Almudena Calatrava

Pope Leo XIV's visit to Argentina comes amid allegations of sexual abuse and other crimes involving Catholic clergy and lay members, with survivors demanding stronger action from the Vatican against those accused or convicted.

Three decades ago, the man named by Pope Francis to be the Catholic Church's new guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy wrote a short book about kissing and the sensations it evokes. Some conservatives are using the volume to criticize the appointment of Cardinal-designate Victor Manuel Fernández to lead the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández, chosen by Pope Francis to head the Vatican office that ensures doctrinal orthodoxy, conceded July 9 he made mistakes in handling a 2019 case of a priest accused of sexual abuse of minors.

Argentina's Senate passed a law legalizing elective abortion early Dec. 30 after a marathon 12-hour session, a victory for the women's movement that has been fighting for the right for decades.

President Alberto Fernández had proposed the bill in response to long-sought demands from women's rights activists in the homeland of Pope Francis.

Two priests were found guilty on Monday of sexually abusing deaf children at a Catholic-run school in Argentina, a case that has shaken the church in Pope Francis's homeland.

Pope Francis' homeland faces a complicated week of reckoning with the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Roman Catholic church.