Although Benedict expresses regret that abuse happened on his watch, he does not take responsibility for any specific cases, and his lawyers maintain his innocence.

“Life is a right, not death, which must be welcomed, not administered,” Pope Francis said during his weekly audience. “And this ethical principle applies to, concerns everyone, not just Christians or believers.”

The duty of the Secretariat for the Economy includes “to report transparently” so that those who contribute “are then able see how the money with which they help is spent,” Juan Antonio Guerrero, S.J., said Friday.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell explain what we know so far about the four cases Pope Emeritus Benedict was implicated in.

The lone cardinal indicted in the Vatican’s big fraud and embezzlement trial has issued a formal protest to the court claiming the pope’s prosecutors had offended his dignity by suggesting he was having sex with a co-defendant.

While the church’s prayer should not be a battlefield, Archbishop Roche says it is understandable that people are passionate about it.