Christopher White

When Francis Xavier reached India or Mother Cabrini arrived in the U.S., neither believed they would make converts overnight. They had to learn the language and culture. So, too, with internet evangelization.

After nearly 20 years, Fr. John Jenkins is stepping down as president of the University of Notre Dame. In an interview with NCR, he points to achievements and admits some mistakes — like a certain Trump White House event in 2020.

In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Xavière Sr. Nathalie Becquart brings listeners inside the Vatican's synod office to discuss how the synodal process is creating "a new style of leadership" for the Catholic Church.

Not since Pope Francis welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Vatican has a papal meeting with a head of state been so hotly anticipated as the coming encounter with Argentina's President Javier Milei. 

In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Archbishop Charles Scicluna reiterates his call for the global Catholic Church to consider ending its requirement that priests remain celibate.

A flurry of events is taking place in Rome for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. And at Ponte Sant'Angelo Methodist Church on Jan. 21, the preacher was a Catholic woman: Xavière Sr. Nathalie Becquart.

Listen: In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Joe Donnelly, tells NCR the U.S. is working "nonstop" to prevent civilian deaths in Gaza, but stops short of backing Pope Francis' calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Australian Cardinal George Pell died unexpectedly on Jan. 10, 2023, shortly after the death of retired Pope Benedict XVI. A year later, the longing for a return to a more traditional brand of Catholicism continues. 

Pope Francis decried two divergent issues in an annual "State of the World" address on Jan. 8: the status of civilians as "collateral damage" in the ongoing Israeli-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars, and the practice of surrogate motherhood.

During his annual Christmas Day message, Pope Francis decried the "appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims" in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, while reiterating his calls for an immediate ceasefire.

The message of Christmas is that Jesus changed the world through his love, rather than through worldly power, said Pope Francis as he marked the start of Christmas at the Vatican. 

Pope Francis on Dec. 21 cautioned top Vatican officials against becoming rigid and obsessing over ideology, saying that such habits can prevent the Catholic Church from growing.

Listen: In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Catholic Charities USA president and CEO Kerry Robinson praises Pope Francis' efforts to expand opportunities for women's leadership in the Catholic Church.

A new Vatican document officially declares it possible for Catholic priests to bless same-sex unions and divorced and remarried couples. The pastoral shift may be among the most significant in the church's history. 

Pope Francis, who turns 87 on Dec. 17, is already one of the oldest popes in the church's 2,000-year history. But behind Vatican walls, talk of possible papal transition still remains largely taboo.

One of the chief organizers of the Vatican's high stakes summit on the future of the Catholic Church believes that synodality must be distinguished from the work of diplomacy.

"Artificial intelligence ought to serve our best human potential and our highest aspirations, not compete with them," Pope Francis writes in his message for the upcoming World Day of Peace. 

The Australian Catholic Church played an outsized role in shaping the global consultation process for Pope Francis' Synod of Bishops. "Australia punched well above its weight," said Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long.

Listen: In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Bishop Daniel Flores says the prelates at the recent major Vatican summit wanted to express "a certain amount of sorrow" over how women have been treated by the church.

If Christians want to be successful peacemakers in the world, it will require overcoming divisions among the various Christian denominations, the Vatican's foreign minister said on Nov. 27.