VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis opened 2020 with a strong call to acknowledge the dignity of women, end violence against them and stop the exploitation of women’s bodies.

VATICAN CITY -- The ongoing reform of the Roman Curia is a necessary part of the Catholic Church's fidelity to its mission to proclaim the Gospel, recognizing that very few countries today can be described as "Christian" and that new ways of evangelizing are necessary, Pope Francis said.

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 -- Pope Francis' Council of Cardinals finished its first review and reflection on comments and proposals received for the draft of the proposed apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia.

VATICAN CITY (CNA) -- Last week, Bishop Marcello Semeraro, secretary of the pope’s C6 Council of Cardinal Advisors announced that the group hoped to present Francis with a final draft of a new Vatican constitution in September.

ROME - The proposed apostolic constitution for reforming and governing the Roman Curia is expected to emphasize the church's missionary mandate with the creation of a "super-dicastery" merging two offices dedicated to evangelization.

VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley told members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors how much Pope Francis appreciated their efforts, particularly their proposal for a summit of leaders of the world's bishops' conferences and for the recently released safeguarding guidelines for Vatican City and the Roman Curia.

VATICAN – When Pope Francis asked 50-year-old Benedictine Abbot Bernardo Gianni to lead his Lenten retreat, the abbot said he told the Pope he felt "very inadequate."

VATICAN – When presented with an accusation that a priest has sexually abused a child, "whether it's criminal or malicious complicity and a code of silence or whether it is denial" on a very human level, such reactions are no longer tolerable, said the Vatican's top investigator of abuse cases.

VATICAN – Acknowledging the gravity of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, Pope Francis told members of the Roman Curia that the church's strength does not depend on its members' perfection, but on the willingness to recognize its failings and correct them.

VATICAN – Three members of Pope Francis' Council of Cardinals have officially ended their service as papal advisers on the reform of the Roman Curia.

ROME – Pope Francis' call for a missionary church that is focused on preaching the Gospel will be the guiding principle of the apostolic constitution that will govern the Roman Curia, the secretary of the Pope's international Council of Cardinals said.

Is it possible for a Catholic bishop to not know sex with children is a crime? 

VATICAN – Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington had been told by Vatican officials to withdraw from public life because of rumors about his sexual misconduct, said Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

VATICAN – Members of the Synod of Bishops are called to recognize the challenges young people face in living their faith, interpret those challenges in the light of faith and make "courageous choices" to renew the Catholic Church and its ministry to teens and young adults, said Brazilian Cardinal Sergio da Rocha.