Carol Glatz

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of three men and two women, including an Italian nun who was brutally murdered by three teenage girls who claimed it had been a satanic sacrifice.

While many safeguarding advocates are concerned the COVID-19 pandemic has diverted attention away from the church abuse scandal, Sister of Charity Nuala Kenny said she believed the health crisis has increased the possibility of people finally understanding "the nature of vulnerability" so they "can commit anew to this task of safeguarding."

A number of priests and religious women have been among the nearly 2,000 people who have died in Italy because of illness connected with COVID-19.

In a nation where the faithful are not allowed to assemble for Mass, one church in northern Italy is full. The Church of All Saints in Bergamo — located in a cemetery in Italy's hardest-hit Lombardy region — has had to open its doors to dozens of coffins containing the remains of people who died of COVID-19.