Pope Turns to Veteran Diplomats

After a season of apparent policy slip-ups, Pope Benedict XVI is shuffling top advisers and bringing in veteran diplomats closely identified with Vatican policy in Iraq and the Middle East.

Pope's Priest Calls for Abuse Penance

Pope Benedict XVI's personal priest asked the pontiff on Friday to declare a day of fasting and penance to express the Roman Catholic Church's solidarity with the victims of clerical sex abuse.

Vatican Cautiously Moving Ahead with China Contacts

Two senior Vatican officials have traveled to China to sound out possibilities of re-establishing diplomatic relations, seeking to overcome a major dispute over the Vatican's tradition that the pope