VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis named Archbishop Adolfo Yllana to be apostolic nuncio to Israel and to Cyprus and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine.

VATICAN CITY -- The World Health Assembly adopted a resolution to formalize the participation of the Holy See in the World Health Organization as a nonmember state observer.

VATICAN CITY -- A series of laws and procedures promulgated by now-retired Pope Benedict XVI and, especially, by Pope Francis to protect children, promote the investigation of allegations of clerical sexual abuse and punish offenders are included in a heavily revised section of the Code of Canon Law.

After a year of COVID-19, we are all heavy laden.The spectre of sickness and death wears us down, as does the devastating effect of pandemic restrictions.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis named English Archbishop Arthur Roche to lead the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY -- To help lead the worldöÏÓãÊÓƵapp Catholics along a journey of intensified action in caring for creation, Pope Francis asked everyone to join a new global grassroots movement to create a more inclusive, fraternal, peaceful and sustainable world.

VATICAN CITY -- Approving the revision of the entire process of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis has asked that it begin with serious, widespread consultations with laypeople on the diocesan level.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has named Jesuit Father Stephen Chow Sau-yan, a native of Hong Kong and provincial of the Jesuits' Chinese province, to be the new bishop of Hong Kong.

VATICAN CITY - An elderly man stood alone in St. Peter's Square May 13, using his wooden rosary beads to pray by a simple plaque marking the place where St. John Paul II was shot exactly 40 years earlier.

VATICAN CITY - Four former students at the minor seminary located in the Vatican testified May 12 at the ongoing trial of Father Gabriele Martinelli, who is accused of sexually abusing a younger student at the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary.