HONG KONG – A senior Vatican official has hinted there is an unofficial agreement between the Holy See and Beijing on the appointment of bishops, even as negotiations to formalize arrangements continue to hit roadblocks, reported ucanews.com.

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.

YANGON, Myanmar – Pope Francis is expected to focus on trying to improve the troubles of about a million ethnic Muslim Rohingya when he visits Myanmar the last week of November, reported ucanews.com.

MEXICO CITY – Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera and the Metropolitan Cathedral said that Father Miguel Angel Machorro, stabbed at the altar while celebrating Mass May 15, has died.

ROME – For more than 900 years, the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta has seen its fair share of victories, defeats and institutional changes.

WASHINGTON – Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services offered support for President Donald Trump's reinstatement of a ban on transgender people serving in any branch of the military.

VATICAN CITY – While tourism can broaden travellers' horizons and improve local economies, it cannot be seen as being part of "sustainable development" unless it includes respect for workers' rights, the local culture and the environment, said Cardinal Peter Turkson.

NEW YORK – Tech savvy viewers will especially enjoy the wacky proceedings of "The Emoji Movie" (Columbia). But patrons of all stripes will appreciate the film's themes of loyal friendship and faithful romance.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal John Tong Hon as bishop of Hong Kong. Coadjutor Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, 70, succeeds the cardinal as head of the diocese, the Vatican announced Aug. 1.

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Former priest Paul R. Shanley, a major figure in the U.S. church's child sex abuse scandal, was released from prison July 28 after serving 12 years for raping and assaulting a boy in the 1980s.