VATICAN CITY -- While acknowledging Vatican-mandated reforms in the handling of clerical sexual abuse, four U.N. special rapporteurs urged the Vatican to make it mandatory that church officials everywhere report abuse allegations to civil authorities.

OTTAWA -- Archbishop Peter Hundt says “sacrifices” will have to be made, but the Archdiocese of St. John’s has to move forward with compassion and understanding after a “dark chapter” of abuse in the Newfoundland archdiocese’s history.

A victim of former priest and notorious sexual abuser Charles Sylvestre can reopen her civil suit against the Diocese of London, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Feb. 11.

In the midst of the Christmas season, Dan Cere sees signs of Easter in the Archdiocese of Montreal.

VANCOUVER -- The Archdiocese of Vancouver has released the names of three priests involved in settlements related to sexual abuse and confirmed 13 more people have come forward with abuse allegations.

The Boucher Report, released on Nov. 25 by the Archdiocese of Montreal, makes for distressing reading. The tale told therein also illustrates how failures in Canada may have contributed to the significant reforms made by Pope Francis last year aimed at changing the culture of episcopal governance.

The acceptance of serious allegations swallowed up without proof is an age-old problem. It is also dangerous.

Rosa Parks, a poor, humble black woman, sparked the civil rights movement when she refused to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white person in Birmingham, Ala., in 1955. Moses, another introvert, was led by God to go to the Egyptian pharaoh and seek his people’s freedom. Lech Walesa, an electrician, organized illegal protests in the Gdansk, Poland, shipyard throughout the 1970s. He was arrested numerous times, fired from several jobs and placed under constant surveillance. His efforts bore fruit in the Solidarity trade union which led to the collapse of Eastern European communism.

BONN, Germany -- Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse has stepped down from his post as spiritual assistant to the Central Committee of German Catholics, the most important laypeople's organization of the church in Germany, pending clarification of all the allegations about his possible role in covering up sexual abuse cases during his time in Cologne.

VANCOUVER -- A proposed class-action lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Vancouver claims the archdiocese was “systematically negligent” in protecting parishioners from abuse by clergy.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An independent investigative firm is reviewing the Diocese of Charlotte's priest personnel files as part of the diocese's effort to release the names of all clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse, the diocese announced Aug. 12.

BALTIMORE -- As has been the case for years now, a small group of protesters dismissive of the U.S. bishops' efforts to enact reforms in their handling of sexual abuse cases gather outside the Baltimore hotel where they conduct their general meeting.

BALTIMORE -- The U.S. bishops are set to vote on a 10-point statement, "Affirming Our Episcopal Commitments," in which the bishops hope to regain "the trust of the people of God."

ROME -- The brothers of the ecumenical Taize community said they have received five reports of sexual assaults on minors committed by three of their members in a period from the 1950s to the 1980s.

VATICAN CITY -- Italian bishops have recognized their "moral obligation" to report allegations of clerical sexual abuse to the police, said the head of the Italian bishops' child protection committee.