Show Notes
On Dec. 4, the final report from the Vatican’s second study commission on women deacons was published, saying that women can’t be ordained to the diaconate “as understood as a degree of holy orders,” but it stopped short of an unequivocal “no” to women deacons, saying that while its “assessment is strong…it does not allow for a definitive judgment to be formulated at this time.”
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Vatican correspondents Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell unpack the commission’s report: how it came about, why the commission seems to have left the door open to women deacons despite its “no,” and where the push for women’s ministries in the church is likely to go next.
In the second part of the show, Gerry and Colleen examine the dissolution of a Holy See fundraising commission that Pope Francis approved while he was in the hospital. Gerry argues that Pope Francis would likely have dissolved the commission, too, and Colleen raises concern that Vatican officials had asked the pope to sign off on things when he was not in a state to do so.
After our recording, Pope Leo commented on why he appeared not to pray in the Blue Mosque—a topic Colleen and Gerry discussed last week. You can read Colleen’s story here.
A correction to our production credits: Inside the Vatican was engineered by Adam Buchmueller this week.
Links from the show:
Vatican report says no to ordaining women deacons—for now
Video: Women Deacons and the Catholic Church | An Explainer
Pope Leo cancels Vatican fundraising commission announced under questionable circumstances
UPDATED: Pope Leo meets Ukraine’s Zelensky as European leaders discuss controversial U.S. peace plan
Pope Leo explains why he appeared not to pray at the Blue Mosque in Turkey
Support Inside the Vatican by subscribing to America Magazine! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Inside The Vatican
In this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and Colleen evaluate how Pope Leo XIV’s recovery from his lung surgery is progressing and discuss questions of how the operation might affect his immediate future plans. In the second part of the show, they look at Leo’s personal intervention on behalf of a besieged city in Ukraine.
In this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry explain what we know and what still remains unclear regarding Pope Leo XIV’s shocking lung cancer diagnosis. In the second part of the show, they recap the meeting of bishops on Amoris Laetitia and the election of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as the new dean of the College of Cardinals.
In this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Pope Francis biographer Austen Ivereigh and America executive producer Sebastian Gomes join Colleen Dulle to discuss this week’s Vatican meeting on “Amoris Laetitia,” ten years after Pope Francis published his controversial exhortation on marriage and the family. Austen and Sebastian recap the tense 2014 and 2015 synods on the family, what Pope Francis decided in Amoris Laetitia and what is to be discussed at a Vatican meeting on the document to be held Oct. 7-14 for the heads of the world’s conferences of bishops.
This week on Jesuitical, Colleen Dulle joins hosts Zac Davis and Sebasian Gomes to discuss Pope Leo’s recent visit to France, including his messages on assisted dying, European identity and the role of the Catholic Church in a secular country. Colleen also reflects on her experience of traveling with the pope for the first time.
In this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and Colleen preview Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France, set for Sept. 25-28. The two unpack Pope Leo’s itinerary for the trip, give context for the political situation in the country and discuss what messages the pope may send to both secular and ecclesial authorities in a country and church that are being reshaped by the arrival of newcomers.