Joshua J. McElwee

The Vatican's doctrinal office reaffirms the Catholic Church's ban on women priests, Pope Francis meets Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Italy's political crisis continues to deepen.

Rome -- The head of the Vatican's doctrinal office has reaffirmed the Catholic Church's ban on the ordination of women as priests, writing in a new article that the teaching has a "definitive character" and "is a truth belonging to the deposit of faith."

NCR calls on Pope Francis to implement a tribunal to judge bishops who mishandle clergy sexual abuse, Francis will meet more Chilean abuse victims, and Archbishop Romero soon to be St. Romero.

Pope Francis named fourteen new Catholic cardinals May 20, again diversifying representation in the most select body of church prelates with selections from places as far-flung as Iraq, Pakistan and Japan and solidifying his influence on the group that will one day elect his successor.

Vatican City: After a 38-year-wait, it is now official. Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, murdered in 1980 for speaking out against military oppression, will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church at a Vatican ceremony Oct. 14.

Here is a timeline of events that led up to the May 18 unprecdented mass resignations by the Catholic bishops of Chile after they meet with Pope Francis about their handling of clergy sex abuse cases. 

Two Vatican offices have taken the global financial system to task, decrying in a new document the way markets primarily serve the world's wealthiest minority and stress profit to an extent that creates "a profoundly amoral culture."

Two Vatican offices are set to release a new joint document evaluating the morality of the global market system, in what appears to be an effort to give more theological weight to Pope Francis' frequent criticism that "this economy kills."

Chile's Catholic bishops say that Pope Francis' recent emotional meetings at the Vatican with three abuse victims "shows us the path that the Chilean Church is called to follow."

The Vatican announces the agenda for the 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people has been approved, following "an interesting exchange of opinions" about the document among the members of the Synod's organization's governing board.

Rome -- Abuse survivor advocates are expressing alarm after a Catholic archbishop accused of molesting young men, who was recently convicted in a canonical trial, appeared on a stage with other prelates at an event in Rome with Pope Francis.

Spring Fund Drive: The Spring Fund Drive only comes once a year, but our Vatican coverage happens year-round. We really do rely on you, our community, to meet these expenses.

In a lengthy reflection meant to deepen the church's understanding of synodality, the International Theological Commission says the theological concept is manifested "in the active participation of all [the church's] members." The baptized share a common mission and dignity, the document says.

Pope Francis asked the delegation of German bishops to come to Rome last month after three-quarters of the prelates approved the development of pastoral guidelines for determining situations in which a non-Catholic spouse married to a Catholic could take Eucharist in the church.

A delegation of German Bishops meets with Vatican officials over a proposal to allow non-Catholic spouses to receive Communion, Chilean abuse survivors give details about their meetings with Pope Francis, and the Vatican's financial watchdog releases its report for 2017.

Rome - Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and José Andrés Murillo say they are waiting to see if Pope Francis "transforms his loving words of forgiveness into exemplary actions."

The organizers of a 2017 conference of bishops and theologians to examine how Pope Francis' family life exhortation could be applied at the local level have put together a volume collecting the participants' discussions.

Pope Francis apologizes to Chile's bishops for his mishandling of sexual abuse cases, a Vatican commission proposes a Synod of Bishops focused on including women in the church's decision-making structures, and reflection continues on the new apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate

Rome - "I apologize to all those I have offended," Francis wrote in a letter to Chile's bishops, adding that he plans to apologize personally to some of the survivors who gave testimony.

Christians cannot quest for holiness with prayer alone but must strive to serve those most in need, particularly migrants "who risk their lives to offer a future to their children," Pope Francis says in a new major teaching document.