New guidelines and legislation in the Vatican City State are aimed at preventing physical and sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults in that territory.

“I come as a pilgrim of peace and fraternity, in a world that greatly needs it,” the pope said in a video message to the “dear people of Morocco” on the eve of his visit this weekend.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, the archbishop of Santiago, Chile, the Vatican announced on March 23.

For the first time, the inside story of the election of Pope Francis, excerpted from a new book by America's Vatican correspondent.

The meeting between Pope Francis and South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit "aimed at deepening relations between South Sudan and the Vatican."

An Australian judge has sentenced Cardinal to 6 years in prison for molesting two choirboys.

The court imposed a six-month suspended prison sentence on him, meaning he will not have to spend time in prison.

Pius, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, has been strongly attacked for not speaking out publicly against the Holocaust but defended by some for the vast hidden work he did to help many victims of the Nazis, fascists and communists.

The recent Vatican summit on the protection of minors ended on Feb. 24. Since then many have asked, “What’s next?”

If tried and found guilty, the penalties can vary depending on the seriousness of the crime and, often, the age of the accused; possible penalties include removal from office, restricted ministry, “a life of prayer and penance” without any public ministry and dismissal from the clerical state.