Pope Francis was set to host US bishops and cardinals on Thursday to discuss the Vatican's response to a new wave of devastating claims of sexual abuse by clergy.

Recent revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-up within the highest ranks of the US Catholic Church have revived the sense of betrayal.

Chile's Santiago Archbishop has apologized for the tension affecting the country's Roman Catholic Church.

Archbishop Carlo Vigano, who called on Pope Francis to resign, says corruption has reached the top levels of the Catholic Church.

A former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was arrested and charged with sexual abuse on Friday after being accused of groping a woman last year.

Pope Francis's visit to Ireland is being dominated by calls for action on church sex scandals.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles, California, say they were reviewing a second sexual assault case involving Oscar-winning US actor Kevin Spacey.

Pope Francis acknowledges “with shame and repentance” the Catholic Church’s failure to bring to justice those involved in a clerical child sex abuse report.

Catholic dioceses and religious orders in the US have paid out nearly $3 billion in out-of-court settlements and court order awards to sex abuse victims since the mid-1980s, an American watchdog group says.

The latest revelation of widespread child sexual abuse by US Catholic clergy has given impetus to efforts by legislators to make it easier to prosecute such cases.