Inside The Vatican

In this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and Colleen take the opportunity of Pope Leo’s 71st birthday on Monday, Sept. 14, to look back at what he has accomplished thus far in his papacy and what major items remain on his desk for the fall, including trips to France and Latin America, a series of high-profile appointments and the ongoing trials of Marko Rupnik and Angelo Becciu.

The hosts also announce the launch of the newest America newsletter, Vatican Notebook! Subscribe here.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

3:21 Pope Leo celebrates his 71st birthday

5:50 A review of Pope Leo's first year

10:01 Pope Leo's effect on geopolitics

13:53 Pope Leo assembles a diverse new team

21:50 Leo's focus on peace, poverty and A.I.

28:10 Pope Leo is in no rush

29:10 The pope's preferences for bishops

35:11 Plans for filling bishop vacancies

37:03 Marko Rupnik trial updates

40:53 A new attitude on Vatican finances

44:30 Outro

Links:

How do popes celebrate their birthdays? Pizza, parties and puppies (from 2025)

Is Pope Leo ‘Americanizing’ Vatican fundraising?

Pope Leo: Catholics cannot be ‘unengaged spectators’ amid ‘injustice, discrimination and violence’

Pope Leo’s visit to France likely to attract a million people

Peruvian city to unveil world’s tallest statue of Pope Leo for trip to South America

A long-awaited reckoning: A timeline of the Father Marko Rupnik case

Subscribe to Vatican Notebook

Follow Gerry on X: @gerryorome

Follow Colleen on Instagram: @colleendulle

Support Inside the Vatican by becoming a subscriber to America Magazine!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pope Leo today received the National Constitution Center’s liberty medal and gave an acceptance speech via livestream from the Vatican. Colleen Dulle recaps his message.

Links from the show:

Read: Pope Leo’s message to the United States on its 250th anniversary

Subscribe to America Magazine (use promo code VATICAN for $10 off an annual digital subscription)

Fill out our listener survey!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, July 2, in response to the SSPX’s illicit ordinations of bishops, the Vatican announced that not only were the bishops involved in the ordination automatically excommunicated and in schism, but that any clergy of SSPX or lay members who “adhere” to the schism are also to be considered excommunicated.

Links from the show:


The Vatican and SSPX controversy, explained


Vatican declares excommunicated SSPX bishops, warns priests and lay faithful of schism


Analysis: SSPX excommunications show what Pope Leo means by church ‘unity’


Subscribe to America Magazine


Fill out our listener survey!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this season finale of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry discuss the hectic weeks before Pope Leo’s summer vacation. First they recap the pope’s trip to Pavia to visit the remains of St. Augustine and the home of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, his speech to the World Food Program and the Vatican’s denial of the German bishops’ request to allow lay people to preach homilies. They also look ahead to this week’s consistory of cardinals, the illicit ordinations planned by SSPX, the pope’s address to Americans on July 3 and his trip to Lampedusa July 4, along with how Leo plans to spend his summer vacation.

In this episode, Gerry also breaks the news of how many days Pope Leo will spend in Argentina, Peru and Uruguay this fall.

0:00 Intro
1:17 Pope Leo’s visit to Pavia and Cabrini’s hometown
4:52 Breaking News - Pope Leo’s agenda for Latin America
5:44 Pope Leo’s visit to the World Food Program
10:50 Vatican says no to lay homilies during Mass
11:35 Meeting of continental synod leaders at Vatican
16:38 Consistory of cardinals on war, AI and the synod
23:49 Cardinals could discuss SSPX at consistory
28:44 Pope Leo’s address to Americans July 3
34:06 Pope Leo’s July 4 visit to Lampedusa
34:53 What we know about Pope Leo’s summer plans
39:22 Please fill out our listener survey!

Links:

Pope Leo XIV exalts first American saint Cabrini as a model for Christians for her care of migrants

Pope Leo: War is ‘fed more easily’ than the hungry

Vatican to German bishops: No lay people preaching homilies at Mass

SSPX stands firm against Vatican II in open letter to Pope Leo

Extraordinary consistory signals Pope Leo’s push to work with cardinals on global challenges

Fill out our Listener Survey!

Follow Gerry on X: @gerryorome 

Follow Colleen on Instagram: @colleendulle 

Support Inside the Vatican by becoming a subscriber to America Magazine!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pope Leo visited Spain from June 6-12, a visit that drew record-breaking crowds. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerard O’Connell recaps for Colleen Dulle the highlights from the pope’s three stops: Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands. On the last day, Gerry reports, Leo spoke out against those who take advantage of migrants “like I’ve rarely seen him,” shouting, “Stop! Repent!”

After this episode was recorded, Pope Leo spoke to journalists outside Castel Gandolfo, saying “Thank God” for the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and commenting on the upcoming illicit ordinations of bishops for the Society of St. Pius X. Regarding the latter, he said, ““If they make that choice, I am sorry, but we must move forward.”

Interview: Madrid’s Cardinal Cobo says Pope Leo’s visit to Spain ‘is bringing out the best in people’

In Spain, Pope Leo denounces polarization and hails commitment to multilateralism

More than one million attend Pope Leo’s Mass and procession in the heart of Madrid

Pope Leo defends the unborn and migrants in historic speech to Spanish parliament

Pope Leo meets with 6 clergy abuse survivors in Spain

Pope Leo blesses 21 ambulances that an Argentine nun is taking to Ukraine

Pope Leo tackles depression, domestic violence and the ‘cult of self-image’ in dialogue with young people

Pope Leo visits famed Spanish monastery, entrusting his ministry to the Virgin of Montserrat

Pope Leo XIV honors Antoni Gaudí and blesses the Sagrada Familia’s final tower

‘Human dignity has no passport’: Pope Leo visits Gran Canaria

Pope Leo ends visit to Spain with a call to repent

Pope Leo speaks out on SSPX ordinations and U.S.-Iran deal

Follow Gerry on X: @gerryorome 

Follow Colleen on Instagram: @colleendulle 

Support Inside the Vatican by becoming a subscriber to America Magazine!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices