Pope tells Vatican office that processes sex abuse cases to uphold truth, justice and charity

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV told the Vatican’s doctrine office on Thursday to uphold truth, justice and charity when deciding clergy sex abuse cases, confirming a calibrated approach to dealing with a scandal that has tarnished the Catholic Church’s credibility worldwide.

History's first American pope dedicated only a small part of his speech to abuse in an address to members of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that polices Catholic doctrine but also processes abuse cases worldwide.

What Leo didn’t say was almost more significant than what he did: Leo made no mention of victims in his speech, suggesting he believes the dicastery should function almost exclusively as a church tribunal, not a pastoral office.

Another Vatican department, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, has become a main point of reference for abuse survivors. Pope Francis had made the commission part of the doctrine office, but Leo appears keen to keep the two functionally separate. No one from the survivor commission participated in Thursday’s audience.

Leo told the bishops and cardinal members of the doctrine office that they should welcome and accompany the religious superiors who, according to the church’s canon law, are responsible for investigating and sanctioning priests who molest or abuse young people.

“It is a very delicate area of ministry, in which it is essential to ensure that the requirements of justice, truth and charity are always honored and respected,” Leo said.

It was a similar point that Leo, a canon lawyer, made earlier this week when he met with another Vatican tribunal, known as the Roman Rota, and spoke of the need to balance justice and charity in the search for truth.

Two decades after the abuse scandal exploded in his native U.S., Leo has indicated a generally cautious approach to handling abuse cases. He has insisted that church leaders must better listen to victims but also expressed concern that the rights of priests be better protected.

During a recent closed-door meeting with cardinals from around the world, Leo said the abuse crisis was by no means over and that church leaders needed to do better to truly, actively listen to victims and accompany them.

“We cannot close our eyes or hearts,” Leo told cardinals Jan. 8. “The pain of the victims has often been greater because they did not feel welcomed or heard.”

Perhaps coincidentally, Leo went from the doctrine office audience Thursday into a separate meeting with consecrated members of Regnum Christi, the lay branch of the Legion of Christ religious order.

The Mexico-based Legion remains the Catholic Church’s most egregious case of 20th century clergy sexual abuse and cover up: The Vatican in 2006 sanctioned its founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, to a lifetime of penance and prayer, but only after it ignored five decades of credible reports that Maciel was a pedophile, con artist, drug addict and religious fraud.

Leo met with members of Regnum Christi who are having a general assembly in Rome. The Legion too is having its once-every-six-year assembly to elect a new leadership, but there’s no word if Leo will meet with Legion priests.

Leo didn’t mention the Legion in his remarks to Regnum Christi. Nor did he refer to the founder of both movements, Maciel, who died in 2008. But he suggested that the Vatican-imposed reform launched in 2010 after Maciel’s crimes came to light was still a work in progress. He noted that Regnum Christi still needed to better define its unique spiritual inspiration, known in church terms as a charism, that justifies its existence and to find new styles of governance.

The Vatican investigation into the Legion and Regnum Christi identified profound problems in the cultlike organization, including abuses of authority and the way authority was exercised by superiors, that it said required a process of “purification.”

“A truly evangelical government, moreover, is always oriented toward service: it supports, accompanies, and helps each member to become more like the savior every day,” Leo said.

“You should not be afraid to experiment with new models of governance; on the contrary, it is good to keep in mind that the collective search for your own style of exercising authority opens up paths that not only enrich the societies and their individual members, and strengthen the sense of belonging and participation in the common mission.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV arrives for his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV holds for his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV arrives for his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart delivered another quarter of impressive sales with speedy deliveries and low prices becoming a strong magnet for people across the income spectrum that are spending more on almost everything, particularly gasoline.

Yet like other major retailers posting financial results this week, Walmart was cautious about the rest of the year given the current economic uncertainty. On Thursday, it issued a forecast for the current quarter that was weaker than what Wall Street had been expecting.

Shares slipped about 7% Thursday.

Walmart has resonated with many Americans who are increasingly careful about where they spend their money as inflation takes a bigger bite out of paychecks, notably gasoline which has soared since the start of the Iran war in late February. Walmart can serve as a barometer of consumer spending given its vast customer base. More than 150 million customers are on its website or in its stores every week, according to Walmart.

One telling shift during the quarter that captures the stress many Americans are feeling: The number of gallons that customers put in their cars during visits to U.S. Walmart and Sam’s Club gas stations fell below 10 for the first time since 2022, which was the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That’s an indication of stress,” said Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey.

Walmart touted strong sales that were fueled by online shopping on Thursday.

Comparable sales at U.S. Walmart stores rose 4.1% during the three-month period ended April 30. Walmart’s U.S online sales rose 26%, the company said.

Walmart’s promise of lower prices, faster delivery and a refresh of its merchandise has attracted wealthier shoppers. The biggest gains in market share for Walmart are coming from households with annual income over $100,000. That shift is taking place as lower-income shoppers become more entrenched in what economists collectively call a K-shaped economy.

“We see with our customers that the high-income customer is spending with confidence into many categories, while the lower income consumer is more budget conscious and perhaps navigating financial distress,” Rainey told analysts on Thursday.

Rainey told analysts that higher fuel prices took a bite out of profits as it was forced to absorb higher transportation costs. And while the company is focused on offering low prices, Walmart may raise prices later if fuel costs remain high, he said.

U.S. retailers have spent months navigating an uncertain economic environment, from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to the impact of soaring gasoline prices due to the war. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline raced higher this week and did so again overnight. Gasoline prices are about 45% above where they were at this time last year.

Based on quarterly financial reports from Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's and TJX, shoppers are cautious but still spending, helped by more generous tax refunds. Yet there is a widespread belief among economists that once those refunds dry up, shoppers will pull back on spending. Consumer spending is the dominant economic engine for the U.S., and retreat would have broad implications for the U.S.

Target reported the largest jump in comparable sales in four years Wednesday, but a cautious outlook overshadowed rather convincing evidence that changes under the company’s new CEO are landing solidly with customers. Target raised its annual revenue outlook Wednesday, but it was still below the pace of its first quarter this year.

The nation’s two largest home improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe’s reported strong sales, but both companies said that customers are putting off larger home projects.

“I think, overall, this has been the most difficult housing market that I’ve faced in this business since the financial crisis,” Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said this week.

Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas reported first-quarter earnings of $5.33 billion, or 67 cents, for the quarter ended April 30. Adjusted per-share results were 66 cents, matching the 66 cents that analysts expected, according to FactSet.

For the year-ago quarter, the company reported net income of $4.48 billion, or 56 cents per share.

Sales rose 7.3% to $177.75 billion in the fiscal first quarter, above the $174.84 billion that analysts predicted.

Walmart said higher fuel prices took a bite out of profits as it was forced to absorb higher transportation costs.

The company highlighted its speedier deliveries, which is driving more shoppers to buy more often. Rainey said that roughly 60% of U.S. online deliveries arrive at customers' homes in 30 minutes or less.

For the second quarter, Walmart expects sales to be 4% to 5% higher than the same period a year ago. It also expects per-share profit to be between 72 cents and 74 cents. Analysts had been projecting per-share earns of 75 cents on sales of $186.2 billion, according to FactSet.

Walmart stuck to the annual guidance that it issued in February.

Drones operated by Zipline leave base to make deliveries from a Walmart store in Pea Ridge, Ark., Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)