This is the completely collection of Fr. Frank Freitas' four-part series of columns about prayer and praying that originally appeard in the print edition of The Catholic Register.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has condemned clerical sex abuse as an “absolute monstrosity” and asked victims and their families for forgiveness on behalf of the Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY – Each week dozens of newlyweds, dressed again in their wedding gowns and tuxedoes, come to the Vatican to receive a special papal blessing as they begin their lives together.

TOKYO, Japan – A 17th century Catholic Samurai and martyr was beatified during a Mass in ‎Osaka, Japan on Tuesday.

VATICAN CITY – A nation's health-care system cannot be run simply as a business because human lives are at stake, Pope Francis said.

STUTTGART, Germany – Five centuries after the start of the Protestant Reformation, leaders of the Catholic and Lutheran churches came together in a demonstration of unity to release new Bible translations.

VATICAN CITY – In a talk with representatives of Catholic men's religious orders, Pope Francis admitted there’s “corruption” in the Vatican but said he is not troubled by it and is working to reform the church administration.

VATICAN CITY – Marking the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave, Pope Francis urged Christians to help victims of human trafficking and migrants, especially the Rohingya people being chased from Myanmar.

UNITED NATIONS – Saying poverty is the greatest challenge facing humanity, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations called on nations to seek solutions to poverty not only based on economics but to also address personal, social and environmental factors that contribute to it.

VATICAN CITY – To offer clearly and accurately the Catholic Church's positions on abortion, contraception, genetic engineering, fertility treatments, vaccines, frozen embryos and other life issues, the Vatican released an expanded and updated guide of the church's bioethical teachings.