Halfway through the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis and synod participants prayed that God would “remove the divisions between Christians” so that they could proclaim the Gospel together.

Three U.S. cardinals attending the synod on synodality met privately with Pope Francis to speak more in-depth about synodality and the process of discernment, said Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey.

Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met for the third time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, focusing their discussion on the repatriation of Ukrainian nationals held in Russian captivity.

The pope, bishops and priests cannot fully awaken the missionary spirit of the Catholic Church alone, so all Catholics must play a more central role in spreading the Gospel, according to participants in the Synod of Bishops on synodality.

The Vatican’s doctrine office has mandated the laicization of an Argentine priest accused of sexually abusing minors, overturning a surprise ruling from the Vatican Secretariat of State that imposed limitations on the priest’s activities.

Members of the Synod of Bishops must ask, listen to and prayerfully reflect on difficult questions, not dismiss or avoid them, the spiritual adviser to the synod on synodality told them.

While the Catholic Church’s Synod of Bishops is not exactly like a synod in other Christian communities, the issues being discussed and the way they are being handled are relevant to other Christian churches and to the search for Christian unity, synod participants said.

A bishop who runs his diocese like a “monarch” is not only not acting synodally, but he probably is lonely and stressed, said theologians advising the Synod of Bishops.

More than two dozen popes have celebrated Mass under the giant canopy that rises over the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, but the impressive view from the top of 100-foot-tall bronze structure has been reserved for a select few: cleaners, contractors and restoration experts.

As the Holy Land marked a grim first anniversary Oct. 7 of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities and subsequent Israel-Hamas war that has devastated the Gaza Strip, the papal almoner raised $35,000 in one afternoon from delegates to the Synod on Synodality and immediately sent it to Holy Family Parish in Gaza City.