A. Alexander Stummvoll's new book is crucially important because until now, religion has been “the missing dimension in statecraft.”

Pope Francis blamed "clericalism" in the Catholic Church for creating a culture where criminal abuse was widespread and extraordinary efforts were made to keep the crimes hidden.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, the church in Ireland was rocked by a series of very public revelations about sexual abuse and, particularly, about how the abuse and allegations of it were mishandled by senior church leaders.

The "regular canonical trial" for an accused bishop, experts say, usually would be conducted by the apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Forty million worldwide are believed to be caught in a trap of forced labor, including many millions who work in manufacturing, assembly, agriculture and food services.

The revised teaching declares that the death penalty is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, and that the church works "for its abolition worldwide."