Catholic Church

Pope Benedict, then called Josef Ratzinger, held the position from 1977 to 1982. He has denied the accusations.

But a new report into historical abuse allegations carried out by a German law firm incriminated the former pontiff.

Abuse continued under his tenure, it is alleged, and the accused priests remained active in church roles.

The former pope, now aged 94, became the first Church leader to resign in more than 600 years in 2013, citing exhaustion. Since then, he has led a largely quiet life in the Vatican City and is known as pope emeritus.

The witness known as Ms CU spoke on behalf of her niece, who was 15-years-old at the time of the abuse.

She explained the Tongan society is very hierarchical, saying that ministers, priests and nuns elevate in both status and authority because of the godly factor.

"They are a representation of God on Earth," Ms CU said.

It was at Ms CU's family reunion that took place in New Zealand where the priest met her niece, who had travelled from Tonga for it.

It is "impossible" for God to "bless sin", the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) said on Monday.

But the CDF did note the "positive elements" in same-sex relationships.

In October, Pope Francis said in a documentary that he thought same-sex couples should be allowed to have "civil unions".

In the Catholic Church, a blessing is given by a priest or other minister in the name of the Church.

The Church previously shrouded sexual abuse cases in secrecy, in what it said was an effort to protect the privacy of victims and reputations of the accused.

But new papal documents on Tuesday lifted restrictions on those who report abuse or say they have been victims.

Church leaders called for the rule's abolition at a February Vatican summit.

They said the lifting of the rule in such cases would improve transparency and the ability of the police and other civil legal authorities to request information from the Church.

These were the words of Bishop Charles Drennan from New Zealand.

He is part of the 80-man delegation that is in the country to attend the Assembly of Federation of Catholic Bishops Conference Oceania.

The vast ocean is the common home of countries and people in the Oceania Region.

The sub-theme; “A Sea of Possibilities”, captures the interdependency between the ocean and the people.

“The land and the sea depend so much on each other and therefore for the well-being of us and the future generations,” said Bishop Charles.

General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and Solomon Islands, Fr Victor Roche, says although PNG and the Oceania region are not directly affected by this, the Catholic Church in the Oceania region is determined to address this during the Assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conference of Oceania this month.

“The Conference will be an opportune time to reflect on this, specifically on youths, their faith and their vocation,” added Fr Victor.

“For me, ours is a journey along the path to growth in finding real joy in ‘being who we are’, and even in the beauty of just being alive,” Cardinal Mafi told Catholic Outlook in New south Wales.

“In other words, we ‘shine out’ in being ‘simple’.”

Richness in faith, love and joy gave beauty to many of the poorer Tongan families.

Perry agreed to purchase the hilltop property for $14.5m (£10.8m) in 2015.

But two of the nuns who used to live there objected, and instead sold it to restaurateur Dana Hollister without the approval of the archdiocese.

Last month, a jury found Hollister intentionally interfered with Perry's planned purchase.

The businesswoman made her purchase of the eight-acre property with the co-operation of Sisters Rita Callanan and Catherine Rose Holzman, who maintained they had the authority to sell.

There, at the Apostolic Palace, Trump met with Pope Francis -- finally.

It's a meeting millions have been waiting for, an encounter between two of the world's most intriguing and complex characters: The holy man in white who preaches good news to the poor and the brash businessman in the dark suit who embodies American extravagance.

Fr. Peter Baquero was born in Manila (Philippines) on September 15, 1970, and made perpetual profession in 1998 and was ordained in 1999 in Parañaque.

From the period of his practical training in PNG he followed the missionary vocation ad gentes.