Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Inside the VaticanApril 15, 2020
Pope Francis celebrates Easter Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 12, 2020. In the background is the Marian icon, "Salus Populi Romani" (health of the Roman people). The Mass was celebrated without the presence of the public due to the coronavirus pandemic. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

In his Easter messages, Pope Francis came out in support of a universal basic wage, relaxing economic sanctions, and forgiving the debts of poor countries. This week on the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell and I talk about these policies and to look back at the response to St. John Paul II’s call for debt forgiveness in 2000.

Listen and subscribe on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

We also take a look at the new commission to study women deacons, which they reported on in print last week. The new commission features no members of the first commission to study women deacons and instead includes more obscure scholars. On the show, Gerry and I take a look at how these commission members are chosen.

Finally, Pope Francis gave his first interview to the English-language media last week. We review our takeaways from the interview.

America Media will celebrate its 111th anniversary Friday. Please consider supporting our journalism at the intersection of the church and the world by making a donation here.

Links from the show:

In Easter message, Pope Francis proposes ‘universal basic wage’
In Easter ‘Urbi et Orbi’ address, Pope Francis calls for an end to indifference
Pope Francis has set up a new commission to study women deacons
Pope Francis on Living with COVID-19
Support America Media

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

The latest from america

I use a motorized wheelchair and communication device because of my disability, cerebral palsy. Parishes were not prepared to accommodate my needs nor were they always willing to recognize my abilities.
Margaret Anne Mary MooreNovember 22, 2024
Nicole Scherzinger as ‘Norma Desmond’ and Hannah Yun Chamberlain as ‘Young Norma’ in “Sunset Blvd” on Broadway at the St. James Theatre (photo: Marc Brenner).
Age and its relationship to stardom is the animating subject of “Sunset Blvd,” “Tammy Faye” and “Death Becomes Her.”
Rob Weinert-KendtNovember 22, 2024
What separates “Bonhoeffer” from the myriad instructive Holocaust biographies and melodramas is its timing.
John AndersonNovember 22, 2024
“Wicked” arrives on a whirlwind of eager (and anxious) anticipation among fans of the musical.
John DoughertyNovember 22, 2024