Vatican Dispatch

Half a million pilgrims already through Holy Door of Saint Peter's in Rome

already more than half a million pilgrims have come to participate in the jubilee of hope since pope francis inaugurated the 2025 jubilee ye...

Pope appoints Trump critic and liberal Robert McElroy as Archbishop of Washington

pope francis has appointed cardinal robert mcelroy, bishop of san diego and a vocal critic of donald trump, as archbishop of washington.&nbs...

Pope Francis appoints first woman in history to lead Vatican department

rome – pope francis this week made the novel decision to appoint the first-ever woman as prefect of a vatican department, naming italian con...

Crisis in Jewish-Catholic relations continues at Vatican with six flashpoints in ten days

recently i declared that a mounting crisis in jewish-catholic relations was the most under-covered vatican story of 2024. early indications ...

Pope Francis offers condolences to victims of New Orleans massacre

pope francis has sent a telegram offering his condolences over the deaths of 14 people who were killed during a terrorist attack in new orle...

Human dignity is no longer a given in the modern world: the Church must protect it

what it means to be a human being is neither simple nor obvious. for this reason, i was not that surprised by the responses to dignitas infi...

Pope Francis makes surprise appearance on BBC’s Thought for the Day

pope francis today featured as the unexpected narrator for the bbc’s well-known religious-themed thought for the day radio segment, during w...

The Catholic Herald

Christmas begins: Pope Francis opens the Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica ahead of the 2025 Year of Jubilee

rome - pope francis has initiated the christmas celebrations in rome by opening the holy door at st peter’s basilica in anticipation of the ...

What are we to make of Trump's choice of a 'pope critic' as ambassador to the Holy See?

rome – famously, von clausewitz defined war as “the continuation of politics by other means”. to hear some people tell it, president-elect d...

Joe Biden to meet Pope in final foreign trip as U.S. President

rome – the white house has announced that united states president joe biden will visit italy in january, where he will meet with pope franci...