Bishop Barros has been at the center of Chile's growing scandal ever since Francis appointed him bishop of Osorno in 2015 over the objections of the local faithful, his own sex abuse prevention advisers and some of Chile's other bishops.

The Vatican declined to confirm or deny the remarks in keeping with its policy not to comment on the pope's private conversations.

The world's oldest standing army is getting some new headgear.

The kidnapping became an international scandal and contributed to the anti-clerical sentiment sweeping across Europe.

The AsiaNews agency said Mindong Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin and his chancellor were taken away Monday, at the start of Holy Week.

The manipulation changed the meaning of the letter.

“Behind all this is the unfortunate idea...that priests are everything in the church while sisters are nothing.”

Donatella Versace and Vogue's Anna Wintour were in Rome today.

The fact that Francis received the eight-page letter challenges his insistence that he has “zero tolerance” for sex abuse and cover-ups.

Mary McAleese, who has a gay son and has criticized the church’s position on L.G.B.T. issues, was invited to participate in a panel discussion on women in church governance.