Vatican

US secret services allegedly eavesdropped on cardinals before the conclave in March to elect a new pope, Italian weekly magazine Panorama claimed Wednesday. "The National Security Agency wiretapped the pope," the magazine said,…

The Vatican has suspended a senior German Church leader dubbed the "bishop of bling" by the media over his alleged lavish spending. The Bishop of Limburg, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, is accused of spending over 31m euros (£26m; $42m)…

Pope Benedict surprised the world on Monday by saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to cope with the demands of his ministry, becoming the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages and leaving his aides…