The synod, scheduled for Oct. 6-27, will focus on "Amazonia: New paths for the church and for an integral ecology."

"'Look, Lord, I belonged to this association; I was a friend of that bishop, of that cardinal, of that priest.' No, titles do not count; they do not count."

The investigation will determine the credibility of an accusation of abuse allegedly committed “more than 50 years ago” by Archbishop Pinera who, at 103, is the oldest living bishop in the world.

The pope told his security detail to "let her be. God speaks" through children.

All people of goodwill have a duty to help vulnerable women and other victims of human trafficking escape from forced sexual slavery, the pope wrote in a prologue of a new book on the suffering of women forced into prostitution.

The murder of 35-year-old officer Mario Cerciello Rega in Rome's Prati district July 26 and the subsequent arrest of two young American men sent shockwaves around the country.

With the recent appointments of Matteo Bruni as the new director of the Holy See Press Office and Cristiane Murray as vice director, the Vatican is taking another step forward in its continuing efforts to reform its communication structures.

Pope Francis appointed Matteo Bruni to serve as director of the Vatican press office, replacing Alessandro Gisotti, who had been serving as interim director since Dec. 31.

The complex process of examining bones and extracting DNA will be crucial in determining whether the remains in a small Vatican cemetery belong to Emanuela Orlandi, a young woman who disappeared in 1983, a Vatican-appointed forensic anthropologist said.

According to the Vatican, an estimated 250 migrants, refugees and rescue volunteers attended the Mass, which was celebrated at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica.