Bishops in Ireland have created detailed guidelines to address an issue the Roman Catholic Church has tried to keep under wraps for centuries: the plight of children born to Catholic priests and the women who bear them.

Pope Francis said Wednesday that employers who fire workers for unclear economic reasons are committing a "very grave sin" and should ensure dignified work for all their employees.

The Vatican says it will ensure that its supply chains don't use forced labor after a forum of some of the world's biggest supermarket chains and food manufacturers announced new efforts to slave-proof their own supply chains.

Pope Francis' divisive meeting on family issues took another controversial twist Monday with revelations that several conservative cardinals wrote to the pontiff expressing serious concerns.

"Your Holiness: I'm sorry to tell you that, while you have been fostering an atmosphere of dialogue, tolerance and pastoral understanding, all is not well with your family here..."

About 500 people gathered Monday at the University of San Francisco to discuss recent proposals that Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has unveiled that many say would alter education of students.

San Francisco's anti-gay archbishop is at it again. This time with 2,000 words worth of morals clauses in a handbook for high school employees.

A hard-line U.S. cardinal says he will deny Holy Communion to any Catholic lawmaker who voted for same-sex marriage.

Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays Saturday, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families.

The contentious debate over the Vatican's ground-breaking overture to gays has taken a new twist.