VATICAN – For the Catholic Church, there is a "line in the sand," which can never be crossed, and that is to not allow anyone who harms or would harm a child to exercise public ministry, said Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston.

Ever since Pope Francis announced in September that he was calling the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences to Rome for an unprecedented summit on sexual abuse, expectations have been mounting.

VATICAN – Leading thousands of people in prayer, Pope Francis said he hoped the upcoming summit between the United States and North Korea would lead to lasting peace.

WASHINGTON - Catholic organizations advocating to protect the world and its people from the impact of climate change said the terror attacks in Paris will not dissuade them from attending the UN summit on climate change to be held there Nov. 30-Dec. 11.

ROME - As the Vatican continues to work on policies to combat clergy sex abuse, a leading pontifical university in Rome hosted a conference this week on how the Catholic Church can better address the current crisis and released details of a new diploma program on protecting children.

Top officials from the Vatican, the head of the United Nations and leading scientists came together at a summit Tuesday (April 28) in Vatican City to label the fight against man-made climate change as a “moral issue.”

VATICAN CITY - With an obligation to lead and protect everyone in their nations, government officials cannot be content "to hope that the poor collect the crumbs that fall from the table of the rich," Pope Francis said in a message to the Summit of the Americas.

The nation’s Catholic bishops have chosen a mixed slate of delegates for next year’s high-level Vatican summit on the family, including outspoken culture warriors who are sometimes viewed as out of step with Pope Francis’ priorities.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis opened a three-day summit on the violence and persecution underway in the Middle East, saying arms trafficking was the root cause of many problems in the region.

VATICAN CITY - A Vatican spokesman said it’s premature to suggest a gathering between Catholic and Orthodox faiths to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the first Church council held in Nicea in 325.

TORONTO - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has a personal connection to the issue of maternal and child health. He had two siblings die as infants, he revealed on the closing day of the Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm's Reach summit in Toronto.

OTTAWA - Campaign Life Coalition hopes Prime Minister Stephen Harper's international summit May 28-30 in Toronto is “successful and life-affirming in its results,” says its Ottawa lobbyist.