The Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral is reflected in a puddle after a brief spell of rain in Kottayam, Kerala. The nuns talk of Catholic priests who pushed into their bedrooms and who pressured them to turn close friendships into sex. Across India, they talk about being groped and kissed, of hands pressed against them by men they were raised to believe were representatives of Jesus Christ.

(Manish Swarup / AP)read more

While he has previously spoken of the need for better screening of candidates for the religious life, Pope Francis’s comments suggesting that priests who cannot keep their vows of celibacy should leave are some of his clearest to date. 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

An Indian police officer talks on a phone while standing guard outside the 16th-century Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Synagogues, mosques, churches and other houses of worship are routinely at risk of attack in many parts of the world. And so worshippers themselves often feel the need for visible, tangible protection even as they seek the divine.

(Aijaz Rahi / AP)read more

A police investigation is underway to establish the age and gender of the body and date of death. 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

The Kerala high court on Wednesday rejected the bail application submitted by Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal, who is accused of raping a nun on multiple occasions. read more

Pope Francis acknowledged on Tuesday that the sex abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church were driving people away and said the church must change its ways if it wants to keep future generations. (HT Correspondent )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

Priest Franco Mulakkal, who has been grilled by the Kerala Police, is accused of rape and unnatural sex by a nun. 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

The Bishop has been accused of rape by a nun and was questioned by Kerala police. read more

The Missionaries of Jesus put out the photograph in a release issued to the media to publish the findings of its enquiry commission, which looked into the nun’s allegations. read more

The February 21-24 meeting at the Vatican is believed to be the first of its kind. read more