Pope Francis met with a group of transgender and intersex Catholics, along with LGBTQ+ allies and a medical doctor specializing in transgender healthcare, during a nearly 90-minute audience at his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Recent synods convened at the Vatican as well as the worldwide synod on synodality have “shown us the value of listening as a common thread in any process of humanization,” said Sister Liliana Franco Echeverri, a member of the Company of Mary and president of the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious.

Pope Francis called again for “an immediate cease-fire on all fronts” in the Middle East, urging leaders to “pursue the paths of diplomacy and dialogue to achieve peace.”

Pope Francis will create his 21 new cardinals Dec. 7, not Dec. 8 as he originally announced, according to the official in charge of papal liturgical ceremonies.

Pope Francis asked the new members of the College of Cardinals to cultivate a sense of prayer and closeness with God’s people, so they remain at the service of the church and their flocks.

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.