VATICAN CITY - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople may join Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres when they meet Pope Francis to pray for peace this weekend.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on June 2 warned married couples against substituting cats and dogs for children — a move that he said leads to the “bitterness of loneliness” in old age.

VATICAN CITY - An Indian cardinal who had been the editor of a Catholic weekly newspaper before coming to Rome to serve as head of the Vatican Congregation for Eastern Churches died in Rome at the age of 90.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis told reporters May 26 that "three bishops are under investigation" for misdeeds related to the sexual abuse of minors and that "one has already been condemned and his penalty is being studied."

DUBLIN - The Vatican's chief prosecutor of sex abuse crimes said the Church needs to do more to develop the process for punishing bishops who fail in their duty to protect children.

VATICAN CITY - Three months after he gave 19 new cardinals their red hats, Pope Francis gave new responsibilities to the 16 who are under the age of 80, including Quebec's Cardinal Gerald Lacroix.

VATICAN CITY - The Italian cardinal who served as the Vatican������Ƶapp No. 2 official under Pope Benedict XVI has rejected allegations that he mishandled 15 million euros ($20 million) from Vatican bank accounts.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican������Ƶapp financial watchdog has reported a dramatic increase in suspicious transactions at the Vatican bank, but officials sought to downplay any rise in criminal activity.

VATICAN CITY - Despite fevered speculation in the media and across Latin America, the Vatican says Pope Francis has not advanced slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero toward sainthood — at least, not yet.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will be accompanied on his first visit to the Middle East by Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Muslim leader Omar Abboud — two friends from Buenos Aires.