Pope Leo XIV turns 70 on Sept. 14 and some of his closest friends in the Chicago-area will mark the day with him in mind, quietly.

More than 90 bishops from different parts of the Pan-Amazon region gathered in Bogotá, Colombia, Aug. 17-20 to take a fundamental step in the implementation of some of the Amazon synod’s proposals.

A federal judge on Aug. 20 partially blocked Texas from enforcing a law requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, finding the law violated the First Amendment.

At a time when many governments seem unable promote peace, justice and development for all, Christians must be prophetic, reaching out to others and daring to try something new, Pope Leo XIV said.

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked Aug. 18 a federal land transfer to a copper mining giant that would lead to the destruction of a site considered sacred by Indigenous peoples. But President Donald Trump said Aug. 19 his administration would continue to pursue that land transfer.

A plan for Pope Leo XIV to visit Lebanon as well as Turkey in late November and early December is being studied, a Vatican official said.

The migrant detention facility, known for its deliberate placement within the inhospitable environment of Florida’s Everglades, is being used as a model for other states to set up similar facilities.

Ukrainian religious leaders have rejected demands for Russia’s Orthodox Church and language to be guaranteed official status in their country, although a Catholic bishop also warned against a threatened crackdown on Orthodox communities.

As the Trump administration seeks to end Russia’s multiyear war on Ukraine, Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians continue, said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency tasked with enforcing laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring and employment, said Aug. 18 it has taken “robust” actions to prevent religious discrimination in the workplace within the first six months of the second Trump administration.