Vatican City - Pope Francis admitted Wednesday he had made "grave mistakes" in his handling of a sexual abuse scandal in Chile as he looks to quell the latest controversy to rock the Roman Catholic Church.

Vatican City - Pope Francis admitted Wednesday he had made "grave mistakes in the assessment and perception of the situation" in Chile after reading the findings of an investigation into sexual abuse committed by the clergy in the country.

Vatican City - Pope Francis issued a warning to Catholics who criticise his calls to welcome migrants with open arms, in a much-awaited text published Monday.

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria after a suspected attack in an opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta killed dozens of people.

Vatican City - The Vatican said on Saturday a monsignor who was a former advisor at its US embassy in Washington has been arrested on suspicion of watching child sex abuse.

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to "carnage" in Syria and "reconciliation" in the Middle East in his traditional Easter message.

Vatican City - Pope Francis celebrated Easter mass under tight security and a sunny sky on Sunday in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in a flower-bedecked St Peter's Square.

Vatican City - A historic deal between China and the Vatican on the appointment of bishops is not "imminent," a Vatican spokesman said Thursday, contradicting a Beijing-approved bishop.

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Sunday urged young people not to allow themselves to be silenced and to stand up for what they believe in, a day after more than a million people in the United States took part in student-led protests demanding tighter gun control.

Vatican City - The Vatican's communications chief resigned Wednesday amid a controversy over the alleged manipulation of a letter written by retired pope Benedict XVI about his successor Pope Francis.

Vatican City - Pope Francis said Wednesday he will visit Ireland in August, the first trip to the country by a pontiff since John Paul II went there in 1979.

Vatican City - Ten quotes that defined Pope Francis's papacy:- Humility - "Pray for me" -- pronounced at the end of every speech, because, he once explained, "I am a sinner too." His first tweet and first post on Instagram were versions of the mantra.

Vatican City - As Pope Francis marks the fifth year of his papacy next week, the pontiff once hailed as a fearless reformer is under fire for his handling of the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Roman Catholic Church.

Vatican City - Pope Paul VI, who oversaw sweeping reforms of the Catholic Church in the 1960s, will be made a saint along with a Salvadoran archbishop who was shot dead while celebrating mass, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

Vatican City - Three nuns lashed out on Friday against the menial work they have to do for clergymen, often for no money, in a rare public criticism of the Catholic Church's male hierarchy.

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Sunday called for an immediate end to violence in Syria to allow aid deliveries, especially in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta which has been hit by regime bombardment.

Vatican City - The Vatican said Saturday it has renewed its anti-paedophile panel as Pope Francis acts to quell the global scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests.

Vatican City - Pope Francis holds regular private meetings with the victims of sex abuse by paedophile priests, the Vatican said Thursday, as the Catholic Church grapples with a scandal the pontiff has described as a "great humiliation"."It's horrible.

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Monday criticised media which "denigrates" migrants through emotive or incomplete reporting on their situation.

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Wednesday praised as a gesture for a "better world" plans for a joint parade Friday by delegations from South and North Korea to open the Winter Olympics.