The man who served as Blessed John Paul II's spokesman and media adviser told reporters that the late pope did not initially understand the gravity of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, but once he did he immediately took strong steps to deal with it.Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who served as papal spo

Reports that Pope Francis told an Argentine woman civilly married to a divorced man that she can receive Communion quot cannot be confirmed as reliable quot said Jesuit Father Federico the Vatican spokesman Julio Sabetta 50 wrote on his Facebook page that Pope Francis phoned his wife Jacqueli

Documents detailing a 2014 court decision ordering the deportation of a now-80-year-old former defense minister from El Salvador directly connect his leadership to human rights abuses and a reign of terror against the country's civilians including a Salvadoran archbishop and women religious duri

The families of the three people killed in the Boston Marathon bombing explosions a year ago marked the first anniversary with poignant remembrances and emotional testimonies.Prayer and a simple wreath-laying ceremony took place at the two sites where their loved ones lost their lives and scores wer

Canada 39 s French- and English-speaking Jesuits plan to rejoin into a single Canadian province of the world 39 s largest Catholic religious order of men Father Peter Bisson provincial superior of the Jesuits in English Canada spoke about the plans at the annual Jesuit Provincial 39 s Dinner on

The FBI labeled the killings a hate crime the day after the shootings.

Palestinian Christian institutions charged that Israeli police security measures during Holy Week and Easter hamper access by Christian pilgrims to holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City."The celebrations in the vicinity of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Christian Quarter have been co

"I feel called to take responsibility for all the evil some priests—large in number, but not in proportion to the total—have committed and to ask forgiveness for the damage they've done with the sexual abuse of children," Pope Francis said."The church is aware of this

A Catholic convent near Jerusalem and a largely Maronite village in Galilee were damaged in recent weeks as a two-year wave of vandalism directed at Christians and Muslims in Israel and the West Bank continued.In late March, anti-Christian and anti-American graffiti was scrawled on the walls of the

Meeting four victims of human trafficking, dozens of religious sisters and senior police chiefs from 20 countries, Pope Francis praised their coordinated efforts to fight against a "crime against humanity.""Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scou