Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod, has named Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, and six others to be members of the preparatory commission for the general assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October.

Nicaragua’s government has proposed suspending relations with the Vatican days after Pope Francis reportedly compared President Daniel Ortega’s administration to a communist or Nazi dictatorship amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church.

Germany's Catholic bishops and lay representatives agreed to call for the church in Germany to approve blessings of same-sex unions, despite Vatican statements.

The number of women working in the Vatican has increased during Pope Francis' 10 years as pope, though women still face resistance from certain members of the church.

The fact that Cardinal Karol Wojtyla—the future Pope John Paul II—knew about abuse when he was an archbishop of Krakow, Poland, is neither new nor surprising, experts say.

House Bill 74 would do away with the privilege in a sacramental confession by requiring priests to report information relating to child abuse and neglect that is shared in a confessional.