Pope Francis had a learning curve on clergy sexual abuse, with the turning point coming in 2018.

Pope Francis plans to apologize to Indigenous groups on Canadian soil for harms inflicted at church-run residential schools.

Pope Francis on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 named Cruz, who helped uncover a clerical sex abuse scandal, to a Vatican commission which advises the pontiff on how to protect children from pedophile clergy. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Wednesday named a Chilean man who helped uncover a clerical sex abuse scandal to a Vatican commission that advises the pontiff on how to protect children from pedophile clergy. The Vatican said Juan Carlos Cruz is the latest member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Decades of sex abuse scandals in many countries, including many involving church hierarchy who covered up for pedophile priests, have eroded the Catholic church’s credibility among the faithful. Cruz was the main whistleblower on clerical abuse and coverup in his homeland, one of the more high-profile sex abuse scandals to stain the Catholic church's reputation.

Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary Francesco, which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. However, he had never come out publicly in favor of civil unions as pope, and no pontiff before him had, either. “The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the church about same-sex unions," he said in a statement. Wim Wenders did that in the 2018 film “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.”“Francesco,” is more a visual survey of the world’s crises and tragedies, with audio from the pope providing possible solutions. Instead, Rubin said, Bergoglio urged his fellow bishops to lobby for gay civil unions.