Pontifical Secret

The Latest

A hearing in the Vatican finance trial on Nov. 17, 2021.

Cardinal Becciu not bound by pontifical secret in Vatican finance trial, judge rules

Mar 30, 2022

By Hannah Brockhaus

The judge said Pope Francis had dispensed Becciu from the obligation of the pontifical secret. Read more

St. Peter's Basilica from the keyhole on Aventino Hill, Rome Italy. Via Shutterstock

Analysis: Vatican calls for trust, Catholics wait for transparency

Jul 5, 2019

By Ed Condon

In the debate between bishops and the faithful, both sides accept the need for transparency but have very different understandings of the word.  Read more

What is the pontifical secret?

Dec 19, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

Following the allegations made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò about the case of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, many have called for... Read more

Latest news

Georgetown University President John DeGioia attends a ceremony at which an honorary degree was bestowed on AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Sept. 3, 2009, in Washington, D.C.

Georgetown president John DeGioia to step down after 23 years

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 20, 2024, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Pope Francis calls for study of Church history free from ideologies

Indian Christians pay their respects to the remains of St. Francis Xavier during the 17th exposition of the saint's body at the Se Cathedral in Goa on Nov. 22, 2014.

St. Francis Xavier’s relics draw 12,000 in Goa, India, for decennial exposition

Pope Francis signs two bottles of bourbon presented to him by Father Jim Sichko at the Vatican on May 1, 2024.

Bottles of bourbon signed by Pope Francis expected to fetch up to $20,000 for charity

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No, ‘AI Jesus’ isn’t actually hearing confessions: fact check

Pope Francis meets with the Dicastery for Culture and Education at the Vatican on Nov. 21, 2024.

Pope Francis: Desire and Christian hope can overcome ‘dangerous plague’ of nihilism

From left: John Hinshaw, Jonathan Darnel, Lauren Handy, Joan Bell, and Jean Marshall are among the pro-life activists who are still in prison or awaiting prison sentences on federal charges brought by President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice for protests at abortion clinics — but President-elect Donald Trump has signaled he will likely grant them presidential pardons.

Meet the pro-life prisoners whom Trump is expected to pardon

St. John’s Cathedral in the Netherlands is lit up for Red Wednesday on Nov. 23, 2022.

Churches around the world lit up red in honor of persecuted Christians

Despite an online petition posted to change.org in mid-October that garnered over 53,000 signatures in protest of the evergreen to be used for the Vatican Christmas tree being chopped down, the tree arrived as scheduled in St. Peter’s Square at 7 a.m. on Nov. 21, 2024.

Vatican Christmas tree wreathed in controversy over environmental objections

Father Max Josef Metzger, a Catholic priest executed by the Nazi regime in 1944 for his peace activism and ecumenical work, was beatified Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Freiburg, Germany.

Church beatifies German priest who was executed by Nazis in 1944

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Nov 21
Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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