Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis has clarified his recent comments about homosexuality and sin, saying he was merely referring to official Catholic moral teaching that teaches that any sexual act outside of marriage is a sin.

The archbishop of Vienna, a longtime friend and former student of Pope Benedict XVI, has confirmed that it was he who wrote a letter to his former teacher urging him to accept election as pontiff in 2005 if the votes went his way.

The Vatican has ordered a prominent French priest who advised the Holy See for years on matters of sex and homosexuality to cease his psychotherapy practice following allegations he sexually abused men in his therapeutic care.

Pope Francis will deliver a final send-off for Cardinal George Pell during a funeral Mass on Jan. 14, the Vatican said, as revelations emerge of the Australian prelate's growing concern about what he considered the "disaster" and "catastrophe" of the papacy under Francis.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, who was the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of child sex abuse before his convictions were overturned, died Tuesday in Rome. 

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who came to power on a campaign motto of “God, Family, Fatherland” made her first official visit to see Pope Francis on Jan. 10, fulfilling what she said was a hoped-for opportunity to better understand the Argentine pontiff.

Pope Francis on Jan. 9 broke his silence on the nationwide protests convulsing Iran, denouncing the recourse to the death penalty there and seemingly legitimizing the rallies as demonstrations “demanding greater respect for the dignity of women.”

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that his publisher on Jan. 2 promised would tell the truth about the “blatant calumnies,” “dark maneuvers,” mysteries and scandals that sullied the reputation of a pontiff best known for his historic resignation.

The Vatican has detailed rituals and procedures to follow when a pope dies, but it has not published such rules for a pope emeritus. As a result, official word on December 28 that the health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had worsened prompted questions about what happens if and when he dies.

Three weeks after news that Jesuit Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik had abused several women, Slovenia's Catholic bishops condemned the actions and voiced solidarity with the victims.

Opposition lawmakers in Italy are seeking a parliamentary commission of inquiry into three cold cases that have consumed the Italian public's imagination for decades, including the 1983 disappearance of a 15-year-old that was highlighted in the Netflix documentary, “Vatican Girl.”

A Vatican-appointed investigator who helped bring to light decades-old allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse against a famous Jesuit priest is calling for the hierarchs who hid his crimes to “humbly ask the world to forgive the scandal.”

Pope Francis' Jesuit order on Dec. 18 asked any more victims to come forward with complaints against a famous Jesuit artist who was essentially let off the hook by the Vatican twice despite devastating testimony by women who said he sexually and spiritually abused them.

Revelations that the Vatican let a famous priest off the hook twice for abusing his authority over adult women has exposed two main weaknesses in the Holy See's abuse policies: sexual and spiritual misconduct against adult women is rarely if ever punished, and secrecy still reigns supreme, especially when powerful priests are involved.

The head of Pope Francis’ Jesuit religious order Dec. 14 that a famous Jesuit priest had been convicted of one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church some two years before the Vatican decided to shelve another case against him for allegedly abusing other adult women under his spiritual care.

One of the Vatican's leading Jesuit advisers on preventing clergy sexual abuse called Dec. 7 for church authorities to shed more light on the case of a famous Jesuit artist who wasn't sanctioned by the Holy See after he was accused of spiritually abusing women during confession.

Pope Francis on Dec. 6 tightened control and oversight over Vatican-based foundations and associations in his latest effort to impose international standards of accounting and governance on Vatican offices and affiliated entities.

More than 100 newly revealed WhatsApp texts and other correspondence entered into evidence at the Vatican courthouse last week have jolted a financial crimes trial involving the Holy See's money-losing investment in a London property.

The mother of a Swiss Guard member accused of committing one of the most sensational crimes in recent Vatican history – fatally shooting his commander and the senior officer's wife before killing himself -- is turning to the United Nations and Pope Francis in hopes of getting some closure nearly a quarter-century after the slayings.

Russia has lodged a formal protest with the Vatican over Pope Francis’ latest condemnation of atrocities in Ukraine, in which the pontiff blamed most of the cruelty on Chechens and other minorities in an apparent effort to spare ethnic Russian troops from criticism.