Vatican Access with Robert Duncan

Catholic News Service
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Explore the biggest questions of our time with Vatican leaders and insiders.

  1. 1d ago

    Inside the Global Marriage Crisis Facing Pope Leo

    As bishops from around the world gather in Rome for a meeting convened by Pope Leo XIV on marriage and the family, J.P. De Gance has been working behind the scenes to help the Church understand what's at stake. His organization, Communio, produced a report on the state of marriage in America, providing research and analysis to inform today's discussions ten years after Pope Francis published "Amoris Laetitia." In this conversation, De Gance reveals why he believes the Catholic Church has failed to respond adequately to the collapse of marriage. He explains why Catholic marriages have declined dramatically in the United States, why most parishes spend too little on marriage ministry, and how the decline of the family may be driving the crisis of faith. He also discusses his conversations with bishops from around the world, whether Pope Francis' reforms have made a practical difference, and what Pope Leo's gathering could accomplish. Guest bio: J.P. De Gance is the founder and president of Communio, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening marriages and families through churches. Previously involved in public policy, he turned his attention to marriage renewal following a family crisis that brought four nieces and nephews into his home. His work has included a major initiative in Jacksonville, Florida, where 93 churches participated in a program associated with a 24% decline in the local divorce rate over three years. Communio has since worked with nearly 600 churches and parishes in 44 U.S. dioceses.

  2. Oct 1

    He Served 8 Popes. Here's What He Saw in the Vatican.

    Monsignor Karel Kasteel has worked in the Vatican for 70 years and served under eight popes, beginning with Pope Pius XII. Now 92, he has witnessed some of the most consequential moments in the modern history of the Catholic Church, including the Second Vatican Council, the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, and decades of change inside the Roman Curia. In this conversation, Monsignor Kasteel reflects on what outsiders misunderstand about the Vatican, why he believes there is far more holiness than wrongdoing inside the Curia, and what has changed over seven decades. He recalls working at the Second Vatican Council, explains why he believes the Council was necessary and remains unfinished, discusses tensions between Pope Francis and the Roman Curia, and shares what he thinks Pope Leo XIV is trying to accomplish. He also takes on Vatican legends and controversies, including politics inside conclaves, alleged spies and secret societies, the death of Pope John Paul I, the “Siri thesis,” the Third Secret of Fatima, and the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi. Guest bio: Monsignor Karel Kasteel is a Dutch priest who arrived in Rome in 1956 and has spent seven decades working in and around the Roman Curia. He assisted the secretary general of the Second Vatican Council and was present throughout the Council. He later served as dean of the Apostolic Chamber and helped organize the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. Over the course of his Vatican career, he has served under eight popes and worked closely with figures including Mother Teresa, giving him a rare firsthand perspective on the modern history of the papacy and the Catholic Church. Archival images from the Filmoteca Vaticana. For more archival footage from the Second Vatican Council, watch our full-length documentary, Voices of Vatican II: https://youtu.be/Xqh_0wqTz2M?si=tz8Ciz6d_qVp6VAj Original music was created using AI.

  3. Sep 25

    Why Did Lourdes Cover Up These Mosaics Before Pope Leo's Visit?

    In the days before Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit to France, the famous mosaics at Lourdes by Father Marko Rupnik, a priest and artist accused of sexual abuse, have been covered up. Investigative journalist Federica Tourn, who published the first interview with one of Father Rupnik’s accusers in 2022, has followed the case closely ever since. In this conversation, Tourn explains why the mosaics were covered up ahead of the pope’s visit and what the decision means for the women who have accused Father Rupnik of abuse. What do victims want from Pope Leo? Why is Father Rupnik’s artwork being concealed in France while new mosaics are celebrated at a major shrine in Brazil? And why has the Vatican’s ongoing trial yet to produce a verdict? The discussion traces Father Rupnik’s rise to prominence in the Catholic Church, the allegations against him and the Church’s response. Tourn discusses her reporting on 22 letters alleging abuse dating back to the 1990s, the secrecy surrounding the Vatican proceedings and the sources who have helped her investigation. She also reflects on why survivors trusted her with their stories, the unanswered questions surrounding Father Rupnik’s considerable artistic earnings and what genuine transparency would mean for the Church. This episode features an AI-generated English dub of Federica Tourn’s voice. The transcript and translation were reviewed and edited by CNS staff. Original music was created using AI. Guest bio: Federica Tourn is an Italian investigative journalist who has spent years reporting on sexual abuse and alleged cover-ups in the Catholic Church, particularly in Italy. In December 2022, she published an interview with Gloria Branciani, one of the women accusing Father Marko Rupnik of sexual abuse, in the Italian newspaper Domani. She has continued investigating the case, speaking with survivors, clergy and Vatican sources, and reporting on the handling of abuse allegations within the Church.

  4. Sep 18

    Jesus Climbed These Stairs — She Helped Bring Them Back to Life

    Mary Angela Schroth has spent more than 40 years working in the art world in Rome, much of that time at the Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs. There, she helped launch and guide a decades-long effort with the Vatican Museums and international donors to restore the sanctuary’s extraordinary Renaissance frescoes -- images that had been obscured by centuries of dirt, pollution, candle smoke and neglect. In this conversation, Schroth tells the inside story of the Holy Stairs, traditionally believed to be the steps Jesus climbed before being judged by Pontius Pilate. How did they come to Rome? Why were the frescoes surrounding them nearly invisible for centuries? And what did it take to bring the sanctuary back to life? The discussion explores the origins of Christian Rome, the restoration campaign supported by the Getty Foundation and Vatican Museums, the discoveries made as the frescoes emerged again, and the donors who helped make the project possible. Schroth also reflects on how the work deepened her own Catholic faith, the extraordinary spiritual experiences pilgrims have reported at the Holy Stairs, and why the sanctuary’s central theme -- the suffering of Christ -- still speaks to the universal question of human suffering. Guest bio: Mary Angela Schroth is an American curator and arts administrator based in Rome. For more than four decades, she has worked with Sala Uno, the nonprofit contemporary art space she founded with priest and sculptor Tito Amodei at the complex of the Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs. She played a central role in developing and supporting the long-term conservation of the sanctuary’s frescoes in collaboration with the Vatican Museums and international benefactors. Original music was created using AI; certain illustrations were enhanced using AI.

