VATICAN CITY - The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has banned a Legionaries of Christ priest from publicly exercising his priestly ministry for 10 years after he was convicted in Chile of sexually abusing a young girl.

VATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church in Chile must do everything possible to repair the damage caused by clergy sexual abuse and subsequent cover-up, and accept the decision of the courts investigating cases, the new apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Santiago said.

The Archdiocese of Montreal and four smaller dioceses within its ecclesiastical province have enlisted a former judge to conduct an external audit of files on the sexual abuse of minors dating back to 1950.

Canada’s Jesuits are tweaking their sexual abuse policy less than three years after their last update, but as they do so they’re matching their policy with prayer.

VATICAN CITY - A Chilean appeals court ruled in favor of three survivors of abuse by former priest Fernando Karadima and ordered the Catholic Church to pay damages.

OTTAWA - The Canadian Catholic bishops’ new sexual abuse document released Oct. 4 sets the right tone, say observers, but now the hard work of implementation begins.

VATICAN – "No effort must be spared" to prevent future cases of clerical sexual abuse and "to prevent the possibility of their being covered up," Pope Francis said in a letter addressed "to the people of God."

As more stories of abuse and violence emerge from Hollywood and beyond, agencies like Catholic Family Services Toronto are bracing for impact.

VATICAN CITY – Acknowledging how often the Catholic Church failed to protect children from sexual abuse, Pope Francis pledged "to work strenuously and with foresight for the protection of minors and their dignity," including online.

UNITED NATIONS – Conditions in many parts of the world force women and girls to bear the burden of carrying out everyday chores for their families and communities, keeping many of them from getting even a basic education, the Vatican's U.N. nuncio said Oct. 6.

Vatican City - The bishops of Australia have indicated that they will resist the Royal Commission's proposal that priests be legally obligated to disclose details of sexual abuse revealed in the confessional, facing criminal charges if they don't.

PHOENIX – The Diocese of Phoenix said retired Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, who headed the diocese from 1982 to 2003, "categorically denies" an allegation that he sexually abused a young boy while the youngster was in grade school in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner of Crookston "categorically denies that he in any way forced, coerced or encouraged" a candidate for the permanent diaconate not to report his claim of sexual abuse against a priest of the diocese, the Diocese of Crookston stated May 9.

VATICAN CITY – Recent exchanges in the media between the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a former member of a papal advisory commission have highlighted a lack of clarity and transparency when it comes to finding better ways to make bishops and religious superiors more accountable for how they handle allegations of sexual abuse.