With the help of a woman Anglican bishop, a Salesian sister and a consecrated virgin, Pope Francis and his cardinal advisors sought to deepen their reflection on the role of women in the church.

In cases of a cleric sexually abusing a “vulnerable adult,” the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith investigates and judges only cases involving “persons who habitually have an imperfect use of reason.”

The 10 children and a young man were brought to the Vatican-run Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital for an initial assessment, Vatican News reported.

For the second time in less than a week, a Chinese bishop was ordained with the approval of both Pope Francis and the Chinese government.

The victim said he was sexually abused over a six-year period despite having told the rector that an older student was “bothering” him.

“It’s difficult to imagine it,” the pope said when asked how he imagines hell. “What I would say is not a dogma of faith, but my personal thought: I like to think hell is empty; I hope it is.”

Cardinal Burke met privately with Pope Francis Dec. 29, about a month after reports that Pope Francis wanted to stop giving him a monthly salary and would ask him to pay the market rate for his Vatican apartment.

“There are priests who do not baptize the children of single mothers because (the children) were not conceived in the sanctity of marriage. They are the hypocrites of today,” Pope Francis once said.

Pope Francis met at the Vatican today with relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and, separately, with relatives of Palestinians suffering under the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Marking the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi putting together the first Christmas crèche in a cave in Greccio, Italy, the Vatican publishing house compiled texts by Pope Francis about Nativity scenes.