Doctor of the Church relied on divine grace and the maternal care of the Virgin Mary to temper that vice and become a man of virtue.

In this area’s matrilineal culture, women have taken on new responsibilities in Catholic churches in the region, acting as catechists, leading parish councils and shaping pastoral life as spiritual counselors.

Constantly in the public eye, Pope Francis is instantly recognisable across the globe, and his likeness adorns t-shirts, mugs, calendars, bookmarks, medals and jewellery, among other things. Too conservative for some, not conservative enough for others, he is the face of the modern Catholic Church.

"Each time a pope takes ill, the winds of a conclave always feel as if they are blowing," Francis writes in his new memoir, referring to centuries-old tradition of cardinals gathering in the pope's official residence, the Sistine Chapel, after a pontiff's death to elect the next.

The plan was to publish the pope's memoirs after his death, writes co-author Carlo Musso. But Francis decided to release the book sooner to coincide with the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year, which began on Christmas Eve. In Hope, Francis reiterates many of ...

Pope Francis is taking the highly unusual decision to dissolve an influential Catholic group from Peru which has been plagued by allegations of abuse from within its community, including allegations related to its founder,

About 10,000 people from 138 countries signed up to take part in the events for the special jubilee for writers, communicators and those working in media.

Francis is also in a unique position, in that he follows two popes who had a more conservative view of what Vatican II represented. In Catholic theological terms, St. Pope John Paul II and Benedict came from the Communio school, which very much put the Council in a more direct relationship with the Church before the Council.

One of Francis’ lasting reforms will be his reshaping of the papacy to embrace simplicity and humility. In his new autobiography, “Hope,” he shows remarkable openness about his own failings.

Cardinal Koovakad, who was in the diplomatic service of the Holy See for 14 years, is part of the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the Catholic faith’s Eastern-rite Churches.

Pope Francis' autobiography is being released Tuesday. In it, an introspective pope divulges some of the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the secret 2013 conclave that elected him pope and the resistance he has encountered ever since.

The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae — which long based its U.S. presence in Colorado — on Monday confirmed the dissolution.