Vatican News

VATICAN CITY -- At the age of 94, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he knows he will soon stand before God's judgment and he prayed that he would be forgiven for his shortcomings, including in handling allegations of clerical sexual abuse.

VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican editorial defended retired Pope Benedict XVI's record in fighting clerical sexual abuse after the release of a report that accused him of mishandling four cases during his time as archbishop of Munich.

VATICAN CITY -- In situations of extreme poverty, war or civil tensions, 22 Catholic church workers were murdered in 2021, according to Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

VATICAN CITY -- Thanking Cardinal Peter Turkson for his five years of service as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Pope Francis has decided to name new leadership for the office, said a Vatican communique.

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- After Pope Francis denounced putting up "barbed wire" to keep out migrants and the practice of pushing boats back to countries where they face conditions similar to a "lager," the Vatican announced he would help move a dozen migrants from Cyprus to Italy before Christmas.

VATICAN CITY -- Lawyers representing six defendants, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, on charges of financial crimes accused Vatican prosecutors of omitting evidence and testimony they said are crucial in preparing their defense.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, an Italian member of the U.S.-based Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, to be secretary-general of the office governing Vatican City State.

VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican conference will gather both Christian and non-Christian historians and experts to delve deep into the history of the church in the first centuries of Christianity.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis named Msgr. Diego Giovanni Ravelli, who has served as an official of the papal almoner's office since 2013, as the new master of papal liturgical ceremonies, the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will not be going to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, as he had hoped.