Religion, Vatican | featured news

Pope Francis has indicated for the first time that he may make changes to the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank as part of a broad review of the Holy See's troubled administration.

The Vatican says Pope Francis supports the Holy See's crackdown on the largest umbrella group of U.S. nuns, who were faulted for focusing too much on social justice instead of issues such as abortion. American sisters had expressed hope that Francis, a Jesuit whose emphasis on the poor mirrored their social outreach, would take a different approach than his predecessor.

Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world's poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of the traditional pomp to the papacy....

Pope Francis wants to stay for the time being in a simple Vatican residence instead of moving into the spacious and regal papal apartments, the Vatican said today. The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is still living in the Domus Santa Martha, a modern hotel-style residence inside the Vatican City where he stayed during the conclave that elected him on March 13.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the son of a railway worker, eschews the trappings of his office as cardinal and is committed to conservative, traditional doctrine.

If the papal conclave were set up like college basketball's March Madness, Cardinal Angelo Scola would have been the overall No. 1 seed — perhaps until today. He is the archbishop of Milan and has long been seen as a safe pick for the next pope, having won favor among American cardinals and a handful of influential European ones. So what stands in his way? Well, there's that pesky anti-mafia investigation he has to deal with. The Guardian's John Hooper and Lizzie Davies report today that anti-mafia detectives are investigating corruption in the health-care system of Lombardy, the Italian region of which Milan is the capital. And Scola is very much intertwined with the most powerful man behind it all...

Bookmakers in betting-mad Britain are cashing in on the Roman Catholic conclave to select a new pope. As cardinals began their deliberations at the Vatican on Tuesday, here's a look at the odds....

Steeped in tradition and pageantry, the ceremonies that will produce a new pope officially began Tuesday morning when 115 Roman Catholic cardinals celebrated Mass in the majestic St. Peter’s Basilica.

On the eve of their conclave to select a new pope, cardinals held their final debate Monday over whether the Catholic Church needs a manager to clean up the Vatican or a pastor to inspire the faithful at a time of crisis.

Roman Catholic cardinals will start their conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict on the afternoon of Tuesday March 12, the Vatican said in a statement on Friday.