Vatican

Slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI, Catholic giants who sparked controversy during their lifetimes, joined the church's highest rank Sunday with an elevation to sainthood. Pope Francis wore a blood-stained rope belt that belonged to Romero, who was murdered at the altar, ...

The German Catholic Church vowed Thursday a thorough look at its practices including the issue of celibacy, in a shake-up of the system following a damning child sex abuse scandal. In the latest of a series of sex assault scandals to rock the Catholic Church ...

A landmark deal agreed upon between China and the Vatican is a win for Beijing, giving official recognition to bishops appointed by the government despite a crackdown on religion, and potentially softening the ground for full diplomatic relations after 67 years of estrangement, analysts ...

U2 front man Bono said he could see the pain on Pope Francis's face on Wednesday when he told him "it looks to some people that the abusers are being more protected than the victims. "Having just come from Ireland we talked about the pope's ...

Pope Francis said Wednesday he hopes to visit Japan next year, a trip that would enable him to draw attention to both the legacy of Christian martyrs centuries ago and survivors of the atomic bombs in 1945. Francis made the announcement while meeting with members ...

Last March, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano dined on the outskirts of Rome at the home of a conservative Italian Catholic journalist. Over pasta, fish and white wine, the prelate poured out his concern for the future of the Roman Catholic Church. It was the start ...

The archbishop of Washington on Monday "categorically denied" ever being informed that Pope Benedict XVI had sanctioned his predecessor for sexual misconduct, undercutting a key element of a bombshell allegation that the current pope covered up clergy abuse. Cardinal Donald Wuerl issued a statement Monday ...

Pope Francis declined Sunday to confirm or deny claims by the Vatican's retired ambassador to the United States that he knew in 2013 about sexual misconduct allegations against the former archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, but rehabilitated him anyway. Francis said the 11-page text by ...

In a move seen as unprecedented, Pope Francis has effectively stripped U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick of his cardinal's title following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy. The Vatican announced Saturday that Francis ordered McCarrick to conduct a "life of prayer ...

Drawings of an Australasian cockatoo discovered on the pages of a 13th century European manuscript suggest trade Down Under was flourishing as far back as medieval times, researchers said Tuesday. Four images of the white cockatoo feature in the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II of ...

Pope Francis on Thursday promised Chilean Catholics scarred by a culture of clergy sexual abuse that "never again" would the Church ignore them or the coverup of abuse in their country, where a widespread scandal has devastated its credibility. The pope issued the comments in ...