Pope Francis works by catchphrases. His preferred method is to drop them into an interview or a question-and-answer dialogue.

His method has its fans and supporters. Introducing the book that collects the Pope’s dialogues with Jesuits from around the world, Antonio Spadaro SJ praised the Pope’s refusal to give prepared speeches but to open [...]

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals in a consistory to be held on Dec. 8, 2024. Twenty of them are eligible to vote in a conclave, bringing the number of cardinals who would vote in a conclave to 141. The number will drop dramatically during 2025, when 13 cardinals will be over 80. [...]

The letter in which Pope Francis asked the cardinals to limit expenses and find external funding for the Holy See arrived almost unexpectedly. Sent Friday, 20th September 2024, the letter had some of the usual papal rhetoric against the alleged “resistance” to reforms. It took a while to get to the poijnt, too. Finally, [...]

In the jargon of the United Nations’, we speak of third- (or fourth)-generation human rights, not born from common accord but crafted as tools for imposing a vision of the world. The Holy See constantly notes in every international gathering that these rights and their terminology do not have a universal consensus.

In the [...]

We do not yet have the complete transcript of Pope Francis’s meeting with the Jesuits of Singapore, but we know—from a Vatican News report that includes a testimony by Fr. Antonio Spadaro SJ—the Pope spoke of two Jesuits: Pedro Arrupe, who led the Society of Jesus in the turbulent years after the II [...]

During his trip to Indonesia, Pope Francis bent down to kiss the hand of the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Asia. The gesture of kissing the Imam’s hand is just the latest in a series of dramatic gestures by Pope Francis, who often takes advantage of the cameras to leave [...]

Why would Pope Francis call a new consistory? It is a legitimate question that does not arise out of nowhere. Rumors about a possible creation of new cardinals have been swirling again, especially since a few hints were dropped in May.

The traditionalist site Messa in Latino relaunched the news of a possible [...]

Cardinal Blase Cupich’s prayer at the Democratic Convention in Chicago has generated much controversy. The pro-life world accused him of not saying a word about the free abortions and vasectomies that Planned Parenthood offered right outside the convention venue. The conservative world noticed with dismay how he never uttered the name of God.

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Details always make the difference. Thus, it is not enough to read the press release in which the Holy See Press Office informed us that Cardinal Matteo Zuppi had a telephone conversation with Li Hui, the Chinese government’s special representative for Euro-Asian Affairs. It is also necessary to read the press release from the Chinese [...]

On August 8, Pope Francis received José-Lluis Serrano Pentalant, coadjutor bishop of Urgell, in audience. On paper, it looked like just another visit with one of the many newly elected bishops in the world. Most of them meet the Pope at the moment of receiving the mandate. This meeting has something more interesting.

The [...]