With more than 450 people gathering at the Vatican from around the world for a monthlong meeting, the General Secretariat of the Synod said it is taking action to reduce the environmental impact of the synod assembly.

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland said he will not resign as bishop of Tyler, Texas, but if Pope Francis removes him from the diocese, he will respect the pope’s authority.

The Vatican urged members of the U.N. Security Council to be “creative and courageous artisans of peace and weavers of constructive dialogue” to find a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.

During an ecumenical prayer service at the assembly of the Lutheran World Federation, the Vatican’s chief ecumenist and the federation’s general secretary formally called for a joint reflection on the Augsburg Confession, a fundamental statement of Lutheran faith.

Inspired by the dignity of each human being as revealed by Jesus, Christians are called to fight “every form of slavery,” whether physical, social or spiritual, Pope Francis said.

Comments by a leading Argentinian presidential candidate may have dampened hopes that Pope Francis would soon visit his home country for the first time since becoming pope, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said.

The Vatican urged the international community to press for a “special statute” to guarantee religious freedom in the city of Jerusalem in any agreements regarding a peace deal between Israel and Palestine.

The pope spoke about how the groups associated with the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation in the United States take issues patiently, “atom by atom,” and end up building something that “penetrates” and changes entire communities.

The Vatican is asking all baptized people, regardless of whether they will be in Rome, to participate in October’s assembly of the Synod of Bishops with their prayers.

Christians should not use the Gospel to accuse others or speak ill of their brothers and sisters, but draw people to its message by exemplifying it in their lives, Pope Francis said.