The case against Mullakkal surfaced in last June when a 43-year-old nun had complained to the police that he had raped her 13 times between 2014 and 2016. read more

The decree, whose preparation was reported first by Reuters in April, is the second such papal provision since a summit on abuse by senior Church bishops at the Vatican in February. read more

The sexual abuse of minors was “a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” Francis said, and he slammed those priests who prey on children as “tools of Satan”. read more

Denise Buchanan, 57, has struggled in vain for years for the Church to officially recognise her as a victim - even writing to the Pope himself - while the priest who abused her has escaped justice. read more

The papal admission followed a rare outcry last week from the Vatican’s women’s magazine over the sexual abuse of nuns, leaving them feeling forced to have abortions or raise children not recognised by their priest fathers. read more

Celibacy was imposed in the 11th century, possibly partly to prevent descendants of priests inheriting church property. read more

President Donald Trump finished second in the poll for the fourth year in a row. read more

The boy’s mother briefly spoke to the pope as she tried to pull the child away, saying that he was mute. Pope Francis told her to let him carry on playing. read more

Nineteen suspected jihadists linked to a deadly attack on Coptic Christians in central Egypt have been killed in a shoot-out with police, the interior ministry said. read more

Pope Francis on Sunday strongly condemned the attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh as an “inhuman act of violence,” and prayed for the stamping out of “hotbeds of hate” and for stronger moral and civil values. read more

Pope Francis said some people justify abortion as respecting other rights. But, he asked, “How can an act that suppresses innocent and defenceless life as it blossoms be therapeutic, civil or simply human?” read more

Francis’ visit to Tallinn marked the last stop in a four-day pilgrimage that also took him to Lithuania and Latvia. He aimed to encourage the Christian faith in the Baltics. read more

The historic deal will give the Pope final say in naming bishops. The Vatican said the accord, a breakthrough after years of negotiations, was “not political but pastoral.” read more

Protesting nuns welcomed the Pope’s decision as their “first victory” in the struggle against the bishop. The Pope has named Bombay Archdiocese Bishop Emeritus Agnelo Rufino Gracias as Franco Mulakkal’s replacement. read more

On Friday, Bishop received official summons served by the Jalandhar police on behalf of Kerala police, which is probing the case. read more