A former slave who became a priest could become the first African-American saint. (Click title for entire story.)

Pope Francis has updated the statutes of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, which include a specific reference to the office’s responsibility for promoting a deeper reflection on the role of women in the Church and society.

The decision to hang crosses in all public buildings in Bavaria has triggered “division, stirred up trouble and played people off against one another”, Cardinal Reinhard Marx told a German newspaper on Monday.