VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals reviewed aspects of the draft of the apostolic constitution that would govern the Roman Curia, including a greater role for lay men and women.

VATICAN CITY -- An upcoming Synod of Bishops will study the feasibility of ordaining married men in the Amazon region to compensate for a shortage of priests.

The Catholic Church in Germany is at a point where serious debate – including on priestly celibacy and the role of women – and openness to doing things in a new way must encouraged, said the president of the German bishops' conference.

ROME – The Catholic sisters who took part in Pope Francis' summit on clergy sexual abuse say they hope the presence of a dozen women at the gathering sets a standard for a growing presence of women at Vatican meetings of bishops.

NEW YORK – Ordaining women to the permanent diaconate now, when the church is "crying for ministry," is a logical way to fulfill its obligation to bring the Gospel to all people, according to panelists at a Jan 15 event at Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York.

VATICAN – Although bishops should make up the majority of voting members at a Synod of Bishops, the fact that the body is only consultative means women should be included as full members just as priests and religious brothers are, said three priests who are voting members.

VATICAN – That only men can be validly ordained to the priesthood is a truth that is part of the Catholic faith and will not and cannot change, said Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Eunice Gichuhi is half a world away from her native country, but that has never stopped her from reaching out to help. 

VATICAN – Pope Francis has updated the statutes of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, adding among other things a specific reference to the office's responsibility for promoting a deeper reflection on the role of women in the church and society.

A time to search and a time to give up. 

The role of a woman in the Church does not have to be second best. 

Does the Church belong to women? Can the Church be led by women? From a young woman’s perspective, those questions have already been answered.

When I was 18 years old, a fresh high school graduate with loads of ambition and what seemed like direction for my life, I felt an overbearing sense of guilt.

VATICAN CITY – The Irish bishops are just finishing up their first ad limina visit to Rome in 10 years – a time that’s been marked by a rapid increase in secularism, the legalization of same-sex marriage and the country's tragic clerical sex abuse crisis.

TORONTO – The rain outside failed to dampen the liveliness of interfaith fellowship in a University of Toronto conference room in late September.