Catholic cardinals begin talks on Monday ahead of a conclave to elect the next pope, following Benedict XVI's historic resignation, as a British cardinal not in attendance admitted to sexual misconduct with priests.
Cardinals look to conclave as Benedict begins quiet life
Cardinals from around the world were summoned Friday to meetings that will set a date for a conclave to elect a new pope, as Benedict XVI settled into a pensioner's life after becoming the first pontiff to resign in more than 700 years.
Pope readies for final audience on resignation eve
Pope Benedict XVI will hold the last audience of his pontificate in St Peter's Square on Wednesday on the eve of his historic resignation as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
Pope accelerated LatAm church's right turn: analysts
Benedict XVI's legacy in Latin America, the world's most Catholic region, is marked by a victory of conservative theology and the demise of home-grown leftist religious thought.
Historic week looms for Vatican with papal resignation
Pope Benedict XVI's final Sunday prayers in St Peter's Square will signal the start of a week in the Vatican that will make history with the first voluntary papal resignation in more than 700 years.
Pedophilia scandals weigh on body to elect next pope
Activists fighting for truth and justice for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests hold out little hope for progress under the next pope as controversy brews over a US cardinal who covered up for predator clerics.
Resigning pope to impart wisdom after emotional mass
Pope Benedict XVI will address a group of parish priests from Rome, a day after emotional scenes at his final papal mass in public in St Peter's Basilica.
Senior Muslim clerics in Egypt believe Pope Benedict XVI's abrupt resignation could reopen the way for dialogue with the Catholic Church, severed after Benedict's controversial 2006 remarks on the Muslim prophet.
Pope Benedict XVI, who has announced he will resign on February 28, will retire to a monastery tucked away inside the historic walls of the Holy See: so once the new pope is elected.
Shocked world media speculates on pope's successor
The world's media Tuesday speculated on whether the next pontiff may come from the developing world, while paying mixed tributes to Pope Benedict XVI following his shock resignation announcement.
Pope Benedict XVI announced he will resign as leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics on February 28 because his age prevented him from carrying out his duties -- an unprecedented move in the modern history of the Catholic Church.
Kazakhstan Senate speaker and head of the secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions will render a visit to Vatican on February 5-7.
Pope turns to Twitter, new allies to battle for faith issues
Pope Benedict XVI has galvanised Catholics at the close of 2012 to go on the offensive over key faith issues, forging new alliances and fighting secularism in the West with a media campaign.
Pope Benedict XVI is due to send out his first, much-anticipated Twitter message on Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of followers already signed up to receive the tweet.
Pope to name seven saints including first Native American
Pope Benedict XVI will name seven new saints on Sunday including the first Native American, marking the start of a "Year of Faith" aimed at countering the rising tide of secularism in the West.
Catholic bishops from around the world are convening for a synod starting on Sunday to debate how to counter rising secularism on the 50th anniversary of the historic but controversial Second Vatican Council.
'Vatileaks': A behind-the-scenes look at Vatican politics
The "Vatileaks" scandal that has led to the trial of Pope Benedict XVI's butler for theft involves hundreds of letters that passed across the pope's desk over several months in 2011 and early 2012.
Pope's butler goes on trial in 'Vatileaks' scandal
Pope Benedict XVI's former butler Paolo Gabriele went on trial on Saturday for leaking confidential Vatican memos that revealed cloak-and-dagger politics among the pope's closest aides.
The trial of Pope Benedict XVI's former butler and a Vatican computer technician for leaking secret papers starting on Saturday has no precedent since the Holy See became a sovereign state in 1929.
