Vatican politics Archives

Long a lightning rod, Sodano figures in McCarrick/Viganò saga too
- Oct 25, 2018
When it comes to Vatican scandals, there are a few names that tend to keep surfacing every time a new crisis comes to light. One of these names is Cardinal Angelo Sodano, among the most influential Vatican officials in the past three decades, and who has appeared again in the ongoing saga surrounding Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

By Elise Harris
Scandal-plagued cardinal a key figure in McCarrick/Viganò saga
- Oct 10, 2018
Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is one of the key players in the drama created by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò with accusations against high level Vatican personnel including Pope Francis.

By Elise Harris
Vatican newspaper chimes in, finally, on ‘The Young Pope’
- Oct 1, 2017
The Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, finally wrote about the Vatican-inspired series “The Young Pope” starring Jude Law as an unlikely American pope. Editor-in-chief, Gian Maria Vian, said he didn’t want to write about it during the time it was airing, because “They wanted us to either bless it or excommunicate it, and I didn’t want to play that game.”

By Associated Press

Thoughts on the frenzy over the prelate who supposedly wants Francis to die

Dec 1, 2015

“Rebranding” is all the rage today in corporate communications, and one question gurus on the subject often find themselves pondering is the following: When you get a hot new CEO who succeeds in creating an appealing narrative, what happens to older stereotypes and prejudices about the brand? If Pope Francis

By John L. Allen Jr.

Cardinals jousting in public? Been there, done that

Sep 18, 2014

Back in February, I was sitting in a Rome restaurant with a member of the College of Cardinals the day after retired Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany had delivered an impassioned appeal to fellow members of the church’s most exclusive club for relaxing the church’s ban on divorced and remarried

By John L. Allen Jr.