Oct 07 Pope seeks 'courageous' debate over Amazon priest shortage By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis urged South American bishops on Monday to speak "courageously" at a high-profile meeting on the Amazon, where the shortage of priests is so acute that the Vatican is considering ordaining married men and… Continue reading
Jul 04 Putin meets Pope Francis on one-day visit to Rome By Giada Zampano, Associated Press Francis received Putin on Thursday in an hour-long audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Continue reading
Jun 10 LGBTQ Catholics denounce Vatican's document on gender identity By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press The document rejected the idea that people can choose or change their genders and insisted on the sexual "complementarity" of men and women to make babies. Continue reading
May 09 In new church law Pope orders clergy to report abuse -- but not necessarily to police By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities, in a new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for… Continue reading
Apr 04 Pope names moderate Wilton Gregory archbishop of Washington D.C. By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Gregory, replaces Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned last year after being implicated in covering up sex abuse within the church. Continue reading
Mar 29 Pope Francis requires sex abuse allegations be reported to Vatican By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press The mandatory reporting provision marks the first time the Vatican has put into law requirements for Catholic officials to report allegations of sex crimes. Continue reading
Mar 19 Pope declined French cardinal's resignation after sex abuse cover-up conviction By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press The decision greatly disappointed abuse survivors, given that French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin had traveled to the Vatican on Monday to present his resignation following the March 7 verdict and six-month suspended sentence he received. Continue reading
Mar 13 Australian cardinal Pell sentenced to six years for child sex abuse By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press The most senior Catholic convicted of child sex abuse was sentenced for molesting two choirboys in an Australian cathedral. Continue reading
Mar 07 French court convicts cardinal of not reporting child abuse By Nicolas Vaux-Montagny, Associated Press French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin said Thursday he will offer his resignation to Pope Francis, after a court found him guilty of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse of minors by a priest. Continue reading
Mar 04 Vatican to open archives on World War II-era Pius XII, Pope says By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press Declaring that the church "isn't afraid of history," Pope Francis said Monday he has decided to open up the Vatican archives on World War II-era Pope Pius XII, who has been criticized by Jews of staying silent on the Holocaust… Continue reading