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Gerard O’Connell
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.
@gerryorome
Articles by Gerard O’Connell
Pope Francis greets Muireann O'Carroll, 16, from Ireland during an audience with participants in an international congress on protecting children in a digital world, at the Vatican Oct. 6. The pope pledged "to work strenuously and with foresight for the protection of minors and their dignity." (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)
Politics & SocietyDispatches
Pope Francis commits the church to protect children from abuse in the digital world
Gerard O’Connell
The Declaration of Rome appealed “to leaders of the world’s great religions to inform and mobilize members of every faith to join in a global movement to protect the world’s children.”
Pope Francis leaves with Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, after addressing the general assembly of the academy at the Vatican, Oct. 5 (CNS photo/Paul Haring).
FaithVatican Dispatch
Eliminating any difference between sexes ‘is not right,’ pope says
Gerard O’Connell
The pope was speaking on Oct. 5 at an assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, attends the World Congress "Child Dignity in the Digital World" at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)
FaithVatican Dispatch
Church more aware of crime, harm of child abuse, top Vatican official says
Gerard O’Connell
Cardinal Parolin said that “the sexual abuse of minors constitutes a very vast and widespread phenomenon."
FaithVatican Dispatch
Vatican conference focuses on dangers ‘dark web’ poses to children
Gerard O’Connell
“It’s not about scaremongering. It’s about protecting children from abuse on the internet.”
A police officer stands in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino in Las Vegas Oct. 2 after a mass shooting at a music festival. A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a hotel unleashed a shower of bullets late Oct. 1 on an outdoor country music festival below, killing more than 50 people and wounding hundreds, making it the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history (CNS photo/Steve Marcus, Las Vegas Suns). 
FaithVatican Dispatch
Pope Francis offers prayers for the dead and injured in Las Vegas shooting
Gerard O’Connell
The pope “offers the promise of his prayers for the injured and for all who have died, entrusting them to the merciful love of Almighty God.”
FaithVatican Dispatch
How can we protect children from abuse online? A congress in Rome will seek solutions
Gerard O’Connell
A pioneering international congress on the risks to children in the digital world will be hosted by the Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, from Oct. 3 to 6.
FaithVatican Dispatch
Sister Norma Pimentel: Be an ‘instrument of faith’ for migrants and refugees
Gerard O’Connell
In an interview with America, Sister Normal Pimental talks about her involvement with Pope Francis' "Share the Journey" campaign.
Pope Francis greets immigrants and representatives of Caritas Internationalis during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sept. 27. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
FaithVatican Dispatch
Pope Francis launches Caritas campaign to assist victims of forced migration
Gerard O’Connell
The Caritas campaign is calling for a week of prayer and action for the world’s 66 million forcibly displaced people, running from Oct. 7 through 13.
Aung San Suu Kyi, state counselor and foreign affairs minister and Myanmar's de-facto leader, delivers a speech to the nation Sept. 19 in Naypyitaw about the Rakhine and Rohingya situation. (CNS photo/Soe Zeya Tun, Reuters)
FaithDispatches
Cardinal Bo defends Aung San Suu Kyi, calls for healing and justice In Myanmar
Gerard O’Connell
“The trigger to violence and the aggressive response are lamentable,” Cardinal Bo said in his carefully worded statement.
A large crowd is seen as Pope Francis leads the Angelus in St. Peter's Square Sept. 17 at the Vatican.
FaithNews
Leader of Vatican finance reform accused of spying on personnel
Gerard O’Connell

The Vatican has accused its first-ever auditor general of “going beyond his powers" in hiring an external firm to carry out investigations on the private lives of officials of the Holy See. The announcement comes after the auditor-general, Libero Milone, who resigned last June, broke his silence on Saturday and told reporters that he had been forced to resign or face arrest on fabricated charges. He claims that what happened was part of an effort by the old guard to slow down Pope Francis’ reform of Vatican finances.