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Copies of Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family, "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love"), are seen during the document's release at the Vatican April 8. The exhortation is the concluding document of the 2014 and 2015 synods of bishops on the family.

'Amoris Laetitia' at three months: Communion question still debated

VATICAN CITY – Three months after the publication of Pope Francis' exhortation on marriage and family, bishops and bishops' conferences around the world are studying practical ways to apply it. Some still disagree on what exactly the Pope meant.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, is pictured at the Vatican in this Oct. 9, 2012, file photo. Cardinal Sarah, the Vatican's liturgy chief, has asked priests to begin celebrating the Eucharist facing east, the same direction the congregation faces.

Experts: Cardinal Sarah's Mass comments are permitted under canon law

WASHINGTON – Recent comments by a high-ranking Vatican official have sparked questions about the direction priests should face while celebrating Mass.

Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi speak to the media after leaving the final session of the so-called "Vatileaks" trial at the Vatican July 7. A Vatican court, citing freedom of the press, acquitted the two journalists who published confidential Vatican documents. Their source, Spanish Msgr. Lucio Vallejo Balda, was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

Vatican court recognizes press freedom, acquits journalists

VATICAN CITY – A Vatican court, citing freedom of the press, acquitted two journalists who published confidential documents while their source, a Spanish monsignor, was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

Italian laywoman Francesca Chaouqui, arriving for the third hearing of the"VatiLeaks" case at the Vatican Dec. 7, 2015. On July 4, Vatican lead prosecutor asked the court give Chaouqui a three years and nine months jail-term.

Prosecutors request jail time for defendants at Vatican trial

VATICAN CITY – As the Vatican trial of five people accused of complicity in leaking private documents moved toward a conclusion, Vatican prosecutors requested that four of the five defendants be convicted and that three of them serve jail time.

Pope Francis speaks to journalists aboard his flight from Rome to Yerevan, Armenia, June 24. Answering a reporter's question at the Vatican on July third, the Pope says critics won't stop him from pursuing his vision for the Church.

Pope says critics won't stop him from pursuing vision for church

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said he will continue pressing for a church that is open and understanding despite opposition from some clerics who "say no to everything."

Franciscan friars wait for the arrival of Pope Francis outside the Portiuncola, the small stone chapel inside the Basilica of Santa Maria deli Angeli in Assisi, Italy, in this Oct. 4, 2013, file photo. Pope Francis plans to make a "simple and private" visit to the Portiuncola Aug. 4. The stone chapel was rebuilt by St. Francis.

Pope Francis to highlight divine mercy on visit to Assisi chapel

VATICAN CITY – To mark the 800th anniversary of the "Pardon of Assisi," an indulgence earned by visiting faithful who confess their sins and make a sincere promise of repentance, Pope Francis will visit a stone chapel rebuilt by St. Francis of Assisi.

Father William J. Brunner, of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wis., celebrates Mass in May aboard the Navy warship USS America docked in San Diego. Father Brunner, who holds the rank of lieutenant, is one of the Navy's newest chaplains

Priests see difference between parish ministry and military chaplaincy

SAN DIEGO – There is something distinctive about the chapel where Father William J. Brunner now celebrates Mass. It floats. To be more precise, it's in a space aboard the U.S. Navy's warship USS America docked in San Diego.

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Yerevan, Armenia, to Rome June 26. The Pope said during his in-flight press conference that the church should apologize to gays

Is Pope Francis a Lone Ranger on apologizing to gays?

When Pope Francis said this week that the church should ask forgiveness from gay people for the way it has treated them, he sparked yet another round of global headlines about how his unpredictable papacy is changing Catholicism.

Above the entrance gate to Auschwitz I in Oswiecim, Poland, is the Nazi slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work sets you free"). Pope Francis is set to visit the concentration camp July 29 as part of his trip to Poland for World Youth Day 2016.

Pope will pray, not speak, on Auschwitz visit

VATICAN CITY – Tears and not words. Prayers and not greetings. During his trip to Poland for World Youth Day, Pope Francis will go to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. He said he wants to go alone and say nothing.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the Society of St. Pius X, is pictured in 2012. Fellay says Pope

SSPX head claims Pope is encouraging error

VATICAN CITY – The superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said Pope Francis, rather than denouncing errors in Catholic doctrine, has "encouraged" them.

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople greet a small crowd after delivering a blessing in Istanbul Nov. 30. 2014.

Catholic, Orthodox must show each other mercy, Pope says

VATICAN CITY – Professing the same faith in the mercy of God, Catholics and Orthodox must do more to ensure mercy marks the way they treat each other, Pope Francis told a delegation from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

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