One night in a small town in Mexico, armed men arrived at Maria's house. Pregnant and with her young daughter asleep in the next room, she wasn't sure if she should rush to get her 2-year-old or run for her life.

Some experts believe that while many seminaries have established policies to protect adults studying to be priests and members of religious communities, seminary culture sometimes remains an obstacle to protecting them from predatory behavior.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke about ongoing threats to religious freedom and what can be done to halt them at a conference held July 30 at the Department of Justice.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican's family and laity office, spoke as the U.S. church hierarchy has come under fire from ordinary American Catholics outraged that ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's misconduct with men was apparently an open secret in some U.S. church circles.

When allegations first surfaced regarding then-Cardinal McCarrick last month, some church officials called for new regulations and policies that apply to charges of misconduct and mismanagement against bishops. But in his letter, Bishop Scharfenberger said such changes alone will not be enough to address the church’s failings.

The number of permanent deacons in the Catholic Church has steadily grown, to more than 18,000 in the U.S. and more than 45,000 worldwide.