Christopher White

Christopher White is the Vatican correspondent for NCR.  His e-mail address is cwhite@ncronline.org. Follow him on Twitter: @cwwhiteNCR.
 
Prior to moving to Rome in August 2021, he served as NCR's national correspondent, where his award winning reporting included coverage of the Catholic vote during the 2020 campaign and the election of President Joe Biden.
 
He holds a master's degree in ethics and society from Fordham University and a bachelor's degree in politics, philosophy and economics from The King's College. His work has appeared in Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Forbes, Foreign Policy, New York Daily News, International Business Times, among many other print and online publications. He has regularly appeared on television and radio programs, including CNN, NPR, RTE and BBC and is a Vatican analyst for NBC and MSNBC news. 

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Pope Francis greets participants after speaking at a Vatican conference, "Pastors and lay faithful called to walk together," Feb. 18, 2023, in the Vatican synod hall. The meeting was sponsored by the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life. This October's meeting on the future of the church will take place in the larger Pope Paul VI audience hall. (CNS/Vatican Media)

The synod will meet in a different Vatican hall. This could be groundbreaking.

View from the Vatican: The October meeting of the Synod of Bishops will be held in a larger Vatican hall than previous synod meetings, to allow for roundtable discussions among members. It is a small change, but could be groundbreaking.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, gives the annual Cardinal Dearden Lecture at The Catholic University of America in Washington April 26, 2023. The lecture honors the late Archbishop John Dearden of Detroit, known for implementing the Second Vatican Council's teachings in the United States. (OSV News photo/courtesy Patrick Ryan, The Catholic University of America)

Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Vatican's ambassador to US

Pope Francis on July 9 named 21 new cardinals, including the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Christophe Pierre; American-born Archbishop Robert Prevost, who oversees the appointments of Catholic bishops worldwide; and the new head of the Vatican's doctrinal office, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández. 

Jesuit Father James Martin delivers the homily during the closing Mass for the Outreach LGBTQ Catholic Ministry Conference at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City June 18, 2023.

Pope Francis invites top US allies — Cupich, McElroy, Fr. James Martin among others — to synod

The Vatican on July 7 released the full list of participants for its upcoming global synod of Catholic bishops and lay delegates, which includes noted LGBTQ advocate Jesuit Fr. James Martin and all four U.S. cardinals created by Pope Francis.

Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, appointed prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope Francis July 1, is pictured in this file photo at the conclusion of extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 18, 2014. (CNS/Paul Haring)

Vatican's new doctrinal chief: Catholic blessings for gay couples must be studied

Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, new head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, defended traditional church teaching on marriage, but said blessings for gay couples would have to be "analyzed." 

Pope Francis greets immigrants as he arrives at the port in Lampedusa, Italy, July 8, 2013. (CNS/Tullio Puglia, pool)

10 years later, Pope Francis' Lampedusa 'cry' offers renewed call to welcome migrants

When Pope Francis visited Lampedusa in July 2013, few people had ever heard of the tiny Italian island. Ten years later, that visit has become a seminal reference point for Catholic care for migrants and refugees.

Pope appoints new head of Vatican doctrinal office to promote theologians

Pope Francis on July 1 appointed Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, his long-time fellow-Argentine theological adviser, to head the Vatican's doctrinal office.

Pope Francis greets Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, Tenn., during a meeting with U.S. bishops from Regions IV and V making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican, Dec. 3, 2019. The regions include the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope Francis accepts resignation of Knoxville's embattled Bishop Stika

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Stika, the embattled leader of the Diocese of Knoxville, following a tumultuous two-year period in which the diocese was subject to a Vatican investigation and multiple lawsuits over its handling of clergy abuse cases. 

The flags of the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are projected on a section of the walls surrounding Jerusalem's Old City Sept. 15, 2020, as United Arab Emirates and Bahrain sign agreements toward normalizing relations with Israel at a White House ceremony in Washington. (CNS/Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

Don't forget the interreligious dimensions of the Abraham Accords

View from the Vatican: The Vatican's initial reluctance to back the Abraham Accords could be explained by its longtime diplomatic efforts toward Middle East peace, including a push for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, speaks in this screen capture of Vatican video from an event sponsored by the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See, Dec. 13, 2022 in Rome. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Vatican's secretary of state: Clerical abuse not linked to homosexuality

In a preface to a new book, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin says clergy sexual abuse is not linked to homosexuality, or to celibacy.

