VATICAN CITY -- Saying he wanted to promote a “healthy decentralization” of some aspects of Church life, Pope Francis made several changes to Church law, granting greater authority to individual bishops, bishops’ conferences and synods of bishops of the Eastern Catholic churches.

VATICAN CITY -- As part of ongoing measures to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has approved restructuring the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the oldest of the congregations.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will visit Malta April 2-3, a Vatican spokesman said.

VATICAN CITY -- At the age of 94, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he knows he will soon stand before God's judgment and he prayed that he would be forgiven for his shortcomings, including in handling allegations of clerical sexual abuse.

ROME -- A cardinal who had served as an aide to now-retired Pope Benedict XVI and was present for his meetings with survivors of clerical sexual abuse said he "never found in him any shadow or attempt to hide or minimize anything."

VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican editorial defended retired Pope Benedict XVI's record in fighting clerical sexual abuse after the release of a report that accused him of mishandling four cases during his time as archbishop of Munich.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis officially has declared St. Irenaeus of Lyon a doctor of the church.

Dennis Girard considers the Canada54 Novena from Jan. 6 to Feb. 28 an “ice bridge” moment for the Marian Devotional Movement.

VATICAN CITY -- When the goal of Christian unity seems far off, "let us remind ourselves that we are making this journey not as those who already possess God but as those who continue to seek him," Pope Francis told members of an ecumenical pilgrimage from Finland.

Although scientists have made great strides in the field of medicine, genuine care and listening to those who suffer must always be at the forefront of any therapy, Pope Francis said.