A New Zealander who advises Pope Francis on combating sexual abuse has criticised the pontiff's support of smacking children.

Pope Francis encouraged mums at a baptism ceremony at the Sistine Chapel to continue feeding their children.

A samba school has honoured Pope Francis during the opening of a hugely popular carnival in Argentina.

The Pope has named 15 new cardinals from Africa, Latin America and Asia to reflect a change in church demographics - and among them is NZ's John Dew.

In 2013 Pope Francis had a lot to celebrate. Not only was he named Time magazine person of the year, but was also awarded the title of Esquire's best-dressed man.

The dangers of working too hard and succumbing to gossip can be found in every office - including the administrative body of the Roman Catholic Church.

A Catholic priest has been arrested in Italy on suspicion of dealing drugs at a party.

A waiter, whose adoptive parents are peasants, claims to be the son of former Spanish king Juan Carlos and has launched a paternity suit.

A former priest who moved to Australia where he married twice without first divorcing his New Zealand wife has been found guilty of bigamy.

The Irish government is launching a full-scale investigation into controversial Catholic homes for unmarried mothers, following revelations that up to 800 infants died in one such institution over a 35-year period.

It was a total Pope-fest. Two living pontiffs - the incumbent and his immediate predecessor - presided at the canonisation of two deceased vicars of Christ.

You don't have to be all that saintly to be a saint, as even Catholic clerics attest. But then, canonisation has long been more about politics than purity.

It has been dubbed "the day of the four Popes", an unprecedented occasion in the 2000-year history of the Catholic Church.

A fraudster who siphoned off more than $1.2 million from a Wellington Catholic society has been ordered to pay back half of what she stole.

Pope Francis has attacked the hype surrounding his papacy, claiming yesterday he is a "normal person" and calling comparisons between himself and Superman "offensive".

Pope Francis has caused a stir at his weekly Vatican address by seemingly dropping the F-Bomb with the ease of a drunken docker in a public house.

Catholics are divided on issues such as divorce and birth control amid widespread resentment at Church teachings, two surveys have found.

Bare-breasted feminists hurled knickers at the archbishop of Madrid as he arrived at church in protest at his support for a tightening of Spain's abortion law.

Pope Francis challenged business leaders assembled in Davos today to do more for the poor and ensure 'humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it.'

The Pope’s new Spanish Cardinal has called homosexuality a physical “defect” that can be cured, it has been reported.

An Italian man charged with murdering his Irish landlord after an alleged row over a game of chess told police he had cut open his victim and tried to eat his heart.

An Irish man has been knifed to death in a frenzied attack over a late night chess game, detectives believe.

Pope Francis has broken protocol to invite an old friend up for a ride on his popemobile in St Peter's Square.

Pope Francis has been forced to defend his economic and social ideologies after prominent conservatives accused him of coming forward with “pure Marxism”.