Pope Francis called the bishops of Chile to the Vatican to "examine the causes and consequences" of the clerical sexual abuse scandal and acknowledge personal responsibility and "the mechanisms that in some cases led to a cover up and serious omissions regarding the victims," the Vatican said.Read More

As the bishops and faithful of Sicily remembered St. John Paul II's visit in 1993 and, especially, his "prophetic invective" against the Mafia, Pope Francis urged them to continue the fight against organized crime.Read More

"We must be aware of the devil," the pope said, and Jesus taught his disciples that the only way to do that was to watch, pray and fast.Read More

For more than 50 years, the writings of retired Pope Benedict XVI on the relationship between faith and politics have insisted that the measure of human freedom is the extent to which each person acknowledges being dependent on the love of God, Pope Francis wrote.Read More

The German bishops are not the only bishops in the world to propose or adopt pastoral guidelines for allowing an Anglican or a Protestant married to a Catholic to receive the Eucharist under certain circumstances.Read More

Six German bishops will meet with officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts to discuss German plans to allow greater access to the Eucharist for Protestants married to Catholics.Read More

Pope Francis has asked the president of the German bishops' conference to come to Rome to discuss pastoral guidelines for possibly allowing some non-Catholics married to Catholics to receive the Eucharist, the conference spokesman said.Read More

"How beautiful to hear a son say of his father, 'He was good,'" the pope told the children during a visit to St. Paul of the Cross parish April 15.Read More