Catholic News Service

Signers of an open letter from Catholic women to Pope Francis urging "truth" and "transparency" on the growing sex abuse crisis expressed hope the pontiff's Sept. 13 meeting with U.S. church officials on the scandal will result in steps needed to move the church toward healing.

The social action arm of the Philippine Catholic Church has convened its "surge team" as super Typhoon Mangkhut threatened the country in mid-September.

Chilean prosecutors raided four dioceses in the country as they continue a nationwide investigation into cases of clerical sexual abuse.

The president of Mozambique announced that Pope Francis plans to visit the country next year.

Today, more than ever, the world needs a revolution of tenderness, Pope Francis said.

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend welcomed findings by a Pennsylvania district attorney that cleared Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of wrongdoing after an allegation of misconduct was made against him.

Vatican City -- Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. president of the U.S. bishops' conference, struck a determinedly hopeful tone after his long-awaited meeting with Pope Francis to discuss the growing sexual abuse crisis in the United States.

Sexual and physical abuse by priests and religious and the scandal of its cover-up by church authorities thrive in countries where the Catholic Church is "elitist and clericalist," Pope Francis told Jesuits in Ireland in August.

The Vatican confirmed an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities involving the directors of the Sistine Chapel Choir.

A 350-page document leaked to German media and published Sept. 12 documents nearly 3,700 cases of alleged sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, deacons and clergy in Germany over a 68-year period.

Only true love for God and neighbor can destroy the chains of greed, lust, anger and envy that enslave humankind, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a Brazilian bishop who was arrested and charged with embezzling thousands of dollars in diocesan funds.

Chilean Catholics are training clerics and parishioners in abuse prevention and counseling victims, but not just abuse in church settings.

Bishops must remember, particularly when under attack, that their role is to pray, be humble in knowing God chose them and remain close to the people, Pope Francis said in his morning homily.

An English cardinal prayed for the forgiveness of bishops who had brought "the face of evil" into the Catholic Church by allowing or carrying out acts of abuse.

Members of Pope Francis' international Council of Cardinals expressed "full solidarity" with the pope and said the Vatican is planning a response to allegations made against him by a former nuncio.

Fear often causes people to remain silent in the face of other's suffering and marginalize the sick and those most in need, Pope Francis said.

Responding quickly and appropriately to the problem of abuse must be a priority for the Catholic Church, said Cardinal Sean O'Malley, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The four days of Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were as heated as the unusually high temperatures in Washington during this first week of September.