By Cindy Wooden  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis wanted to go to Morocco in December to draw attention to the need for international cooperation in assisting migrants and in alleviating the situations that force people to seek a better life outside their homeland. Protocol dictated that he could not fly to Marrakech just for […]

Pope Francis issued three long-awaited documents on Friday setting regulations for the protection of vulnerable persons within Vatican City and the Roman Curia. It sanctions mandatory reporting of sexual abuse to Vatican judicial authorities and extends the Statute of Limitation to 20 years after the victim is 18.

During his 28 apostolic trips outside of Italy, Pope Francis has never visited the Catholic powerhouse Spain. His upcoming visit to Morocco, however, will be dominated by Spaniards.

Pope Francis hits the road this weekend for an overnight trip to Morocco, where he will once again have the opportunity to shine a light on issues close to his heart such as interreligious dialogue, immigration and a church that not only occasionally goes to the peripheries, but that has its center in them.

In indigenous Kichwa communities, women like Patricia Gualinga have traditionally taken on the role of wife, mother and cultivator of the crops that families use to survive in Ecuador’s Amazonian region of Sarayaku.

Father Claude Grou, rector of St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, was stabbed during a Mass March 22. The motive for the attack remains unknown.

Nearly two million people marched on March 23 in Pope Francis’ native Argentina in pro-life demonstrations dedicated to defending the life of the unborn, and offering solutions to mothers in crisis pregnancies.