VATICAN – When presented with an accusation that a priest has sexually abused a child, "whether it's criminal or malicious complicity and a code of silence or whether it is denial" on a very human level, such reactions are no longer tolerable, said the Vatican's top investigator of abuse cases.

MONTERREY, Mexico – Over the past nine years, 152 priests in Mexico have been removed from ministry for sexual abuse of youth or vulnerable adults, the president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference said Sunday.

VATICAN – The leaders of three branches of the French religious Community of St. John insist their order has enacted strong protections against clerical sexual abuse, including the abuse of its nuns by its priests and brothers.

WASHINGTON – Days after the Pope acknowledged abuse of nuns and sisters by priests and bishops, the largest U.S. organization of women religious thanked the pontiff for shedding "light on a reality that has been largely hidden from the public," but the group also called for measures to address the issue.

Two priests in Windsor, Ont., have been removed from their duties after separate investigations into allegations of sexual abuse.

VATICAN – Pope Francis approved a new set of laws concerning the structure and governance of Vatican City State in an effort to simplify the many offices and activities of the world's smallest nation and to boost oversight, transparency and budgetary controls.

As the Basilian Fathers await announcement of an expert panel to investigate the culture and policies that may be factors in a sexual assault scandal at St. Michael's College School, the priests are praying for the victims, their families and the community they serve.

Following reports of hideous conduct at St. Michael’s College School the administration acted swiftly to expel eight students and establish an independent review to examine how such shame could darken the corridors of the renowned all-boys Catholic school.

CHICAGO – A gunman opened fire at a Chicago Catholic hospital Nov. 19, setting off a frantic scene that ended with three victims killed and the assailant dead, police said.

News that Ontario’s provincial government had disbanded its roundtable of experts on violence against women has Catholic Family Services woman abuse specialist Shereen McFarlane worried.

VATICAN – Speaking on behalf of all adult Catholics, Pope Francis formally closed the Synod of Bishops by asking young people for forgiveness.

EDMONTON – The mission of Catholic Social Services is to care for and lift up the most vulnerable among us.

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.

BHOPAL, India – A federal ministry in India has ordered inspections of all child care homes run by the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa, after a lay employee reportedly confessed to selling babies for adoption, reported ucanews.com.

OTTAWA – If there’s one message two women leaders from South Sudan can take back to their war-torn country, it’s that they are not alone in their fight to end gender-based violence.