  5. Sep 10

    Why So Few Black Catholic Bishops in America?

    Bishop Robert Boxie is an auxiliary bishop of Washington and the youngest bishop in the United States. A former lawyer educated at Vanderbilt University and Harvard Law School, he brings both professional experience and a deeply rooted Black Catholic identity to questions of race, faith, and the life of the Church. In this conversation, Bishop Boxie explains why he believes racism is part of the reason there are so few Black bishops in America. He discusses the history of exclusion faced by Black Catholics, his own experience with a Confederate flag in seminary, what white Catholics should understand about the Black Catholic experience, and why the Church needs to speak more openly about racism. He also addresses tokenism, DEI, reconciliation, and what Black Catholics bring to the wider Church. Guest bio: Bishop Robert P. Boxie III is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington. Before entering the priesthood, he studied engineering at Vanderbilt University and law at Harvard Law School and worked in Washington, D.C. His ministry has included service to the Black Catholic community and pastoral work at Howard University. As bishop, he has spoken frequently about race, Catholic identity, reconciliation, and the importance of ensuring that Black Catholics are fully represented and heard within the life of the Church. Original music was created using AI. Special thanks to Tricia Lloyd and the Gregorian University Foundation for supplemental video footage.

  6. Sep 4

    The Medieval Way to Protect Your Mind From AI

    Steve Metzger works inside one of the most important libraries in the world: the Vatican Apostolic Library. A medievalist and Latinist, he studies and catalogs some of the Library’s extraordinary manuscript collections, including works by St. Thomas Aquinas. In this conversation, Metzger asks what happens when AI begins to replace the hard work of reading, thinking, and wrestling with ideas for ourselves. Why is reading a book fundamentally different from getting an instant answer from a machine? What do we lose when knowledge becomes easier, faster and increasingly artificial? The discussion explores Pope Leo XIV’s warnings about AI and education, the decline of serious reading, the danger of losing control of the technologies we create, and the Vatican Library’s mission in a digital age. Metzger also explains why the Library can be understood as an “anti-Babel” -- a place that gathers the languages, texts, and cultures of humanity and puts them back into conversation with one another. Guest bio: Steve Metzger is a researcher and manuscript cataloger at the Vatican Apostolic Library in Rome. A medievalist and Latinist, his work focuses on Latin manuscripts, textual transmission, humanism, and the preservation of the Church’s written heritage.

  7. Jul 24

    How Putin's War Threatens What Pope Leo Wants to Protect

    Father Daniel Galadza is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest, liturgical scholar, and professor at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. A priest of the Archeparchy of Kyiv, he also serves on the Vatican's Dicastery for the Eastern Churches and has devoted his academic work to the history, theology, and liturgy of the Christian East. Father Galadza brings both scholarly expertise and personal experience to questions surrounding Eastern Christianity, the war in Ukraine, and the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and Rome. In this conversation, Father Galadza reflects on how Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Russian Orthodox Church's support for the war have transformed relations between Ukrainian and Russian Christianity. He explains what the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church can offer the wider Catholic Church, why Pope Leo XIV's early emphasis on the Eastern Churches was so significant, and why increasing numbers of Western Christians are exploring Eastern Christianity. The discussion explores the appeal of Byzantine worship, fasting, and the liturgical life, the unique vocation of the Eastern Catholic Churches as fully Eastern while remaining in communion with Rome, the recovery of authentic Eastern traditions after Vatican II, the role of married priests, and why the deepest challenge of Eastern Christianity is not simply its beauty, but the lifelong spiritual discipline it demands. Guest bio: Father Daniel Galadza is a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and professor of Eastern liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. He serves the Archeparchy of Kyiv and works at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. His research focuses on Byzantine liturgy, the history of the Eastern Catholic Churches, and the theological and liturgical traditions of the Christian East.

  8. Jul 17

    Was Pope Leo Elected Because of Donald Trump?

    Michael Driessen is Professor of Political Science and Director of the MA in International Affairs at John Cabot University in Rome. A leading scholar of religion and international politics, he has spent more than a decade studying interreligious dialogue, peacebuilding, and the global role of the Catholic Church. Earlier this year, Pope Leo XIV appointed him as a consultor to the Vatican's Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.In this conversation, Driessen examines why the cardinals elected the first American pope at a moment of profound geopolitical instability, how the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have tested the limits of interreligious dialogue, and why Pope Leo XIV believes an "unarmed and disarming peace" requires something deeper than diplomacy or political negotiation. He explores the changing global order, the Vatican's relationship with the United States, the future of international cooperation in an increasingly polarized world, and whether religion still has a unique role to play in preventing conflict and building lasting peace.Guest bio:Michael Driessen is Professor of Political Science and Director of the MA in International Affairs at John Cabot University in Rome. He teaches and writes on religion and politics, international relations, and the global diplomacy of the Catholic Church. He is the author of The Global Politics of Interreligious Dialogue: Religious Change, Citizenship and Solidarity in the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2023). In 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed him as a consultor to the Vatican's Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, where he advises the Holy See on questions relating to dialogue between religions and its contribution to peace in international affairs.

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