The February 22 consistory will start shaping the future Church. The numbers are clear. From now to 2017, 32 cardinals will turn 80, thus losing the right to vote in a future conclave. And from now to Feb. 22, there will be 106 cardinal electors, so Pope Francis had in fact 14 “red [...]
The Church according to Pope Francis is outlined in the nearly 260 page-long Apostolic Exhortation «Evangelii Gaudium» (The Joy of the Gospel), that he wrote in two weeks in Spanish (with some neologisms and slogans) with a clear core message: the Church must come out, to the streets, and announce the Gospel [...]
Pope Francis said it during the trip back from Brazil: «I feel a nostalgia for the Curia of the old days.» With every major appointment, it is becoming more clear who is that Pope Francis is referring to, when he mentions the old days’ Curia. There are no groundbreaking appointments. Pope [...]
The confirmation of Gehrard Ludwig Mueller as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith can lead to the conclusion that Pope Francis is following the paths traced by Benedict XVI. But appearances can be deceiving. Pope Francis is putting the Church in a completely different path. If Benedict XVI was [...]
It seems certain that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone will remain Secretary of State until April 27. That is the day when new papal nuncio Ettore Balestrero – previously Undersecretary for Relations with States, heading to the important nunciature of Colombia– will be ordained bishops. In the past, the Pope himself would conduct these ordinations [...]
In his first meeting with ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis’ message focused on the poor. This is typical of him. «The heart of his message – explains Virginia Bonard, a journalist who works for the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina – is to shed light on the poor and on marginalized [...]
When he was appointed as Papal nuncio in Israel, he had a Muslim barber. For years, this barber asked about Abouna Boutros, Father Pietro. This is how Pietro Sambi was known in Jerusalem. Since 2005, Sambi was Papal nuncio in Washington, and this year he was ready to be nominated Prefect of [...]