While the report summarizing tens of thousands of U.S. listening sessions in the first phase of the Catholic Church’s synodal process has been submitted to the Vatican, the experience of synodality is just beginning.

Close to 200 bishops at the beginning of their ministries in dioceses and eparchies around the world met Pope Francis Sept. 19 at the end of a week of conferences.

Pope Francis once again called for peace in the Caucasus region as the escalating conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia prompted renewed fears of war.

Through the word of God and the sacraments, Christians can be “seekers of the truth” and nurture the bonds of love that unite their communities, Pope Francis said.

Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal almoner, said he and several others came under gunfire while delivering humanitarian aid to suffering Ukrainians on Pope Francis’ behalf.

Under the right moral conditions, a country has the right to purchase weapons to defend itself from those who attack it, Pope Francis said.

Speaking on behalf of dozens of religious leaders, Pope Francis called on world leaders to put an end to violence and bloodshed and instead strive for peace.

As war, violence and extremism in countries around the world threaten the lives of countless men, women and children, religions must rise above differences and be examples of peace and harmony, Pope Francis said.

The painful memories of the persecution of Christians in Kazakhstan serve as a reminder that peace “must be achieved anew each day,” Pope Francis said.

Arriving in Kazakhstan, a country that borders Russia, Pope Francis said he came as a “pilgrim of peace” at a time when “our world urgently needs peace; it needs to recover harmony.”