Inside The Vatican

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” America Editor-in-Chief Fr. Sam Sawyer, SJ, joins Vatican Correspondent Colleen Dulle and Executive Editor Ashley McKinless for a roundtable discussion on the recent comments President Trump and other administration officials have made about Pope Leo, and the pope’s response given en route to his tour of four African countries. In the first part of the show, Colleen gives an update on the papal journey across Africa. 0:00 Intro 0:25 Pope Leo in Algeria 1:26 Pope Leo in Cameroon 3:00 President Trump's words for Pope Leo 4:20 Pope Leo's criticism of war 5:40 Pope Leo's response to Trump 7:50 U.S. Bishops respond to Trump 8:47 Reactions to Trump's tirade 10:30 Did Trump influence Leo's election? 13:25 Don't take the President's bait 17:05 Impact on U.S.-Vatican relation Links: Interview: What Pope Leo’s visit means for Algeria’s tiny Catholic population Pope Leo’s first trip to Africa: what you need to know Pope Leo in Algeria: ‘The future belongs to men and women of peace’ Pope Leo walks in the footsteps of St. Augustine in Hippo Pope Leo on plane to Cameroon: St. Augustine invites us to search for God and truth Pope Leo to Cameroon’s leaders: Break the ‘chains of corruption,’ invest in young people Trump is trying to distract us from Pope Leo’s calls for peace. Don’t take the bait. South Africa’s Cardinal Brislin: Trump cannot silence Pope Leo or the church US bishops’ doctrine chair defends church’s just war tradition after JD Vance comments 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

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry recap a packed two weeks of Vatican news, covering Pope Leo’s first Holy Week celebrations and his comments on President Trump’s threat to wipe out ‘an entire civilization.’ After this episode was recorded, reports were published recounting a contentious meeting at the Pentagon between the nuncio to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, and Trump administration officials. Read more here: https://www.americamagazine.org/news/2026/04/09/vatican-pentagon-free-press/  Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:01 Pope Leo’s message to the wealthy in Monaco 3:14 Pope says God ‘rejects’ the prayers of warmakers 7:53 Pope Leo washes 12 priests’ feet on Holy Thursday 12:01 Pope carries the cross through Colosseum 15:07 Cardinal Pizzaballa denied access to Holy Sepulchre 20:13 Pope Leo’s Good Friday call with Zelenskyy 22:30 Pope Leo’s Easter appeal for peace 25:11 Leo calls Trump’s Iran threat ‘unacceptable’ 30:17 Pope Leo’s trip to Algeria 33:41 Leo to visit Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea 37:01 Outro and Credits Links: Is there a Catholic revival? Pope Leo seems to think so. Palm Sunday: Cardinal Pizzaballa blocked by Israeli police from Holy Sepulchre as Pope Leo denounces war in Rome Pope Leo’s Holy Thursday homily: ‘In this dark hour of history,’ do not shy away from your mission The meditations at Pope Leo’s first Way of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum: Connecting Christ’s Passion to modern suffering On Good Friday, Pope Leo speaks with presidents of Israel and Ukraine, calling for an end to war Pope Leo’s first Easter ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message: ‘Let those who have weapons lay them down’ Pope Leo: Trump’s threat to destroy Iran ‘truly unacceptable’ Pope Leo XIV to embark on 10-day Africa tour and trips to Spain and Monaco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March 2026, the Vatican’s doctrine office released its final report on women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Catholic Church. The report brings to a close the two-year work of Study Group 5, which, as part of the Synod on Synodality, was tasked with studying women’s ministries and leadership. In this special roundtable conversation, editors at America magazine discuss the report’s content and proposals, and ask if the document changes the status quo for women in the Catholic Church. Featuring: Ashley McKinless, executive editor and co-host of the “Jesuitical” podcast Kerry Weber, executive editor Colleen Dulle, Vatican correspondent and co-host of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast Molly Cahill, associate editor 0:00 The Vatican’s final report on women and ministry 4:23 Women’s reactions to the report 11:28 New ministries for women? 20:05 The horizons and limits of women’s authority 30:30 Will women be involved in decision-making? Links: ⁠The final synod report on women: what it says, what it means and what’s next⁠ ⁠Where the women deacons question stands at the Vatican⁠ ⁠Full Report of Study Group 5 on “The Participation of Women in the Life and Leadership of the Church⁠” Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America magazine at ⁠americamagazine.org/subscribe⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle is joined by guest host Ashley McKinless for an interview with Gerard O’Connell and his wife and journalist Elisabetta Piqué about their new book, “The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis.” They discuss pre-conclave maneuvering, including organized resistance to Pope Francis's reforms, as well as their decision to report conclave details despite Cardinals taking oaths of secrecy. - 0:00 Breaking the secrecy of a conclave - 8:10 A Vatican journalist and a war correspondent - 12:04 Calculating the conclave vote tallies - 15:09 Pressure campaigns and conclave maneuvering - 22:17 How the cardinals choose a pope - 30:10 What the cardinals think of Pope Leo so far - 35:50 A touching personal story Links: The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis by Gerard O'Connell and Elisabetta Pique Excerpt: Behind the scenes of Pope Leo XIV’s election Backer of Cardinal Parolin attacks Pope Francis’ push for lay involvement in church governance Los puntos débiles de Parolin, el favorito a ser el próximo papa, y el secreto a voces de su relación con Francisco 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

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Leo’s consistent statements pushing for peace and an end to armed conflicts worldwide. In the second part of the show, Colleen and Gerry unpack a few brief stories including Pope Leo receiving the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center, his new home in the apostolic palace and the Vatican’s appeals court’s decision for a partial re-trial in the “Trial of the Century.” 0:00 Intro 1:50 Did Pope Leo tell American leaders to go to confession? 5:43 Pope Leo calls for ceasefire 8:18 Wars are becoming video games 10:53 Leo’s phone call with Palestinian president 14:44 Pope Leo’s laser focus on peace and unity 17:30 Vatican’s soft power in conflicts 19:26 Pope Leo turns down invite to the US 23:13 Pope Leo moves to the Apolostic Palace 27:30 Update on the Vatican’s “Trial of the Century” 32:34 Pope Leo meets with Gareth Gore 33:26 Outro Links: What the Middle East needs: Not more bombs, but ‘hard, focused diplomacy’ Pope Leo to journalists: Don’t become agents of propaganda during wartime Pope Leo to warring nations in the Middle East: ‘Cease fire!’ Pope Leo to accept Liberty Medal and address Americans on July 3rd 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