Cindy Wooden

As he did before naming a new prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, Pope Francis has asked a bishop to conduct an official visit of the Congregation for Clergy.

Pope Francis told a group of priests studying in Rome that if they do not want to be pastors, spending time with the faithful, they should request dismissal from the priesthood and concentrate on academics instead.

Reaching the finish line of a monthlong rosary marathon, Pope Francis again turned to Mary, asking her to untie specific knots that have individuals and the whole world tangled in suffering and difficulty, either because of the COVID-19 pandemic or people's selfish reactions to it.

Welcoming the Italian bishops' decision to begin planning a national synod, Pope Francis told them that it must begin at the grassroots with "the smallest parish, the smallest diocesan institution."

Pope Francis has ordered the minor seminary that is located inside the Vatican and currently at the center of a criminal sex abuse trial to move to a new location in Rome before classes begin in the fall.

After an octogenarian priest was swindled out of more than $450,000 over a two-year period and threatened when he stopped giving the "family" money, the Diocese of Padua, Italy, launched a continuing formation program for priests focused on financial accountability and avoiding scams.

The new laws include many dealing with clerical sexual abuse and the obligation of bishops and religious superiors to act when allegations are made, but also include the "attempted ordination of women" and acts committed by priests against the sanctity of the Eucharist and against the sacrament of penance.

Celebrating a Mass for peace in Myanmar, Pope Francis urged the country's Catholics to "keep the faith" and focus on helping one another.

John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy for climate, met privately with Pope Francis May 15, the day after he gave a keynote address at a closed-door meeting of the Pontifical Academies for Sciences and Social Sciences.

Four former students at the minor seminary located in the Vatican testified May 12 at the ongoing trial of Fr. Gabriele Martinelli, who is accused of sexually abusing a younger student at the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary.

Pope Francis' new document Antiquum Ministerium does not mention any beatified or canonized lay catechists by name, but many of the communities they served continue to honor them and keep their memories alive.

Holding a general audience with visitors and pilgrims present for the first time in more than six months, Pope Francis said he was very pleased to see people "face to face."

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has urged the U.S. bishops to proceed with caution in their discussions about formulating a national policy "to address the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia or other moral evils."

An 1822 Vatican law described the new smallpox vaccine as a gift "put in place by divine providence" as a sign of God's "paternal love to save his children."

As countries become more culturally and ethnically diverse, their Catholic communities become more "catholic" and their societies can increasingly reflect the fact that all people are brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said.

The sainthood causes of seven men and women — including the hermit Blessed Charles de Foucauld and the Indian martyr Devasahayam Pillai — cleared their final hurdle May 3.

Under the gaze of a seventh-century icon of Mary, Pope Francis launched a monthlong, global recitation of the rosary, pleading for Mary's intercession for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The priesthood "is not a career, it is a service," Pope Francis told nine men just before ordaining them to the priesthood for the Diocese of Rome.

Celebrating his name day, the feast of St. George, Pope Francis was serenaded by hundreds of Rome's most vulnerable residents and the people who assist them.

Christians and Muslims share a conviction that God calls them to be "witnesses, restorers and builders of hope" both in this life and for the life to come, said the leaders of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.