The day after Pope Francis called for a cease-fire in the Holy Land, his foreign minister spoke by phone with the foreign minister of Iran, “reiterating the absolute need to avoid escalating the conflict,” the Vatican press office said.

To reform the church is to put God first and adore him, and to love and serve others, Pope Francis said at Mass marking the conclusion of the first session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality.

Pope Francis asked Mary to look mercifully upon the human family, “which has strayed from the path of peace,” and entrusted to her protection the world’s regions and nations at war.

Pope Francis has lifted the statute of limitations on abuse accusations against Father Marko Rupnik to allow for a formal investigation of the case by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The youngest member of the synod assembly is confident that the Holy Spirit is guiding the Synod of Bishops, but to get out of class he looked for a little extra help from the pope.

As the Catholic Church’s synod on synodality continues, it is drawing on lessons learned from decades of ecumenical friendships and dialogues and is sharing its experience with ecumenical partners with one goal in mind: helping all Christians take responsibility for the mission of sharing the Gospel, said several synod participants.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has reached out to known victims of Slovenian Father Marko Rupnik, asking to meet with them.

Writing to the world’s young people, members of the Synod of Bishops said they wanted to encourage them and help them fulfill their dreams, and they prayed that their own failings would not drive the young from the church.

The Catholic Church must continue discerning its future by listening to everyone, starting with the poorest and excluded, after the assembly of the Synod of Bishops closes its first session, participants said in a letter addressed to the “People of God.”

Welcoming people into the church and helping them enter a relationship with Jesus always involves a call to conversion, said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.