Christopher White

 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."

A German report's faulting of retired Pope Benedict XVI's handling of four cases of clergy sexual abuse in the 1970s and '80s has sparked shocked reactions among victims' advocates, theologians, and even Vatican officials.

The Vatican's Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Venezuelan Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute secretary for general affairs, are both insolation after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Cycling is not a novel activity in Rome, though it is a far less common mode of transportation than it is in London, Paris or New York. That could begin to change, thanks in part to some encouragement from the Vatican.

Pope Francis named Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to head an Italian diocese, a move that could signal an overhaul of one of the Vatican's most important offices.

Pope Francis on Jan. 10 used his annual address to the Vatican's diplomatic corps to warn against a "cancel culture" mentality, which he said has been "invading many circles and public institutions."