It might seem just a coincidence that some appointments completing the Curia roster took place in the same week that in Rome, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, two conferences shed light on the life of Christians under the Soviet Union. However, the link between the theme of the Curia reform, the choice of [...]

The case of Fr. Thomas Weinandy, OFM Cap., provides food for thought. Consultor of the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith of the US Bishops’ Conference, Weinandy was asked to resign from his post after a letter he had sent to Pope Francis was made public. In the letter, Weinandy criticized [...]

A private audience recently granted to Msgr. Guido Marini, who since 2007 has been Master of Pontifical Ceremonies, might mark the moment of transition within Pope Francis’s pontificate.

During this year the five-year terms of Pope Benedict XVI’s last appointments expire. There are also many key posts that are vacant in Vatican dicasteries. Pope [...]

In a platform of dialogue to “rethink Europe” and look toward the future, various members of parliaments, bishops and diplomats will meet in the Vatican at the end of this week in order to understand how Europe can be rethought. It is an important event, and not only because Pope Francis will draw [...]

Pope Francis’s address for the 25th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church made a strong impression both for its hint of a possibility of changing Catholic teaching on the death penalty (still permitted acording to the Catechism, though only as an extrema ratio) and for the Pope’s statement that doctrine [...]

“May the voice of Jesus return in Europe.” The final message of the plenary assembly of the Council of European Bishops Conferences (CCEE) that gathered in Minsk from September 27 – October 1 relaunched the Christian mission of Europe. The move came after a silent shift of paradigm that took place over time [...]

Pope Francis’s decision to appoint Archbishop Savio Hon Fai Tai as Apostolic Nuncio to Greece is perhaps a signal that one of two things is happening.

On the one hand, the decision to appoint the current Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples as a nuncio, leaving vacant for now the [...]

When speaking about Pope Francis’s pontificate, collegiality and synodality are always the keywords and they describe his way of acting. However, two events last week break out of this narrative, and shed light on the fact that Pope Francis is really a lone decision maker.

The Pope met with the plenary assembly [...]

The Last Council of Cardinals that gathered to discuss the Curia reform took a sort of a break, during its last meetings. During this break, the Cardinals have re-read Pope Francis’ texts on reform and developed the themes on the Curia change.

These were the topics of discussion: the Curia as a tool [...]

Cardinal Carlo Caffarra’s death probably marks the end of an era. At the same time his death also confirms a climate created by the debates surrounding the Church that risks sending the Church back in time.

Caffarra was 79. Archbishop Emeritus of Bologna, it was he who St. John Paul II called upon [...]