Pope Francis formalized appointments to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and named new secretaries to the restructured Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

If there is “a person asking you for forgiveness, who are you to ask if he or she may or may not be sincere?” the pope said. “You take their word for it, and forgive. Always forgive.”

A new book describes the current state of Vatican affairs not so much through the lens of Pope Francis’ nine-year papacy, but via Benedict’s nine-year retirement.

If the main duty of a cardinal is to be an adviser to the pope, and there is no ordination required, it could make sense to restart the tradition of lay cardinals—and include women in the mix.

The 45-minute meeting was the second between Pope Francis and Victor Orban in less than a year, but couldn’t have been more different in tone.

A New Jersey Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the U.S. Catholic Church.