Robert Mickens

Robert Mickens has been a “Roman observer” of the papacy, Vatican and the Catholic Church. Since 1986, he has lived in Rome, where he studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University before working 11 years at Vatican Radio. He was also the correspondent for ‘The Tablet’ of London and editor-in-chief of La Croix International. Mickens is currently on sabbatical.

Robert's recent articles

New cardinals, an aging pope and the upcoming conclave

New cardinals, an aging pope and the upcoming conclave

Again, the question arises: could Francis retire? If he were to do so, it would make papal resignations normal.

The next phase of Vatican reforms will be crucial

The next phase of Vatican reforms will be crucial

Pope Francis' highly acclaimed reform of the Roman Curia will rise or fall on the people he chooses to oversee its implementation.

ROBERT MICKENS. A priest-centered Church, confused and unprepared.

In the past five or six decades, Catholic bishops in almost every part of the world have stood by, paralyzed, watching helplessly as the number and quality of priesthood candidates have continued to dwindle.

ROBERT MICKENS. Catholics still don't get it: sexual abuse is not about sex. Jean Vanier violated the Second Commandment, not the Sixth

We continue to hear of incidents that more than suggest that Catholics and, in particular, their bishops have learned very little from the clergy sex abuse crisis.

ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis begins the most important year of his pontificate.

When the history of Pope Francis' time as Bishop of Rome is finally written, there is a good chance that the Year of Our Lord 2020 will be recorded as the most important of his entire pontificate. Some are wondering whether it may actually be his last.

ROBERT MICKENS. Francis is dragging the Church, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century. The pope's reforms are seen as too modest by some, but too radical by others

The Church is 200 years behind the times. (La Chiesa rimasta indietro di 200 anni.)

ROBERT MICKENS. A controversial synod and an unusual consistor. Pope Francis doubles down on reforming the Church and the Vatican

There's a lot of commotion in and around the Vatican right now. It consists mostly of the angry rumblings of traditionalist Catholics who don't particularly care for the way Pope Francis is leading the Church. Then there are the retaliatory rebukes of the pope's most eager supporters. This has only increased the volume.

ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis steps up his campaign for immigrants

Xenophobia and aporophobia today are part of a populist mentality that leaves no sovereignty to the people. Xenophobia destroys the unity of a people, even that of the people of God.No one who has been following the activities of Pope Francis these past six or so years will be surprised by this condemnation of distain for foreigners and the poor.

ROBERT MICKENS. Francis continues to make us all a bit uncomfortable - From his stance on migrants to his encyclical Laudato si', the pope causes controversy

Pope Francis is an equal opportunity offender. No matter where you place yourself along the Catholic Church's broad spectrum right, left or center; conservative or liberal; traditional or progressive if you are not challenged and even disturbed by some of the things this pope says and does, then you are not paying attention.

ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis is seeking to unite humanity

Among all the world's political and social leaders, Pope Francis stands increasingly alone as the most powerful force for global peace and stability. Thus began the prelude to an earlier article titled, Pope Francis or Steve Bannon. Catholics must choose.

ROBERT MICKENS. Reforming the Church with 'no possibility of return.' How Pope Francis is initiating processes of Church reform that will be hard to undo.

How many cardinals does it take to help Pope Francis reform the Roman Curia? And how many years do they need to get the job done?Many Catholics at least those who are hoping the pope can succeed in decentralizing ecclesial power away from the Vatican have grown frustrated that after some six years there have been no definitive answers to those questions.

ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis or Steve Bannon? Catholics must choose. American alt-right leader enlists Catholic allies to turn people against the pope

Among all the world's political and social leaders, Pope Francis stands increasingly alone as the most powerful force for global peace and stability. Thank God and the cardinals who elected him in March 2013 that the Argentine Jesuit is the current Bishop of Rome.

ROBERT MICKENS. Vatican document on gender is like lipstick on a pig. The call for dialogue cannot disguise the text's uncompromising ideological views .

Catholic bishops, including those in Vatican offices, are not exactly the most credible authorities on issues pertaining to sexuality these days. Few people would disagree with this, except maybe bishops themselves. And, of course, those who are trying hard to be named bishops. The lack of credibility on sexual morality is not just because of the hierarchs' disastrous mishandling of the still-unfolding clergy sex abuse pandemic.

ROBERT MICKENS. The current state of the priesthood and episcopacy seems to be in shambles. Broken trust in a broken clerical system.

If you want to be priest, lie!That was supposed to be a punch line in Mass Appeal, a comedy-drama written by American Catholic playwright Bill C. Davis. First staged in 1980, it was made into a film four years later.

ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis' race against the clock. The 82-year-old pope looks increasingly like a man rushing to complete a mission

The first rays of dawn had barely begun to rise over a cloudy St. Peter's Square and the Vatican. But at 6:20 a.m. on Sunday, May 5, Pope Francis was already on his way to Rome's Fiumicino Airport where, 40 minutes later, he would embark on a two-hour flight to the Bulgarian capital of Sophia.

