Morning Briefing, Roman Style

Welcome to the Rome-centric version of your weekly international edition of the daily briefing, where we highlight the most recent news out of or about the Vatican.

Take a deep breath before continuing -- it's been a busy week.

First, in an extraordinary letter to the Chilean bishops released yesterday, Pope Francis admitted making "serious mistakes" in his handling of clergy sexual abuse cases in the country and said he feels "pain and shame" for the "crucified lives" of those who suffered abuse.

While the pontiff did not reveal whether he will sack a Chilean prelate accused of covering up abuse, he has asked the bishops to come to Rome en masse for a meeting at some point soon.

Earlier yesterday, the Pontifical Commission for Latin America released its final document from a recent plenary session, in which the group proposed that the church hold a Synod of Bishops "on the theme of the woman in the life and mission of the church."

Women should be more involved in decision making on a parish, diocesan, national and global church level, the group said, adding: "the absence of women in decision making is a defect, an ecclesiological lacuna, the negative effect of a clerical and chauvinistic mentality."

On Monday, Francis released the fifth major teaching document of his papacy: an apostolic exhortation on holiness that centered on how Christians cannot focus on being saintly just through prayer but must also serve those in need. The pontiff said the most basic teaching handed on by Jesus is to help others, "without any 'ifs or buts.'"

Columnist Michael Sean Winters said Francis put the "exhort" back into exhortation. "The document is one long, incisive effort to urge us Christians on," said Winters.

In a column today, theologian Brian Flanagan says Francis' idea of holiness is rooted in Franciscan theology, in the idea of "becoming small and embracing the God who became small for our sake."