National Catholic Reporter

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Vatican

Historians ask: Is Francis a John XXIII?

by Joshua J. McElwee

In somewhat muted tones, some are asking if Pope Francis will be like Pope John XXIII, a beloved figure among many for his decision to open the Second Vatican Council.

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Governance a top issue in 2013 conclave

by John L. Allen Jr.

Eight years ago, when the cardinals of the world gathered to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II, their watchword was “continuity.” Buoyed by the massive outpouring of grief...
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Francis preaches mercy, forgiveness on first papal Sunday

by Dennis Coday, Joshua J. McElwee

Rome dispatch: Pope Francis' first Sunday as pontiff stressed both mercy and a knack for personally engaging with an audience.

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The story from the Sistine Chapel on Pope Francis' election

by David Gibson, Religion News Service

How did Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio get to 77 votes so quickly? Here's some insider knowledge the cardinals have provided.

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What’s in store for the new pope's first days?

by John L. Allen Jr.

If it hasn’t happened by the time you are reading this newspaper, sometime very soon the Catholic church will have a new pope. Naturally the world will be waiting to find out what kind of leader he’s likely...

by John L. Allen Jr.

Now that Pope Benedict has granted his own wish to step down, the debate over his legacy is officially open.

The muffled message of Catholic media

Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service | Oct. 7, 2010

VATICAN CITY -- The Catholic Church obviously believes it has an important message to share with the world. And with relatively easy access to the printing press, the airwaves and the Internet, it would seem that communicating the Gospel would be easier than ever today.

In North America and Europe, especially, the church has relied for decades on the Catholic press to provide the faithful with news, information and the perspective they need to understand the church's position on a variety of current political, social and ethical issues.

Church officials, though, recognize that even as opportunities to communicate expand, its message is often muffled.

Pope Benedict XVI, meeting Catholic journalists and communications professionals Oct. 7, said that despite the "multiplication of antennas, dishes and satellites," the printed word is still essential for communication, especially for a church community that draws its inspiration from Scripture.

"The search for truth must be pursued by Catholic journalists with passionate minds and hearts, but also with the professionalism of competent workers with sufficient and effective instruments," he said.

Vatican Bank transactions subject of Italian probe

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 24, 2010

Italian authorities froze some $30 million in assets of the Vatican Bank Sept. 20, and placed the bank’s president and general director under investigation for alleged violations of anti-money-laundering protocols.

Waiting game: New Vatican agency yet to materialize

John Thavis Catholic News Service | Sep. 24, 2010

VATICAN CITY -- In June, Pope Benedict XVI announced he was establishing a major Vatican agency to deal with "new evangelization" in traditionally Christian countries.

The pope's initiative was seen as a bold stroke in the church's ongoing effort to engage the modern world. But three months later, the project is still stuck in the slow wheels of Vatican bureaucracy.

Officially, in fact, the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization doesn't yet exist. Although the pope proclaimed its formation and then named its president, Italian Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the office will formally be launched only with publication an apostolic constitution, in which the pope will lay out the council's structure and tasks.

In the meantime, Archbishop Fisichella is in a kind of limbo.

"We're hoping it will come around the end of September. I don't know any more than that. We need to be patient with the bureaucracy here," he said.

The pope keeps mentioning the importance of the new council. Most recently, he urged British bishops to "avail yourselves of its services."

Vatican bank head in money-laundering probe

John Thavis Catholic News Service | Sep. 21, 2010

VATICAN CITY -- The president of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, has been placed under investigation by Italian magistrates in a money-laundering probe, the Italian state television RAI reported.

RAI, citing judicial sources, said the move followed the seizure Sept. 20 by Italian treasury police of 23 million euros (US$30 million) that had been deposited in a Rome bank account by the Vatican bank.

Pope calls church to be 'humble' model on abuse

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 19, 2010

LONDON -- In his final act before departing the U.K. for Rome, Pope Benedict XVI has challenged the Catholic church to “humbly” present itself as a model for all society in the protection of children and young people from abuse.

It marked the fourth time the pontiff has addressed the sexual abuse crisis during his Sept. 16-19 trip to Scotland and England. The crisis has not taken on the same dimensions here as in the United States, Ireland, Germany, and other countries, but it nevertheless formed an important subtext to the trip.

This was the first time the pope has explicitly suggested that the experience accumulated by the Catholic church over the last decade could be a model for the wider world.

Pope apologizes for 'unspeakable crimes' of sex abuse

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 18, 2010

London -- On day three of Pope Benedict XVI’s four-day visit to the United Kingdom, the pontiff has once again used strong language on the sexual abuse crisis, expressing “deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes.”

The pontiff said he feels "shame and humiliation" because of the scandals, and called upon Catholics to express "concern for the victims and solidarity with your priests."

Newman still commands our attention

NCR Editorial Staff | Sep. 18, 2010

Cardinal John Henry Newman will be beatified at a Mass Sept. 19 presided over by Pope Benedict XVI. It will be the first time Benedict has presided over a beatification ceremony, indicating the great reverence in which Newman is held.

We get it, we've got it, let's share it

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 17, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI is midway through his trip to the United Kingdom, and so far reaction has been all over the map, from wild enthusiasm among devotees, to overt hostility among determined protestors, to benign indifference in a broad swath of secular society. Of course, the pope always evokes a range of opinions, but they’re rarely on full public view as they are here.

Pope on crisis: 'We weren't fast enough'

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 16, 2010

LONDON -- In the old days, the normal Vatican pattern was that the pope would say or do something controversial, and then his aides would try to calm the waters. It’s a measure of how out of sorts the Vatican’s communications enterprise has been that these days, things seem to work exactly the other way around.

The pattern of the pope cleaning up a mess created by other top church officials was first glimpsed in Portugal, after senior Vatican personnel had publicly compared criticism of the pope to anti-Semitism and “petty gossip.” Benedict XVI changed the tone by insisting, in comments to reporters aboard the papal plane, that the real problem was not outside attacks but sin inside the church.

That papal course correction continued on day one of his four-day trip to the United Kingdom.

Read the full report here: Pope on crisis: 'We weren't fast enough'

John Allen will be filing reports throughout the Papal visit to the U.K. Sept. 16-19. Stay tuned to NCR Today for updates.

Newman: the 'sense' and 'consent' of the faithful

Robert McClory | Sep. 16, 2010

Viewpoint

There is stark irony in the words Pope Benedict XVI chose when he announced last February his plan to visit England this year and there pronounce John Henry Newman as among the “blessed,” just one step from canonization as a saint. He cited Newman as an example for all the world of opposition to dissent. “In a social milieu that encourages the expression of a variety of opinions on every question that arises,” said the pope, “it is important to recognize dissent for what it is and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate.”

How Pope Francis spent his first 24 hours after conclave

by Dennis Coday

Pope Francis has been busy since his election, and he has used his activity to further the image of a warm, simple pastor.

Cardinals elect Pope Francis, Argentinean Jesuit Jorge Mario Bergoglio

by Joshua J. McElwee

The Roman Catholic church has its first Latin American pope: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, now to be known as Pope Francis.

by John Wijngaards

Essay: We can't forget the advice of Teresa of Avila, who wrote that given the choice between a saintly confessor and one who is a good theologian, trust the theologian.