In a sign of how much the pandemic has grown, China now accounts for less than half of the world's 168,000 cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

After mass testing uncovered more than 7,300 infections, Italy's outbreak surged to nearly equal South Korea's, which had been tapering off, and trailing China, where COVID-19 is in retreat.

In his homily during Pentecost Mass Sunday in St. Peter's Square, Francis also decried that "the more we use social media, the less social we are becoming."

Italy on Monday tightened criteria for migrants receiving humanitarian protection as its populist government deepened its crackdown on those seeking asylum.

Italy's Catholic bishops will care for 100 migrants from Eritrea, ending a stalemate over where the asylum-seekers would go.

Many of the parents of the baptized babies are Vatican employees.

In his homily on New Year’s eve,, the pope said God gave to us a “whole and sound” year, but “we humans in so many ways ruined and hurt it.”

“So many other footsteps are hidden in the footsteps of Joseph and Mary,” Pope Francis said. “We see the tracks of entire families forced to set out in our own day.”

An ailing Mali archbishop facing allegations of financial impropriety assured the Vatican on Tuesday he plans to show up at St. Peter's Basilica to be made a cardinal by Pope Francis.

The Vatican expressed "grave concern" on Monday for a Chinese bishop who it says was "forcibly removed" from his office several weeks ago and whose whereabouts are unknown.