Voices
Gerard O’Connell is America’s Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
FaithVatican Dispatch
The Vatican has issued a statement in which it declares that “the church does not have, and cannot have, the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex.” It said Pope Francis “was informed and gave his assent” to its publication.
FaithVatican Dispatch
Pope Francis recalled that when the Christian message first arrived, “You received the joy of the Gospel: the good news that God so loved us that he gave his Son for us. And this joy is evident in your people.”
FaithVatican Dispatch
A new Vatican instruction seeks to ensure that there is order in the celebration of the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and that Masses are celebrated in accordance with the norms and spirit of the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council.
FaithVatican Dispatch
The Holy See’s income for 2021 is down 30 percent, so it has to draw on reserves to cover the budget deficit and avoid layoffs.
FaithVatican Dispatch
In an hour-long press conference on the plane to Rome, Francis spoke about how he felt he had “come back to life again” during the visit, after more than a year in “prison” when he could not meet people.
FaithVatican Dispatch
Pope Francis concluded his three-day trip to Iraq with a stadium Mass in which he said the country “will always remain with me, in my heart.” America's Vatican correspondent, Gerard O’Connell, reports.
FaithVatican Dispatch
On the second day of his trip to Iraq, Pope Francis met with a Shia Muslim leader in Najaf and delivered a message of religious unity in the ancient community of Ur. Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell reports.
FaithVatican Dispatch
Defying the pandemic and the security risks, Pope Francis finally stepped onto Iraqi soil at Baghdad international airport at 12:45 p.m. on March 5, realizing a visit that he had desired from the beginning of his pontificate and that had evaded his predecessors.
FaithVatican Dispatch
Pope Francis told Iraqis that he will be visiting their country in three different roles: as a “penitent pilgrim,” a “pilgrim of peace” and a “pilgrim of hope.”
FaithVatican Dispatch
“They awaited St. John Paul II, who was not permitted to go. One cannot disappoint a people for the second time,” Pope Francis said ahead of his apostolic visit to Iraq, March 5 to March 8.