Catholic News Service

Vatican City -- Days after he called on Pope Francis to resign for allegedly ignoring sanctions placed on then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano provided his version of a meeting that, in the minds of many, changed the overall narrative of Pope Francis' visit to the United States in 2015.

Jesus himself showed that the best way to respond to scandal and divisiveness is to stay silent and pray, Pope Francis said Sept. 3 as he resumed his early morning Masses with invited guests.

Fifty years ago, Bob Graf and 13 of his friends broke into nine neighboring draft boards in a Milwaukee office building, grabbed thousands of 1-A records, doused them in homemade napalm in a nearby park and set them afire.

Echoing what Pope Francis said during a Mass in May, the bishop who heads the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development said, "The struggle of working people, of the poor" is not first a "social or political question. No! It is the Gospel, pure and simple."

Bishops from three countries issued letters supporting Pope Francis in late August following fallout from allegations made by a former apostolic nuncio to the U.S., claiming that the pope and others knew about abuse allegations involving Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.

Australia's Catholic bishops and religious orders, responding to recommendations from the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, accepted 98 percent of its suggestions, but said they could not accept recommendations that would violate the seal of confession.

Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis said Aug. 23 he has invited Missouri's attorney general to conduct a review of the archdiocese with regard to clergy sexual abuse.

Scheduled to respond to a Pennsylvania grand jury report that hundreds of priests were accused of the sexual abuse of children and seminarians, a prayer service in Metuchen, N.J., drew people from throughout the diocese for exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, prayer, song and reflection.

Priests and bishops from the Province of Atlanta recently spent time considering the abuse crisis in the church, how to respond to it and how to best carry on in serving the faithful.

In an Aug. 30 letter to priests in the archdiocese, Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl asked for "forgiveness for my errors in judgment [and] for my inadequacies."

The Archdiocese of San Juan filed for bankruptcy protection Aug. 29 over unpaid teacher pensions.

The Catholic Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina has urged the country to improve human rights and political representation after upcoming elections, 23 years after the country was divided by a bloody war.

While recent accusations by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò have created tension in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is approaching the situation calmly, the Vatican secretary of state said.

After recent reports describing clergy sex abuse, Paul Peloquin, a Catholic clinical psychologist and a clergy abuse survivor, shared advice for victims and their families.

While procedures are being put in place for Syrians to return to their war-torn country from neighboring Lebanon, the refugee crisis continues to linger and remains largely unchanged, a Caritas Lebanon official said.

Catholic churches and homes in southern Oregon are safe so far amid wildfires, but persistent smoke has suppressed activities — and spirits.

Catholics in the pews and even priests in the Vatican are confused about the long document Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano published claiming Pope Francis turned a blind eye to information he had about the sexual misconduct of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.

While the faith of Catholics in Ireland is strong, the scandal of abuse and cover-up by church leaders has caused a decline in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church in Latin America must return to the principles of a 1968 conference that shifted the church's emphasis toward the poor majority, said participants in a four-day meeting in Medellin, Colombia.

An independent lay-run board that would hold bishops accountable for their actions, a national day for Mass or prayers of reparation, and encouragement to parishioners to become more involved in their diocese are among steps suggested by prominent lay Catholics to right the U.S. church as it deals with a new clergy sexual abuse scandal.