Nicole Winfield

The Vatican prosecutor conceded procedural errors Oct. 5 in his fraud and corruption investigation into the Holy See's finances and offered to remedy them by essentially starting over, throwing the trial of 10 people into question before it really got off the ground.

Defense lawyers are questioning the legitimacy of the Vatican tribunal where 10 people are on trial on finance-related charges, arguing their clients can’t get a fair trial in an absolute monarchy where the pope has already intervened in the case and where prosecutors have failed to turn over key evidence.

Pope Francis urged European bishops on Sept. 18 to listen to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and consider them partners in reform, warning that their failure to do so risks the very future of the Catholic Church.

A Brazilian bishop resigned on Wednesday, less than a week after a video spread on social media that featured someone, purported to be him, masturbating.

Pope Francis cracked down July 16 on the spread of the old Latin Mass, reversing one of Pope Benedict XVI's signature decisions in a major challenge to traditionalist Catholics.

Pope Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital and returned home to the Vatican on July 14, ten days after undergoing surgery to remove half his colon.

Pope Francis will spend a few more days in the hospital following his July 4 intestinal surgery to "optimize" recovery and rehabilitation treatment and therapy, the Vatican said July 12.

Pope Francis is walking, working and has celebrated Mass at a Rome hospital where he also will deliver his Sunday weekly blessing while recovering from intestinal surgery, the Vatican said July 9.

Pope Francis temporarily had a fever three days after intestinal surgery, but routine tests and scans proved negative, the Vatican said July 8.

Pope Francis' recovery from intestinal surgery continues to be "regular and satisfactory," the Vatican said July 7, as it revealed that final examinations showed he had a suffered a "severe" narrowing of his colon.

 Pope Francis ate breakfast July 6, read the newspapers and took a walk as he continued recovering from intestinal surgery, the Vatican said, declaring his post-operative checks to be "good" and normal.

The Vatican's criminal tribunal has indicted 10 people on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State's 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture.

Pope Francis insisted July 1 that Lebanon must remain a "land of tolerance and pluralism" as he welcomed the country's Christian patriarchs to the Vatican.

A Rome court has strongly backed Vatican prosecutors in their pursuit of an Italian businessman accused of bilking the Holy See of millions of euros in a London real estate deal, saying he used bad-faith negotiations, last-minute contractual changes and a web of accomplices.

Italian police searched the offices of a Sardinian charity and diocese on June 9 on behalf of Vatican prosecutors who are investigating a once-powerful cardinal on alleged embezzlement charges.

European evaluators warned June 9 that the Vatican's efforts to investigate and prosecute financial crimes were suffering from understaffing and inexperience, as well as the mistaken belief that its own cardinals and bishops were immune to criminal conduct.

Lebanon, a Mediterranean nation of 5 million, has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East and is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state. Christians make up a third of the population.

Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes.

One night in early 2019, Rome street artist Alessia Babrow glued a stylized image of Christ she had made onto a bridge near the Vatican. A year later, she was shocked to learn that the Vatican had apparently used a reproduction of the image, which featured Babrow's hallmark heart emblazoned across Christ’s chest, as its 2020 Easter postage stamp.

Pope Francis met May 13 with Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, months after Argentina legalized abortion despite a personal appeal from the pontiff and opposition from the Catholic Church.