Pope Francis has appointed more than 450 participants, including dozens of religious men and women and laypeople from around the world, to attend the first general assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in October.

For the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, offering well-intentioned “thoughts and prayers” to grieving families after every mass shooting is sometimes not enough.

The Catholic Church must take great care to avoid rites or blessings that suggest marriage is anything other than a sacramental bond between one man and one woman, the incoming prefect of the Vatican’s doctrinal office said.

A Catholic university community in western Ukraine is reeling from a July 6 missile attack on the city of Lviv, located less than 50 miles from the Polish border.

Catholic leaders throughout the country are calling for prayer and action after gun violence scarred the July 4 holiday weekend in several states.

Any book that is considered sacred by its people must be respected out of respect for the human person who holds it sacred, Pope Francis said.

An apparent murder on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington was “not a random incident,” and poses “no present danger” to the university community, according to police and university officials.

Catholics must place the Eucharist at the center of their lives to transform their relationships with God and their neighbors, Pope Francis said.

The Vatican will establish a new commission to identify and catalogue Christians who have died for their faith in the last 25 years, Pope Francis said.

In order to eradicate hunger in the world, committed and experienced action must be taken that includes local and traditional cultures and peoples, Pope Francis said.