It seemed almost taken for granted that Pope Francis was going to celebrate a consistory at the end of June. With the consistory, the Pope might have created six new cardinals and surpassed the limit of 120 cardinals voting in a conclave set by Paul VI and confirmed by St. John Paul II.

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Besides Pope Francis’ trip to Romania, taking center stage last week were Mons Anthony Figuereido’s leaks about McCarrick – Figuereido had been a personal secretary to McCarrick – and the interview that Pope Francis granted to the Mexican television station “Televisa.”

Both the leaks of the “Figuereido reports” and Pope Francis’ answers are [...]

Pope Francis opened the general assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference with a harsh speech. In it, he complained about the Italian bishops because they did not follow his indications contained in the 2015 Pastoral Convention in Florence, and because they are mismanaging the new procedures for marriage nullity. However, above all, [...]

Last Apr. 29, Pope Francis received Cardinal Angelo Sodano in a private audience. Cardinal Sodano is the Dean of the College of Cardinals. The reason for the meeting is unknown. However, any time the Dean of the College of Cardinals is scheduled to meet Pope Francis, speculations rise.

After all, Benedict XVI received Cardinal [...]

With the new motu proprio Vos estis Lux Mundi, Pope Francis has clarified the procedures of reporting cases of abuse, establishing clear rules for the procedures to follow and including every kind of abuse, even the possible reporting on matters of omissions and mishandling by bishops.

Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, adjunct secretary of [...]

There is a high symbolic weight in the decision to move the office of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano out of the Leonine Walls, to a building located in Italy, although in an extraterritorial site.

It is not the decision itself. Unifying in a single location the full Vatican media department, from the [...]

How will the new Curia by Pope Francis be? According to the first leaks, the new Curia should include a great dicastery on the mission and a great dicastery on charity; it would abolish the distinction between Congregations and Pontifical Councils; and will put a strong emphasis on the notion of collegiality.

The [...]

The Holy Week began with the impressive scene of the Notre Dame Basilica in Paris on fire. It was even thought that the structure of the Church would not hold. In the end, only the 13th-century wooden roof was lost, along with the 19th-century spire designed by Violle Le Duc, that came down because [...]

Pope Francis said it many times: if there is someone who fought particularly hard against sexual abuse by the clergy, that was Benedict XVI. Both as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and as Pope.

Benedict XVI put once again pen into the paper to write down his reflections [...]

With the post-Synod exhortation Christus Vivit, Pope Francis finally issued a document to wrap up the discussions of the Synod on Young People. Unlike Amoris Laetitia, Christus Vivit is not a document that leaves open issues. It is rather a snapshot of reality, that provides some general pragmatic suggestions and provide many [...]