Carol Glatz

Synod members will soon face the challenge of bringing back to their home dioceses, regions and continents the synodal way of inviting others, listening and discerning together that they are experiencing at the synod on synodality, two archbishops said.

The Vatican has confirmed that it has been asked and has agreed to receive 12 priests who had been detained in Nicaragua.

Pope Francis praised actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg for helping people laugh and feel joy, telling her, "You are very important."

St. Charles de Foucauld, a turn-of-the-19th-century hermit, demonstrates how a life of meekness, tenderness and eucharistic adoration evangelizes, Pope Francis said.

Warning against a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and ongoing conflicts elsewhere, Pope Francis has called for a day of fasting, penance and prayer for peace in the world Oct. 27.

Water must be safeguarded and managed in a "wise, careful and sustainable way, so that everyone can enjoy it," Pope Francis said in a written message marking the Oct. 16 celebration of World Food Day, a commemoration sponsored by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Since "walking together" is an essential characteristic of synodality, synod organizers made it literal with a pilgrimage to some of Rome's earliest Christian catacombs.

The era of divisive debate about Pope Pius XII has been left behind, and now Catholics and Jews, historians and theologians must take up serious and collaborative study, said the co-organizer of a major conference looking at the early results of new research into the wartime pontificate.

Terrorism, violence, barbarism and extremism undermine the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

Atop one of the highest hills in the Vatican Gardens, surrounded by green lawns, rose trellises, butterflies and green parrots, a panel of activists and a Nobel-prize winning physicist gathered to offer their insights on the importance of Pope Francis' latest document on the climate crisis.

Many of the prelates Pope Francis will make cardinals Sept. 30 will be taking part in the synod on synodality or have been very active in its preparatory phases as leaders of their dioceses.

The synod on synodality should dedicate substantial discussion to addressing sexual abuse in the church and include the voices of survivors, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said.

Hope and fraternity must be kept alive, organized and coordinated into concrete action so every crisis can be read as an opportunity and dealt with positively, Pope Francis said.

Workers are human beings, not machines or "spare parts" to be used to drive production and profit at all costs, Pope Francis told members of an organization that advocates for and protects the rights of those seriously injured or disabled on the job.

Pope Francis called for solidarity and concrete assistance for all those affected by a devastating earthquake in Morocco.

Any limitations and rules regarding media access and communications during the upcoming Synod of Bishops are rooted in the "essence" of a synod and meant to help participants in their process of discernment, said the head of the synod's communication committee.

Destroying grain is a "grave offense to God," Pope Francis said, appealing to authorities in Russia as "my brothers" and urging them to resume cooperating with a United Nations' initiative to guarantee the safe transport of grain out of Ukraine.

The Vatican's chief prosecuting attorney began his closing arguments outlining final charges against 10 defendants, including a cardinal, stemming from an investigation launched in 2019 by internal reports of suspicious financial activity.

The top priority for Pope Francis' peace envoy in his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden was the repatriation of children forcibly deported from Ukraine to Russia, the papal nuncio to the United States said.

Treated to songs, gifts and a paper medallion designating him "hero," Pope Francis visited children attending a summer camp at the Vatican.