Pope Francis’ 12-day Southeast Asia visit ended in striking contrast to its start, reports veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell. Singapore’s relatively empty streets upon his arrival gave way to 55,000 supporters in the stadium for his final Mass, where he took extra time to greet and bless children. On the flight back to Rome, resuming his now-anticipated press conferences, Pope Francis criticized U.S. presidential candidates, labeling Kamala Harris’s views on abortion and Donald Trump’s migration policies as “both against life.”
In the second half of the show, Gerry and host Colleen Dulle share the latest plans for the next session of the Synod on Synodality next month.
Do you have a question for our mailbag episode? We’d love to hear from you! You can submit your questions in writing or send a voice memo to insidethevatican@americamedia.org. Please include your first name in any voice message. Questions are due Sept. 27.
Links for further reading:
- Pope Francis in Singapore: visiting a small but influential Catholic Church
- Pope Francis reminds leaders in wealthy Singapore: Don’t neglect the poor, migrant or elderly
- Pope Francis: Trump and Harris are ‘both against life’ but Catholics must vote and choose ‘lesser evil’
- Pope Francis talks Gaza war, China deal, sex abuse and more on flight back to Rome
- Women deacons, LGBT issues not on the agenda for October’s synod meeting
- Vatican II—and its media coverage—has a lesson for today’s synod: Don’t expect immediate results
