Pope Francis

A step-by-step manual for investigating and reporting sexual abuse cases involving clergy calls on church authorities to alert civilian officials even if not required to do so by law.

The pope says the COVID-19 pandemic is exposing hypocrisy and misplaced priorities in the modern world, as he calls on people to remember their shared humanity.

The "Urbi et Orbi" blessing is normally delivered at Christmas and Easter. The delivered his homily against the dramatic backdrop of an empty St. Peter's Square, glistening in the rain.

Bishops from the Amazon region had sought the changes to address a shortage of clergy. But some Roman Catholic conservatives warned that enacting them would lead to the end of clerical celibacy rules.

Francesca Di Giovanni is the first woman to have a managerial role in the Secretariat of State, one of the most important departments in the Vatican. She has been working there for 27 years.

The surprise move is seen as a rebuke to Pope Francis, who is weighing whether to allow older, married men to be ordained in some South American countries, where a shortage of priests is acute.

"It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope for a dignified life, but instead find themselves before walls of indifference," the pontiff said in his holiday address.

The changes apply to cases of clergy committing violence or sexual assaults against anyone under their authority, as well as minors. The pope also changed rules about child pornography.

The theme of the work in the Vatican's St. Peter's Square is welcoming strangers. "The bag is a metaphor for nourishment ... the idea of bringing something to the table," says artist Timothy Schmalz.

At the start of Christmas season, Pope Francis has sent a small piece of wooden relic reputed to be part of Jesus' manger after he was born to Bethlehem, traditionally known as Jesus' birthplace.

Pope Francis recently opened the door to the possibility of women as deacons in the Catholic Church. Some women have sought official recognition for the ministries they already perform.

The nuclear arms race wastes resources that could instead improve people's lives and protect the environment, the pontiff said. His tour marks the first papal visit to Japan in nearly 40 years.