VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis often has expressed openness to the idea of laws recognizing civil unions, including for gay couples, to protect their rights.

ROME -- Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu denied having interfered in any way with the trial of Cardinal George Pell after Italian media reported an allegation that Becciu might have wired money to Australia as a bribe during PellöÏÓãÊÓƵapp trial.

VATICAN CITY -- A resident at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the residence where Pope Francis lives, tested positive for COVID-19, the Vatican announced.

VATICAN CITY - The collection taken up in parishes around the globe on World Mission Sunday is "as unique as it is rare" because offerings are made by Catholics in the richest and poorest nations, a Vatican official said.

VATICAN CITY - The Swiss Guard reported an additional seven men have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the current number of cases among the 113 guardsmen to 11.

VATICAN CITY - A political analyst allegedly hired as a security consultant by Cardinal Angelo Becciu was arrested by Italian authorities in Milan, Italian media reported.

VATICAN CITY - Dressed in a black polo shirt with a sweater draped around his shoulders, Father Gabriele Martinelli, 28, heard a Vatican criminal court accuse him of repeatedly sexually abusing a younger student at a minor seminary inside the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY - The purpose of crying out to the Lord in prayer is not to get used to suffering, but to remember that God, and not humankind, is the only source of salvation and consolation, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - The predominant global economic system is "unsustainable," particularly in its impact on the environment, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Two priests connected to a minor seminary located at the Vatican will appear before a Vatican criminal court Oct. 14 on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of students at the seminary.