Christopher White

A prominent French priest barred from exercising public ministry due to abuse allegations is attending a major Vatican conference on the priesthood.

Pope Francis on Feb. 17 kicked off a much anticipated three-day Vatican conference on the future of the Catholic priesthood by upholding clerical celibacy.

Appointed to lead the Congregation for Bishops by Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Marc Ouellet has stayed on under Pope Francis — but he acknowledges some of what's expected of him and other bishops has changed.

The Vatican's secretary of state has called the head of the Ukraine's Eastern-rite Catholics to express the closeness of the Holy See at a time of escalating tensions with neighboring Russia. 

In a public spat between members of the Catholic hierarchy, Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka has accused German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of "defaming and tarnishing" the reputation of retired Pope Benedict XVI.

 Pope Francis has created an independent section of the Vatican's doctrinal office to handle disciplinary matters related to the sexual abuse of minors. 

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse are criticizing retired Pope Benedict XVI's response to a report that faulted his handling of abuse cases, calling his lack of a direct apology an abdication of personal responsibility.

Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 8 acknowledged past failings of the Catholic Church in confronting clergy sexual abuse under his watch.

Pope Francis has tapped Bishop Shelton Fabre as the new archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky.

Pope Francis blasted the throwing of plastic in the sea as "criminal" in an hourlong interview on Italian broadcaster RAI. "It kills biodiversity, it kills the Earth, it kills everything," said the pope.

Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby may undertake their much anticipated, but delayed joint trip to South Sudan in "the next few months."

U.S. President Joe Biden joined Pope Francis and Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar, in marking the International Day of Human Fraternity.

Pope Francis' weekly general audience was interrupted on Feb. 2 by a maskless protester

In a new letter, Archbishop Santo Marciano challenged Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's COVID-19 vaccination misinformation, saying it was his duty to remind military personnel that the church supports vaccines and of Pope Francis' admonition that it is "an act of love" to be vaccinated.

Pope Adrian VI is credited with starting church reform that continues under Pope Francis. He also resembled Francis in calling for clergy to embrace humility and austerity and to recognize poverty as a scandal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an "infodemic," Pope Francis said on Jan. 28, at a meeting where he praised a Catholic media group combating vaccine misinformation.

Pope Francis on Jan. 26 told parents not to condemn children who have different sexual orientations.

Pope Francis' belief that elderly wisdom should be shared with the young led to his participation in a new Netflix documentary series. The series' editorial consultant told NCR about the pope's hands-on collaboration in the process.

The Jan. 15 volcanic eruption in Tonga is a painful reminder that despite scientific advances, there has been little action to prevent natural disasters, Cardinal Czerny said during a prayer service for the island nation.

Pope Francis' Jan. 23 installation of lay men and women in the ministries of lector and catechist is a continuation of the unfinished work of the Second Vatican Council, said Catholic liturgists and theologians who heralded the move as both "historic" and "long overdue."