WASHINGTON -- When public Masses in the Archdiocese of Washington were suspended in efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Fr. Scott Holmer, pastor at St. Edward the Confessor Parish in Bowie, Md., got creative about bringing the sacraments to his local community.

FRIBOURG, Switzerland -- Dominican Brothers Stefan Ansinger and Alexandre Frezzato are teaching people to sing 800-year-old Gregorian chant through free weekly lessons on their YouTube channel called OPChant.

VATICAN CITY -- Mercy, which is at the heart of the Christian life, is not a one-dimensional virtue but instead is the acceptance of God's love and the giving of that love to others, Pope Francis said.

MONTREAL -- The Canadian bishops’ standing committee for the Responsible Ministry and Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons met for the first time in January, but the fact that the identities of the majority of its members is kept secret irritates victims, who see a lack of transparency.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, five weeks after a French appeals court overturned his conviction for failing to report clerical sexual abuse.

GENEVA -- A United Nations report addressing gender-based violence and discrimination connected to religious beliefs "is now attacking the very reality it is called to defend," a Vatican representative told a U.N. meeting in Geneva.