There was no need for a press conference on the plane to confirm Pope Francis’s pragmatic approach to theological issues. But the press conference on the return flight from the trip to Hungary and Slovakia further clarified some aspects of the Pope’s approach to theological matters.

One question, in particular, focused on the [...]

In Pope Francis’ trip to Budapest, there is an issue that must make us reflect. Pope Francis wanted to go to Hungary for a pastoral visit only, without even meeting the government. This choice also betrayed some hard feelings towards the executive headed by Viktor Orban, whom the Vatican also targeted for its migration [...]

This week, Pope Francis granted a lengthy radio interview to COPE, the Spanish Bishops’ Conference radio. In an hour and a half, he tackled various issues, some of them very thorny, such as the trials in the Vatican, the reform of the Curia, his resignation. His answers, however, reveal not only the way [...]

There is, unsurprisingly, no confirmation on a possible resignation of Pope Francis from the pontificate. And there is no confirmation that a document on the status of the Pope Emeritus is being studied, which is very necessary. There is only one fact: since the surgery of last July 4, everything has suddenly become [...]

On August 18, Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, turned 80 and will no longer enter the Conclave. One of Pope Francis’ most trusted men, created cardinal in the first Consistory and called by the presidency of the Ecclesiastical Academy to lead the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Stella [...]

After the trip to Hungary and Slovakia, Pope Francis will face the season of trials. First, there will be the verdict on the alleged abuses of the Vatican pre-seminary, incidentally already moved out of the Leonine City by a Pope’s provision. Then, the hearings will begin, starting from October 5, for the trial [...]

On August 5, the Italian newspaper Il Foglio published a letter from a group of laypeople addressed to Pope Francis. The letter, elaborating on the title of Andrea Riccardi’s latest book, “La Chiesa brucia,” wanted to highlight a profound distress that is being experienced in the Church. Transformed – say the authors of [...]

The process that began in the Vatican on July 28th will not be a short one. Proof of this is that the first hearing, in which all the objections of the lawyers of the ten accused were presented, lasted 7 hours, without breaks, and the Vatican judges met for an hour and twenty minutes [...]

Are we already thinking about an upcoming conclave? And, above all, is Pope Francis already thinking about it? Various clues suggest that we are facing a new season of the Church. Whether it will be with or without Pope Francis is all to be seen. Nevertheless, that Pope Francis somehow wants to leave [...]

The veteran Vatican watcher Sandro Magister observed that a progressive detachment from the positions of Pope Francis is taking place. Magister gives us as examples two books recently released, “Il Gregge smarrito” by the think tank “Essere qui” and “La Chiesa Brucia” by Andrea Riccardi. Books that highlight how the situation of the [...]