WARSAW, Poland – A close aide to St. John Paul II has vigorously defended the late pope's handling of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and denied accusations that he ignored the problem during his 27-year pontificate.

WARSAW, Poland – The Vatican secretary of state praised the Polish church's traditional closeness to Rome as key to its survival under hostile regimes, in a speech marking the centenary of the nation's conference of bishops and diplomatic ties with the Vatican.

Standing on the outside looking in as the world’s environment ministers and their armies of technocrats hammered out the rulebook for Paris Agreement on climate change, Canadian Josianne Gauthier wished there was an injection  of urgency onto the agenda.

Catholic representatives worked to keep negotiations on track for a comprehensive deal to address global warming as the U.N. climate change conference entered its second and final week in Katowice, Poland.

KRAKOW, Poland – Believed to be the “oldest nun in the world,” Polish Dominican nun Sister Cecylia Maria Roszak has died at the age of 110, the Archdiocese of Krakow has announced.

CZESTOCHOWA, Poland – The bishops of Poland published Monday a statement on the sexual abuse of minors by some clerics, asking forgiveness of the victims and calling for action, prayer, and penance.

WARSAW, Poland – The Polish archbishop tasked with overseeing Bosnia-Herzegovina's Medjugorje shrine has outlined plans for expansion, including more Masses in different languages and facilities for young pilgrims who flock to the site of the alleged Marian apparitions.

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) – Poland's Catholic bishops said they no longer have enough clergy to minister to Poles living abroad and urged emigrant Catholics to integrate more with the church in other countries.

WARSAW, Poland – Growing poverty among young people across Europe is impeding access to fundamental rights and intensifying feelings of injustice and hopelessness, a new report warns. 

WARSAW, Poland – A prominent Polish archbishop accused his country's government of falsifying its data on refugees, while also fueling a crisis with Germany over new demands for war reparations.

In Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II, Baltimore-born papal biographer George Weigel reflects in a highly personal way on the 15 years he devoted to chronicling the life and times and impact of John Paul II in Witness to Hope (1999) and The End and the Beginning (2010). It is a story that emphasizes repeatedly and powerfully the idea of providence.

CZESTOCHOWA, Poland – Three hundred years ago this September the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa was crowned Queen and Protector of Poland by Clement XI.

WARSAW, Poland – A son of the Polish prime minister has been ordained a Catholic priest, and he celebrated his first Mass this last Sunday.

WARSAW, Poland – Poland's government has adopted multiple resolutions establishing 2017 as a Jubilee Year for the country, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

ROME – When it comes to the Christian life, too many seminaries teach students a rigid list of rules that make it difficult or impossible for them as priests to respond to the real-life situation of those who come to them seeking guidance, Pope Francis said.