Parishes and dioceses must move quickly to give life to the consultative bodies and broad participation in mission and ministry already foreseen by church law if the Catholic Church is to have any hope of becoming a more “synodal” church, members of the Synod of Bishops said.

After a two-day trip to Ukraine Oct.19-20, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore said that U.S. Catholics must thoughtfully consider the implications of recent escalations in the region without succumbing to polarized political discourse.

Catholics in the Diocese of Rome must come up with concrete projects to help the tens of thousands of poor people who live in the city and must ensure religious education classes teach the social doctrine of the church, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church must take concrete steps — and soon — to recognize and empower women’s leadership and ministry in the church, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told members of the Synod of Bishops.

Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican’s publishing house, has granted Word on Fire the exclusive English-language rights to translate and publish the collected works of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, which were written in the late pope’s native German.

The 18 cardinals who head Vatican offices will find a little less in their pay envelopes starting Nov. 1.

Christians and Hindus must promote harmony among all groups of people despite their differences, especially when ideologies increasingly seek to sow division, the Vatican wrote in a message for the Hindu celebration of Diwali.

Members of the Synod of Bishops elected Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, and Bishop Alain Faubert of Valleyfield, Quebec, to be the North American members of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod.

The availability of confession, even in churches heavily frequented by tourists, presents the Catholic Church as a welcoming space for an encounter with God, Pope Francis said.

Change in the Catholic Church, including a commitment to recognizing women’s leadership gifts and being more welcoming of all people, happens slowly and deliberately, which is a good thing in a rapidly changing world, said the archbishop of Seattle.