Vatican

Francis refused the version of Catholicism that ingratiates itself with the powerful while abandoning the poor

These are the veto power of the Security Council, major powers ignore the UN and the UN secretary general cannot favour either side in the war

Since becoming pope in 2013, the Argentine pontiff has striven to tackle the decades-long sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic priests around the globe.

Mail & Guardian pictures editor Paul Botes presents some of the most striking images of 2020

The aid worker allegedly called his security guard a ‘slave’

The major hurdle is not so much an absence of science, or safety, as it is unthinking religious, moral or cultural panic

The former Vatican number three, is appealing against his conviction on five counts of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in the 1990s

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx was speaking on the third day of an unprecedented summit of the world’s top bishops

The idea is that the 114 heads of bishops’ conferences will return home with clear ideas on how to spot and deal with abuse

The Vatican has already warned that in some countries the church is dragging its feet because of cultural difference over what constitutes child abuse

The Church has been hit by a series of child abuse scandals in recent years

The pope has admitted that the Church had ‘delayed’ in applying the necessary sanctions

‘Those who have suffered are his priority, and the Church wants to listen to them to root out this tragic horror’

Earlier this month, Philip Wilson was sentenced to a year in detention after becoming one of the highest-ranking officials to be convicted

The Vatican finance chief is fighting to clear his name over historic sexual offence allegations