The Vatican announced Friday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid from his post in the diocese of Osorno, who has been accused of covering-up for Chile’s most notorious abuser priest, Fernando Karadima.

The announcement came in a June 11 communique from the Vatican, along with the resignation of two other Chilean bishops…

Pope Francis on Sunday renewed his prayers for the “beloved Korean people”.

He prayed that the upcoming summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea “may contribute to the development of a positive path to assure a future of peace on the Korean peninsula and throughout the world.”

The Pope was referring to a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 12th, in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un…

Addressing some 40 participants in a Vatican conference dedicated to “Energy Transition and Care for our Common Home”,  Pope Francis said “civiliazation requires energy but energy use must not destroy civilization”.

The two-day conference that wrapped up on Saturday, was promoted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in collaboration with Notre Dame University.

It saw the participation of senior executives of leading oil and gas companies including ExxonMobil, Eni, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Equinor and Pemex…

In his prayer video for June, Pope Francis asked that digital communications and social media platforms would be a place of inclusion and encounter, rather than isolation and “alienation.”

In the video, published June 5, the pope opened saying the internet “is a gift from God, but it is also a great responsibility.”

The text of the subtitles pops up on the screen like chat messages with a notification sound as Francis continued, saying, “communication technology, its places, its instruments, have brought with it a lengthening of horizons, a widening for so many people.”

“It can offer immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity,” he said, and voiced hope that digital networks would “not be a place of alienation.”

“May it be a concrete place, a place rich in humanity,” he said, as scenes were shown of either individuals or groups of people looking at computers and cell phones while interacting with each other, rather than seeming alone and isolated…

Chilean clerical sex abuse survivors Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo prepare to speak to the media in Rome in early May.

After meeting with Pope Francis for more than four hours, a Chilean priest who suffered abuse and a priest who ministers to survivors said they felt comforted and hopeful for the church’s future in their country…