ROME – Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former nuncio to the United States who called on Pope Francis to resign for allegedly lifting sanctions placed on Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, now says those "sanctions" were "private" and neither he nor now-retired Pope Benedict XVI ever was able to enforce them.

VATICAN – Jesus himself showed that the best way to respond to scandal and divisiveness is to stay silent and pray, Pope Francis said Sept. 3 as he resumed his early morning Masses with invited guests.

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput is asking Pope Francis to call off the Synod of Bishops on young people this October to focus instead on the life of the bishops.

VATICAN – A group of lay Catholic women have written an open letter to Pope Francis, demanding that he answer the questions raised by the recent allegations in the letter from former U.S. nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.

VATICAN – Pope Francis told the Oblates of St. Joseph that for decades he has relied on the intercession of St. Joseph, and "never, ever has he told me no."

Even as he faces another sex abuse case in his own diocese, Archbishop Anthony Mancini is not afraid of going bankrupt.

VATICAN – While recent accusations by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano have created tension in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is approaching the situation calmly, the Vatican secretary of state said.

Wherever they went, participants at the World Meeting of Families couldn’t escape the pall cast by the abuse scandal that has reared its head in the Catholic Church once again.

WASHINGTON – The Catholic bishops of Latin America pledged their loyalty to Pope Francis and spoke against the "shameful" way he has been attacked, said the president of the Latin American bishops' council during an Aug. 26 Mass in Medellin, Colombia.

VATICAN – While the faith of Catholics in Ireland is strong, the scandal of abuse and cover-up by church leaders has caused a decline in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, Pope Francis said.

“We showed no care for the little ones,” wrote Pope Francis. “We abandoned them.”

I understand those who do not want to dismiss the letter written by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò out of hand, given his high regard in the Church. His allegations that Pope Francis did nothing after being made aware five years ago of the sexual misconduct of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick are serious and should raise concerns. 

Religion News Service – It is hard to know what to think of the bombshell dropped by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who released a scalding letter on Sunday (Aug. 26) calling on Pope Francis to resign. Viganò, the former Vatican ambassador to the United States, claims in the letter that Pope Francis knew that recently resigned Cardinal Theodore McCarrick abused seminarians when he was a bishop in New Jersey but nonetheless didn’t punish the cardinal.

WASHINGTON – Monsignor Jean-François Lantheaume, the former first counsellor at the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C., has said that the former nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, told “the truth” in his explosive statement released to the press on Aug. 25.

VATICAN – A former apostolic nuncio to the United States accused church officials, including Pope Francis, of failing to act on accusations of abuse of conscience and power by now-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick.