VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis changed the Catholic Church’s teaching in areas such as the death penalty and nuclear ...

Pope Francis’ transformative vision for the American church made it more open, but also energized conservative resistance ...

Rather than singling out abortion as an isolated policy topic — something to be settled with an election or a legal ruling — ...

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin is a Catholic who voted against the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act and for the Women's ...

Pontiffs have been players in global affairs for hundreds of years. Pope Francis carved out his own form of global influence.

On March 13, 2013, Francis succeeded Pope Benedict XVI, who was the first pope to retire in six centuries. Francis became the ...

The first pope from Latin America preached about the humanity of immigrants, protecting the environment and famously – and ...

A longtime Vatican correspondent shares his insights on the legacy of Pope Francis, a populist leader who sought to bring the ...

Pope Francis transformed women's roles in the Catholic Church without changing doctrine. His legacy: creating pathways for ...

Many are claiming Pope Francis as an ideological ally in the wake of his death. But he defied easy political categorization.

By the time Francis took over as leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, meetings between the president and the pontiff had ...