Pope Francis leads a meeting with representatives of bishops' conferences from around the world at the Vatican Oct. 9, 2021. The meeting came as the Vatican launched the process that will lead up to the assembly of the world Synod of Bishops in 2023. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Synod document sets stage for wide-ranging debate on women, Catholic ministries and structures

When prelates and lay delegates gather in October for the Synod of Bishops, they will be asked to directly confront pressing questions — including the possibility of women deacons, access to the priesthood for married men, the integration of LGBTQ+ Catholics, and penance for sexual abuse and the abuse of power, conscience and money.

Pope Francis shakes hands with John Kerry, President Biden's special envoy for climate issues, during a meeting June 19 at the Vatican. (CNS/Vatican Media)

US climate envoy John Kerry says Pope Francis an ally in lead-up to COP28 climate summit

During a private meeting with John Kerry on June 19, Pope Francis signaled an openness to attending the COP28 climate summit in Dubai later this year.

Pope Francis meets Archbishop Georg Gänswein, personal secretary to the late Pope Benedict XVI, in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican May 19, 2023. Although he still has the title of prefect of the papal household, Archbishop Gänswein has not worked in the office since 2020 and is awaiting a new assignment. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Benedict XVI's long-time aide, Archbishop Gänswein, relieved of Vatican duties, sent back to Germany

Pope Francis has relieved Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the longtime personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, of his duties as prefect of the papal household and sent him home to Germany without an assignment, the Vatican announced on June 15.

 

Pope Francis addresses the leadership, staff and members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors during an audience at the Vatican May 5. The commission was holding its plenary assembly May 3-6 at its new offices in Rome. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Abuse survivors, their advocates cast doubt on leadership of Vatican commission

Amid concerns about past financial dealings and possible conflicts of interest, Oblate Fr. Andrew Small's leadership of the Vatican's clergy sex abuse commission is being questioned.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican Press Office, looks at Dr. Sergio Alfieri, a chief surgeon at Rome's Gemelli's hospital, who operated on Pope Francis June 7, 2023, and speaks to reporters at the hospital as seen in this screengrab of the news conference broadcast live by Vatican Media. Alfieri said the pope was recoverying well from a three-hour surgery for a hernia. (CNS screengrab/Courtesy Vatican Media)

Pope Francis 'alert' and resting well on day after hernia operation

Pope Francis continues to recover well and is showing signs of progress, the Vatican said on June 8, one day after the pope successfully underwent a three-hour operation to repair a hernia.

Pope Francis places his hand on his forehead during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square June 7 at the Vatican. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

Anatomy of a papal health scare — and mixed Vatican messages

NCR's Vatican correspondent Christopher White analyzes how the Vatican's communication and public relations apparatus handles news of Pope Francis' health.

A statue of St. John Paul II is seen in the courtyard of Rome's Gemelli Hospital March 30, 2023, where Pope Francis was admitted March 29 due to concerns over breathing difficulties. He was diagnosed with a "respiratory infection," according to the Vatican. A March 30 update from the Vatican said the pope was "steadily improving" and continuing his planned course of treatment. (OSV News photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters)

Pope Francis awake and recovering in hospital following three-hour intestinal operation

Pope Francis on June 7 successfully underwent a three-hour intestinal surgery that the Vatican described as taking place without complications.

Pope Francis gives a rosary to a member of the medical staff at Gemelli hospital in Rome July 11, 2021, as he recovers following scheduled colon surgery. The pope was in the hospital for 10 days. (CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters)

Pope Francis enters hospital for unannounced intestinal surgery

Pope Francis on June 7 was hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he is scheduled to have surgery on his intestine later today and is expected to remain for a recovery of several days

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the new head of the Italian bishops' conference, talks during a press conference in Rome May 27. (AP/Alessandra Tarantino)

Cardinal Zuppi heads to Ukraine on behalf of pope in pursuit of 'just peace'

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis' personal emissary tapped to lead the Vatican's peacemaking efforts between Ukraine and Russia, will be in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv from June 5-6.

Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonca, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, speaks at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University March 31. He spoke recently at a conference on the Catholic imagination in Rome. (CNS/Justin McLellan)

Vatican's resident poet, Cardinal Tolentino: Artists are responsible for 'life of Catholicism'

Pope Francis thinks in images, said Portuguese Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, head of Vatican's Dicastery for Culture and Education, at a conference on "The Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination" in Rome.

Pope Francis taps 'bishop of the peripheries' to lead his hometown of Buenos Aires

Pope Francis on May 26 named Bishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva — a relatively unknown 55-year-old prelate from a tiny diocese at the bottom of Argentina — to lead his hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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