ROBERT MICKENS. Birds of a feather

Due to sex abuse scandals, Francis has 'decapitated' one cardinal and if true to his word, two others -- and probably more -- may also lose their red hats. The credibility of the Roman Catholic Church's collective leadership (i.e. its bishops) has been all but completely destroyed, thanks to the hierarchy's general ineptitude in dealing openly, honestly and effectively with priests who have sexually abused minors.

ROBERT MICKENS. The sex abuse summit and the Vatican's lack of transparency.

Illustrative of the Church's fear of revealing the truth is the case of Msgr. Joseph Punderson.

ROBERT MICKENS. The frequent-flier pope will soon face one of the biggest challenges of his pontificate

The Church is called to come out from itself and to go to the peripheries, not only those that are geographical, but also existential: those of the mystery of sin, of suffering, of injustice; those of ignorance and of the absence of faith; those of thought; those of every form of misery, the then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires said. He then pointed to a passage in the Book of Revelation where Jesus says: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Obviously, the text refers to the fact that he stands outside the door and knocks to come in,...

ROBERT MICKENS. How serious is Pope Francis about eradicating clericalism?

Even after waging war on clericalism there's little evidence to show that the pope has dramatically changed the attitude of the clericalists in the Church.

ROBERT MICKENS. The popes bewildering inaction on sexual abuse.

There is no question that Francis is authentic He does not demand of others what he does not demand of himself.

ROBERT MICKENS. The Pope's long, hot summer. (La Croix 27/7/2018)

Will Francis make the necessary and radical changes needed to save the Catholic Church from its ongoing meltdown?

ROBERT MICKENS. Chiles bishops offer their resignations en masse.

The question is did they all decide to jump together or were they pushed? It can be called nothing less than cataclysmic. The Catholic bishops of an entire national hierarchy have offered to step down for their negligence in handling cases of alleged clergy sex abuse of minors.

Pope Francis, a brewing crisis and 'feminine genius'

The biggest error Catholic leaders have made regarding the churchs response to priests abusing children has been the exclusion of women leading the policy-making and reform process.

ROBERT MICKENS. The popes bewildering inaction on sexual abuse

Pope Francis has been away in South America this past week and, while in Chile, he drew only modest crowds of supporters. It was the frostiest reception hes received on any of his 22 foreign trips at least to those countries with a majority of Christians and certainly in the traditionally Catholic lands of Latin America.

ROBERT MICKENS. Ugliness has trumped decency, kindness and goodwill

Pundits have failed or refused to acknowledge the chief motive for Trump's victory the deep and visceral hatred so many Americans have for the Clintons, particularly towards Hillary Clinton

ROBERT MICKENS. Pope Francis clips Cardinal Pell's wings.

In the space of a week, Pope Francis reduced the responsibilities of Cardinal George Pell and rebuffed an initiative by Cardinal Robert Sarah. ... Pope Francis [also] did a pretty good number on Australian Cardinal George Pell by once more drastically reducing his powers as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy (SFE). The pope issued a new motu proprio last Saturday that essentially reverses a 2014 law that had given Pells office managing control over the Holy Sees real estate and investments portfolios.

Robert Mickens. Cardinal Pell and the Vatican power struggle.

The Holy Sees abrupt suspension this week of anexternal audit of all its financial operations by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is being described by almost everyone as the Vatican old guards latest attempt to derail Pope Francis reforms. This narrative pits a powerful Italian bureaucracy resistant to greater transparency (including the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin) against Australian Cardinal George Pell, the controversial figure the pope handpicked two years ago to lead the newly instituted Secretariat for the Economy. The problem with this explanation is that it is far too simplistic and, in other important ways, more than a...

Robert Mickens. The Pope's Opposition.

It has been known for quite some time that a number of cardinals and bishops, both in Rome and abroad, are to put it mildly uncomfortable with the way Pope Francispontificate is unfolding. Well, this week it all spilled out into the open when it was revealed that several cardinals including three top Vatican officials (Cardinals Pell, Mller and Sarah) wrote a letter to the Pope that basically criticized the way he is running the Synod of Bishops. One should be magnanimous and give these birds credit for being honest with the Pope and...

Robert Mickens. An exercise in keeping friends close and enemies closer.

No Australian bishop has ever assumed such high rank in the Catholic Church as Cardinal George Pell, who eight months ago became head of the Vaticans newly created finance ministry or Secretariat for the Economy. For the 73-year-old native of Ballarat, a city about 100 kms west of Melbourne, this is but the latest rung on what has been a steady and seemingly unstoppable rise up the Churchs hierarchical ladder, a climb that began in the pontificate of John Paul II and continued under Benedict XVI. Cardinal Pells ascent to key positions of leadership and his attainment of real...

Robert Mickens. Letter from Rome.

As I was saying last time, before I was interrupted, Pope Francis is facing resistance to the fresh air and change of ethos hes trying to bring about inside the Church. And those with eyes to see can detect this opposition especially among the current crop of seminarians and younger priests, as well as a number of bishops. The resistance is coming from those that dont want to change, says Professor Andrea Riccardi, founder of the SantEgidio Community here in Rome. In an interview some months ago, he pointed out that many regular folks all over the world were...

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