A top Vatican cardinal has expressed skepticism about ordaining married men to address the priest shortage in the Amazon, defending the value of priestly celibacy on the eve of a big Vatican meeting where the issue is officially up for debate.
Pope Francis received a victim's letter in 2015 regarding sexual abuse by a priest and a cover-up by Chilean clergy, contradicting the pope's insistence that no victims had come forward.
The retired cardinal of Hong Kong has revealed the behind-the-scenes drama of the Vatican's efforts to improve relations with China, including its request for a legitimate bishop to retire in favor of an excommunicated one who is recognized by Beijing.
The Vatican was so concerned about the fallout from Chile's most notorious pedophile priest that it planned to ask three Chilean bishops accused of knowing about his decades-long crimes to resign and take a year's sabbatical.
Fans of the old Latin Mass have descended on Rome for their annual pilgrimage, facing indifference to their cause, if not outright resistance, from none other than Pope Francis.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer attended an audience with Pope Francis Sunday as part of an annual meeting of the International Catholic Legislators Network.