ROME - On the evening of Nov. 16, 1965, quietly alerted to the event by word-of-mouth, some 40 Roman Catholic bishops made their way to celebrate Mass in an ancient, underground basilica in the Catacombs of Domitilla on the outskirts of the Eternal City.

NEW YORK - Despite intense opposition from some conservatives and new revelations of financial scandals in the Vatican, Pope Francis is at peace with the reformist course he has set for the Catholic Church, according to a cardinal who is a leading advisor to the pontiff.

VATICAN CITY - Financial wrongdoing at the Vatican, leaked documents and arrests by the Vatican police may make it seem like 2012 all over again, but the situation -- while serious -- is not the breach of papal privacy that the earlier "VatiLeaks" scandal was.

VATICAN CITY - A Vatican official and a former lay consultant on a pontifical commission were arrested for leaking documents to an Italian journalist who has announced plans to publish them in a book.

VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said an apostolic exhortation on the family following the recently concluded Synod of Bishops could be released soon.

VATICAN CITY - Two of the 13 final small-group reports of the Synod of Bishops for the family contained apologies: one for ways in which a lack of pastoral care may have contributed to the breakdown of marriages and one for "harsh and merciless" attitudes toward unwed mothers and their children, the divorced and homosexuals.

UNITED NATIONS - The information and services that space technology provides must be shared as much as possible by the countries of the world to reduce the risk that economic and social inequalities will widen, a Vatican official told the United Nations.

VATICAN CITY - With 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis asked forgiveness for scandals that have occurred within the Church recently.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican opened the “Gift of Mercy,” a shelter for homeless men, just a few hundred metres away from St. Peter’s Square.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican does not deny reports that while in Washington, Pope Francis briefly met with Kim Davis, the county clerk from Kentucky who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses.

NEW YORK - In a grand yet intimate prayer service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Sept. 24, Pope Francis exhorted the priests and women religious who filled the sanctuary to redouble their sacrifices on behalf of the faithful, but he reserved his greatest praise for American nuns who have often been viewed by Rome with deep suspicion.

VATICAN CITY - Embracing Pope Francis' request to sponsor a refugee family, the Vatican's St. Anne parish has welcomed a family of four from Damascus, Syria.

A lesbian author whose children’s books on gay families have been banned in Italy said she received a letter from Pope Francis that included a “blessing” of her work and relationship, but the Vatican says it’s being misinterpreted.

ROME - The Vatican has given its backing to a central Rome square being named after Martin Luther, a church reformer excommunicated by the pope nearly 500 years ago.

VATICAN CITY - The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums has released a smartphone app to help culture enthusiasts learn about the works owned by the Holy See — and as a novel way of encouraging art lovers to help fund restoration.