Pope Francis has decided that some of the most controversial issues raised at the first assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality will be examined by study groups that will work beyond the synod’s final assembly in October.

A pope’s ministry is meant to last his lifetime, Pope Francis said, and, at least until now, he has not considered resigning.

Synodality is a key theme of Pope Francis’ pontificate and its importance to the church’s mission can be seen in the American church’s response to policy issues including migration, said experts in a Georgetown University panel discussion marking the pontiff’s 11th anniversary.

The Catholic Church should hold a Synod of Bishops devoted exclusively to defining just war, just defense and just peace, said the president of the Institute of Religion and Society at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

The saints are not unreachable “exceptions of humanity” but ordinary people who worked diligently to grow in virtue, Pope Francis said.

The work of protecting minors and other vulnerable people in the Catholic Church involves holding those in positions of power accountable for the abuse the commit, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis was not asking Ukraine to consider surrendering to Russia when he called for negotiations to end the war, but he was calling for both Russia and Ukraine to cease hostilities and engage in peace talks, the Vatican’s top diplomat said.

Ukraine’s Greek Catholic bishops, led by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, have said their nation will continue to fight Russian aggression, “notwithstanding the suggestions for need for negotiations coming from representatives of different countries, including the Holy Father himself.

Christians should pray for the grace to look at others with the same mercy and care with which Jesus looks at them, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis’ comment that Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” and engage in negotiation to end its war with Russia was dismissed by the Ukrainian government and church leaders.