ROME – Rome's Colosseum, long a symbol of the persecution of early Christians, was bathed in red light late Feb. 24 as a reminder of and a prayer for the thousands of Christians being persecuted for their faith today.

OTTAWA – Msgr. Jose Bettencourt, an Ottawa priest who has served as Head of Protocol in the Vatican since 2012, has been named an Apostolic Nuncio and appointed as nuncio to Armenia.

VATICAN – On Sunday Pope Francis said Jesus never leaves his followers alone, but always prepares them for the trials they will face, just as he during his transfiguration, which helped his disciples to understand and cope with his Passion and death.

VATICAN – Pope Francis' call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in war-torn countries like South Sudan and Congo is also a reminder for world leaders to protect their countrymen from violence and injustice, a Vatican official said.

VATICAN – The authentic development of doctrine is about making more explicit the revealed truths of faith, not changing, or “shifting,” Church teaching – and to use this idea to defend an agenda is wrong, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has said.

VATICAN – While Pope Francis thinks Blessed Paul VI wrote "the greatest pastoral document that has ever been written," great writing does not make a pope a saint.

VATICAN – It's time to break free from fear, fake online personas and looking at the world through a digital screen display, Pope Francis told young people.

Since his stunning decision five years ago to renounce the papacy, Pope Emeritus Benedict has been spent his time praying, reading, strolling, enjoying music and welcoming friends. He has stayed far from the Vatican limelight and, as he promised, clear of any words or deeds that might suggest even an inkling of interference in the work of his successor.

NEW YORK – A former Chilean seminarian who accused a current bishop of abuse cover-up met with a Vatican investigator and said he finally felt he had been heard.

World Youth Day is still 11 months away, but Canadians have already had a taste of what to expect on the pilgrimage to Panama.

VATICAN – Lent is a time to face our temptations and be converted by the Gospel, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on the first Sunday of Lent.

Is the world moving closer to nuclear war? 

VATICAN – Pope Francis has named nine new members to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, including abuse survivors or the parents of survivors, the Vatican said.

VATICAN – Loudly boasting or complaining about fasting during Lent and treating others unkindly is not what God wants, Pope Francis said.

Few dossiers that cross the Pope’s desk are more challenging than the thick, sad file on sexual abuse. It’s a file Pope Francis inherited from his two predecessors and one he pledged to handle with urgency, compassion and transparency.