A synod calls on everyone to become experts in “the art of encounter” in a way that is uplifting and transformative, Pope Francis said, formally opening the process leading up to the assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2023.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the 75-year-old apostolic nuncio to the United States, said when he met Pope Francis at the Vatican Sept. 6, the pope asked him to remain in his post instead of retiring.

While a Synod of Bishops is not a parliament and its preparatory process is not “an opinion poll,” Pope Francis insisted that involving as many people as possible in the process and prayerfully listening to all of them is the only way to recognize the call of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis met privately at the Vatican Oct. 9 with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was in Rome to speak at a meeting of legislators from around the world in preparation for the U.N. climate summit.

President Joe Biden will nominate Catholic lawyer Joseph Donnelly of Indiana, a former member of the U.S. House and Senate, to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Standing in front of Rome’s Colosseum, Pope Francis called on members of all the world’s religions to be courageous enough to set aside self-centeredness and instead live with true and active compassion for the victims of war and poverty and for the earth.

By remaining in Jesus, Christians are free because his truth transforms their lives and guides them away from the slavery of sin toward what is good, Pope Francis said.

A Vatican court ruled that prosecutors must hand over video of the deposition of their main witness to lawyers representing 10 defendants, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who are all on trial on charges related to financial malfeasance and corruption.

The two nations co-chairing the U.N. Climate Change Conference are counting on the persuasive power and moral pull of religious leaders to help convince the world’s governments to set high standards in their commitment to mitigate climate change.

The Vatican announced that Pope Francis will formally launch the process of the Synod of Bishops with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.