Richard Gaillardetz

Richard R. Gaillardetz is the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College. He is the co-editor, with Thomas Groome, and Richard Lennan, of Priestly Ministry and the People of God: Hopes and Horizons (2022).

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Monsignor Victor Manuel Fernandez, archbishop of La Plata, officiates a Mass at the Cathedral July 9 in La Plata, Argentina. Fernandez was appointed by Pope Francis to head the Holy See's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican. (AP photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Jul 19, 2023

Pope Francis' new Vatican doctrinal chief signals enormous change for Catholic Church

Pope Francis' naming of Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández as the new prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith marks the most consequential curial appointment of this pontificate, writes Richard Gaillardetz.

Pope Francis meets with cardinals Aug. 29, 2022, at the Vatican. The meeting was to reflect on the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium ("Preach the Gospel") on the reform of the Roman Curia. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Feb 28, 2023

Pope Francis has opened the door for real church reform, but hasn't stepped through

As the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis' election nears, Richard Gaillardetz considers the contributions of this remarkable pontificate to the theology, structure, and exercise of ministry and authority.

In December 2018, Abraham Luque, a catechist from the Scalabrinian Parish of Our Lady of the Perpetual Help, prays during at the Scalabrini welcome center for migrants in Lima, Peru. (CNS/Oscar Durand)

May 19, 2021

Francis' new ministry of catechist may help shrink the clergy-laity gap

Commentary: Antiquum Ministerium appears to move beyond a rigid laity-clergy binary to pursue a vision of the church built up by ordered ministries — some established by ordination, others by formal installation.

Pope Francis visits retired Pope Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery at the Vatican on Dec. 21, 2018. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Jan 15, 2020

Two men in white: Book saga shows need to rethink norms for retired popes

Commentary: As we approach the seventh anniversary of Benedict XVI's retirement from papal office, some ecclesiological difficulties have come to light. And there were hints of a problem right from the start.

Sep 16, 2019

Expect North American church to learn from pan-Amazonian synod

Commentary: The upcoming pan-Amazonian synod's focus on climate change, the rights of indigenous and migrant peoples, and regional innovation will be a hallmark of Pope Francis' humble missionary vision for reform.

Jun 05, 2019

Francis' draft of curial reform fundamentally reimagines Vatican's role

Commentary: The proposed Praedicate Evangelium is far more successful in offering an alternative framework than it is in providing a comprehensive program of specific reforms.

Catholics at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C., attend Mass for the feast of the Assumption Aug. 15. (CNS/Rhina Guidos)

Oct 31, 2017

Francis' correction of Sarah shows Vatican II is his 'sure compass'

If the pope's actions surprise us, it is because, five decades out, there remains a substantial gap between the council's reformist agenda and its concrete realization in the church.