A former pontiff, a Spanish-born nun who is said to have performed her first miracle in Argentina and a slain Salvadorean Bishop were among the seven new saints canonised Sunday by Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Peace between both Koreas looks nearer after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he would ardently welcome the pope if he visits Pyongyang and has officially invited him over via his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, a presidential spokesman for the Seoul government announced Tuesday.
Pope Francis on Tuesday defended a landmark deal between the Vatican and China on the appointment of bishops, saying he, and not the Beijing government, will have the final say on who is named. In his first public comments on the deal signed in Beijing on Saturday, he told reporters on the plane returning from a trip to the Baltics that while he realizes not everyone will understand the logic behind the agreement, he was confident in the “great faith” of Chinese Catholics.
Pope Francis has no intention of stepping down as he fights accusations that he protected a former archbishop accused of sexual abuse, Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing “close associates” of the pope.
Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for members of the Catholic Church's hierarchy who kept quiet about clerical child sex abuse. He was ending a two-day visit to the Republic of Ireland by celebrating a Mass at Dublin's Phoenix Park.
The Vatican's retired ambassador to the United States accused senior Vatican officials of knowing as early as 2000 that the disgraced former archbishop of Washington, ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, regularly invited seminarians into his bed but was made a cardinal regardless.
Pope Francis vowed on Saturday to end the “repugnant” sexual exploitation of children by Catholic clergy as he made a highly-charged visit to once devout Ireland where years of reported abuse have driven many Irish away from the Church.
Argentines gathered in Buenos Aires last Saturday to oppose the influence of religion on Argentine politics and encourage people to quit the Catholic Church, in the wake of the recent Senate vote not to legalize some abortions.
Pope Francis vowed Monday that no effort must be spared to root out priestly sex abuse and cover-up from the Catholic Church, but gave no indication that he would take action to sanction complicit bishops or end the Vatican culture of secrecy that has allowed the crisis to fester.
Pope Francis is on the side of victims of more than 300 predator priests in the US accused of abusing children in one state, the Vatican says. In a statement, it said the Church wanted to listen to the victims to root out this tragic horror.