Joshua J. McElwee

Pope Francis will undertake some of the most intensive in-country travel yet planned in his six years of trips abroad, beatifying seven bishops from the Romanian Greek Catholic Church and, in a rare move, praying with an Orthodox patriarch.

The Vatican's highest court has dropped its investigation into a former Vatican official accused of soliciting a woman for sex in the confessional.

Vatican City: In speaking publicly about the disagreement among the members of the Vatican's commission on the history of women deacons in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is seeking to broaden the conversation on the issue, Phyllis Zagano said.

Vatican City: "In the case of the diaconate, we have to see what was there at the beginning of revelation," Pope Francis said. "If there was something, let it grow, let it live. If there was not something … it doesn't work."

Pope Francis issued sweeping new laws for the Catholic Church on the investigation of clergy sexual abuse May 9, mandating for the first time that all priests and members of religious orders worldwide are obligated to report any suspicions of abuse or its cover-up.

The Vatican commission studying the history of women serving as deacons in the Catholic Church has been unable to find consensus on their role in the early centuries of Christianity and is yet to give a "definitive response," Pope Francis said May 7.

Pope Francis became the first Catholic pope to visit North Macedonia May 7, in a trip meant to encourage the Balkan nation as it seeks to end a dispute with Greece in order to join the European Union.

Pope Francis encouraged Iraqi and Syrian refugees adapting to life in Eastern Europe May 6, telling them to have hope despite whatever sufferings they have endured.

Sofia, Bulgaria: Opening a two-day visit to Bulgaria with a speech outside the presidential palace, Pope Francis said he wished to "respectfully suggest" that Bulgarians "not close your eyes, your hearts, or your minds … to those who knock at your door."

Experts say the May 5-7 papal visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia could be particularly sensitive, as Francis will be facing individual, historic difficulties with the countries' separate Orthodox communities.

Vatican City — Participants said the meeting, co-hosted by Pax Christi and the Vatican's human development office, provided ample material for Pope Francis to consider for an encyclical.

The Swedish 16-year-old said that Pope Francis offered his support for the student protests she's led against political inaction on climate change.

A group of prominent German-speaking theologians has sharply criticized retired Pope Benedict XVI's recent letter on clergy sexual abuse, saying it "instrumentalized" the Catholic church's continuing crisis to rehash stale, decades-long theological disputes.

A number of noted theologians and church historians are concerned that Pope Benedict XVI's choice to engage in public action undermines Pope Francis and plays into narratives splitting Catholics between two popes, one officially in power, and the other wielding influence as he writes from a small monastery in the Vatican Gardens.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI has published a new letter blaming the continuing Catholic clergy abuse crisis on the sexual revolution, developments in theology following the Second Vatican Council, and modern society's aversion to speaking about God.

Pope Francis has named Archbishop Wilton Gregory to lead the Washington Archdiocese, placing the prelate who guided the development of the U.S. bishops' procedures on clergy sexual abuse at the helm of a church that has been convulsed by abuse scandals over the past year.

The global Catholic Church must listen more to the critiques of its younger members and acknowledge that "some things concretely need to change," Pope Francis says in a new teaching document. But the pontiff offers few insights for what exactly must change.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MOROCCO – The pope, who refused Cardinal Barbarin's resignation, asked for presumption of innocence as the French prelate appeals his conviction of covering up abuse.

Rabat, Morocco - Pope Francis sought to encourage Morocco's tiny Catholic community March 31, reassuring them that their effectiveness is not determined by their size but their ability to "generate change and awaken wonder and compassion."

Pope Francis began his two-day visit to Morocco with a call for a global "change of attitude" toward migrants fleeing violence and famine.