Pope Francis’ new encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus is being hailed as “a simple and powerful cure” for a fractured world, said the president of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference — and that sentiment was echoed by other experts on devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Members of the Synod of Bishops experienced a new way of being church and are committing to sharing it, said the two cardinals who guided its work.

Three years after he asked the world’s Catholics to walk together in faith on a synodal journey, Pope Francis said that the church cannot risk becoming “static” but must continue as a “missionary church that walks with her Lord through the streets of the world.”

The stakes for winning the World Series just got even more interesting — and beneficial for Catholic students — after Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced a friendly wager.

The U.S. bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty is encouraging Catholics to take part in a Nov. 15-23 novena ahead of the feast of Christ the King, celebrated this year on Nov. 24.

She turned to Mary when well-meaning people tried to find the right words of support but ended up saying things that felt hurtful or frustrating.

A lay preacher and longtime parishioner at the St. Francis Assisi Church in Huixtla, Hernández, 76, cites his experience in parish life as an inspiration for helping migrants. Helping migrants, he says, is a form of practicing what he preaches.

Parishes and dioceses must move quickly to give life to the consultative bodies and broad participation in mission and ministry already foreseen by church law if the Catholic Church is to have any hope of becoming a more “synodal” church, members of the Synod of Bishops said.

After members of the Synod of Bishops approved their final document, Pope Francis announced that he would not write the customary post-synodal apostolic exhortation but would offer the final document to the entire church to implement.

After Vice President Kamala Harris said she does not think “concessions” should be made on codifying abortion protections, some pro-life activists expressed concern that a potential Harris administration would not implement religious exemptions to abortion policy.