“It is important to me to share the responsibility for the catastrophe of the sexual abuse by Church officials over the past decades,” the cardinal wrote in a letter to the pope. Cardinal Marx has never been accused of sexual abuse or cover-up but expressed that he wanted to take responsibility for helping to mold church structures that failed to prevent sexual abuse.

In a decision that came as a surprise to Cardinal Marx, Pope Francis refused to accept the resignation, using the opportunity to tell the world’s bishops to take action on abuse.

The offer of resignation sent shockwaves through Germany and the Vatican. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss the aftereffects of Cardinal Marx’s offer to resign.

Tune in next week for a special deep dive episode on the German Synodal Way.

Links from the show:

Take Inside the Vatican’s Listener Survey!

Cardinal Marx offers Pope Francis his resignation, citing ‘responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse’

Explainer: Cardinal Marx wasn’t accused of sexual abuse or cover-up. So why has he offered to resign?

Pope Francis rejects Cardinal Marx’s offer of resignation, calls on all bishops to take responsibility for the abuse crisis

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After 17 years of preparation, a new edition of volume VI of the Code of Canon Law—the Vatican’s penal code—has been published, the first new edition since 1983. About two-thirds of the canons, or laws, in the volume have been updated, and a number of new canons have been added, most significantly in the areas of sexual abuse and requiring penalties for violations of the law.

On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell walk through the changes to canon law on sexual abuse, women’s ordination, and financial mismanagement.

“What the law has tried to do and what his new Book VI of the Code of Canon Law is doing with the penalties is to reduce, as far as possible, the loopholes, to ensure justice for those who have been victims, to ensure proper exercise of authority by those who are in authority and hold penalties for failure to exercise authority properly,” Gerry said. “And also to guarantee to the wider public, to the people of God, the people in the church and outside the church, that they will know that such criminal acts are not acceptable and they will be punished.”

After their conversation, Colleen gives updates on the discovery of the remains of more than 200 Indigenous children on the grounds of a former residential school in Canada and the unexpected offer of resignation from Cardinal Reinhard Marx.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis overhauls church’s criminal code to punish the sexual abuse of adults by priests

Pope Francis calls for abandonment of colonial mentality after discovery of buried Indigenous children in Canada

Cardinal Marx offers Pope Francis his resignation, citing ‘responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse’

Explainer: Cardinal Marx wasn’t accused of sexual abuse or cover-up. So why has he offered to resign?

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The upcoming “synod on synodality” will look different from past synods, the Vatican announced last month: Instead of an event in Rome in 2022, the synod will be a process beginning on the diocesan level this fall, continuing on a continental level in 2022 and ending in Rome in 2023, discussing “communion, participation, and mission” within the church.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss what we know about the new process: who is involved, what the topics for discussion will be, and whether dioceses from the United States to China can pull off the local listening sessions the Vatican is asking for.

“As a Catholic, you're part of a global church, which has got big problems in some areas, which is going reasonably well in others, but which has a major task,” Gerry says in this episode. “And I think the Pope is [challenging us to consider] mission. What is the mission of the church? What is the purpose?”

Links from the show:

Pope Francis: The People of God must be consulted before the October 2023 synod of bishops

Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Roche as new prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, successor to Cardinal Sarah

Pope Francis overhauls church’s criminal code to punish the sexual abuse of adults by priests

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With summer just around the corner, Inside the Vatican is bringing you a special episode: our Pope Francis summer reading list.

Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh joins Colleen Dulle for a discussion on three books that have shaped Pope Francis (and that he loves to quote): The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson, and the short story “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Pope Francis’ fellow Argentine, Jorge Luis Borges. Colleen and Austen discuss each work and Pope Francis’ connection to it, and how they’ve influenced the pope’s thinking.

Want to discuss these books with other Inside the Vatican listeners? Join the Catholic Book Club Facebook group, where there will be a special post for discussions of this episode!

Links from the show:

Austen Ivereigh: The Pope & the Plague

Austen Ivereigh: An Interview with Pope Francis

The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson

“The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges

“Calle Desconocida” (“Unknown Street”) by Jorge Luis Borges

Let Us Dream by Pope Francis and Austen Ivereigh

Subscribe to America Media’s Catholic Book Club newsletter and join the Facebook group to discuss a new book every quarter

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