Pope Francis has given formal approval to a series of updates and modifications that have been made over the years to the norms regarding clerical sexual abuse.
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris, after an article in the Le Point weekly claimed he mismanaged his archdiocese and had an affair with a woman while he was vicar general. The pope also named retired Archbishop Georges Pontier to temporarily lead the archdiocese as the apostolic administrator.
Catholics and Orthodox Christians must increasingly work together where they can, Pope Francis told Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
Pope Francis invited Italy's bishops to live the "beatitudes of a bishop," an adaptation of the traditional Eight Beatitudes to provide guiding principles for being a "good shepherd" of a diocese.
Pope Francis told young people that, with Jesus, people can find the courage to swim against the current, to be free and authentic, and to stand up for their dreams and ideals of truth, love, justice and peace.
Extreme poverty, the lack of employment that can support a family and desperation are the major drivers of exploitative child labor, Pope Francis said.
Every form of abuse — sexual, psychological or an abuse of power — is part of "the culture of death" that needs to be eradicated through the conversion, education and the active participation of everyone, Pope Francis said.
People experiencing depression often need someone to talk to, and they can benefit from psychological counseling and reading what Jesus has to say, Pope Francis said.
To believe in Jesus means to follow him and avoid going "the opposite way," following one's own interests and inflating one's own ego, Pope Francis said
An adult survivor of abuse by a priest appealed to the world's seminarians to become good priests and to make sure the "bitter truth" always prevails, not silence about scandals and their cover-up.
Evacuated in August as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the head of the now-interrupted Catholic mission said this is a time of "advent," waiting for God to reveal how the church can be present in the country again.
People should ask themselves whether their faith has become a "commercial relationship" with God or if it is a relationship built on freedom, love and generosity, Pope Francis said.