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.
Argentina's national team have cancelled an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican that was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, the Holy See has announced. The Albiceleste are preparing for the World Cup and have been training in Barcelona since May 31.
Pope Francis sent an audio message for the 41st anniversary of the “Madres de Plaza de Mayo” (Mothers of Plaza de Mayo), who protested against the disappearance of their children during the Dirty War (1976-1983) of Argentina’s military dictatorship.
The head of the Vatican's communications department resigned this week over a scandal about a letter from the retired pope that he mischaracterized in public and then had digitally manipulated in a photograph sent to the media.
Pope Francis is sending a representative, a sex crimes expert, to Chile to investigate whether a bishop there covered up years of abuse, the Vatican announced. The announcement comes after the pope faced backlash earlier this month during a visit to Chile.
Pope Francis has apologized for remarks he made last week in Chile defending a bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse. He said he realized his words hurt many, but repeated his belief that Chilean Bishop Juan Barros was innocent. Francis was speaking to journalists on board a plane flying back to Rome.