- Pope Francis's habit of picking up the phone and cold calling people who write to him is landing the Vatican in hot water and spokesman Federico Lombardi has had enough.

- The Vatican on Tuesday brushed off accusations that late pope John Paul II was aware of and ignored allegations about sexual abuse carried by the Mexican founder of a powerful Catholic movement.

- Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine and Syria in an Easter Sunday address before 150,000 faithful in which he also condemned the "neglect and dire poverty" behind the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa.

- Pope Francis on Saturday called on Catholics to bring the message of God "to the very ends of the earth" during an Easter vigil mass in St Peter's Basilica.

- Pope Francis kicked off weeklong observances leading up to Easter by celebrating Palm Sunday mass with some 100,000 pilgrims in a sun-drenched St Peter's Square on Sunday.

Aware the Catholic Church has been heavily criticized for not responding adequately to the issue of child sex abuse by priests, Pope Francis made a strongly worded apology on Friday. He did so while meeting with child-rights groups.

- Pope Francis on Friday personally asked forgiveness for child sex abuse by priests -- the first time he has made such an apology since being elected last year."I feel compelled...

- Pope Francis aims to unite conservative and reformist strands of Catholicism with the first canonisation of two popes this month -- an impressive masterstroke that has already stirred dissent in some quarters.

- Pope Francis called on Monday for fidelity and chastity to be used to fight the AIDS virus in Africa, in an address to visiting Tanzanian bishops that -- in line with Catholic doctrine -- did not mention the use of condoms.

- Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis for the first time on Thursday on a visit that coincides with the anniversary of the start of the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina.

- The voices of popes from as long ago as 1884 can be heard by the public after the digitising of 8,000 tapes from the Vatican Radio's pontifical archives, the Vatican said Tuesday.

- The Vatican is turning to social media to reach out to the millions of pilgrims expected to attend the first double canonisation of popes in the history of the Catholic Church.

- The voices of popes from as long ago as 1884 can be heard by the public after the digitising of 8,000 tapes from the Vatican Radio's pontifical archives, the Vatican said Tuesday.

- The Vatican is turning to social media to reach out to the millions of pilgrims expected to attend the canonisation of John Paul II, the Polish pope who attained rock star status by the time he died in 2005.

- An Italian businessman ended a three-day protest on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, calling on Pope Francis to help victims of Italy's economic crisis.

- The Vatican is turning to social media to reach out to the millions of pilgrims expected to attend the first double canonisation in the history of the Catholic Church.

- Barack Obama will meet Pope Francis for the first time Thursday for talks on a shared agenda to fight inequality which the US President hopes will help boost support at home.The talks between the first Latin American pope and the first African-American...

- Barack Obama will meet Pope Francis for the first time Thursday for talks on a shared agenda to fight inequality which the US President hopes will help boost support at home.The talks between the first Latin-American pope and first African-American US ...

- Pope Francis has formally accepted the resignation of Germany's controversial bishop of Limburg, the Vatican said in a statement Wednesday.

Rome - A quiet revolution is afoot in the Vatican.With many of Pope Francis's new appointments, control over the powerful city state is slipping, slowly but surely, from the centuries-old grip of the Italian hierarchy.